Leadership Style of Mohammad Reza Shah
My main mistake was to have made an ancient people advance by forced marches toward independence, health, culture, affluence, comfort.
-Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
Quote from Bhodam Chian --> 3:08
Quote from Amir Taheri --> 5:25
Quote from Amir Taheri --> 5:25
Quote from Mohammad Reza Shah --> 6:10
Shah is a kind of magic word with the Persian people.
-Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
People usually recognize monarchies as systems in which autocratic leadership is used and everyone has to abide by the rules that have been passed by one person. However, Mohammad Reza Shah had a distinct leadership style as compared to his autocrat father and other monarchs. He was a flexible leader, directive when needed and engaged others in decision-making. According to Amir Taheri, Shah’s personal biographer,’ Mohammad Reza Shah, unlike his father was a mystic and sentimental person’. From the overall role culture that existed in that time and from the centralized organizational structure, we can conclude that his leadership style was rather a combination of autocracy, paternalism and a little bit of democracy. I think that the reason he had this distinct style of leadership is his interest in westernization (which caused the flexibility of his leadership), and love of power (which caused the autocracy within his leader ship).
• Autocracy
Mohammad Reza Shah maintained full control over the military force to preserve his powers. I think this emphasizes his autocracy, because there are no restrictions for him and he has no one to consult when it comes to the military force. Having full control caused him to allow himself to enforce any laws by force.
Although, he allowed people to elect the members of the Parliament, but all of them had to be approved by the Shah first.
• Paternalism
According to Mohammad Reza Shah, ‘The people and the king are so close that they feel as the member of the same family’. His paternalism is clearly illustrated in the White Revolution. He used his experiences from living in Europe and tried to improve the quality of live in Iran through modernization in the White Revolution, however people were not given a choice to whether or not accept the revolution; therefore remaining unaware of the benefits of the revolution and modernization. They were forced to follow all the rules, the strict enforcement of the laws, even though they were for the good of people, caused people to dislike the revolution and accept it hardly. According to Bhodam Chian, an Islamic fundamentalist, ‘we thought the Shah was Satan, we assumed that even his good deeds were satanic’. I think that Shah’s paternalism caused the lack of effective communication between him and the people. Had he communicated effectively with the people about the benefits of the white revolution, they would accept it more easily.
• Democracy
Before passing any laws, the Shah would consult his prime minister and take the laws to the legislature that consisted of a parliament with 300 members (300 chosen by the people and approved by the Shah) for the final approval.
I think that the existence of the legislature and the Members of Parliament chosen by the people show the flexibility and democracy within his style of leadership because it demonstrates that people can have a word in the way the country is ruled through the Parliament. This shows that the Shah used other people’s opinions as well as his own opinions to make the best decisions.
• Autocracy
Mohammad Reza Shah maintained full control over the military force to preserve his powers. I think this emphasizes his autocracy, because there are no restrictions for him and he has no one to consult when it comes to the military force. Having full control caused him to allow himself to enforce any laws by force.
Although, he allowed people to elect the members of the Parliament, but all of them had to be approved by the Shah first.
• Paternalism
According to Mohammad Reza Shah, ‘The people and the king are so close that they feel as the member of the same family’. His paternalism is clearly illustrated in the White Revolution. He used his experiences from living in Europe and tried to improve the quality of live in Iran through modernization in the White Revolution, however people were not given a choice to whether or not accept the revolution; therefore remaining unaware of the benefits of the revolution and modernization. They were forced to follow all the rules, the strict enforcement of the laws, even though they were for the good of people, caused people to dislike the revolution and accept it hardly. According to Bhodam Chian, an Islamic fundamentalist, ‘we thought the Shah was Satan, we assumed that even his good deeds were satanic’. I think that Shah’s paternalism caused the lack of effective communication between him and the people. Had he communicated effectively with the people about the benefits of the white revolution, they would accept it more easily.
• Democracy
Before passing any laws, the Shah would consult his prime minister and take the laws to the legislature that consisted of a parliament with 300 members (300 chosen by the people and approved by the Shah) for the final approval.
I think that the existence of the legislature and the Members of Parliament chosen by the people show the flexibility and democracy within his style of leadership because it demonstrates that people can have a word in the way the country is ruled through the Parliament. This shows that the Shah used other people’s opinions as well as his own opinions to make the best decisions.