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 »
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The last time democracy nearly died
The last time democracy nearly died all over the world and almost all at once, Americans argued about it, and then they tried to fix it, notes Jill Lepore, a… 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 »
Democracy embattled: How bad is the crisis?
Around the world, democracies are getting weaker and elected politicians are becoming more unpopular. Are they serving the people—or themselves? The Economist asks (see below). The Crisis of Democracy and… Read more »
Iranian democracy: playing the long game
Civil society activist Mariam Memarsadeghi and her NGO Tavaana aren’t planning for the “day of” the revolution, the way so many other opponents of the Iranian regime seem to be…. Read more »
Captive Society: What do Iran’s leaders really fear?
What do Iran’s leaders really fear? New York Times columnist Bret Stephens asks. Above all, a revival of the Green Movement that nearly toppled the regime following the stolen presidential… Read more »
Downplaying Islamism, regime aims to demobilize Iran’s ‘underground but still vibrant’ civil society
The European Union decided on Monday to extend restrictive measures imposed against Iran to last for an additional year until April 13, 2020, due to “serious human rights violations”… Read more »
Iran tilts to the right: fueling unrest, punishing dissent
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei is doubling down on his regime’s policies of persecution, power projection and terror by appointing hard-line loyalists in a bid to ensure that critical state institutions remain… Read more »
Iran’s Islamic Republic faces three converging threats
As the Islamic Republic concludes its fourth decade, the country faces three converging threats, according to Saeid Golkar, a visiting assistant professor in political science at the University of Tennessee… Read more »
Losing legitimacy: Iran’s Islamic Republic ‘on brink of collapse’?
“Is the Islamic Republic on the brink of collapse?” was the title of a long interview published by the Iranian news agency Tasnim. To fully appreciate the true explosive power… Read more »