The Iranian elections from a distance

Abstract:

As most analysts pointed out in mid-2009, 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 was not new, but found its roots within the earlier years of the Islamic Republic. It was 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.