June 2009: In the run-up to the 2009 Iranian Presidential Election this Strategic Update discusses the candidates and the prospects for reform of both Iran's domestic politics and its international strategy.
The authors assess the candidates and the issues that stand to be central to the election, considering the importance of turnout; the role of women's issues; the lack of true reformism within Iran; the regional and international context of the elections; and finally their impact on Iran's nuclear programme.
The London Times report that cited this Strategic Update on June 2, 2006, in an article titled 'World Agenda: can Ahmadinejad lift his election campaign to victory?'.
UPDATE: IDEAS Situation Analysis - Shirin Sadeghi on the Aftermath of the Elections
Contents
Introduction
Nicholas Kitchen
Editor, IDEAS Reports and Fellow, IDEAS Transatlantic Programme
Assessing the Candidates: 'If the majority does not vote, the minority will govern'
Zhand Shakibi
Lecturer in Comparative Politics, LSE and Visiting Professor, University of Tehran
The Women's Movement: An Emerging Power
Azadeh Akbari
Freelance journalist and blogger, Tehran
Style over Substance: Improving the Image of Iran
Shirin Sadeghi
Middle East Consultant and Journalist
Iran After the Presidential Elections: International Prospects
Fawaz Gerges
Christian A. Johnson Chair in International Affairs and Middle Eastern Studies, Sarah Lawrence College
Iran's Nuclear Programme: Prospects for Compromise?
Anoush Ehteshami
Dean of Internationalisation and Professor of International Relations, University of Durham