The Conceptual Application of the Social Imaginary in Analyzing Government-Society Relations during the First Pahlavi Period

Abstract

The First Pahlavi Period holds significant importance regarding Iran's breaking from its traditional era and entering the modern world. A substantial part of this transformation stemmed from a shift in understanding the state and its functions. This understanding is derived from constructing an imagination that shaped the state during this period. This article aims to demonstrate imaginaries' role in forming the state during the First Pahlavi Period. Based on this, the main question is, to what extent can the conceptual framework of social imaginary or collective mentality be utilized to analyze the relations between the state and society during the First Pahlavi Period? The thematic analysis method has been employed for data analysis, relying on magazines, newspapers, stories, books, and political memoirs. The creators of the social imaginary during this period were intellectuals and writers, clerics, and Reza Shah. The research findings indicate that the shared imagination of intellectuals and clerics regarding the state during this period, driven by instability and the rise of separatist sentiments, was establishing a centralized and powerful government. As a result, they supported the fall of the Qajar dynasty and the rise of Reza Shah. However, the clerics later opposed the idea of a republic, as they viewed it as a form of government opposed to Islam. Ultimately, Reza Shah conceded to this demand, abandoning his aspirations for the presidency and declaring the monarchy instead. During his 16-year reign, Reza Shah aligned his policies with the intellectuals' imagination of the state, centering his actions around themes such as nationalism, the revival of ancient Iranian civilization, modernization, and Western-style development and progress. Thus, a new imagination was created that viewed the state as a provider of order and security and as responsible and proactive in developing military, educational, cultural, economic, judicial, and administrative systems.