The Lived Experience of the Governors of the Revolution in Stabilizing Post-Pahlavi Security in Iran

The purpose of the present study is to review the lived experience of the governors in stabilizing post-Pahlavi security in Iran. The approach of the research is qualitative and its strategy is phenomenology. Data collection tool was a semi-structured interview and the sample of study consisted of 10 governors from the first decade of the Islamic revolution who were selected by purposeful sampling based on theoretical saturation. In data analysis, the seven-step process of the Colaizzi method was used. The accuracy of the results was fortified by reviewing and confirming the interview texts by the participants, research colleagues, and with reference to historical documents. Based on the results, provision of machinery, equipment, preparation, emplacement of the fighters and people, accommodating rural refugees inside the cities, political , cultural, industrial, and economic measures for the development of Kurdestan, purging the administrations and selection of employees anew, compensation for the damages of crises, financing and spending excluded budget in the critical regions, and attempt to decrease ethnic conflicts were among the most important lived experiences of the governors in crisis management. The above-mentioned measures were under the influence of the revolution and the revolutionary governors directed their attention to the underprivileged groups and addressed their requests and attracted their forces from the poor neighborhood. Building power institutions from below and consolidation in the structure of power were two strategies that led to the competitor’s expulsion from power and dominance over the security crisis inside the country.