British Culture - User contributions [en]

1953 Coup d'état in Iran

2011-07-08T17:51:09Z

SebastianS:

'''1953 coup d'état in Iran
'''
On 19 August 1953 the American and British secret service removed Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh from government. He had been elected democratically, in fact, his government could be regarded as Iran's first and only democratic government. They restored the power of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a monarch, who discredited himself among the population through his authoritarian and suppressive rulership. American reporter Stephen Kinzer regards this coup as a „decisive turning point in twentieth-century history“, which ultimately lead to the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s and to the emergence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

== Mohammad Mossadegh ==

Born in 1882, Mossadegh later studied in Paris and Switzerland, where he received his doctorate. He was elected Prime Minister in 1951, after he promised to nationalise Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and reclaim the country's vast oil reserves. His struggle for his country's independence brought him the status of a national hero and anti-imperialist leader in Iran but also among other statesmen in Africa and the Middle East.

== British Imperialism and Iran ==

Even as early as the 19th century, Iran lay between the imperialist interests of the British and the Russian Empire. But Iran did not get Britain's full attention until oil became the important factor of the international struggle for power and wealth. In 1901 the British bought from the Iranian Shah the right „to obtain, exploit, develop, render suitable for trade, carry away and sell natural gas [and] petroleum […] for a term of sixty years.“ Out of this concession developed the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which later became British Petroleum or BP. Winston Churchill, who helped to further seize the country's oil industry in the late 1920, called the concessions „a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams.“ Anglo-Iranian Oil company became on of the most profitable British businesses in the world.

However, the Iranian population felt exploited, especially after constitutional revolutions which had established the Iranian parliament. The Anglo-Persian treaties did not represent the population. The British were regarded as colonialist oppressors who made treaties with weak and self-seeking monarchs. When Mossadegh came to power he did as promised and nationalised the Iranian oil industry. The British accused Iran of stealing their property, but neither their appeals in the World Court and the United Nations, nor embargoes and threats helped to persuade the new Iranian government. The United Kingdom even considered an attack on Iran but due to the lack of US-support no attack was executed. Among countries that had to suffer from colonialist or imperialist forces the USA was still considered anti-imperialist. Much of the Iranian population and even the Prime Minister had a relatively positive attitude towards the United States. In fact, American president Truman followed a rather passive containment doctrine and rejected any British plans of reclaiming Iranian oil by force.
The British finally persuaded the US when Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in November 1952. According to Eisenhower and his State Secretary John Foster Dulles containment had failed and therefore had to be replaced by the more active doctrine of liberation and roll-back. During the talks with the American leaders the British switched their focus from oil to an alleged communist threat in Iran. The coup was then ordered by Dwight D. Eisenhower and Winston Churchill.

----

'''Works cited'''

Kinzer, Stephen (2003). All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror.

Weiner, Tim (2007). The Legacy of Ashes. The History of the CIA.

1953 Coup d'état in Iran

2011-07-08T11:39:42Z

SebastianS: Created page with ''''1953 coup d'état in Iran ''' On 19 August 1953 the American and British secret service removed Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh from government. He had been elected…'

'''1953 coup d'état in Iran
'''
On 19 August 1953 the American and British secret service removed Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh from government. He had been elected democratically, in fact, his government could be regarded as Iran's first and only democratic government. They restored the power of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a monarch, who discredited himself among the population through his authoritarian and suppressive rulership. American reporter Stephen Kinzer regards this coup as a „decisive turning point in twentieth-century history“, which ultimately lead to the Iranian Revolution in the late 1970s and to the emergence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

== Mohammad Mossadegh ==

Born in 1882, Mossadegh later studied in Paris and Switzerland, where he received his doctorate. He was elected Prime Minister in 1951, after he promised to nationalise Anglo-Iranian Oil Company and reclaim the country's vast oil reserves. His struggle for his country's independence brought him the status of a national hero and anti-imperialist leader in Iran but also among other statesmen in Africa and the Middle East.

== British Imperialism and Iran ==

Even as early as the 19th century, Iran lay between the imperialist interests of the British and the Russian Empire. But Iran did not get Britain's full attention until oil became the important factor of the international struggle for power and wealth. In 1901 the British bought from the Iranian Shah the right „to obtain, exploit, develop, render suitable for trade, carry away and sell natural gas [and] petroleum […] for a term of sixty years.“ Out of this concession developed the Anglo-Persian Oil Company which later became British Petroleum or BP. Winston Churchill, who helped to further seize the country's oil industry in the late 1920, called the concessions „a prize from fairyland beyond our wildest dreams.“ Anglo-Iranian Oil company became on of the most profitable British businesses in the world.

However, the Iranian population felt exploited, especially after constitutional revolutions which had established the Iranian parliament. The Anglo-Persian treaties did not represent the population. The British were regarded as colonialist oppressors who made treaties with weak and self-seeking monarchs. When Mossadegh came to power he did as promised and nationalised the Iranian oil industry. The British accused Iran of stealing their property, but neither their appeals in the World Court and the United Nations, nor embargoes and threats helped to persuade the new Iranian government. The United Kingdom even considered an attack on Iran but due to the lack of US-support no attack was executed. Among countries that had to suffer from colonialist or imperialist forces the USA was still considered anti-imperialist. Much of the Iranian population and even the Prime Minister had a relatively positive attitude towards the United States. In fact, American president Truman followed a rather passive containment doctrine and rejected any British plans of reclaiming Iranian oil by force.
The British finally persuaded the US when Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected president in November 1952. According to Eisenhower and his State Secretary John Foster Dulles containment failed and therefore had to be replaced by the more active doctrine of liberation and roll-back. During the talks with the American leaders the British switched their focus from oil to the an alleged communist threat in Iran. The coup was then ordered by Dwight D. Eisenhower and Winston Churchill.

----

'''Works cited'''

Kinzer, Stephen (2003). All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror.

Weiner, Tim (2007). The Legacy of Ashes. The History of the CIA.

Panopticon

2011-05-19T19:54:43Z

SebastianS:

It was the English [[Utilitarian]] philosopher [[Jeremy Bentham]] (1748-1832), who originally proposed the Panopticon as an architectural model of a prison. Bentham imagined a design that would ensure efficient supervision of a large number of convicts by as few prison wards as possible. The Panopticon would be a circular building with an ''inspector’s lodge'' in its centre and cells set along its circumference. Due to its circular form a single warden would be able to supervise all cells in the whole room from within the inspector’s lodge. The convicts, on the other hand, would not be able to see the warden.

''“The essence of it consists, then, in the centrality of the inspector's situation, combined with the well-known and most effectual contrivances for seeing without being seen.”'' (Bentham, Letter V)

This would help to enforce discipline in the prison as each convict would always have to assume that he or she might be watched any time. Ultimately, a warden might not be needed anymore, as the psychological effects of ''the apparent omnipresence of the inspector'' would still apply.

== Michel Foucault and the Panopticon ==

French philosopher [[Michel Foucault]] (1926-1984) used Bentham’s idea of the Panopticon in order to describe modern societies and their modes of social control. According to him power does no longer seem to show itself explicitly. Supervision and discipline is acted out by various institutions and authorities (e.g. schools, factories, prisons, and military) and power has become so entrenched in our society that it has become a ‘disciplinary society’, in which its people constantly observe and discipline each other and themselves.

----

Works cited:

Foucault, Michel. Überwachen und Strafen: Die Geburt des Gefängnisses. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp, 1994.

Raffinsoe, Sverre. Foucault: Studienhandbuch. München: UTB, 2011.

----
Bentham, Jeremy. The Panopticon Writings. London: Verso, 1995, p. 29-95 (http://cartome.org/panopticon2.htm).

Panopticon

2011-05-19T19:53:35Z

SebastianS:

It was the English [[Utilitarian]] philosopher [[Jeremy Bentham]] (1748-1832), who originally proposed the Panopticon as an architectural model of a prison. Bentham imagined a design that would ensure efficient supervision of a large number of convicts by as few prison wards as possible. The Panopticon would be a circular building with an ''inspector’s lodge'' in its centre and cells set along its circumference. Due to its circular form a single warden would be able to supervise all cells in the whole room from within the inspector’s lodge. The convicts, on the other hand, would not be able to see the warden.

''“The essence of it consists, then, in the centrality of the inspector's situation, combined with the well-known and most effectual contrivances for seeing without being seen.”'' (Bentham, Letter V)

This would help to enforce discipline in the prison as each convict would always have to assume that he or she might be watched any time. Ultimately, a warden might not be needed anymore, as the psychological effects of ''the apparent omnipresence of the inspector'' would still apply.

== Michel Foucault and the Panopticon ==

French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) used Bentham’s idea of the Panopticon in order to describe modern societies and their modes of social control. According to him power does no longer seem to show itself explicitly. Supervision and discipline is acted out by various institutions and authorities (e.g. schools, factories, prisons, and military) and power has become so entrenched in our society that it has become a ‘disciplinary society’, in which its people constantly observe and discipline each other and themselves.

----

Works cited:

Foucault, Michel. Überwachen und Strafen: Die Geburt des Gefängnisses. Frankfurt a.M.: Suhrkamp, 1994.

Raffinsoe, Sverre. Foucault: Studienhandbuch. München: UTB, 2011.

----
Bentham, Jeremy. The Panopticon Writings. London: Verso, 1995, p. 29-95 (http://cartome.org/panopticon2.htm).

Panopticon

2011-05-19T19:45:42Z

SebastianS:

It was the English [[Utilitarian]] philosopher [[Jeremy Bentham]] (1748-1832), who originally proposed the Panopticon as an architectural model of a prison. Bentham imagined a design that would ensure efficient supervision of a large number of convicts by as few prison wards as possible. The Panopticon would be a circular building with an ''inspector’s lodge'' in its centre and cells set along its circumference. Due to its circular form a single warden would be able to supervise all cells in the whole room from within the inspector’s lodge. The convicts, on the other hand, would not be able to see the warden.

''“The essence of it consists, then, in the centrality of the inspector's situation, combined with the well-known and most effectual contrivances for seeing without being seen.”''

This would help to enforce discipline in the prison as each convict would always have to assume that he or she might be watched any time. Ultimately, a warden might not be needed anymore, as the psychological effects of ''"the apparent omnipresence of the inspector"'' would still apply.

== Michel Foucault and the Panopticon ==

French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926-1984) used Bentham’s idea of the Panopticon in order to describe modern societies and their modes of social control. According to him power does no longer seem to show itself explicitly. Supervision and discipline is acted out by various institutions and authorities (e.g. schools, factories, prisons, and military) and power has become so entrenched in our society that it has become a ‘disciplinary society’, in which its people constantly observe and discipline each other and themselves.

Panopticon

2011-05-19T11:31:51Z

SebastianS:

Panopticon

2011-05-19T11:23:06Z

SebastianS:

Panopticon

It was the English [[Utilitarian]] philosopher [[Jeremy Bentham]] (1748-1832), who originally proposed the Panopticon as an architectural model of a prison. Bentham imagined a design that would ensure efficient supervision of a large number of convicts by as few prison wards as possible. The Panopticon would be a circular building with an ''inspector’s lodge'' in its centre and cells set along its circumference. Due to its circular form a single warden would be able to supervise all cells in the whole room from within the inspector’s lodge. The convicts, on the other hand, would not be able to see the warden.

''“The essence of it consists, then, in the centrality of the inspector's situation, combined with the well-known and most effectual contrivances for seeing without being seen.”''

This would help to enforce discipline in the prison as each convict would always have to assume that he or she might be watched any time.

Panopticon

2011-05-19T09:59:53Z

SebastianS: Created page with 'English Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) originally proposed the Panopticon as a model prison.'

English Utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) originally proposed the Panopticon as a model prison.