Iran’s presidency weakened by supreme leader’s consolidation of power: systemic analysis of institutional erosion and regional implications
Original framing: “Iran’s president appeals to Americans − but does his office still hold any real power?” — The Conversation - Global
The original framing omits the IRGC’s institutional role in marginalizing elected officials, the historical parallels with other post-revolutionary states (e.g., Egypt’s Nasser era), and the impact of U.S. sanctions on Iran’s political economy. Indigenous and marginalized perspectives—such as those of Iranian feminists or ethnic minorities—are erased, as are the voices of reformist politicians who have been systematically sidelined. The analysis also ignores how regional powers like Saudi Arabia and Israel influence Iran’s internal power struggles through proxy conflicts.
Medium structural omission detected in mainstream coverage.
The article is produced by *The Conversation Global*, a platform that often privileges Western academic perspectives and frames Iranian governance through a lens of institutional decay rather than systemic power dynamics. The framing serves to reinforce a narrative of Iranian dysfunction, obscuring how U.S. sanctions and geopolitical pressures have exacerbated internal power struggles. It also deflects attention from the IRGC’s role in shaping policy, which aligns with Western interests in portraying Iran as an unstable actor.
Political science research on authoritarian consolidation highlights how revolutionary regimes often transition from populist governance to militarized control, as seen in Iran’s shift from Khomeini’s charismatic leadership to Khamenei’s institutionalized rule. The IRGC’s economic and military expansion aligns with theories of patrimonialism, where state resources are used to reward loyalists and suppress dissent. Quantitative studies on sanctions show they often strengthen hardline factions by creating economic scarcity that justifies increased security measures.
Iran’s presidency has been hollowed out by the supreme leader’s consolidation of power, a process accelerated by the IRGC’s militarization and U.S. sanctions that reinforce hardline factions.