The Iranian elections from a distance
As most analysts have pointed out recently, the most important element which came to the fore during the electoral unrest in Iran, was the divided political and religious landscape within the country. This situation is not new, but finds its roots within the earlier years of the Islamic Republic. It is the evolution of power centralization that made a more authoritarian rule possible, created a determined yet divided opposition, and clipped the wings of clerical involvement. At the same time, not much seems to change for the position of Iran in the Middle East.
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