Legitimation of governments by renaming of everyday things and places: a comparison of the Pahlavi and Islamic Republic in Iran

ABSTRACT

Political systems employ a variety of resources to acquire legitimacy and support from society. Any changes in the political system and sources of legitimacy can fundamentally alter the social world and the sign system, and even lay the foundations for identity conflict. Since the collapse of the Pahlavi dynasty and the establishment of the Islamic Republic government, Iran has experienced such a trend. Therefore, the Pahlavi dynasty and the Islamic Republic government can be considered the most important periods of civilization and identity conflict in contemporary Iran. The present study aims to apply semiotics to examine the naming process as one of the elements of the sign system in the legitimacy of the Pahlavi and the Islamic Republic of Iran governments. The findings show that the changes in the naming process during the Pahlavi and the Islamic Republic governments represent a shift in the source of legitimacy from ancient Iran to the Islamic period, which has been reflected in the names of individuals, places, coins, and commemorative medals. The change of political system has also intensified the identity and ideology conflicts in the sign systems of Iran.

KEYWORDS:

• Sign system
• political system
• naming process
• Pahlavi
• Islamic Republic of Iran

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Sepah Street is the first street designed in Iran that was built during the reign of Shah Tahmasp Safavid. This street was paved in 1929 and became a modern street during the reign of Reza Shah.

2 The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran was passed following a referendum on December 2-3, 1979.

3 On September 15, 1964, the two Iranian parliaments awarded the title "Aria Mehr" to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi

4 During the presidency of Mohammad Khatami (1997–2005), the main policies of his government were focused on political development and the expansion of civil liberties in Iran.

5 Anērān is a religious, linguistic, and ethnic concept meaning non-Iranian. Generally, this term is used to refer to all non-Iranian lands; however, it was also used to refer to the enemies of Zoroastrians or Iranians in the Sassanid empire.

6 Barzan is used in the epic poems of Iranian poets, such as Ferdowsi, meaning neighborhood.

7 Dr. Hussein Fatemi was a member of the National Front and the Foreign Affairs Minister of Dr. Mohammad Mossadegh’s cabinet. He was executed after the 1953 coup d'état to overthrow the government of Mosaddegh.

8 The Title Of Imam Mahdi (The twelfth Imam of the Shiites)

9 Abolhassan Banisadr was the first president of Iran (1980 –1981).

10 One of the main calligraphic hands used to write the Perso-Arabic script in the Persian and Urdu languages, and traditionally the predominant style in Persian calligraphy.

11 There is no God but Allah. It is the first doctrine of Islam.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Reza sarhaddi

Reza sarhaddi PhD in political science is a Lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad Faculty of Law and Political Science. His research interests are Semiotics and Iranian political sociology. He has publish several articles on Semiotics in Persian.