The Iranian Reform Movement Since 2009

Abstract

Iran’s Reform movement has been a central player in Iranian politics for more than two decades. Reformists have played roles both inside and outside formal politics, including as members of the Iranian parliament, as political leaders during the Khatami presidency (1997–2005) and as the vanguard of the 2009 Green Movement protests. However, the Green Movement uprising exacted an enormous cost on the Reform movement, with many of its members jailed or exiled. This chapter examines the health of the Reformist movement since 2009, looking at changing patterns of political contestation, the negotiation of changed political opportunity structures and the way in which the regime has changed its strategies of repression. Indeed, while the Reform movement’s political space was reduced significantly in the aftermath of 2009, its ability to morph to the changing political landscape has enabled it to endure, albeit in a diminished form.