Spektrum Iran

Path dependency theory and Iran's 1962 land reforms: How initial goals shaped the current situation

Document Type : Original Research Paper

Authors

Hamid Shamsodin 1
Jahangir Karami 2
Mehdi Ahouie 3

1 PhD Candidate, Faculty of Literature, University of Velayat, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Russian Studies, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

3 Associate Professor, Department of Iranian Studies, Faculty of World Studies, University of Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/spektrum.2026.535645.1037
Abstrakt
When the Pahlavi regime launched its land reform program in 1962 as the centerpiece of the White Revolution, the official narrative promised a transformation of Iranian society through equitable land distribution, social justice, increased agricultural productivity, and improved living conditions for rural communities. Decades later, however, the outcomes present a different picture. This article examines how and why the reforms diverged from their original objectives and became increasingly resistant to change. Using path dependency as an analytical framework, the study draws on archival records, government reports, and scholarly literature to trace the mechanisms that placed agricultural policy on a trajectory from which it could not easily deviate. The findings indicate that, despite the developmental rhetoric surrounding the reforms, they were never fully implemented as intended. Political considerations shaped the process from the outset, while rising oil revenues, ineffective policies, and the growing influence of interest groups with a stake in maintaining the status quo reinforced the established trajectory over time. The 1979 Revolution, the Iran–Iraq War, and prolonged economic sanctions further reinforced this path, making fundamental changes to agricultural policy increasingly costly and politically difficult. What began as a transformative political choice, shaped by both Cold War geopolitics and domestic political objectives, gradually became an institutional constraint on subsequent policy change. The resulting outcomes diverged substantially from the original development objectives. By illuminating this process, the article contributes to an understanding of the political economy of reform in resource-dependent states and provides an analytical framework that may be applicable to the study of other institutional trajectories in modern Iran.

Keywords

Iran
development
land reform
path dependency
institutional lock-in
agricultural policy
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