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The mutual relationship of stability.

Hello! I hope you are having a wonderful time researching about the two topics! This week, we are going to discuss an article written by a visiting associate professor of UC Berkeley. But, before going into the article, some background knowledge on the recent Iranian protests is important. On January 2, 2018, demonstrators took the streets of Iran in what’s considered as the “largest public display of discontent since the 2009 Green Movement” (CNN), protesting the nation’s stagnating economy and the lack of social freedoms. And this brings up a good point about the nature of unrest and instability in the region: economic grievances.
The professor writes that “ the nuclear deal [referring to the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal] raised people’s hopes for an expedited and expanded economic recovery… [but] the country’s current economic difficulties, as well as widespread corruption,” (Monshipouri) have not met the rise in people’s expectations. Specifically, Hassan Rouhani’s economic austerity measures, the resistance army’s expansion of the economy, and President Trump’s hold on Iranian sanctions have undermined economic growth. And what spurs from the lack of legitimate response from the Islamic state, according to the professor, is the “yearning of these young people for a pluralistic and socially tolerant society, as well as their social needs- including education, health, employment, and housing.” (Monshipouri). There are much more indications in the article about the role of socioeconomic grievances in the protests, so be sure to read this article over. A question to consider when thinking about stability in this region is regarding the mutual relationship between the political, economic, and social factors. For example, without a proper political institution to hold corruption accountable, the economy becomes sluggish, and ultimately affects the youth from becoming employed. With this in mind then, what sector of this mutual relationship should be focused on first? Why? How? Despite it being one question, it is a comprehensive and challenging question to answer.


*Engage with the other delegations about this question in the blogs too!


“Feed men, and then ask of them virtue!” - Fyodor Dostoevsky

Joseph.

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