Iran and the Arab Spring: A Tale of Two Narratives (original) (raw)

The “Arab Spring” as Seen through the Prism of the 1979 Iranian Revolution

International Journal of Middle East Studies, 2012

Revolutions are by nature unpredictable and unsettling. That the wave of revolutions in North Africa and the Arab Middle East began so unexpectedly and spread with such speed, leading to the fall of the governments of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, has added to the concern regarding the “new order” that is to come after the initial euphoria. From the outset, the fear has been that these revolutions will follow the same trajectory as Iran did in 1979—in other words, that they will marginalize those who launched the revolutions and provide the grounds for the rise to power of the most savvy, purposeful, and best organized of the opposition groups, namely, the Islamists. Yet when one considers the recent uprisings in the Arab world through the prism of Iran's experiences in 1979, the parallels are not so evident. Mindful of the variations and distinctions between each of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya, it would appear that in broad terms, and beyond superficial similariti...

Iran’s Unscrupulous Role in the Arab Spring: A March Back to Authoritarianism?

2019

Iran being amongst the most distinct states can neither be considered as a true model of democracy nor autocracy. Iranians, once citizens of the Great Persian Empire ruled by monarchs, nevertheless prefer to live under democracy. The 1979 revolution brought Iranians the hope to espouse democracy which although was partially fulfilled. The popular uprisings in Middle East, termed as Arab Spring, were no different from the Iranian revolution. Massive crowds of hopeless people protesting peacefully against the dark rule of monarchs and autocrats from Tunisia to Libya were hoping to bring a change to reclaim their rights, freedom and destiny for a better future. Iranian support for the Arab Spring, especially in Libya, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen was reflective of its own experience with the dictatorship. However, subsequently Iranian position changed dramatically once the Arab Spring reached Syria. Iranian regional ambitions of dominating the Middle East remained the primal factor in its ...

Iran and Regional Affairs in a Post-Arab Spring Middle East

Prceedings of the US Naval Institute, 2013

As the 2013 Iran presidential elections approach, the potential for violence and change in Iran is reminiscent of the Green Movement that spawned violence around the 2009 election. This may be exacerbated by popular opinion in Arab states that favors leaders of uprisings rather than the sitting government, as suggested in the 2011 Annual Arab Public Opinion Survey. Combined with the fact that Iran considers themselves as Persians, although only 51% of the state are ethnic Persians superior to the Arabs, popular opinion may set the stage for another—secular—revolution to take the country out of the hands of aging Grand Ayatollahs, who have continued to fall farther out of favor with the youth bubble in Iran’s populace that desires moderation against extreme rule, openness to the globalized world, and focus on the needs of the people rather than nuclear ambitions.

Iran’s Role in the Arab Spring: A March Back to Authoritarianism?

The World Community and the Arab Spring, 2019

Iran being amongst the most distinct states can neither be considered as a true model of democracy nor autocracy. Iranians, once citizens of the Great Persian Empire ruled by monarchs, nevertheless prefer to live under democracy. The 1979 revolution brought Iranians the hope to espouse democracy which although was partially fulfilled. The popular uprisings in Middle East, termed as Arab Spring, were no different from the Iranian revolution. Massive crowds of hopeless people protesting peacefully against the dark rule of monarchs and autocrats from Tunisia to Libya were hoping to bring a change to reclaim their rights, freedom and destiny for a better future. Iranian support for the Arab Spring, especially in Libya, Bahrain, Egypt and Yemen was reflective of its own experience with the dictatorship. However, subsequently Iranian position changed dramatically once the Arab Spring reached Syria. Iranian regional ambitions of dominating the Middle East remained the primal factor in its dichotomous policy of initially supporting the cause of Arab Spring while later extending support to the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad. Iran considered Assad a key factor in exercising control over Shiite militia Hezbollah and in manipulating the political landscape of Lebanon. Iranian foreign policy regarding the Arab Spring thus doesn’t seek an inspiration from the classical Islamic principle of ‘Adal’ or justice but rather depicts of the classical realism approach. Iranian foreign policy and intervention remains decisive which successfully stalled the process of peaceful transformation through Arab Spring and paved the way for the bloody civil war in Syria. This Iranian policy remained the prominent reason in formation of the ISIS and subsequent irreversible sectarian divide in the Middle East. Therefore, Middle East is likely to become the battle ground for sectarian wars in future besides making existing state boundaries irrelevant.

The Arab Spring: a revolution? Yes, a spring? Not sure

The term Arab Spring is an obvious reference to the Spring of Nations in 1848. At this time, many European countries have their revolution for more rights, more freedom, and democracy. Thus, this expression was used to describe the events that began first in Tunisia in December 2010 and which developed in other countries, with majority Arabic people.