Political Participation in Iran from Khatami to the Green Movement

By Paola Rivetti

Book 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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 3030322009
• ISBN13: 9783030322007
• Release Date: December 2019
• Publisher: Palgrave MacMillan
• Length: 202 Pages
• Weight: 0.93 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.3"