Muddled Plot, Familiar Ending
Bottom Line & Above - Muddled Plot, Familiar Ending
One characteristic that sets the past four months of protests in Iran apart from previous episodes of civil unrest, is the Nezam’s muddled and at times inconsistent response to the challenge. Even in more placid times, the Islamic Republic has been notorious for its plurality of voices claiming to speak for the Nezam, for mixed signals, and “dual-track” policies featuring poorly coordinated—if coordinated at all—diplomatic overtures and covert acts of aggression.?In past popular challenges to the Nezam’s authority, the response typically was straightforward and consistent:?protest, even peaceful protest, was not countenanced and armed force was applied ruthlessly to snuff it out.?To be sure, the regime has wielded its coercive powers with considerable harshness during the past four months, especially in Iranian Kurdistan and in Sistan va Baluchistan, where the unrest has been most acute. The political class, however, has been far from united behind the use of force, with sundry senior officials calling variously for the iron fist, for dialogue, for upholding Islamic values, and for addressing the concerns of the Iranian people.??To read the rest of the article and view this week's newsletter click here.