Spotlights

Spotlight on Political Currents: The Conservatives

The conservatives are among the Islamic Republic of Iran’s most important political currents. With deep roots in the revolution and founding of the system, they are arguably the single most powerful political current in Iran. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hailed from the conservatives before his ascension, influencing the overall outlook of the system, and between 2003 and 2013 this current reached the height of its political power in Iran. However, a number of factors, including the controversial presidency of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, led to divisions among conservatives from 2009 to...

February 23, 2016

Spotlight on Political Currents: The Centrists

The centrists are among the Islamic Republic of Iran’s most important political currents. Their origins go back to the moderate-pragmatist politics of Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani who balanced between the left and...

February 12, 2016

Spotlight on Political Currents: The Reformists

The reformists are among the Islamic Republic of Iran’s most important political currents. They burst onto the political stage in 1997 with Mohammad Khatami’s landslide presidential election victory and 2000...

February 10, 2016

Spotlight on Political Currents: How is political competition organized in Iran?

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s politics can be confusing, even for the initiated. Iranian politics does not fit neatly into dichotomies between democratic and authoritarian systems that usually characterise our...

February 2, 2016

Spotlight on Parliament: 10 Things to Know About Iran's Parliamentary Electoral System

Count my vote! That’s the demand you’re likely to hear from engaged voters participating in elections - wherever such elections may be in the world. But, actually, the process of...

January 14, 2016

Spotlight on Parliament: How to Become a Candidate

In the 2016 Iranian parliamentary elections 12,123 people registered to be candidates. That is twice the number that registered in the 2012 parliamentary elections, and an average of 42 people...

January 11, 2016

Spotlight on Parliament: Majlis and Nuclear Politics

Just ahead of the June 30th deadline, Majlis Monitor gives an overview of MPs’ responses to the nuclear negotiations, highlighting the more recent developments. Pressure is on as Iran’s Majlis...

June 29, 2015