Movement or Moment?: Exploring the Modern Struggle for Democracy in Iran

In a time where democratic backsliding threatens the sanctity of our democratic strongholds, studies on the world’s would-be democracies have been placed on the back-burner. The Middle East has commonly been called a democracy desert: a region where the branches of democracy are incapable of taking root. Whether it be an inhospitable culture or the looming effects of colonial influence, the Middle East has existed in a democracy deficit since its inception following Sykes-Picot. Although semblances of democracy have taken place in various Middle Eastern countries, Iran has remained under authoritarian rule for centuries: from the Qajars to the Islamic regime. Despite wide-spread civil unrest, a lively civil society, and a diaspora who yearns for a democratic Iran, Iran has never democratized. Analyzing the two most modern pro-democracy movements in Iranian history, the 2009 Green Revolution and 2022 Women, Life, Freedom Movement, this paper seeks to explore why Iran has been unable to democratize.