Human Rights and Agents of Change in Iran

This volume extends debates on the interaction between universal human rights and the political experiences of Iranians, through a conceptual analysis of 'theories of change'. It assesses the practical processes by which individuals, organizations and movements can reform or impact the structural, theological and political challenges faced in the Iranian context.

Contributors to this volume investigate how structures, institutions, and agents in Iran maneuver for influence and power at the state level, through the law, in international corridors, at the grassroots, and by implementing multiple and complex methods. The chapters provide distinct but interrelated analysis of key drivers of change in Iran. A number of those operate primarily through top-down approaches, such as the political reform movement, lawyers pursuing legislative change, and international human rights monitoring bodies. Others take a bottom-up approach, including local movements and campaigns such as the women's movement, the labor movement, the student movement, and ethnic minority groups.

By prompting drivers of change to think about causation, influence, sequencing, prioritization, roles and relationships, a theory of change ultimately makes the work more effective. Through rigorous analysis of these issues for drivers of change in the Islamic State, this volume is an important contribution to human rights in Iran. In an era of escalating tensions in the Middle East, it amplifies voices of reform and freedom, filling a crucial gap in our understanding of this region.

Autorentext

Rebecca Barlow is a Senior Research Fellow at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on the Iranian women's movement and the politics of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Rebecca is the author of Universal Women's Human Rights and the Muslim Question: Iran's One Million Signatures Campaign (2012). Outside academia, Rebecca has worked for the Victorian Local Governance Association, where she played a key role in the production of From Compliance to Culture: A Toolkit for Local Governments to Implement the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. She has also interned and acted as Consultant for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Gender, Human Rights and Culture Branch, where she worked with a team to implement the United Nations Global Forum of Faith-based Organisations in Population and Development (Istanbul, Turkey, 2008). Shahram Akbarzadeh is Research Professor of Middle East & Central Asian Politics at the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University, Australia. He has an active research interest in the politics of Central Asia, Islam, Muslims in Australia and the Middle East. Shahram is author of Uzbekistan and the United States (2005), US Foreign Policy in the Middle East (2008 with Kylie Baxter) and Muslim Active Citizenship in the West (2014 with Mario Peucker). He is the founding Editor of the Islamic Studies Series, published by Melbourne University Press, and a regular public commentator. Shahram is a member of the Editorial Board of three leading refereed journals: Global Change, Peace & Security, the Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, the Journal of Asian Security & International Affairs.

Klappentext

This volume extends debates on the interaction between universal human rights and the political experiences of Iranians, through a conceptual analysis of theories of change . It assesses the practical processes by which individuals, organizations and movements can reform or impact the structural, theological and political challenges faced in the Iranian context. Contributors to this volume investigate how structures, institutions, and agents in Iran maneuver for influence and power at the state level, through the law, in international corridors, at the grassroots, and by implementing multiple and complex methods. The chapters provide distinct but interrelated analysis of key drivers of change in Iran. A number of those operate primarily through top-down approaches, such as the political reform movement, lawyers pursuing legislative change, and international human rights monitoring bodies. Others take a bottom-up approach, including local movements and campaigns such as the women s movement, the labor movement, the student movement, and ethnic minority groups. By prompting drivers of change to think about causation, influence, sequencing, prioritization, roles and relationships, a theory of change ultimately makes the work more effective. Through rigorous analysis of these issues for drivers of change in the Islamic State, this volume is an important contribution to human rights in Iran. In an era of escalating tensions in the Middle East, it amplifies voices of reform and freedom, filling a crucial gap in our understanding of this region.

Inhalt

1. Top-down or bottom-up? Towards a theory of change for human rights practice in Iran.- 2. The 'inside-track' approach to change in Iran under President Rouhani: The case of freedom on the internet.- 3. Indigenising 'modernisation' in Iran.- 4. Iranian lawyers for human rights: The Defenders of Human Rights Center.- 5. Is grassroots justice a viable alternative to impunity? The case of the Iran People's Tribunal.- 6. Secular and Islamic feminist work to increase parliamentary representation in Iran: Towards an alliance?.- 7. Struggles for revival: The Iranian student movement under the 'moderate' government (20132017).- 8. Environmental activism and social change in Iran.- 9. Ethnic minorities and the question of liberal multiculturalism in Iran.- 10. Intersecting issues and their implications for human right practice in Iran.