From Etelaati to Eslahtalabi: Said Hajjarian, political theology and the politics of reform in post-revolutionary Iran

This article examines the importance of the political thought and praxis of politico, reformist strategist and intellectual, Said Hajjarian, and his rethinking of the post-revolutionary Iranian states sources and bases of legitimacy in the 1990s and 2000s. It also provides an exposition and assessment of a number of his recommendations for the realisation of political development (towseeh-ye siya¯si) in the post-revolutionary order and their contribution to the discourse of esla¯ha¯t during the presidency of Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Khatami (1997-2005). Moreover, it attempts to situate Hajjarian within a broader spectrum of reformist political opinion and its proponents within the Islamic Republic of Irans political class.