ce #4

The upcoming March 2 parliamentary elections in Iran are expected to have a low turnout from the middle class, two years after anti-government protests by middle class Iranians following an election were quelled by the government.

This article highlights the middle class's discontent that surfaced in the 2009 protests and is still present in Iran today. Though protests on such a large scale are unlikely, it's not probable that this cohort of voters will participate in the elections. This political apathy is harmful to Iran's legitimacy- as we've discussed in class, legitimacy comes from the eyes of the citizens, and is then reinforced by the international community. The censored, state-run nature of political culture in Iran is disgruntling the pragmatic middle class, and a drop in support from its citizens is arguably the last thing Iran needs right now.

The disparity between reality and the ever-optimistic reality as described by the state government as explained in the article illustrates the Iranian regime's domestic issues. Though Iran has continued to boast of its nuclear capabilities and stand in defiance against more and more oil sanctions in the past few weeks, it clearly has domestic struggles that it will need to take care of before it can become involved in global politics in a meaningful way. The unhappiness of the middle class also serves to further emphasize what many critics of Iran's recent actions have posited: that the Iranian government's tight hold on power is slipping, and that what we hear from Iranian leaders is often bluster meant to distract us from the reality of the conditions in the country.

{via The Washington Post}