Once again, a reformist electoral victory has been followed by political setbacks. The key to understanding this paradoxical pattern lies in the unique theocratic constitutional structure of the Islamic Republic.
About the Authors
Ladan Boroumand
Ladan Boroumand is honorary professor of history at the University of Parma and cofounder and board member of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran. She is currently writing a book whose working title is The Islamic Republic’s War on Iranians, and How America Got Caught in It.
Roya Boroumand, a historian from Iran with a doctorate from the Sorbonne, is a specialist in Iran’s contemporary history and has been a consultant for Human Rights Watch.
The Iranian regime has sought to recast conventional principles of human rights and political participation by forging alliances with like-minded regimes and by broadcasting its narrative to an international audience.
There have been numerous waves of protest against the country’s corrupt theocracy. This time is different. It is a movement to reclaim life. Whatever happens, there is no going back.
