The protests in Iran, like those elsewhere, are the outcome of discontent in our circumstance and the present situation in the world.
The new dimension of these social upheavals was a coalition between young educated people who think they have no future under the current system, and the least advantaged groups.
A closer look at Rouhani’s economic achievements, shows that his administration has had little success and disappointed many segments of Iranian society.
Iran’s recent protests shattered the myth of the Islamic Republic’s solid base among Iranian working class and traditionalist rural-dwellers and the simplistic narrative of middle class versus working class protesters.
What we see happening in Iran is the emergence of a new discourse that combines old traditions and new ideas that will strengthen a home-grown democracy.
Without addressing head-on the drivers of the protests and pursuing popular reform, the Iranian leaders are only buying time until the next standoff between the state and the society.
The gap between power and society is also growing inexorably in Iran.
Trump-MBS strategy has not made significant headway. Will they succeed in escalating anti-Shia confrontation against Iran and its allies?
How is the Saudi-Iranian rivalry overwriting the Arab Spring’s key messages?
Asef Bayat talks about revolutions and revolutionary ideas, the place of ordinary people in social transformation, and what we can learn from the “Tahrir moment.”
Who controls Syria’s borders? The US and Israel are encouraging Syrian Kurds to fight the regime and its allies for border control. The ensuing mayhem might unravel the Mideast and far beyond.
