Iranian Society
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Iran’s Reform Front Statement: Insiders Expose a System in Crisis
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Less than two months after the “ceasefire” between Iran and Israel, on August 17 Iran’s Reform Front (including more than 30 political party and groups) released a statement titled “National Reconciliation: A Golden Opportunity for Change and a Return to the People,” offering immediate and practical steps for structural reforms…
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Environmental Activism and Resistance in Kurdistan
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In early August 2025, four environmental activists lost their lives while trying to control a wildfire in the Abidar mountains near Sanandaj, in Iran’s Kurdistan province. They were not the first to die this way. In recent years, at least 20 Kurdish environmental defenders have been killed in similar circumstances…
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Authoritarianism in Exile: the Future Iran Doesn’t Need
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In late July, a political gathering took place in Munich that brought together a wide range of Iranian right-wing opposition figures in exile under title of “National Cooperation to Save Iran.” On the surface, it looked like another conference of activists and politicians trying to present themselves as an alternative…
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Between Theocracy and Monarchy: The Silencing of Iran’s Democratic Voices
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In recent years, especially after the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising we have witnessed a phenomenon that has not only reshaped the political landscape of the Iranian diaspora, but also deeply challenged our understanding of concepts like freedom, secularism, and solidarity. The growing prominence of monarchist discourse in Persian-language media abroad,…
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After the Ceasefire: A New War Inside Iran
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In the early hours of Tuesday, June 24, 2025, after twelve days of intense fighting between Iran and Israel, a ceasefire was announced—first by Iran, and then officially accepted by Israel a few hours later, putting an end to this round of military conflict. But while the missiles and bombs…
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“What’s Happening in Iran?” A Question with No Easy Answer
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One of my friends asked me, “What’s happening in Iran?” It was a simple question, but answering it has become not only difficult, but terrifying. In a country struck by both repression and missiles, it’s not just the roofs that collapse—language has collapsed too. People are trapped under rubble, but…
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From Below: Iranian Civil Society Against War and Tyranny
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In the shadow of sirens and smoke, where Tehran’s skyline is once again marked by fire and fear, a different kind of voice is emerging from within Iran—one that rejects both the bombs falling from foreign skies and the violence of the regime that claims to defend the homeland. While…
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The Racism of Anti-Racists: Bourdieu, Said, and Inverted Orientalism
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There’s a kind of violence that doesn’t wear a uniform, doesn’t raise its voice, and doesn’t need to spill blood to be effective. It speaks in well-published books, sits on academic panels, tweets in solidarity, and signs petitions. It insists on cultural understanding. It warns against Western arrogance. It tells…
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Iran’s Condition: God, Money, Guns, and Fascist Rule
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Georges Bataille’s theory of fascism provides a unique framework for understanding the psychological and structural dynamics of authoritarian regimes. His analysis, rooted in the tension between homogeneity and heterogeneity, explores how societies maintain control through hierarchical structures and sacred symbols of authority. Fascism, as Bataille describes it, thrives on a…
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The Art of Survival in Iran’s Repressive Regime
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Life in Iran under a totalitarian regime is a relentless performance, a dance of endurance. It’s like Tehching Hsieh and Linda Montano’s “Art/Life: One Year Performance 1983–1984,” where they tied themselves together by an 8-foot rope, day after day. The rope held them close but kept them apart, bound by…
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My Favorite Cake: Cinema, Memory, and Resistance in Iran
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For some time now, My Favorite Cake, directed by Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha, has been available to the public through some Telegram channels. After receiving attention in the 74th Berlin Film Festival’s cinema circles, audiences now have easy access to this film. My Favorite Cake draws power from its…
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Iran’s Economic Woes: Inflation and the Struggle for Survival
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The Iranian Parliament’s Research Center has laid it out for everyone—poverty in Iran has clawed its way to 30.1% in 2023. That’s nearly a third of people, everyday Iranians, who can’t make ends meet. We’re not talking a new issue, either. For five years, poverty’s hovered here, stuck like a…
