Iran: Caught Between Global Engagement and Internal Power Dynamics

Document Type : Original Independent Original Article

Authors

1 International and Area Studies University of California, Berkeley

2 Professor of Human Rights & International Relations, Faculty of Law & Political Sciences. Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

The 2016 elections in Iran, both for parliament and the Assembly of Experts, offer essential insights into the possible future direction of the country's foreign policy. Even though the results of elections in Iran have not usually been as desired, Iranian people have always valued the opportunity of voting in order to express their political views. During the 2016 elections, they had the choice of voting for either a radical or a moderate response to the country's wide range of internal and external challenges. Ultimately, Iranians shifted their votes towards the moderate party, which also indicates their satisfaction of the nuclear deal. As a result, almost all of the representatives who opposed the nuclear deal lost their seats in parliament. President Rouhani now has the political capital to push a course of greater socioeconomic reform and liberalization at home and engagement abroad. With a blend of descriptive and analytic approaches, this paper intends to provide a review on Iran’s 2016 elections, as well as to analyze the possible obstacles that might exist in the path of the Rouhani administration for Iran’s future foreign policy.

Keywords

References

[1]. Suzanne Maloney, Iran’s Political Economy since the Revolution, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
[1]. Farideh Farhi, “The Day Tehran Shook,” Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP), March 17, 2016, available at <<
http://www.merip.org/mero/mero031716>>.  Accessed on March 21, 2016.
[1]. Thomas Erdbrink, “Iran President’s Backers Gain Seats, but Not a Majority,” The New York Times, May 1, 2016, p. 12.
[1]. Karl Vick, “Is Iran Finally Ready for Change? Time, November 16, 2015, pp. 34-41; see p. 38
[1]. Thomas Erdbrink, “Iran Moderates Make Big Gains in 2 Elections,” The New York Times, March 1, 2016, pp. A1 and A5; see p. A5.

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