Is Iran Democratizing? Reform at an Impasse

Issue Date October 2000
Volume 11
Issue 4
Page Numbers 114-128
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Read the full essay here.

Once again, a reformist electoral victory has been followed by political setbacks. The key to understanding this paradoxical pattern lies in the unique theocratic constitutional structure of the Islamic Republic.

About the Authors

Ladan Boroumand

Ladan Boroumand is a historian and the cofounder and senior fellow at the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran. She is currently writing a book on the tectonic social changes taking place within the Islamic Republic of Iran.

View all work by Ladan Boroumand

Roya Boroumand

Roya Boroumand, a historian from Iran with a doctorate from the Sorbonne, is a specialist in Iran’s contemporary history and has been a consultant for Human Rights Watch.

View all work by Roya Boroumand

Further Reading

Volume 16, Issue 4

Iran’s Peculiar Election: The Voice of Akbar Ganji

In the lines of suffering etched on the visage of this courageous dissident may be read the drama of Iran today.

Volume 11, Issue 4

Is Iran Democratizing? Observations on Election Day

In hotly contested parliamentary elections, candidates supportive of President Khatami’s reforms won an overwhelming victory.

Volume 18, Issue 4

Iran’s Resilient Civil Society: The Untold Story of the Fight for Human Rights

Observers who focus too much on elections have failed to grasp the maturation of Iranian civil society, even as hard-liners have come to dominate the government.