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All tagged civil society
The coronavirus outbreak has wrecked Iran’s cultural calendar, putting strain on finances of theaters and livelihoods of performers. But Iranian artists are rising to the occasion, finding ways to ensure their music reaches audiences at a time when it is needed most.
Faced with the gravity of the COVID-19 outbreak, members of Iranian civil society and private sector business leaders have joined the fight against the virus, seeking to address gaps in the government’s response.
Iranians are staying at home, doing their part to “flatten the curve” as the country confronts COVID-19. Adjusting to confinement at a stressful and uncertain time, many Iranians have found a new and creative pastime—baking bread.
◢ The bazaar of today is not the bazaar of forty years ago, and no longer plays the same role as a key actor in Iran’s popular political mobilizations. The recent bazaar closures reflect primarily the economic self-interest of bazaar elite, who sense an opportunity to put the brakes on reforms that threaten their unique capacities for lucrative arbitrage. Protests are being co-opted as a political tool at the expense of genuine civil society mobilization.
◢ As politicians and analysts consider the wisdom of offering Iran sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on the country’s nuclear program, a key stakeholder group remains unaccounted for in the debate – the private sector.
◢ Private sector leaders can play three vital roles to help bring a brighter economic and political future to Iran— interlocutors, stewards, and creators.
◢ A prospective détente between Iran and the West is dependent not only on the normalization of political ties but also on the realignment of economic ties. It is a matter of political economy.
◢ In order to envision the future role of Iran’s private sector, it helps to look to the past and the historical role of the bazaar, once the center of Iranian political economy.
