Dissertation
The State, Entrepreneur, and Labour in the Establishment of the Iranian Copper Mining Industry: The Sarechhemseh Copper Mine 1966-1979
Abdolreza Alamdar Baghini defended his thesis on 5 December 2019.
- Author
- A. Alamdar Baghini
- Date
- 05 December 2019
- Links
- Leiden Repository
The Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine was the world’s second largest open pit copper deposit in the 1970s. Currently, it is the largest in the Middle East and retains its place as one of the biggest copper processing complexes in the world. This thesis examines the formation of the modern copper mining industry in Iran, with particular focus on the establishment of Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine. It is elaborated within the theory of developmental state and accentuates an assortment of factors including political stability, relatively autonomous institutions with equitable performance, conversant technocrats committed to the national interest, a development-oriented state, and the growth of oil revenue.It then aimed to highlight the significance of the structure of mine ownership and the presence of the state in transforming the social policy, industrial relations, and mode of management in the Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine. These factors were instrumental in the formation of a working class, which was inspired by working-class power to indicate the role of the workers’ background and the company’s welfare policy in the workers’ response to the political unrest during the 1979 Revolution.
Promotor: prof. dr. T. Atabaki