• Privacy
  • Terms of Use
  • About
  • Contact

Cold War

Before, During, and After the Cold War

  • Podcast
  • Red Scare
  • Cuba
  • Iran
  • Urbanization
  • Spy
  • Afghanistan
  • Taiwan
  • Vietnam
  • Timelines

IRAN 1960: KENNEDY PUSHES LAND REFORM

February 25, 2012 by Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

Land Reform in Iran

In 1960, the Kennedy administration came to office determined to shift the shah’s preoccupation from military security to economic progress. The Americans were even willing to limit American aid as leverage.

In Iran, American influence was clearly reflected in the shah’s decision to inaugurate land reform. It seemed as if the US was successfully dictating the terms of Iran’s future development.

Iran was expected to use its own oil revenues. However, the US did offer a $3.5 million dollar loan contingent on structural change.

In September 1959, at the request of Iran’s minister of agriculture, the Agency for International Development (AID) mission actually drafted the first part of the program, the initial land reform law.

American insistence on reform reflected the Kennedy administration’s concern over the likelihood of peasant uprisings and communist revolutions such as those that had taken place in China, Cuba, and Vietnam.

In the case of Iran, the American government was especially worried about the impact of

the Iraqi revolution of 1958 and fears of possible similar mass uprisings in Iran. The Americans hoped that land reform would stabilize the countryside and prevent the development of major pressures from below. . . extensive economic problems and political discontents prompted the American government to demand agrarian reform as a condition for financial assistance to Iran.

Land reform proved quite difficult to set in motion.

The original bill was modified by the landlord-dominated Majles to such an extent that it became almost impossible to implement.

In January 1962, a land reform decree was promulgated, with the encouragement and advice of US officials. A second stage of reform came into effect in January 1963, but it was considered so radical that its provisions were diluted in 1964.

Ramifications of both the reform struggle and the economic situation were severe.

A stabilization effort, recommended by the International Monetary Fund, spurred a recession that negatively affected most social groups and classes. This situation, combined with government attacks on the landed upper class and the clergy, resulted in a collective action which “consisted primarily of segments of the bazaars and urban poor in a few major cities.” Discontent extended to the countryside where

even for the favored peasants of the first phase of reform not enough was done to make available to them appropriate means to increase production for most of them to become significantly more prosperous. As government price controls increasingly favored city dwellers, considered politically volatile, and in effect subsidized foreign grain growers by paying them, but not Iranians, world market prices, peasants became a disfavored class, although there were exceptions. As for the laborers who got no land in villages, affected by the first reform phase, they were less likely to be hired by cultivating peasants than by the old landlords, and  most of them joined in the swelling migration to the cities . . . .

Regardless of the distrust and distaste that many Iranians expressed toward the US and the reform package

the United States government welcomed the Shah’s reforms and continued to praise him as a progressive leader and a Western ally.

In fact:

the nation’s strategic importance was attracting more attention from the United States.

Photograph by Lisa Reynolds Wolfe.

We’re tweeting the Cold War. Please follow us on Twitter.

Filed Under: Iran

Stay Up to Date: Join Cold War Studies

Sign up to receive email updates and our latest blog posts.

About Lisa Reynolds Wolfe

Widely published, Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and a Master of Science in Policy Analysis and Public Management from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Areas of particular interest and expertise include Cold War Studies, sustainable development, heritage, and the environment.

How Much Do You Know?

Want to find out how much you really know about the Cold War. Click here to take our quiz. 

Disappointed with your results. Join Cold War Studies and Download our free ebook  Cold War History A to Z. You’ll get a quick and easy pathway to instant expertise.

Join Cold War Studies and Get Our Free E-Book

Want a quick deep dive into the Cold War? Join Cold War Studies and get Cold War History A to Z for free. You'll also receive occasional email updates and our latest blog posts.

We respect your privacy and will never share your information

Follow Us On Twitter

usertimeline

Cold War Studies Follow

A Cold War historian, Lisa holds a Ph.D. in Politics from New York University and a MS in Policy Analysis and Public Management from SUNY Stony Brook.

Avatar
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
12 Aug

The long road to the climate bill https://www.axios.com/2022/08/11/climate-bill-what-is-different-now

Reply on Twitter 1558098764136685569 Retweet on Twitter 1558098764136685569 Like on Twitter 1558098764136685569 Twitter 1558098764136685569
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
12 Aug

More spy tools in upcoming exhibit: https://www.nixonfoundation.org/2022/08/cold-war-close-cia-spy-tools/

Reply on Twitter 1558096567642497025 Retweet on Twitter 1558096567642497025 Like on Twitter 1558096567642497025 Twitter 1558096567642497025
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
11 Aug

How Ecotherapy Can Soothe Climate Change Anxiety | Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-neurodivergent-therapist/202208/how-ecotherapy-can-soothe-climate-change-anxiety

Reply on Twitter 1557715153369571328 Retweet on Twitter 1557715153369571328 Like on Twitter 1557715153369571328 Twitter 1557715153369571328
Avatar Cold War Studies @coldwarstudies ·
11 Aug

Did you know? The United States has fallen from second to 16th since 2000 among developed nations in the proportion of 25- to 34-year-olds with bachelor’s degrees. (NBC News)

Reply on Twitter 1557708806896947201 Retweet on Twitter 1557708806896947201 Like on Twitter 1557708806896947201 Twitter 1557708806896947201
Load More

Check Out Our Red Scare White Paper

Read all about the Red Scare. Just click on the cover below.

Most Popular Posts

The First Red Scare: A Timeline

History of Colonization in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Precursor to Cold War Conflict

The End of the Cold War: A Cold War Timeline

Korean War Music

The Red Scare

Cold War Chile

The Cold War: Decolonization and Conflict in the Third World

Palestine-Israel Timeline: 1930-1939

Cold War Argentina: The Dirty War

Egypt Transfers Loyalty From The USSR To The US In The Middle Of The Cold War

 

Read a Cold War Studies White Paper on Cold War FACTS

Get the inside scoop on the Cold War.  Just click on the image to get started.

Copyright © 2022 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in