Authoritarian Modernization the Reforms Undertaken

Authoritarian Modernization

The reforms undertaken in Iran and Turkey by Reza Shah Pahlavi and Kemal Ataturk respectively, during the early half of the previous century, are two classical cases of authoritarian modernization in the study of political science. Comparisons have frequently been drawn between the two regimes in spite of significant differences existing between the Safavid or Qajar empires and the Ottoman Empire. However, both the regimes acted as catalysts in the transformation of outdated and archaic empires to modern republics trying to keep pace with the progressive western world.

Historical Background

Reza Shah Pahlavi

Reza Shah Pahlavi was the founder and first monarch of the Pahlavi dynasty. Reza Shah Pahlavi was born as Reza Khan in 1878 in a small village called Alasht located in the Savad Kouh region in the Caspian district of Mazandaran. Reza Khan's father, Abbas Ali as well as his grandfather, Morad Ali Khan had served in the provincial military regiment. Abbas Ali died while Reza Khan was still an infant and his mother left Alasht and settled in Teheran at the behest of her youngest brother. Their financial condition was not in a good state and when Reza Khan was around fifteen years old, he was advised by his uncle to join the Persian Cossack Brigade which was commanded by Russian officers. Reza Khan was a tall, strong and sensitive young man. He was highly courageous and took part in various battles in the campaign against Salar al Dowleh. He quickly rose through the ranks to become a First Lieutenant and then Captain by 1912, as a result of his courage and ability in handling machine guns. Soon his reputation as a brave and fearless soldier combined with his native intelligence earned him praises from his commanders who often selected him for quelling tribal revolts.

Reza Khan's professionalism, ambition and military reputation served him well and he was most probably promoted to the rank of Colonel by 1915 and became a Brigadier General by 1918. Reza Khan probably played a major role in the ousting of the commander of the Cossack Division in 1918. It is believed that all through this period, Reza Khan was disturbed by the fact that they were placed under the command of Russian Cossack officers. As his popularity and military reputation grew, his relation with his commanding officers deteriorated. Finally, in 1920, Reza led the Persian troops in removing the Russian officers and he himself took charge of the entire brigade. Reza Khan, along with Sayyed Tabatabai overthrew the Teheran government in 1921 and took charge as the commander in chief of the armed forces as well as appointed himself as the minister of war. After falling out with Tabatabai, Reza Khan took over as Prime Minister. During the period from 1921 to 1925, he subdued many tribal uprisings, created a strong and modern army, and ushered in a period of peace and security which had not been witnesses in the country for the last hundred years. By this time, the monarch of Persia, Ahmad Shah of the Qajar dynasty had become politically weak and totally eclipsed by the more popular Reza Khan. When Ahmad Shah left the country, the Majlis declared the removal of the absent king and declared Reza Khan as the king or "Shahenshah" of Persia.

As the Shah of Iran, Reza Shah enjoyed widespread popularity at the beginning of his rule. He adopted the name "Pahlavi" adapted from "pahlavan" meaning champion. Profoundly influenced by the reforms initiated by Kemal Ataturk in Turkey, Reza Shah also embarked on a series of radical reforms to convert Iran into a secular, modernized country. He changed the name of the country from Persia to Iran, a name by which it was known in the olden times. When Reza came to power, a majority of his people was illiterate, transport infrastructure was abysmal and industry was stagnant. He initiated far-reaching reforms for expanding foreign trade, modernizing infrastructures, reforming the education system and uplifting the status of women.

In the foreign affair sector, he established an independent customs, abolished the capitulation system, ended the prerogative of the British Bank to bring out currency notes, and engineered a new oil deal with the Anglo-Persian Oil Company. His main focus was on internal reforms which he carried out with devoted fervor. He took over the telegraph services from British management, created a wireless service, and built 20,000 kilometers of roadways. The building of the Trans-Persian Railway was undoubtedly one of his most grand and impressive projects. This railroad, which was 1400 km long and constructed without any foreign aid, connected Teheran with the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea passing through formidable terrain. He established and encouraged domestic production of consumer goods in state-owned factories. He set up the National Bank of Iran and limited the freedom of merchants by setting up trade monopolies.

Reza Shah encouraged westernization of education and attire. In 1934, he set up the University of Teheran and founded the Persian Academy whose chief function was to remove borrowed foreign words including Arabic ones from the Persian language. He sought to reduce the prestige and influence of Islamic religion as well as that of the clergy on public life. Many religious leaders were jailed or exiled. Islamic education was stopped and so were religious processions. People were ordered to adopt Western attire and women were asked to get rid of the veil. Reza Shah made widespread use of the armed forces to implement his rules in a country weighed down with superstition, vested interests and illiteracy. However, using the army to subdue its own people made tyrants out of many of its officers which were resented by a large cross-section of the people.

Reza Shah resented the idea of seeking help either from Russia or Britain, Iran's historical overlords, and took great pains to give government contracts to countries other than these two. Thus, when the Second World War started, a large number of German technicians were working on numerous projects in the country. When the British government asked for these German workers to be forced out of the country and the Trans-Iranian Railways be made available for supplies to be sent to the Allied troops, Reza Shah refused to cooperate and forced the country to maintain its neutrality that it had declared at the outbreak of the war. As a result, Russian and British forces moved into the country and forced the abdication of Reza Shah. Reza Shah's wish to immigrate to Canada was rejected and was moved to Mauritius and later to South Africa where he finally met his end in 1944.

The drastic reforms brought into the Iranian society by Reza Shah definitely elevated the status of Iran from an old empire to a new progressive state. The Pahlavi regime constantly reiterated its commitment to modernism, however superficial they may be. The dubbing of Reza Shah as the "founder of modern Iran" was another of the state's claim to legitimizing its supposed vow towards modernization. However, these reforms were simply a carry-over of the objectives of the Constitutional Revolution of 1905. The initial success of the reforms, especially the attempts to secularize the country, could also be attributed to the already declining power base of the Islamic clergy. Moreover, religion had ceased to provide the sole platform for the legitimization of political opposition. Previous reforms had paved the way for the emergence of intellectual circles, professional associations, socio-political journals, and numerous secular political journals which provided means for political involvement.

Reza Shah had realized that his attempts to bolster national consciousness required more than glorifying the pre-Islamic splendors of Iran's past. This led to his policy of etatisme in the economic field which laid stress on industrialization. This, of course, could not lead to the growth of a politically forceful group of private entrepreneurs or create free-market capitalism. However, it did give better investment opportunities to private entrepreneurs because of Reza Shah's various economic reforms including banking system reforms, industrialization drive, restrictions on tribal movements, and the gradual inclusion of Iran into the capitalist market of the world. Nevertheless, the utilization of the military for asserting its hold on the country was a delegitimizing factor of the Reza Shah regime. Many would assess this regime as a period of intellectual repression and transitory. Nevertheless, the iron hand with which the rapid modernizing reforms were carried out undoubtedly laid the basis for "secular state machinery" and helped in the emergence of a hitherto nonexistent group of "political-intellectual elite."

Reza Shah was undoubtedly one of the architects of modern Iran but his vision was an extension of the vision of earlier Iranian reformers and an inspiration from the neighboring successes achieved at the creation of secular modern states by Turkey under the guidance of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

It may be true that his notions of modernization were at a superficial level, but the fact remains that his style of authoritarian modernization forced his country to feel the inevitability of change, which was the main ingredient required for subsequent modernizations.

Kemal Ataturk

Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey and its first elected president, was born as Mustafa on March 12, 1881 in Salonika or Thessaloniki, in Greece which was then under the Ottoman Empire. His father, Ali Reza Efendi, was a customs official who wanted his son's education to take place in a secular school. However, his father died while he was still a child. It was his mother Zubeyde Hanim who brought him up at his uncle's home in the countryside and later in his aunt's house in Salonika. While in primary school, one of his teachers gave him the surname "Kemal" meaning "perfect, by which we know him today. Mustafa Kemal joined military school in Salonika and later on in Manastir from where he finished his high school. In 1899, he joined the infantry division of the Military Academy at Istanbul. On completion of his training in 1902, Mustafa Kemal joined the General Staff College from where he graduated with the rank of captain. He was sent to Damascus in 1906 where he established a society called "Vatan ve Hurriyat" or "Fatherland and Freedom." He also became a member of the CUP or nationalist Committee of Union and Progress as well as the Young Turk Movement.

Mustafa Kemal along with other army officers received the support of the Young Turks to lead a movement against the sultan of the Ottoman Empire for the restoration of the constitution in 1908. In 1911, he joined the war in Libya against Italy on his own initiative and fought for the defense of Derne and Tobruk. During World War I, the Ottoman Empire declared its alignment with Germany and Austria-Hungary. At that time, Mustafa Kemal was serving on the Gallipoli peninsula where he successfully thwarted a British invasion in 1915 and instantly became a national hero. However, the Ottoman Empire along with its allies was defeated in the war. The Ottoman Empire got an unfair deal in the Treaty of Sevres and lost major parts of its territories except for the ethnic Turk enclave which later formed the present-day Turkey. The Turks protested against the terms of the Treaty by fighting back against the Allied forces. The nationalist movement was headed by Mustafa Kemal and it was because of his exceptional military skills that in 1922 the Turks emerged victorious in the war. In 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne confirmed the victory of the Turks and frustrated the efforts of the Kurds for obtaining autonomy. The sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who had proclaimed his alignment with the Allied powers, was overthrown and the Empire was abolished. In 1923, the birth of the new Turkish Republic was proclaimed by Mustafa Kemal before the world. Mustafa Kemal was voted as the first President of this new country.

Mustafa Kemal, as the head of state and chief of the recently formed Republican People's Party, now embarked on his mission to reform his country into a new, modern and westernized state. Kemal's reforms were radical in nature and helped to transform a multiethnic empire built on Islamic traditions to a more tolerant and secular nation. The Turkish government took over the key economic sectors of the country and promoted industrialization. Kemal was extremely pro-Western and most of his policies reflected this mindset. He decided to implement those policies which he believed to comprise the strengths of the Western world. In 1926, a legal system based on Western-style was adopted. In 1928, the country adopted the Latin alphabet. Mass education was introduced in the country and in 1934; women got the right to vote. In 1934, the government made it compulsory for all Turkish nationals to adopt surnames as prevalent in the Western countries. It was at this time that Mustafa Kemal was given the name "Ataturk" which meant "father of the Turks." Kemal Ataturk's radical and far-reaching reforms converted Turkey into an exemplary nation which provided a model for newly emerging countries confronting similar problems in the 20th century.

The ideological basis of Kemal Ataturk's reform initiatives came to be known as "Kemalism." Kemalism's main points were illustrated through the "Six Arrows" depicting nationalism, populism, republicanism, etatism, secularism, and reformism. These principles of Kemalism were enshrined into the Turkish constitution and were perceived as "fundamental" and "unchanging" doctrines that would guide their nation. Republicanism, as mentioned in the Turkish constitution, reiterated that sovereignty was not the privilege or possession of a single ruler but was "vested in the nation." Populism not only included the idea that all citizens of Turkey are equal but also that every one of them are Turks. The communal autonomy given to other minor ethnic groups was stopped. Reformism gave a legal and legitimate face to the reforms that were implemented in the social and political life of the country. Etatism reiterated the pivotal role which was the prerogative of the government in steering the economic activities of the nation. This particular concept was incorporated specifically to justify the government's planning of large-scale investment and mixed economy in government-owned institutions.

One important goal of the economic policies initiated by Ataturk was to thwart attempts by foreign powers to exercise excessive and unwarranted influence on the economy of the country. Secularism brought in a total separation of the state from religion with the abolition of the caliphate. Ataturk replaced the "Seriat Kanunu" -- the theological religious law or Canonical law with the Swiss Civil Code and the existing penal code with the Italian Penal Code. Islam was totally excluded from Turkey's official life and this particular reform outraged many of his contemporaries. All religious schools were shut down, secularization of public education was initiated and Islamic religious orders were curbed. The overall social framework of the people of Turkey had to be restructured for the adoption of such dramatic changes. There were protests by the traditionalists but Ataturk was firm and suppressed all forms of dissent.

Ataturk introduced various educational reforms based on Western prototypes. He introduced a new university reform in 1933. He also initiated various reforms for the emancipation of the Turkish women who had been treated as inferior or second class citizens for hundreds of years. Their rights in family and social life were increased and brought to the same status as that enjoyed by women in the olden Turkish family times. A civil code was passed which gave Turkish women the same rights as those of men, the right to vote, the right to get appointed to official posts, and the right to contest elections. The law also required citizens to have monogamous relationships. People were called on to discard the traditional attire and go in for European-style dresses. The fez hat, which reminded Ataturk of the old caliphate system, was banned and men were encouraged to wear western style hats. Women were also encouraged to give up the "carsaf" and veil. The progressive reforms for the emancipation of women changed the entire nature of the Turkish society. Ataturk's foreign policy was not only carefully crafted but also very diplomatic in nature. It was based on his principle of "Peace at home, peace in the world."

This principle became an important guideline in the relations of Turkey with other foreign nations. He signed friendship treaties with fifteen countries including a 20-year friendship and neutrality treaty with the erstwhile USSR which was unilaterally terminated by the U.S.S.R. In 1945. Turkey also entered into the Balkan Pact with other countries like Romania, Yugoslavia and Greece to counter the influence of a possible alignment of Bulgaria with Germany and the hostile and fascist foreign policy of Italy. A nonaggression treaty was also signed with Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan in 1937. One of the greatest diplomatic successes that Ataturk achieved was when Turkey was able to influence the signatory authorities of the Treaty of Lausanne as part of the Montreux Convention to allow Turkey to take control and remilitarize the straits.

Ataturk often had to use force to suppress dissident movements. The conflict between Ataturk's authoritarian manner of implementing modernizing reforms and his liberal-democratic ideals resulted in political instability as well as increased democracy. However, the fact remains that Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was instrumental not only in establishing the Republic of Turkey and initiating a drastic set of wide-ranging reforms which altered the political, legal, economic, social and cultural fabric of the Turkish society but also paved the way for the modernization of Turkey and served as a role model for many other countries. Ataturk died on 10th November, 1938, as a result of cirrhosis of liver. He was truly the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

Comparing the two leaders, their influence and what they achieved

Now we shall look at a comparison of the two leaders -- Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Reza Shah Pahlavi. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Reza Shah Pahlavi and their attempts at modernizing their countries have often been compared with each other. Both the leaders were strong-willed and authoritarian and orchestrated radical reforms without which their countries might not have reached the level of modernization and success that they have achieved today. Both Reza Shah and Ataturk were excellent military officers who rose and gained prominence by their sheer courage and intelligence. Both the leaders were Westernizers who motivated their countrymen to adopt western ideas, education, and dress code and took strong steps to industrialize their economies. Both the leaders perceived Islam as a hindrance to the achievement of their ideas of modernization and made efforts to reduce or eliminate the role of the religion in politics and law. Both of them worked towards the upliftment of women. The reforms initiated by both the leaders created nations which served as role models for other fledgling countries in similar situations.

However, there were important differences between the two. Firstly, it is well-known that Reza Shah openly emulated the model of reforms laid out by Ataturk whereas Ataturk laid out his own ideas.

Reza Shah did not espouse principles like "Kemalism" and nor did he write any articles, make public statements, or leave political testaments like Ataturk did. Reza Shah did not formulate any ideologies like Ataturk. Ataturk was the leader of a program-bearing, ideology-based revolutionary party unlike Reza Shah. Another important difference between the two was that Ataturk did not want his country or countrymen to have anything to do with the past and wanted to break away completely from anything that reminded him of the past. On the other hand, Reza Shah tried hard to revive past glories especially of pre-Islamic Iran. Of course, there may be a reason for this since Iran and Iranians did have a glorious past whereas the Turks were nomads in the past and therefore did not have a magnificent history to be reminded of.

In spite of wanting to modernize the country, Reza Shah did not try to reform the existing political order and maintained the monarchical authority. Ataturk, however, abolished the Ottoman monarchy and established a democratic republican form of government. Even though both the leaders used force and authority to subdue dissident movements and implement their radical reforms, Ataturk's power base lay with the Grand National Assembly, the Republican People's Party, and the Constitution of 1924. On the other hand, the institutional base of Reza Shah's authority depended on the bureaucracy, patronage and most importantly, on the army. For Reza Shah, the constitution and the parliament were not important and manipulation of the elections was not a big deal. Ataturk, however, took care that the constitutional machinery remained intact and elections were regularized. Ataturk provided women with the right to vote whereas Reza Shah, despite his commitment to women emancipation could not provide suffrage to women. In addition, Reza Shah did not abolish polygamy which Ataturk did successfully.