Iran After the Election

Columbia University – School of International and Public Affairs| 5 December 2009

The recent elections in Iran, and subsequent challenges to their legitimacy, have been a matter of enormous internal conflict in Iran, and of seemingly endless debate in the rest of the world.  As protesters continue to take to the Iranian street to voice their opposition to the elections, fault-lines are emerging amongst the ruling elite.  These momentous events constitute a significant challenge to the legitimacy of the Iranian regime and the future of the Islamic Republic.  The conference will be an opportunity to have leading Iranian scholars and analysts discuss the impact of the recent elections, Iran’s relationship with the international community and the theocratic foundations of the Islamic Republic.

The one-day conference being held at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs  will feature Ervand Abrahamian, Asef Bayat, Hamid Dabashi, Shahla Talebi discussing the “Aftermath of the Election,” Farideh Farhi, Gary Sick, Wayne White, Judith Yaphe discussing “International Challenges,” and Houchang Chehabi, Mansour Farhang, Hossein Kamaly, Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet, and Abdolkarim Soroush “Appraising the Life of the Republic.”  For more event information and to register, visit the conference website.

Sign the Petition Requesting UN members to walk out on Ahmadinejad on September 23rd, 2009

To:  United Nation members

I am writing to ask you to take a stand against the atrocities being inflicted on the Iranian people by their current government under the leadership of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Please do not acknowledge this person’s assumed role as President of Iran.

Regardless of the results of the June 12 election in Iran, this individual and his government have exhibited blatant disregard for basic human rights and have broken the international treaties of the Geneva Conventions. Rape, torture, and murder have been thrust upon the Iranian people and their families by the hands of the Iran government.

I ask you to reproach your decision that extends an invitation to Ahmadinejad at the annual General Assembly meeting on September 23rd, 2009. If Ahmadinejad is still allowed to attend, I respectfully ask that you refuse to share council chamber with him and leave the meeting.

The people of Iran have not asked the rest of the world for money, intervention or interference, all they ask is for our support in their struggle for a free, democratic Iran. As representative of your country and its people, I urge you to demonstrate that support and walk out on Ahmadinejad on September 23.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned – Sign the Petition

Iran’s Presidential Election Shifts Its National Politics

Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, talks with Steve Inskeep about the political shifts in Iran.

(NPR | Morning Edition | 27 August 2009) – Morning Edition has focused this week on Iran’s nuclear ambitions and what they mean for U.S. policy. Iran’s presidential election two and a half months ago threw the country into turmoil. The fallout could change how Iran proceeds with its nuclear program, and how it approaches negotiations with the West. Hamid Dabashi, professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University, talks with Steve Inskeep about the political shifts in Iran.  (Listen to the program) Read the rest of this entry »

Top Iran reform figures on trial

The trial has begun in Iran of a number of senior opposition figures following June’s disputed presidential election.

(BBC | 25 August 2009) - The defendants, who include former ministers in the 1997-2005 Khatami government, are accused of conspiring with foreign powers to organise unrest. Read the rest of this entry »

Counter-Revolution and Revolt in Iran: An Interview with Iranian Political Scientist Hossein Bashiriyeh

(Danny Postel with Hossein Bashiriyeh | Logos | Vol. 8, Issue 2.) - Hossein Bashiriyeh is one of post-revolutionary Iran’s key political thinkers. Known as the father of political sociology in Iran, he has influenced, through his voluminous writings and his 24 years teaching political science at the University of Tehran (1983-2007), both the study and practice of politics in Iran. Read the rest of this entry »

Iranian views: Divided country

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been sworn in as president in the Iranian parliament. But protests over the disputed 12 June election have continued and Iran’s political elite appear divided.

(BBC | 5 August 2009) – Here, four Iranians reflect on the inauguration of the president and the future of the country. Read the rest of this entry »

Iran’s crisis – does it feel like velvet?

Submitted by Leila Zand for FORpeace on August 5, 2009 – 6:01pm.

Much has been written, discussed, and debated since the Iranian presidential election in June. One of the most interesting subjects discussed in these conversations and debates, both in the U.S. among activist groups and in Iran among politicians on both sides (the “Principalists” and the“Reformists”), is the nature of the uprisings that began right after the election and that still continue. Read the rest of this entry »

Defiant Ahmadinejad sworn in as president

(Al Jazeera English – August 5, 2009) Iran’s president begins his second term of office by appealing for unity and denouncing foreign interference even as some protesters are reportedly arrested in Tehran. In a defiant speech he again blamed foreign powers for the post-election unrest.  Al Jazeera’s Nicole Johnston reports.