The strengthening of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in political system of Iran and the risk of political imbalance
The article deals with the activity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and how it impacts political system of Iran. The IRGC's power is growing amid the confrontation with President Rouhani's government and other political actors that can be considered moderates and reformists. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is not only a military and paramilitary organization that is meant to defend the ideals of the Iranian Islamic Revolution: the growing role of the IRGC impacts both Iranian power structure and Iranian economy. The rising power of the IRGC may deter political dialogue between reformists and conservatives, trigger opposition activity and lead to unrest and destabilization of the Iranian political system. Iran's system of power can be attributed as a hybrid democracy. Religious democracy conceals the rule of religious autocracy. This allows the political system, on the one hand, to have extraordinary stability and, on the other hand, to demonstrate flexibility and the ability to seek ways of modernization. The demand of opposition for secularization and free elections challenges the ayatollahs. However, there is no real confrontation between reformists and hardliners as they belong to the same class. Only street opposition may disturb the regime. At present the IRGC has the ability to suppress any such unrest. The IRGC has long proved successful in defending their interests under the tight sanctions, and new U.S. sanctions will not fully exclude Iran from the global financial and trading system. The Guards will keep their power. But if new U.S. sanctions harm Iranian economy considerably and the number of protesters grows, changes in the Iranian power system may happen and the Guards may prove unable to prevent this course of events.