Abstract

From Benjamin’s perspective, violence within any legal order serves two primary functions. First is its law-making function, which constitutes the origin of every legal and juridical order. The second is its law-preserving function—an inherent aspect of any legal system designed to maintain and uphold existing laws. While the primary (or law-making) form of violence refers to the creative act of establishing power, the secondary (or law-preserving) form of violence is typically institutionalized within the state apparatus, aiming to ensure the continuity and durability of the original founding violence. With this theoretical framework in mind, the present study seeks to explore the relationship between violence and law in the formation of the modern state under Reza Shah Pahlavi, particularly in relation to his modernization policies. The findings suggest that, like all political founders, Reza Shah initially employed mythic or law-making violence—manifested in the coup d’état of February 1921—to establish the new regime. Subsequently, he relied on law-preserving violence—through the legal and administrative capacities of institutions such as the Constitution, the Parliament, and the bureaucracy—to consolidate both the modern state and the newly founded Pahlavi dynasty through a top-down modernization program.