By Michael Allen on July 1, 2009
Amid signs of growing police brutality and arbitrary violence, the Iranian authorities are stepping up their repression of dissenters now that the Guardian Council has validated the June 12 election presidential results.
The government closed the reformist newspaper Etemad Melli after defeated presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi, who is associated with the publication, insisted that Mahmoud Ahmedinejad [read full story]
Posted in Elections, Iran, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa, authoritarianism, protests | Tagged Abbas Milani, Amir Taheri, Basij, Council of Guardians, Etemad Melli, Guardian Council, Islam, Islamist politics, Khomeinist Revolution, Mehdi Karroubi, Mir Hussein Mousavi, Nader Hashemi, Reuel Marc Gerecht, Revolutionary Guard, Secularism and Liberal Democracy, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei |
By Michael Allen on June 15, 2009
Up to 2 million supporters of Mir-Hossein Mousavi today defied a ban by the Interior Ministry to rally in huge numbers to protest against alleged fraud in the recent presidential election. Hundreds of thousands marched despite Moussavi’s appeal to his supporters to stay at home to avoid clashes with police and the basij militia.
The opposition [read full story]
Posted in Backlash, Elections, Iran, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa, National Endowment for Democracy, authoritarianism | Tagged Ali Ansari, Amir Taheri, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Basij, electoral fraud, Guardian Council, Mir Hossein Mousavi, presidential election |
By Michael Allen on June 12, 2009
Is today’s Iranian presidential election “a festival of freedom or a cover for theocracy?’ asks Elliott Abrams, George W. Bush’s deputy national security adviser and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. This week’s elections in Lebanon and Iran can be seen as twin tests of efforts to spread democracy to the Muslim world, [read full story]
Posted in Elections, Human rights, Iran, Islam/politics, Labour/labor unions, Middle East and North Africa, NGOs/Civil society, Women, authoritarianism, democracy promotion, promoting democracy | Tagged Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, civil society, Council on Foreign Relations, Democracy in the Muslim World, Elections in the Islamic Republic of Iran., Elliott Abrams, Guardian Council, Iranian presidential election, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, muslim democracy, Neither Free nor Fair, promoting democracy, promoting democracy in the Middle East, Roxana Saberi |
By Michael Allen on June 11, 2009
A reformist victory would have relatively little impact on U.S. prospects for constructive engagement with Tehran or, more specifically, for frustrating Iran’s ambitions to acquire nuclear weapons, says Princeton’s Daniel Kliman. Washington should be wary of relying on those perceived as relatively moderate, he cautions.
“Iran’s actual decision-making process is opaque, and the influence reformists wield [read full story]
Posted in Analysis, Elections, Iran, Islam/politics, Middle East and North Africa | Tagged constructive engagement, Guardian Council, Iran election, Islamic Republic, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Mohammed Khatami, Ray Takeyh, reformists |
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