The Iranian policy advisory system: Contained politicisation and emerging technicisation

Abstract

A lot of literature on policy advisory systems (PASs) is based on Western liberal democracies, with scant attention paid to policymaking systems in authoritarian regimes. This paper examines the Iran's PAS and how it has changed between 1989 and 2023. The paper documents four distinctive phases in Iran's PAS: in-house ‘institutionalisation’, transitional ‘politicisation’, technocratic ‘externalisation’, and ‘technicisation’. We examine 16 representative advisory organisations (1989–2023) and show that while the Iranian PAS is well institutionalised and increasingly becoming externalised, there is still a tradition of centralisation and limited bureaucratic openness. Further, Iran's PAS has become less political due to constitutional preferences preventing advisory organisations from dealing with politically sensitive issues, as well as the decline of political party traditions and institutions. Finally, the paper concludes with a discussion of the emerging ‘technicisation’ of Iran's PAS, indicating an expansion of and reliance on technology-assisted tools and instruments by advisory organisations.

Points for practitioners

• Regardless of differences in political systems, policy advisory systems are an indispensable part of public policymaking machinery.
• To enhance the quality of public policies, policymakers should support a diversified and competent advisory system.
• To keep externalised organisations alive and effective, they must be supported by public measures and protected by a legal framework.
• A form of technocratic-political balance in PAS is necessary. A well-developed policy advisory system not only includes non-partisan and technocratic advisory institutions, it also consists of politicised institutions providing political advice for policymakers too.