Professor Mehrzad Boroujerdi, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University
“Circulation of Political Elite in Post-revolutionary Iran: An Empirical Investigation”
Based on a recently completed fourteen-year research project, which has generated the largest database on political elite anywhere in the Middle East, Dr. Boroujerdi will share some of his findings about Iran’s truculent clerics and their lay allies. He will discuss the age, gender and educational profile, revolutionary pedigree and incumbency rate of elected and appointed elite to ascertain the question of generational change in Iran after the 1979 Revolution.
Barbara Slavin, Director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council and columnist for Al-Monitor.com
“The Evolution of Iranian Politics: Making Lemonade from Lemons”
Ms. Slavin will talk about how despite the severe restrictions on political participation in Iran, Iranians continue to vote in large numbers – far higher percentages than in the West – and to seek elected office on a local level. Using social media and cellphone apps, they communicate, campaign and coalesce behind the least objectionable candidates on offer, pushing steadily for political, economic and cultural reform.