The Landscape of Factional Politics and Its Future in Iran

This article offers a schematic overview of factional politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran. In addition to the divisions between those who oppose the Islamic Republic and those who support it, there has come to be a lively debate and competition among the major factions of those supporting the system, defined here as "reformists, pragmatists and fundamentalists." These factions have been evolving towards traditional political parties in which substantive issues, rather than ideological stances, dominate. The article analyzes each of these factional groupings in turn, as well as their political discourse on domestic and international issues. It then offers an analysis of this evolution.