Could Iran democratize?
Yes, and sooner than you might think, argues Misagh Parsa in a thoughtful book on the state of dissent inside Iran. “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent… Read more »
Category: Iran
Iran’s regime ‘facing fundamental test of legitimacy’
Iranians voted for a new parliament Friday, with turnout seen as a key measure of support for Iran’s leadership as sanctions weigh on the economy and U.S. pressure isolates the… Read more »
‘Nowhere To Hide’: Who’s proliferating digital authoritarianism?
Is China pursuing a grand strategy to systematically proliferate digital authoritarian tools? China’s efforts vary by country, local context, and its own interests, argues Steven Feldstein, Chair of Public Affairs… Read more »
A catalyst for change in Iran?
Families of some protesters detained during the November unrest in Iran have been denied any information about them and fear they are dead, others who have been released say they… Read more »
‘Powder keg’ or ‘pressure cooker’? Iran’s unprecedented legitimacy crisis
Iran’s president warned Monday of threats to the Islamic Republic’s “democracy and national sovereignty,” after a body dominated by his ultra-conservative rivals disqualified thousands of candidates, weeks before elections, AFP… Read more »
‘Signposts of Struggle’: Iran’s protest movement endures
Human rights sources have reported that detained Iranian protesters are under severe torture in the notorious Fashafuyeh Prison in Tehran by IRGC intelligence agents. The detainees have been subjected to… Read more »
Will ‘unprecedented protests’ end Iraq’s status quo?
Tens of thousands of Iraqis converged on Baghdad to rally against the presence of U.S. military in the country amid a surge of anti-American sentiment unleashed by the targeted… Read more »
Fear and learning: Arab world not finished with democracy
A vibrant protest movement is visible in Iran and across the Middle East — but it isn’t calling for Islamic revolution, much less the tired misrule of the mullahs, The… Read more »
Iran’s ‘Chernobyl’ moment? U.S. pursuing strategy of ‘regime disruption’
There have been fresh protests in Tehran more than three days after the Iranian authorities admitted they accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner on January 8, killing 176 people, RFE/RL’s… Read more »
Iran’s totalitarianism, weak civil society could prompt ‘social explosion’
Prominent Iranian artists, inside and outside the country, have reacted to the brutal crackdown of recent protests in Iran, The Independent reports (HT:FDD). Amnesty International says Iranian authorities are continuing… Read more »