Sociological Analysis of the Cycle of Authoritarian Resurgence in Iran During the Constitutional Period 1906–1925

Abstract

This article investigates the cyclical return of authoritarianism in Iran between 1906 and 1925. The theoretical foundation of this study lies in the concept of political modernity. The central argument is that the dynamics of political modernity transition Iranian society from an authoritarian regime toward a phase of democratic consolidation. In this process, the authoritarian regime is overthrown, initiating a democratic transition. However, after a brief period, the process of political modernity is disrupted during the phase of democratic consolidation, leading to a gradual return to authoritarianism. Based on empirical evidence, it is argued that Iran experienced both the failure to consolidate political modernity and the reemergence of authoritarianism in 1908 and 1925. Theoretically, the cycle of authoritarianism is explained through the framework of multiple conjunctural causality. This study employs a historical-comparative method, integrating both within-case and causal analysis. It concludes with the proposition that whenever institutional structures are suspended, authoritarian actors subjugate civil society to state dominance, constitutional individual and civic rights are ignored, and external actors interfere negatively, radical agents mobilize society toward the collapse of the incumbent regime.