Electoral Activism in Iran: A Mechanism for Political Change

• In Event: 1566 - Influence

Abstract

Election and social movements as two main manifestations of the modern politics have formed two main area of studies in social sciences, but these two literatures have been rarely bridged, and the mechanisms connecting election and activism are still understudied. A few sociological studies that have considered such ties have focused on the context of consolidated democracies such as the United States, but most authoritarian regimes in the world also hold elections. The studies of authoritarianism contend that these elections serve the survival of these regimes by legitimizing their rule, unifying their ranks, and dividing the opposition. On the other hand, democratization scholarship suggests that post-election protest in reaction to electoral fraud could lead to regime change in these countries. We argue that looking through the lens of regime survival or collapse do not allow the scholars to see instances of activism around authoritarian elections that contribute to smaller and more gradual process of political change.
We use the case of Iranian presidential elections to first document instances of activism in the context of election campaigns, and second to show such activism is consequential for the dynamics of the regime and the opposition. We argue that electoral activism has been influential for Iranian politics in four ways. First, activists have used the opportunity of elections to bring up issues to the official discourse that would not be otherwise articulated. Second, activism have could push moderate and centrist candidates to take more reformist and democratic positions. Third, activist have pushed the opposition to unite in alliance. Finally, such activism has been also able to affect the outcome by preventing hard-liners’ electoral victory.

Authors

• Ali Kadivar

• Vahid Abedini, Florida International University