ABSTRACT
Voltaire is famously noted to have remarked that the “Holy Roman Empire” was neither holy, roman, nor in any meaningful sense an empire. Much the same can be said of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the twenty-first century. It can no longer claim to be a “republic” and its identification with Islam has long since ceased to be orthodox, while its application and exploitation of nationalism is increasingly regarded as both cynical and insubstantial. This is a remarkable achievement for a state that was founded on the back of a revolution against a monarchy that was widely perceived as exclusive and alienated from many of its subjects. The Islamic Republic of Iran was constructed with a view to be an inclusive alternative that drew strength and social depth from its multiple sources of legitimacy. It was both popular and divine, religious and national.
