Analyzing the mechanism of spatial exercise of power in the early Pahlavi era from the perspective of Henri Lefebvre's views

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty of Education, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran

Abstract
The years of Reza Shah’s rule should be considered as a period of implementation of policies that were in fact aimed at social engineering Iranians in order to redesign society. It was within this framework that the category of “space” as one of the central elements of society played a prominent role in the exercise of government dominance. The following article attempts to examine the role of the first Pahlavi policies in the field of urban design in the expansion and spread of government power. In this regard, the main question of the article is how Reza Shah’s policies in the field of urban development were able to lead to the implementation and spread of government power. The article’s hypothesis is that Reza Shah’s urban modernization policies were able to control, regulate, and homogenize citizens’ perceptions by taking control of space. The first Pahlavi was able to "colonize space" through modern urban constructions such as the destruction of the old fabric and the construction of new streets, the installation of sculptures, and the establishment of public and government buildings such as the railway station, the National Bank, the Museum of Ancient Iran, the Ministry of Finance, etc., to form a space that would lead to control, orderliness, and homogenization of citizens' perceptions, and the imposition of the greatness of the ruling ideology on the individual.

Keywords



Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 12 September 2026