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Iran: Multiple Sources of a Grassroots Social Democracy?

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Iran’s Struggles for Social Justice

Abstract

This chapter suggests that the quest for a grassroots social democracy in Iran holds deep and diverse socio-intellectual roots. It is as old as the 1906 Constitutional Revolution, and as broad as secular and religious socialists of Muslim, Marxist, and nationalist origins. It briefly examines the contribution of Mohammad Nakhshab, Khalil Maleki, and Ali Shari‘ati to a social approach to democracy. The chapter also problematizes the limits of liberal paradigm and highlights the merits of the twin pillars of a grassroots social democracy: social justice and societal empowerment. It examines what today’s Iran can learn from the global and local tradition of social democracy. It also sheds light on the possibility of a discourse building toward a grassroots social democracy in Iran.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Mojtaba Mahdavi

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  1. Mojtaba Mahdavi
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

    Peyman Vahabzadeh

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Mahdavi, M. (2017). Iran: Multiple Sources of a Grassroots Social Democracy?. In: Vahabzadeh, P. (eds) Iran’s Struggles for Social Justice. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44227-3_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-44227-3_16

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-44226-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-44227-3

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