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Can Iran Hold Together Long Term?

(American Interest) Walter Russell Mead - A growing protest movement in Ahvaz, a majority Arab Iranian city near the Iraqi border, has lately been shut down by security forces. It is important not to over-interpret the significance of one regional movement. Still, the biggest trend in politics for the last 150 years has been the break-up of multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic states into smaller and more homogenous units as people demand more control over their own lives. Iran is one of the world's most vulnerable states to this trend, with Azeris, Kurds, Balochs, and many other minority groups under the corrupt, heavy-handed and often not-very-effective rule of the mullahs. The Iranian Kurds want independence, and many of Iran's Arabs would gladly join with their Shi'a Arab brethren (and fellow tribesmen in many cases) across the border. The writer is professor of foreign affairs and humanities at Bard College and professor of American foreign policy at Yale University.
2017-02-23 00:00:00
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