Political Strategic Studies

Interrogating the Redistributive Facets of the State in Post-Islamic Revolution Iran: An Analysis of the Configuration of a Ghidorah-Like Welfare Order

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Abolfazl Baqeri Ezhiyeh 1
Abbas Hatami 2
Hamid Nassaj 2
Hosein Harsij 3

1 Ph.D. Student in Political Science First Author, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

10.22054/qpss.2026.90665.3730
Abstract
Inspired by the metaphor of the “three-headed body,” this article analyzes the mechanisms underlying the continuity and discontinuity of redistributive measures and welfare policies in post-revolutionary Iran. Drawing on a historical-sociological approach and a critical review of the literature, it shows how populism, rentierism, and ideological traditionalism have shaped welfare policy, contributing both to its durability and to its financial and institutional fragility.



Populism, through mass mobilization and broad-based demands, has fostered rapid-impact policy instruments and short-term welfare policy cycles. Rentierism, rooted in oil revenues, has enabled the expansion of welfare expenditures while making redistributive policy cycles highly sensitive to oil shocks and external fluctuations. Ideological traditionalism has provided the “normative software of redistribution,” supplying legitimacy and adaptive capacity to recalibrate the other two dimensions.



The article argues that redistribution in post-revolutionary Iran cannot be explained through linear or single-variable models. Instead, it is better understood as a polycentric and self-regenerating Ghidorah-like three-headed body, operating through concurrent logics of action. Improving its effectiveness therefore depends on aligning mass responsiveness with fiscal discipline and a coherent normative framework.

Keywords

Ideological traditionalism
Populism
Redistribution
Rentierism
Welfare state
Subjects
Political Strategic Studies

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 26 October 2026

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