Comparison Essay Between Iran And Russia

Comparison between Iran and Russia Student’s Name Institution Date Introduction It is widely known that Russia and Iran are highly pragmatic allies. The Russian-Iranian alliance has never been positive since Russia had colonial interests in Iran and its only the Christian power to have attempted and succeeded, occupying a part of Iran in modern history. However, today, their relationship has been solidified by economic and military objectives for both nations (Geranmayeh, & Liik, 2016). The paper will highlight the similarities and differences between these two nations. This will be achieved in terms of analyzing their cultures, government structures, their freedom of speech policies and also their relationships with other countries. Analysis Culture The Iranian attitudes are highly contradictory whereby most Iranians are pious Muslims, however; this nation is a Shi’ism state, especially due to their ancient Persian culture which is an important component of the Iranian identity. Their religious establishment is viewed with numerous criticisms and suspicion as most clerics have been perceived as corrupt (Rahimieh, 2015). This attitude is highly similar to the Russian attitudes towards religion, especially the Orthodox religion. This religion is considered an integral part of the Russian identity, however, at the same time; numerous citizens have shown disdain concerning the establishment of clerics. Russia, however, combines the power of secular government with religious power. To some extent, this is sometimes done in Iran in which the religious establishment and the state are intertwined. This is clear, especially due to their censorship policies against any publications from the media or activists that may undermine Islamic laws (Rahimieh, 2015). Iran is entirely subservient to their Supreme Leader who is the most essential politician in the entire state. Both Russia and Iran perceive themselves as a multiethnic state with a dominant culture. The nations cannot afford to be completely ethnic and therefore, they have focused on limiting ethnic nationalism. Iranian nationalism has been promoted by religious and government officials since it inclusively supports all religions in Iran (Geranmayeh, & Liik, 2016). However, this component is accompanied by numerous restrictions. Structure of Government In Russia, the constitution provides strong powers for the president. The president has a wide authority towards issuing directives and decrees that have the force of law without any legislative evaluations. However, the constitution notes that the legislative branch must not contravene the document or other laws (White, Sakwa, & Hale, 2014). The Prime Minister is also appointed by the President which must be approved by the Duma, which is first-in-line towards the presidency in case anything happens to the president such as the president’s death or resignation. The State Duma is the lower house of the Russian Federal Assembly, which is highly powerful as it creates and approves all bills even those proposed by the Federation Council. However, in regards to the resignation of the president, the powers of this Assembly are highly limited. It can express a vote of no confidence in the government only by the majority vote and also, the president has powers to disregard the vote. White, Sakwa, & Hale, (2014) stated that the Russian Judiciary performs all judicial review and also has an appellate jurisdiction which can only be handled by the Supreme Court. Additionally, all judges are appointed by the Federation Council only at the discretion of the Russian President. Iran’s structure of government is entirely different from that of Russia. For Iran, the Supreme Leader stands at the apex of the government. As head of state, he has several powers, which include commanding the armed forces, appointing the head of the judiciary and also confirmation of the presidential result. However, his powers are not entirely unchecked as he is elected by the Assembly of Experts and can even be recalled (Barrington, 2012). The Guardian Council can veto any parliament billed especially if determined that it is inconsistent with Islamic law or the Iranian Constitution. This is highly different from Russia’s power structure. This branch of government also approves potential presidential candidates and can reject any candidate and all women from running. The Iranian Government is also different from that of Russia’s due to the Assembly of Experts (Barrington, 2012). The Assembly of Experts is directly elected by the citizens of Iran. It is responsible for the appointment of the Supreme Leader and also in charge of his performance. The president in Iran is not as powerful as the one in Russia. In Iran, he is in charge of implementing the constitution and management of domestic policy. However, the Supreme Leader controls the armed forces which normally under the function of Russia’s president. Therefore, most powers of the Iranian president are highly limited. Numerous parallels can be drawn from most of the Iranian and Russia’s president especially in their speeches. There are similar motives in the addresses of the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei. The Russian president emphasizes mainly on self-sufficiency and sovereignty while the Iranian Supreme Leader applies a similar terminology whereby Iran must depend on its own potential for stability and growth (Tsygankov, 2016). For both countries, however, bureaucracy, corruption and inefficient structures have impeded the implementation of these objectives an also further strengthening and formation of bilateral associations with other countries (Tsygankov, 2016). The Iranian Parliament, known as Majlis, writes and votes on bills. The parliament also approves the national budget and has the authority to impeach the president and cabinet members. The Expediency Council is mainly considered as an advisory board for the Supreme Leader, who appoints around twenty members from among religious and political circles (Barrington, 2012). Similar to Russia’s Judiciary, the Iranian judiciary makes sure that every policy passed by the parliament must not undermine Islamic law. Freedom of speech In Russia, the freedom of expression has been slowly eroding as the Russian Government has made numerous promises towards the protection of human rights including the right to freedom of expression. However, Russia has introduced numerous restrictions to invasive surveillance of online activity and has prosecuted several critics under the guise of combating extremism within the country (Skillen, 2016). The Russian constitution has provided freedom of speech and also towards the press, however, the government’s application of this law, its bureaucratic regulations and numerous criminal investigations have led to numerous instances of censorship which has constrained the ability of the media to cover various controversial problems (Shiraev, 2013). This has only led towards infringements of these rights. The Russian government has exerted control over civil society by selectively implementing this law. Freedom of speech is also a significant issue in Iran. Censure policies are undermining this bas...