Iran’s key governance challenge can be framed as a meta-problem of rational decision-making and administrative logic shaped by historical experience and evolving political conditions.
Crises continuously reshape priorities, but some issues remain persistent and systemic, forming a “complex layer” of governance problems.
Historically, Iran has experienced two major trajectories:
- Post-1979 institutional attempts at revolutionary transformation, which were only partially realized.
- Post-war adoption of Western-style technocratic models, which became embedded in administrative systems.
- Meanwhile, military experience successfully institutionalized a form of strategic “revolutionary rationality.”
Core Reform Priorities for Iran’s Future Decision-Making System
Today, the central issue is the lack of a unified and coherent national governance rationality.
Four core requirements for future governance reform are:
- Building national consensus on what constitutes real public problems.
- Treating governance as a public, society-inclusive system.
- Managing complexity without oversimplification.
- Integrating domestic decision-making with regional and global realities.
Overall, Iran’s future governance depends on developing a stable, modern, and integrated decision-making system capable of handling complex internal and international challenges.
This study is conducted by Arash Shams, Master’s Student in Public Policy, University of Tehran in 2026.
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