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Reformism, the Green Movement and Kurdish Prospects in Iran
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the impact of reformism, especially the Green Movement that came to the fore in the aftermath of Iran’s 2009 presidential election, on future prospects for the Kurds in Iran. The victory of the reformist cleric Mohammad Khatami in Iran’s presidential election of 1997 was welcomed by the Kurds. However, the reform movement (the Second of Khordad Movement) that brought Khatami to power and provided him with political backing proved to be weak. In addition to limits imposed on the authority of the president by the Iranian constitution, Khatami and his supporters were challenged in all arenas by their conservative opponents. When challenged, Khatami always conceded. The closing down of the reformist newspapers and organizations as well as jailing of supporters of political reform have gone unchallenged by Khatami, save occasional speeches he delivers denouncing violations of the rule of law. In Kurdistan, the arrest of officials, some of whom had identified with Khatami’s programs, continued to tarnish the reformists’ image among the Kurds. Furthermore, the presence of many individuals in the reform movement who had earlier participated in the suppression of Kurdish uprisings created obstacles for Iran’s reform movement to accommodate Kurdish demands. This partly explains why the voter turnout was among the lowest in the country in the first post-Khatami presidential election in 2005. Although Mostafa Moin, the presidential candidate of the reformist camp, made a special effort to woo voters from non-Persian nationalities and turn Iran’s multinational character into an important part of his platform, the Kurds did not support his candidacy in 2005. Similarly, Iran’s 2009 presidential election which led to the emergence of the Green Movement and the most extensive manifestation of popular outpouring for change in Iran since 1978, did not create grassroots support for the reformists in the Kurdish-majority provinces in the country. This paper seeks to explain the structural causes of discontent with reformism among the Iranian Kurds and analyze prospects for accommodation between the Kurds and the reformists in the future. Primary Kurdish sources as well as Iranian and Western sources will be used in this study.
Discipline
Political Science
Geographic Area
Kurdistan
Sub Area
19th-21st Centuries