Functions and dysfunctions of election in Iran: moving towards completion of the institutional chain of electoral politics

Abstract

The proliferation of political Structure and the activation of social cleavages led Iran to an exacerbating process of electoral competition in the past two decades. Despite the positive functions of elections in Iran, the dark sides of this process are less known. Elections in Iran has led to an increase in the internal conflicts of political system, created very severe discontinuities in the policy- making process, paved the way for activating and intensifying social cleavages (especially ethnic and religious cleavages), and formed a kind of Sponsorship-based policy making and intensify the economic corruption of politicians. One of the main negative consequences of this process is delegitimizing the electoral process. The role of delegitimizing has been linked to the anti-developmental role of elections in Iran. From the viewpoint of the pathology of democratic processes and the effort to improve the quality of electoral mechanisms, it is important to understand such dimensions. “Completion of the institutional chain of electoral politics” is a proposed framework for reforming these processes.

Keywords

• electoral politics
• dark side
• delegitimization
• development
• institutional chain