singular state

[pars]

Dear all:
What does "singular state" mean in the following passage? It is from the book The Iranian Crisis and the Birth of the Cold War by Benjamin F. Harper, p. 105.

"Iran in the first half of the twentieth century was not the autocratic and singular state that it came to be in the second half."

I guess it means "a country with a a political leader who possess absolute power", but I did not find such a meaning for "singular".
Many thanks in advance

 

[jutfrank]

It probably means something like 'defined by its own unique characteristics'.

 

[pars]

It probably means something like 'defined by its own unique characteristics'.

Thanks very much, dear Jutfrank. I should say Iran in the second half of the twentieth century was under the absolute rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as far as this Shah decided about 70 present of the country budget personally, and the rest of it was discussed in the Parliament. I think "singular state" may refer to this autocracy.

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks very much, dear jutfrank.

Reserve this use of "dear" for your family and friends. It's not appropriate for strangers on a forum.

I should say that Iran in the second half of the twentieth century was under the absolute rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. as far as this Shah decided about 70 present of the country's budget personally, and the rest of it was discussed in the Parliament. I think "singular state" may refer to this autocracy.

 

[jutfrank]

Thanks very much, dear Jutfrank. I should say Iran in the second half of the twentieth century was under the absolute rule of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, as far as this Shah decided about 70 present of the country budget personally, and the rest of it was discussed in the Parliament. I think "singular state" may refer to this autocracy.

Possibly, yes. To be honest, you know better than me since you have much more context. The sentence you posted feels like it could be the first sentence of a paragraph. Think about the whole paragraph in view of the chapter title to help you interpret the sentence faithfully.