When Soft Power Works—The Transient Constitutional Revolution of Iran

In Summer 1906, more than 10 thousand Iranian citizens camped at downtown Tehran, requesting the government to re-establish the constitution. In October, the parliament held the first legislative assembly and discussed about the establishment of the constitution. In December, the king signed the constitution, marking an end to 200 years of dictatorship. The revolution succeeded without bloodshed, which was deemed impossible. However, the success was short-lived. Russia and the United Kingdom took advantage of Iran’s weak government and divided the country between them. In 1911, Iran’s constitutional period was ended easily by force.


About the Documentary

Iran: The Hundred-Year War
Directed by: Jean Michel Vecchiet
From the exploitation of oil reserves to the Constitutional Revolution, and from the Anglo-Soviet invasion to the Islamic Revolution, this documentary looks back over 100 years of Iranian history, and records what the country has been through from 1905 to 2009. It shows the viewers how Iran finds its way to modernization in the midst of wars.