The Fight for Equal Rights and Freedom in Iran

It is not only non-democratic regimes that resort to authoritarian practices. They can increasingly be found in use also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show.

This paper offers a revised and decentred perspective on regional power behaviour in world politics.

People in the Middle East have been demonstrating for months now. Anger is targeted at their governments, who often react very harshly to these protests. Are we witnessing historic upheaval? Natalie Amiri (ARD Iran expert), Björn Blaschke (Head of the ARD Radio Studio in Cairo), Dr. André Bank (Senior Research Fellow and Middle East expert at the GIGA), and moderator Julia-Niharika Sen (NDR foreign affairs broadcast “Weltbilder”) will discuss this issue.

Iran’s uprisings carry strong implications for states that have adopted a feminist foreign policy. For Germany, this is an opportunity to showcase the potential of its recent turn towards a new feminist foreign policy agenda.

The demands of the protesters for regime change are a clear manifestation of the deep frustration and the loss of hope for reform among the Iranian public and seem to signal that the time is ripe for comprehensive change.

President Raisi is working to revitalise the Islamic Republic’s revolutionary values. While direct responses to socio-economic discontent consist of taking repressive measures, the government is also implementing a policy mixture shaped by the “jihadi” management style of a re-revolutionising elite.

As protests and human rights violations prevail in Iran, the Islamic Republic continues to orient itself towards the east, stepping up its relations with China, Russia, and India. This GIGA Talk seeks to shed light on this key strategic turn.

With a new deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program on the horizon years after the United States left the original Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Western relations with—and concessions to—Iran are currently on the agenda. Dastan Jasim elaborates on why the West can no longer ignore the situation of the Kurdish minority in Iran.

The GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies is one of the leading institutes for Middle East research in Germany and Europe. Our scholars examine topics such as state and regime structures, energy security, violent conflicts, forced migration, Islamist movements, and the reshaping of the regional order.

The Peace and Security Research Programme analyses how identities and ideologies, institutional arrangements, and international interventions affect peace and conflict dynamics in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and investigates international violence and security trends.

It is not only non-democratic regimes that resort to authoritarian practices. They can increasingly be found in use also in formally democratic states, as the examples of shrinking civic space, populism, and democratic backsliding show.

This paper offers a revised and decentred perspective on regional power behaviour in world politics.

People in the Middle East have been demonstrating for months now. Anger is targeted at their governments, who often react very harshly to these protests. Are we witnessing historic upheaval? Natalie Amiri (ARD Iran expert), Björn Blaschke (Head of the ARD Radio Studio in Cairo), Dr. André Bank (Senior Research Fellow and Middle East expert at the GIGA), and moderator Julia-Niharika Sen (NDR foreign affairs broadcast “Weltbilder”) will discuss this issue.