The formation of the modern legal subject and the development of citizenship in Iran between two revolutions (1906-1979)

This article explores the formation of the modern legal subject in post-constitutional and Pahlavi Iran (1906-1979) and its relationship to citizenship. It first explores, at an abstract level, the relationship between law, subject-formation and citizenship before looking at the historical and comparative aspects of personhood in the Western and Islamic legal traditions. This forms the backdrop for analysis of the legal reforms triggered by the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, with a particular focus on the civil and penal codes which were promulgated under Reza Shah and the complex and conflicted notions of subjectivity and citizenship which they nurtured. The article will conclude with some observations about the relationship between law, subjectivity and citizenship between the two revolutions and beyond.