Constitutionalism, in Qajar era of Iran, a discourse aimed at strengthen centered state

Shamsi Gooshki, Meysam; Shalchi, Vahid; Karami Ghahi, Mohammadtaghi

doi:10.22054/qjss.2025.83705.2856

Constitutionalism, in Qajar era of Iran, a discourse aimed at strengthen centered state

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

meysam shamsi gooshki ¹

vahid shalchi ²

mohammadtaghi karami ghahi ³

¹ PhD Student in Sociology, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

² Associate Professor of Sociology, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

³ Professor of Women's Studies, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22054/qjss.2025.83705.2856

Abstract

According to the influential reading of the Constitutional Revolution, Constitutionalism is equated with the justice, freedom, and law. Many historians of thought also explain the transformations of this historical period by theorizing with concepts of identity crisis. This study, in distinction from these perspectives, employs Michel Foucault's methods, problematizing the two significant events of the Iran- Russia wars and the spread of infectious diseases such as cholera and plague. It examines the context in which the prevailing political discourse and the established semantic and symbolic order of society collapsed. Though these explanations are not consistent with the identity-related interpretations and concepts, an analysis of the writings of Qajar intellectuals leads to the conclusion that neither the pursuit for justice nor for freedom were the fixed signifiers of the Constitutional discourse; Rather, these are empty signifiers that serve the fixed signifiers, which is "regulating the State". The findings of this study indicate that Constitutionalism is more a discourse about order and regulation than a discourse about liberation and freedom. It seeks a government capable of exerting greater control over the people, monitoring various aspects of their lives and most importantly, capable of shaping a populace which can serve this government.

Keywords

event

governmentality

beıng govern

governing

regulated state

Subjects

Sociology

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