Political Participation in Iran from Khatami to the Green Movement

by Paola Rivetti

Overview

This book examines the unintended consequences of top-down reforms in Iran, analysing how the Iranian reformist governments (1997–2005) sought to utilise gradual reforms to control independent activism, and how citizens responded to such a disciplinary action. While the governments successfully ‘set the field’ of permitted political participation, part of the civil society that took shape was unexpectedly independent. Despite being a minority, independent activists were not marginal: without them, in fact, the Green Movement of 2009 would not have taken shape. Building on in-depth empirical analysis, the author explains how autonomous activism forms and survives in a semi-authoritarian country. The book contributes to the debate about the implications of elite-led reforms for social reproduction, offering an innovative interpretation and an original analysis of social movements from a political science perspective.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030322007
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	12/26/2019
Series:	Middle East Today
Edition description:	1st ed. 2020
Pages:	202
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Paola Rivetti is Assistant Professor in Politics and International Relations in the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University, Ireland.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction. Political participation and reformism in Iran.- Chapter 2. Locating Reform. The origin of reformism and situated research.- Chapter 3. Reformism as a state project.- Chapter 4. Reformism, Political Participation and Civil Society. Crafting consent and managing counter-power.- Chapter 5. Reformism, political participation and resistance.- Chapter 6. Conclusion. Lineages of change.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Paola Rivetti’s fascinating study of the potential for revolutionary change in Iran links social movement studies theory to political science debates about elite-led liberalization and the potential for meaningful institutional reforms. While examining how government officials seek to utilize gradual reforms to deflate the revolutionary potential of challengers, Rivetti brings forth the agency of citizens and how they have independently imagined a trajectory for participation beyond what the regime intended. Based on years of field research with activists and civil society groups, this book offers a careful look at how regime-citizen relations have evolved and how even micro shifts in those relations—changes that seem insignificant in the near term—can create the potential for greater challenges down the road.” (Jillian Schwedler, Hunter College & The Graduate Center, City University of New York)

“This is a groundbreaking book on the complex internal dynamics of Iranian politics that led to the emergence of a reformist movement and the election of Khatami as president. Although reformist politics in Iran has proven its resilience during the Green Movement protests and subsequent elections, there are clear rifts among the grassroots whose agendas are diverging from the established formal leaders. Rather than focusing exclusively on formal institutions and ruling political elites, as most academic writings on Iran tend to do, this book questions how and why grassroots organizers and activists have managed to create and maintain autonomous political spaces of participation despite relentless state repression and attempts by reformist elites to co-opt and control their momentum. This is a major contribution to understanding how social movements create spaces of autonomy and popular counterpower from below.” (Kaveh Ehsani, DePaul University)

“In this remarkable book, Paola Rivetti sheds a light on how authoritarian reforms have produced anindependent activist milieu in Iran. During years of immersion in the field, she has acquired an intimate knowledge of the activists’ life stories, their fears and hopes. Through grounded analysis and patient observation, this book transforms our understanding of the interaction between institutional politics and political contestation in authoritarian contexts.” (Frédéric Vairel, University of Ottawa)