Ideological Collapse and Coercive Consolidation: When Revolutionary Governance Becomes Its Own Antithesis
February 4, 2026
This article examines the Iranian regime’s evolution from Platonic revolutionary ideals to a coercive state maintained by the IRGC. Analyzing the 2026 protests, it argues that the fusion of absolute power and ideology inevitably leads to a legitimacy crisis, where institutional survival through force supersedes foundational moral principles.