Sociological evaluation of " Iranian Despotism" theory for studying historical development of Iran

Among different views on historical development in Iran, political economy has been the dominant approach. This approach deliberately disregards culture and social behavior of people in understanding the development process. It also believes in the political determinacy of all forms of concentration of wealth, social classes and cultural demands. Among the sub-theories of political economy paradigm, “Iranian despotism” (by H. Katouzian) is has more academic credibility than other theories. In his study, Katouzian puts emphasis on the absence of contract (lack of rights and ownership) and tyranny (absence of law) as important causes of underdevelopment in Iran. In the explanation it gives of tyranny, lawlessness, and lack of accumulation and of property rights, this theory ignores the social and cultural conditions of society -or, legal-normative system. Iranian despotism is the other side of the coin of western constitutionalism and it follows a model of economic development dominant in western society. The present article criticizes the concepts of despotism and dichotomy of nation-state in this theory, exposing the elitist aspects of its approach.