IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/pubcho/v200y2024i3d10.1007_s11127-023-01129-x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Islamic revolution and Anfal

Author

Listed:
  • Mehrdad Vahabi

    (University of Sorbonne Paris Nord)

Abstract

The Islamic revolution is nothing but Islamic revivalism or the establishment of an Islamic state based on Sharia. In this paper, I focus on the Islamic revolution in Iran that has been exceptionally considered as a ‘social revolution’ targeting an overhaul of the economic institutions. Can the economic model of Islamic revivalism be reduced to one of the principal dichotomous models of state socialism or free market economy as suggested by many economists? It will be shown that Anfal or the Imam’s exclusive property over all public properties known as res nullius has been the major invention of the Islamic revivalism in Iran. This provides an independent Islamic model that has been left unnoticed by specialists in Islamic economics that can be characterized as a specific economic system, namely Islamic political capitalism. This system is not reducible to state socialism or competitive free markets. This paper fills the gap and demonstrates that Anfal institutionalizes a confiscatory regime enhancing a rent-seeking society hindering private property rights and competitive free markets.

Suggested Citation

  • Mehrdad Vahabi, 2024. "Islamic revolution and Anfal," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 200(3), pages 383-401, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:200:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-023-01129-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-023-01129-x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11127-023-01129-x
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11127-023-01129-x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2023. "Destructive Coordination, Anfal and Islamic Political Capitalism," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-031-17674-6, June.
    2. Brezis, Elise S. & Cariolle, Joël, 2019. "The revolving door, state connections, and inequality of influence in the financial sector," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(4), pages 595-614, August.
    3. Timur Kuran, 2018. "Islam and Economic Performance: Historical and Contemporary Links," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1292-1359, December.
    4. Kornai, Janos, 1992. "The Socialist System: The Political Economy of Communism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198287766.
    5. Holcombe,Randall G., 2018. "Political Capitalism," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108449908, October.
    6. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2016. "A positive theory of the predatory state," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 168(3), pages 153-175, September.
    7. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2004. "The Political Economy of Destructive Power," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 3481.
    8. R. H. Coase, 2013. "The Problem of Social Cost," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 56(4), pages 837-877.
    9. Vuk Vukovic, 2021. "The politics of bailouts: Estimating the causal effects of political connections on corporate bailouts during the 2008–2009 US financial crisis," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 189(1), pages 213-238, October.
    10. Luigi Zingales, 2015. "Presidential Address: Does Finance Benefit Society?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 70(4), pages 1327-1363, August.
    11. Kayhan Valadbaygi, 2021. "Hybrid Neoliberalism: Capitalist Development in Contemporary Iran," New Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(3), pages 313-327, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Vahabi, Mehrdad & Klebaner, Samuel, 2023. "Une nouvelle perspective sur la prédation, le conflit, le capitalisme et le changement institutionne (Une évaluation critique de l’école de régulation), entretien de Mehrdad Vahabi avec Samuel Klebane," MPRA Paper 119567, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Harris,Colin & Cai,Meina & Murtazashvili,Ilia & Murtazashvili,Jennifer Brick, 2020. "The Origins and Consequences of Property Rights," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108969055, September.
    3. Vahabi, Mehrdad, 2008. "Protection costs, transaction costs,and economic theory," MPRA Paper 17648, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Buchen, Clemens, 2010. "Emerging economic systems in Central and Eastern Europe – a qualitative and quantitative assessment," EconStor Theses, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 37141, September.
    5. Vahabi, Mehrdad, 2006. "Ordres contradictoires et coordination destructive: le malaise iranien [Contradictory orders and detructive coordination: the Iranian disease]," MPRA Paper 13235, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Sep 2008.
    6. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2011. "Appropriation, violent enforcement, and transaction costs: a critical survey," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 147(1), pages 227-253, April.
    7. Gregory W. Caskey & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2022. "The predatory state and coercive assimilation: The case of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 191(1), pages 217-235, April.
    8. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2009. "An Introduction to Destructive Coordination," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 68(2), pages 353-386, April.
    9. Russell S. Sobel & Christopher J. Coyne, 2011. "Cointegrating Institutions: The Time-Series Properties of Country Institutional Measures," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 111-134.
    10. Djankov, Simeon & Glaeser, Edward & La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "The new comparative economics," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 595-619, December.
    11. Xu Guangdong, 2013. "Property Rights, Law, and Economic Development," The Law and Development Review, De Gruyter, vol. 6(1), pages 117-142, July.
    12. Samira Guennif, 2022. "Capture and passive predation in times of COVID-19 pandemic," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 193(3), pages 163-186, December.
    13. Mehrdad Vahabi & Philippe Batifoulier & Nicolas Silva, 2020. "A theory of predatory welfare state and citizen welfare: the French case," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 243-271, March.
    14. Vahabi,Mehrdad, 2019. "The Political Economy of Predation," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107591370.
    15. Jennifer Murtazashvili & Ilia Murtazashvili, 2020. "Wealth-destroying states," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 353-371, March.
    16. Gorodnichenko, Yuriy & Grygorenko, Yegor, 2008. "Are oligarchs productive? Theory and evidence," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 17-42, March.
    17. Vahabi, Mehrdad, 2011. "Soft budget constraint and the parastatal sector," MPRA Paper 37926, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Philippe Batifoulier & Nicolas da Silva & Mehrdad Vahabi, 2019. "A theory of predatory welfare state and citizen welfare: the French case," CEPN Working Papers hal-02073247, HAL.
    19. Vahabi, Mehrdad & Mohajer, Nasser, 2019. "درنگی سنجشگرایانه درباره‌ی نئولیبرالیسم [A Critical Appraisal of Neoliberalism]," MPRA Paper 97892, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Philippe Batifoulier & Nicolas da Silva & Mehrdad Vahabi, 2020. "La Sociale contre l'Etat providence. Prédation et protection sociale," CEPN Working Papers hal-02487791, HAL.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Anfal; Islamic political capitalism; Islamic revivalism; Islamic revolutions; Shiite Islam;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H10 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - General
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H13 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Economics of Eminent Domain; Expropriation; Nationalization
    • H20 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - General
    • H27 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Other Sources of Revenue
    • H29 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue - - - Other
    • K11 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Property Law
    • K19 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Other
    • L32 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Public Enterprises; Public-Private Enterprises
    • L33 - Industrial Organization - - Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise - - - Comparison of Public and Private Enterprise and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out
    • N45 - Economic History - - Government, War, Law, International Relations, and Regulation - - - Asia including Middle East
    • N55 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Asia including Middle East
    • P14 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Capitalist Economies - - - Property Rights
    • P26 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies - - - Property Rights
    • P48 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Other Economic Systems - - - Legal Institutions; Property Rights; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Regional Studies
    • P51 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems
    • P52 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Comparative Economic Systems - - - Comparative Studies of Particular Economies
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:200:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-023-01129-x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.