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The Author examines the Khomeini Regime's process of power consolidation before, during and after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Using this event as a case study in coercive power consolidation, the author determines the Khomeini Regime's co-optation and incorporation (through coercion and persuasion) of the Iranian military was the first and crucial step in this process. He further examines the Islamic Republic of Iran's use of the military to then consolidate its power by suppressing ethnic minorities, political opposition groups, and religious minorities. Throughout the thesis, the Khomeini Regime's practice of demonizing its enemies will be examine as a principal component of the power consolidation process. The major conclusion of this study is that the essence of regime legitimization was grounded in the incorporation of the army as a necessary element of power. The regime then used the army to suppress those elements of society that it deemed threatening or unnecessary.http://archive.org/details/theiranirevoluti1094530556NANAU.S. Air Force (U.S.A.F.) author