Creating Local Democracy in Iran: State Building and the Politics of Decentralization with Kian Tajbakhsh

Creating Local Democracy in Iran: State Building and the Politics of Decentralization with Kian Tajbakhsh

Empirically rich and theoretically informed, CREATING LOCAL DEMOCRACY (Cambridge University Press) is an innovative analysis of political decentralization under the Islamic Republic of Iran. Drawing upon Kian Tajbakhsh's twenty years of experience working with and researching local government in Iran, it uses original data and insights to explain how local government operates in towns and cities as a form of electoral authoritarianism. With a combination of historical, political, and financial field research, it explores the multifaceted dimensions of local power and how various ideologically opposed actors shaped local government as an integral component of authoritarian state building. Ultimately, this book demonstrates how local government serves to undermine democratization and consolidate the Islamist regime. As Iran's cities and towns grow and develop, their significance will only increase, and this study is vital to understanding their politics, administration and influence.

KIAN TAJBAKHSH is Fellow in the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, where he was Professor of Urban Planning and Urban Studies. He previously directed civil society strengthening initiatives for the Soros Foundation in Iran, where he was a political prisoner from 2009-2016. He has previously published The Promise of the City (2001) and Social Capital: Trust, Democracy and Development (2005).

Episoder(31)

Book Forum: The Incarcerated Modern - Prisons and Public Life in Iran

Book Forum: The Incarcerated Modern - Prisons and Public Life in Iran

In this new Book Forum episode, we’re joined by Golnar Nikpour to discuss her illuminating book The Incarcerated Modern: Prisons and Public Life in Iran. Nikpour traces the transformation of Iran from...

18 Sep 202459min

Book Forum: The Color Black - Enslavement and Erasure in Iran

Book Forum: The Color Black - Enslavement and Erasure in Iran

In this new Book Forum episode, we’re joined by Beeta Baghoolizadeh to discuss her book "The Color Black: Enslavement and Erasure in Iran." Baghoolizadeh challenges the prevailing narratives about Ira...

22 Aug 202450min

Book Forum: How Sanctions Work - Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare

Book Forum: How Sanctions Work - Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare

In this timely and critical episode, we explore our own recent release: "How Sanctions Work: Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare." We're joined by esteemed authors Narges Bajoghli, Vali Nasr, Djav...

14 Feb 20241h 1min

Book Forum: Political Radicalism in Iran and in Ahmadinejad's Presidencies

Book Forum: Political Radicalism in Iran and in Ahmadinejad's Presidencies

In this new Book Forum episode, we’re joined by Giorgia Perletta to discuss her book "Political Radicalism in Iran and Ahmadinejad's Presidencies." Perletta challenges the oversimplifications often ma...

13 Apr 202359min

Book Forum: Backfire - How Sanctions Shape the World Against U.S. Interests

Book Forum: Backfire - How Sanctions Shape the World Against U.S. Interests

Sanctions have become the go-to foreign policy tool for the United States. Coercive economic measures such as trade tariffs, financial penalties, and export controls affect large numbers of companies ...

29 Mar 202358min

Book Forum: This Flame Within - Iranian Revolutionaries in the United States

Book Forum: This Flame Within - Iranian Revolutionaries in the United States

In This Flame Within MANIJEH MORADIAN recounts the experiences of Iranian foreign students who joined a global movement against US imperialism during the 1960s and 1970s. Drawing on archival evidence ...

1 Mar 20231h 3min

From Tahrir to Tehran - The Arab Spring and Iran Uprisings

From Tahrir to Tehran - The Arab Spring and Iran Uprisings

What can we learn about the current era of youth-led radical uprisings when we look across the Middle East? Massive protests—captured on social media—have spilled forth on the streets of major countri...

28 Feb 20231h 1min

Sanctions, Politics, and Everyday Life in Iran

Sanctions, Politics, and Everyday Life in Iran

Sanctions, Politics, and Everyday Life in Iran

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