Is Iran Democratizing? Reform at an Impasse

Issue Date October 2000
Volume 11
Issue 4
Page Numbers 114-128
file Print
arrow-down-thin Download from Project MUSE
external View Citation

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.

Further Reading

Volume 26, Issue 2

The Authoritarian Resurgence: Iran’s Paradoxical Regime

Iran’s authoritarianism is more flexible and more durable than its detractors would hope, yet more fragile and endangered than its defenders claim.

Volume 11, Issue 4

Is Iran Democratizing? Voices From Within: Excerpts from the Iranian Press

Four excerpts from the Iranian press-on elections and democracy and on religious intolerance and intellectual pluralism-suggest the extent to which democratic thinking has gained a foothold in Iran.

Volume 26, Issue 2

The Authoritarian Resurgence: Iran Abroad

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.