The Future of Iran
I reacted to the "...former military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners..." line. It reminds me that many countries have demonstrated that experienced and competent functionaries are not necessary to keep a corrupt and authoritarian system running. That is especially true when there's an "official truth." But the results have not been happy ones, especially in the long run. Is that the direction Iran is headed? (Critiques of my comparative method are welcome and might be a good exercise for your students.)Iran’s President Calls for Purge of Liberal and Secular Professors
"Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Tuesday for a purge of liberal and secular teachers from the country's universities, urging students to return to 1980s-style radicalism...
"Ahmadinejad is widely believed to need to jockey between various interest groups in Iran, at a time when hard-liners increasingly control more of the top rungs of government but still encounter resistance from parts of the public at large. Moderates also still remain in the government.
"But Tuesday's comments seemed to follow a campaign promise by Ahmadinejad to develop a more Islamic-oriented country. Since taking office last August, he has also replaced pragmatic veterans in the government with former military commanders and inexperienced religious hard-liners.
"Ahmadinejad's aim appears to be installing a new generation of rulers who will revive the fundamentalist goals pursued in the 1980s..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:56 AM
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