Whose Resistance Counts? Iranian Protest, Anti-Imperialism, and the Problem of Political Labels

نویسنده: رضا عاشوری

For many observers, the politics of contemporary Iran can appear easy to sort into familiar boxes. The Islamic Republic presents itself as anti-American, anti-Israeli, and anti-imperialist. Its critics often include monarchists, secular liberals, diaspora activists, and people who openly call for stronger Western pressure on the regime. On the surface, this can make it seem reasonable to say that the regime belongs to the global left or anti-imperialist camp, while the protesters belong to the right or to a pro-Western camp. That reading has emotional force, especially when one sees some opposition figures align themselves with conservative governments abroad. Yet once the case is examined more carefully, this binary begins to break down. Scholarship on Iranian history, protest movements, and state ideology suggests that the real divide is not best understood as a simple struggle between left and right. It is better understood as a struggle between a state that has monopolized the language of anti-imperialism and a broad, internally diverse population that is contesting that monopoly while demanding dignity, safety, and political voice (Abrahamian, 1982; Bayat, 2013a; Parsa, 2016).…

Anti-Imperialism · Iran · Islamic Republic · Resistance

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