"Coercive cohesion is the cement of the system: The ability of parallel security and political institutions to keep acting together, even when legitimacy erodes. When that cohesion holds, the system absorbs shocks that would more conventional states would fall under. Iran is not a single pyramid with one man at the apex. It is a heterarchical, networked state: Overlapping hubs of power around the Supreme Leader's office, the Revolutionary Guards, intelligence organs, clerical gatekeepers, and a patronage economy."
"In such a system, removing one node, even the most symbolic one, does not reliably collapse the structure; redundancy and substitute chains of command are a design feature. Decapitation a prominent narrative after US President Donald Trump's tactical success in Venezuela thus looks less like a strategy and more like a gamble on chaos. This is why Trump's dilemma matters."
Illiberal systems can appear most permanent immediately before change, and upheaval can create the illusion that a single external blow will collapse them. Iran's resilience rests on coercive cohesion: parallel security and political institutions that keep functioning together even as legitimacy erodes. The state is heterarchical and networked, with overlapping hubs of power—Supreme Leader's office, Revolutionary Guards, intelligence organs, clerical gatekeepers, and a patronage economy—so removing one node often fails to topple the system. Decapitation strategies therefore risk producing chaos rather than decisive collapse. Political and regional constraints limit feasible US military options, encouraging quick punitive strikes without post-conflict obligations.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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