From Islamic to National Identity: Comparative Study of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and Green Movement

Most analyses of nonviolent movements downplay the role that national identity may play in their success or failure. Our study aims to bridge the gap between those who focus on structure and those who focus on agency by comparing national identity in Iran’s Islamic revolution with the Green Wave. We argue that the Shah’s attempts to create a secularized Persian-based national identity ran afoul of deep-seated cultural connections to Islam: which were successfully harnessed by Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers to bridge the gap between themselves and regime insiders. By contrast, members of the Green Wave were unable to build a shared sense of national identity with advocates of the system. This difference was, in part, responsible for the success of the former movement and the failure of the latter, hopefully leading to a reassessment of the need to contest a viable national identity in any nonviolent campaign. However, while identity may be necessary for a successful campaign, it is clearly not sufficient.