Arab and Iranian Revolts 1979–2011: Influences or Similar Causes?

In the thirty-two years from 1979 to 2011 there have been numerous mass movements in Iran and several Arab countries that have overthrown or threatened rulers who seemed secure for several decades. By September 2011, the shah of Iran and the presidents of Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya had been overthrown; of those, only the anti-Qaddafi revolt had outside (NATO) help. Major popular movements had also threatened the rulers of Bahrain, Yemen, and Syria. Iran had seen the massive Green Movement in 2009, aimed primarily at fraud in that year's presidential elections. Among the questions that emerge regarding these movements are the following: Why did they arise when they did? Why were they not predicted? How much influence did one or more of these movements have on the others? Why were some movements successful and others, thus far, not? Some of these questions will demand long study and analysis, which may not lead to a consensus. Here will be a preliminary brief discussion of a few of them, with stress on the question of influence.

Download Full-text

Refraining or Resisting: Responses of Green Movement Supporters to Repression During the 2013 Iranian Presidential Elections

Global Policy ◽

10.1111/1758-5899.13000 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (S5) ◽

pp. 106-118

Author(s):

Ali Honari ◽

Jasper Muis

Keyword(s):

Presidential Elections ◽

Green Movement

Download Full-text

Islam, Revolution and Radicalism

E-Politics and Organizational Implications of the Internet ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-0966-2.ch019 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 336-349

Author(s):

M. A. Muqtedar Khan ◽

Reid T. Smith ◽

Onur Tanay

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

New Media ◽

Virtual World ◽

Presidential Elections ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Muslim World ◽

Cultural Impact ◽

Green Movement ◽

Political Analysis ◽

The Difference

New forms of information technologies are revolutionizing politics in the Muslim World. This article presents political analysis of the complex global and historical socio-cultural impact of new media specifically social media by exploring two cases, i.e., the green movement during the Iranian presidential elections during 2009 and al-Qaeda’s radicalism in the virtual world. The analysis finds that Islam and Muslim societies are compatible with new forms of information technologies and that the difference between real and virtual is blurring in the modern Muslim World.

Download Full-text

A MOVEMENT TO BELONG: THE GREEN MOVEMENT AS A SITE OF CITIZENSHIP

International Journal of Child Youth and Family Studies ◽

10.18357/ijcyfs43.1201312625 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 4 (3.1) ◽

pp. 464

Author(s):

Maryam Nabavi ◽

Romina Mahboub

Keyword(s):

Presidential Elections ◽

Social Citizenship ◽

Font Size ◽

Green Movement ◽

Global Movement ◽

Ethnographic Data ◽

A Site ◽

Shed Light

Drawing on ethnographic data collected in 2010, this paper unpacks the notion of social citizenship as it bears on the lives of young Iranian immigrant activists in Canada. Drawing on our researcher and activist standpoints, we examine activist youth’s involvement in the Green Movement – a global movement of dissent in response to the 2009 presidential elections in Iran. In doing so, we move beyond the duality of identity and belonging as mediated by a sense of nationhood to either Iran or Canada. Rather, through the lens of social citizenship, we shed light on the ways in which the Green Movement, as an activist practice, was a space of emancipation. We explore the ways in which support for and momentum of an initiative created and led by youth enabled them to engage as citizens in ways that challenged the notion that citizenship is defined merely by geographic borders; globalized social, cultural, and political contexts were more significant in characterizing their citizenship.

Download Full-text

Indicators of imbalance in the distribution policies in some Arab countries

Contemporary Arab Affairs ◽

10.1080/17550912.2015.1016765 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 181-197

Author(s):

Hakim Mohsin Al-Rubaie

Keyword(s):

Arab Countries ◽

Social Classes ◽

The Political ◽

Economic Systems ◽

Political Systems ◽

Economic Changes ◽

Economic Discourse ◽

Income Levels ◽

Production And Distribution ◽

Popular Movements

Politics and economics are described as being inseparably and inextricably related, such that economic discourse is also political discourse. Policies are only a reflection of the opinions and ideas of the ruling institutions, hence the economic system and its policies manifest in the field of investment, production and distribution. While the governments and ruling authorities in all economic systems speak of justice in distribution, however, the reality contradicts that as there is disparity in the income levels between individuals. The level of difference may be narrowing between some social classes, but it is widening among the poorer classes. This paper will focus on indicators of imbalance in the distribution policies in some Arab countries, selecting those where popular movements have taken place. Some claim that one of the main causes of these movements is the lack of just distribution. Although that is true to some extent, it does not mean that there were fairer distribution policies in the countries which did not see such popular movements. This is also the answer to the claim which attributes these movements to outside forces seeking to change the Arab political systems. This paper ends with conclusions and recommendations based on the research regarding the political and economic changes these Arab countries must make to ensure justice in their distribution policies.

Download Full-text