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Making Sense of Protests in Iran: Ideology, International Politics and Domestic Conflicts
Abstract by Dr. Paola Rivetti On Session 030  (Iran: From Reform to Protest)

On Friday, November 19 at 08:30 am

2010 Annual Meeting

Abstract
Green wave's protests are often among the first ten headlines of international newspapers, yet they are superficially described or not contextualized in the longer history of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The recent protests (Ashura and 22 bahman's celebrations) and President Ahmadinejad's declarations on nuclear enrichment have shown that the situation is complex and hardly conceivable as the last chapter of a historical struggle of a "homogeneous Iranian people" against a "homogeneous government" for freedom and democracy. This paper aims at investigating 3 aspects of the present situation to point out some elements which may be useful to make sense of the direction Iran has taken (or is taking). International politics, ideological orientation, domestic conflicts and a critical perspective may tell us something more about the protests than the definition of current events as an overall fight for freedom. The first dimension is the "ideological" one. It seeks at considering the relation between the green movement and the reform movement - and the whole revolutionary ideology, paying attention to their inner heterogeneity, ambiguity and re-interpretation of the revolutionary legacy. The strength of the boundaries between these two political experiences are evident: the leaders and many of the key words mobilizing people to protest are highly similar, or even the same. This investigation is important as we may individuate some directions of the protests. Second, we address our attention to the social and political composition of the green movement. Indeed it has changed since last June: hows Why Through which kind of means has the government succeed in reducing/managing the participation to demonstrations. The third trajectory to be followed is linked to international politics. Recent changes in American as well as European attitude toward Iran must be taken into consideration to deliver a more precise analysis of the Iranian situation. The nuclear talks, in particular, are of great importance to understand both Iranian reactions to domestic dissent and the strives dividing the different souls of the "hard-line conservative" government. The sources are collected from speeches, Iranian/international newspapers, and from the account of direct witnesses.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Iran
Sub Area
None