The Institutionalization of Press Control in Mid-Nineteenth Century Iran

Press laws are regarded as the primary and most visible means of controlling the press. However, the absence of formal regulations does not equate to a lack of control. Unwritten regulations play a significant role in overseeing the press before the enactment of laws. The first Iranian press law was legislated in 1908, seventy-one years after the first newspaper was published. What happened during this period regarding emerging norms and regulations aiming to control the press is this paper’s topic. I argue that a series of ad hoc measures guided the state to manage its relationship with printed materials and the press in particular, later evolving into an institutionalized form of social and political control, eventually manifesting in government institutions and press legislation. Building on this argument, the paper challenges conventional narratives of Iran’s press history in two ways. First, these accounts, mostly developed retrospectively, often interpret the establishment of press-related institutions such as the Publications Bureau as acts of censorship. I argue the press regulations emerged alongside the creation of press-related institutions, rather than preceding them. Second, these perspectives are often press-centric. I argue that early systematic control largely targeted book publications and only gradually extended to the press.