Abstract
Some of the loudest calls for reform in post-revolutionary Iran have come from those closest to the regime. President Mohammad Khatami (1997–2005) and President Hassan Rouhani (2013–) were key players in Ayatollah Khomeini’s Iran, but were both later elected to the presidency on reform platforms. This chapter evaluates President Rouhani’s track record in instituting freedom-on-the-internet reforms in Iran, to understand the efficacy of the ‘inside-track’ approach to human rights change. Using Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Theory of Change, the analysis shows that while Rouhani enjoyed a wide ‘policy window’ to enact reforms in relation to Iran’s economy—including resolving the nuclear issue—he enjoyed no such popular mandate on human rights reform. In this regard, Rouhani’s progress on improving internet freedom has been limited. Mobilising the ‘inside track’ is not a guaranteed pathway to human rights-based reform in Iran.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
Henry Jones, Background Note: A Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating Policy Influence (London: Overseas Development Institute, 2011), 2. https://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/odi-assets/publications-opinion-files/6453.pdf.
- 2.
Paul Gready and Wouter Vandenhole, ‘What Are We Trying to Change? Theories of Change in Development and Human Rights’, in Human Rights and Development in the New Millennium, ed. Paul Gready and Wouter Vandenhole (Oxon: Routledge, 2013), 2.
- 3.
Jones, ‘Background Note’, 1.
- 4.
John W. Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies, 2nd ed. (Harlow: Pearson, 2010).
- 5.
Ibid., 110–11.
- 6.
Ibid., 117.
- 7.
Ibid., 236.
- 8.
Ibid., 165.
- 9.
John T. S. Keeler, ‘Opening the Window for Reform: Mandates, Crises and Extraordinary Policy-Making’, Comparative Political Studies 25, no. 4 (1993): 458–561.
- 10.
Sarah Stachowiak, Pathways for Change: 6 Theories About How Policy Change Happens (Seattle: Organizational Research Services, 2009). http://www.ancefa.org/IMG/pdf/Pathways_for_Theory_of_Change.pdf.
- 11.
Scott E. Robinson and Warren S. Eller, ‘Participation in Policy Streams: Testing the Separation of Problems and Solutions in Subnational Policy Systems’, Policy Studies Journal 38, no. 2 (2010): 199–216.
- 12.
Nikolaos Zahariadis, ‘Ambiguity and Multiple Streams’, in Theories of Policy Process, ed. Paul A. Sabatier and Christopher M. Weible (Philadelphia: Westview Press, 2014), 43.
- 13.
Shahram Akbarzadeh and Dara Conduit, ‘Rouhani’s First Two Years in Office: Opportunities and Risks in Contemporary Iran’, in Iran in the World: President Rouhani’s Foreign Policy, ed. Shahram Akbarzadeh and Dara Conduit (New York: Palgrave, 2015), 1–15.
- 14.
Ian Black and Saeed Kamali Dehghan, ‘Hassan Rouhani, “Ultimate Insider” Who Holds Key to a More Moderate Iran’, Guardian, 20 June 2013, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/20/hassan-rouhani-iran-president-profile.
- 15.
Ibid.
- 16.
Kasra Naji, ‘Profile: Hassan Rouhani, President of Iran’, BBC News, 20 May 2017, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22886729.
- 17.
‘Hassan Rouhani Wins Iran Presidential Election’, BBC News, 15 June 2013, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-22916174; Ebrahim Mohseni, ‘Iran’s Presidential Election and Its Domestic and International Ramifications’, conference presentation, 2013, 4. http://cissmdev.devcloud.acquia-sites.com/sites/default/files/papers/irans_presidential_election_and_its_ramifications_v2.pdf.
- 18.
‘Hassan Rouhani Wins Iran Presidential Election’.
- 19.
Mohseni, ‘Iran’s Presidential Election’, 13.
- 20.
‘2001 Presidential Election’, Iran Data Portal, http://irandataportal.syr.edu/2001-presidential-election.
- 21.
Jamsheed Choksy, ‘When It Came to Iran’s Economic Health, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Apparently Cooked the Books’, Forbes, 6 June 2014, http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2013/09/06/when-it-came-to-irans-economic-health-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-apparently-cooked-the-books/.
- 22.
Mohseni, ‘Iran’s Presidential Election’, 22.
- 23.
Jeff Mason and Louis Charbonneau, ‘Obama, Iran’s Rouhani Hold Historic Phone Call’, Reuters, 28 September 2013, http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/28/us-un-assembly-iran-idUSBRE98Q16S20130928.
- 24.
Mohseni, ‘Iran’s Presidential Election’, 23.
- 25.
Ibid., 25.
- 26.
‘Freedom on the Net 2012’, Freedom House, 2017, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2012/iran.
- 27.
‘Rouhani on Channel 4: It is a Disgrace for Our People to Wait Hours on the Internet for Access to Information’, Citna, 6 June 2013, http://www.citna.ir/news/7559.
- 28.
‘President-Elect Calls for Social Freedom for Iranian Youth’, Chelcheragh, 1 July 2013 (Tehran: BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2013).
- 29.
‘The Promotion, Protection and Enjoyment of Human Rights on the Internet’, UNHRC, 27 June 2016, https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/LTD/G16/131/89/PDF/G1613189.pdf?OpenElement.
- 30.
Simurgh Aryan, Homa Aryan and J. Alex Halderman, ‘Internet Censorship in Iran: A First Look’, in Proceedings of the 3rd USENIX Workshop on Free and Open Communications on the Internet (Berkeley: USENIX, 2013). https://www.usenix.org/system/files/conference/foci13/foci13-aryan.pdf.
- 31.
Rick Gladstone and Artin Afkhami, ‘Pattern of Intimidation Is Seen in Arrests of Iranian Journalists and Bloggers’, New York Times, 25 January 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/26/world/middleeast/iran-steps-up-arrests-of-journalists-and-bloggers.html?pagewanted=all.
- 32.
‘Iran: Investigate Detained Blogger’s Death’, Human Rights Watch, 9 November 2012, https://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/09/iran-investigate-detained-bloggers-death.
- 33.
‘Freedom on the Net 2013’, Freedom House, 3 October 2013, https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/resources/FOTN%202013_Full%20Report_0.pdf.
- 34.
Collin Anderson, ‘Dimming the Internet: Detecting Throttling as a Mechanism of Censorship in Iran’, Physics arXiv Blog, MIT Technology Review, 18 June 2013, https://arxiv.org/pdf/1306.4361.pdf.
- 35.
Golnaz Esfandiari, ‘Iran Admits Throttling Internet to “Preserve Calm” During Election’, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 26 June 2013, https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-internet-disruptions-election/25028696.html.
- 36.
‘In a Statement on Citizens’ Rights It Was Put Forward: Four Proposals by Karroubi to Amend the Constitution’, E’temad (Tehran: BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2009).
- 37.
Yeganeh Torbati, ‘Iran Unblocks Gmail After Members of Iranian Parliament Complain’, Huffington Post, 10 October 2012, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/01/iran-gmail-blocked_n_1928448.html?utm_hp_ref=technology.
- 38.
‘Internet Speed Drops as Iran Election Looms’, Al-Jazeera, 20 May 2013, http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/05/2013519185216148974.html.
- 39.
‘Iran Internet: Hassan Rouhani Tells Clerics Web Is Vital’, BBC News, 1 September 2014, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29017729.
- 40.
‘Iranian President: Internet Access is a “Civil Right”’, Mehr News, 17 May 2014.
- 41.
Robert Tait, ‘Iran Bans Fast Internet to Cut West’s Influence’, Guardian, 18 October 2006, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2006/oct/18/news.iran.
- 42.
‘Iranian President: Internet Access Is a “Civil Right”’.
- 43.
‘The Rouhani Administration and Internet Freedom’, Center for Human Rights in Iran, 11 November 2014, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2014/11/interent-report-the-rouhani-administration-and-internet-freedom/.
- 44.
‘President-Elect Calls for Social Freedom for Iranian Youth’.
- 45.
‘Iranian President: Internet Access Is a “Civil Right”’.
- 46.
‘Iran President Vows to Tackle Unemployment, Poverty, Inequality’, Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Networksoft, 11 May 2017 (Tehran: BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2017).
- 47.
Hassan Rouhani, Twitter, 17 May 2014, https://twitter.com/hassanrouhani/status/467583610581962752.
- 48.
‘Entire Interview: Amanpour/Rouhani’, CNN, 25 September 2013, http://amanpour.blogs.cnn.com/2013/09/25/transcript-amanpour-rouhani-interview/.
- 49.
Hassan Rouhani, Twitter, 1 October 2013, https://twitter.com/hassanrouhani/status/385138174822850560?lang=en.
- 50.
‘Iranian President: Internet Access Is a “Civil Right”’.
- 51.
‘Freedom on the Net 2014’, Freedom House, 2017, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2014/iran.
- 52.
‘30k Villages to Connect to High Speed Internet’, Mehr News, 27 December 2014, http://en.mehrnews.com/news/105219/30K-villages-to-connect-to-high-speed-internet.
- 53.
Rohollah Faghihi, ‘Can Rouhani’s Citizens’ Rights Charter Be Enforced?’, Al-Monitor, 20 December 2016, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2016/12/iran-rouhani-citizens-rights-charter-conservative-criticism.html#ixzz4n4KyDbbb.
- 54.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, Charter on Citizens’ Rights, 2016, http://dublin.mfa.ir/uploads/Charter_on_Citizens_Right_96172.pdf.
- 55.
Ibid.
- 56.
‘Global Legal Monitor: Iran: Charter on Citizens’ Rights Signed’, Library of Congress, 28 February 2017, http://www.loc.gov/law/foreign-news/article/iran-charter-on-citizens-rights-signed/.
- 57.
‘Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran’, World Intellectual Property Organization, 23. http://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/laws/en/ir/ir001en.pdf.
- 58.
Shahram Akbarzadeh and James Barry, ‘Negotiating Popular Mandate and the Sovereignty of God in Iran’, in The Politics of Islamism: Diverging Visions and Trajectories, ed. John Esposito, Lily Zubaidah Rahim and Naser Ghobadzadeh (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018).
- 59.
Ghoncheh Tazmini, Khatami’s Iran: The Islamic Republic and the Turbulent Path to Reform (London: I. B. Tauris, 2009), 135.
- 60.
Stephen Cole, ‘Ali Jannati: “Unblocking Iran’s Social Media”’, Talk to Aljazeera, 11 January 2014, http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/talktojazeera/2013/12/ali-jannati-unblocking-iran-social-media-20131218113940528582.html.
- 61.
‘Freedom on the Net 2014’.
- 62.
Javad Salehi-Esfahani, ‘Improving Productive Job Creation’, in Donya-ye Eqtesad (Tehran: BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2013).
- 63.
Ali Reza Esraghi, ‘Has Iran’s Internet Policy Changed with Rouhani?’, LobeLog, 16 January 2014, https://lobelog.com/has-irans-internet-policy-changed-with-rouhani/.
- 64.
‘Iran Supreme Leader Says Internet “Extraordinary Soft Power”’, Islamic Republic News Agency, 7 September 2015 (Tehran: BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2015).
- 65.
‘Iran Issues 3G Licences’, Economist, Intelligence Unit, 6 September 2014, http://www.eiu.com/industry/article/732245257/iran-issues-3g-licences/2014-09-06.
- 66.
‘The Rouhani Administration and Internet Freedom’.
- 67.
‘Those Who Do Not Agree About the Poison of the Internet Do Not Know Cyberspace’, Mehr News, 31 May 2014, http://www.mehrnews.com/news/2296286/%DA%A9%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B3%D9%85%D9%88%D9%85-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%86-%D9%81%D8%B6%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%82%D8%A8%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%81%D8%B6%D8%A7-%D8%B1%D8%A7-%D9%86%D9%85%DB%8C.
- 68.
Damien McElroy and Ahmad Vahdat, ‘Iran’s President Says Internet Controls Must Go’, Telegraph, 18 May 2014, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/10839312/Irans-president-says-internet-controls-must-go.html.
- 69.
Faghihi, ‘Can Rouhani’s Charter Be Enforced?’.
- 70.
‘Freedom on the Net 2015’, Freedom House, 2015, https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2015/iran.
- 71.
‘10 Things You Should Know about Iran’s Multi-Billion Dollar National Internet Project’, Center for Human Rights in Iran, 13 October 2016, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2016/10/ten-things-you-should-know-about-irans-national-internet-project/.
- 72.
Akamai, State of the Internet Report (Cambridge: Akamai, 2017). https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/q1-2017-state-of-the-internet-connectivity-report.pdf.
- 73.
Mahsa Alimardani, ‘Young Iranians Are Demanding Internet Freedom This Election’, Vice, 19 May 2017, https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/9aevn7/young-iranians-are-demanding-internet-freedom-this-election.
- 74.
Akamai, State of the Internet Report.
- 75.
Thomas Erdbrink, ‘Tehran Unfetters Cellphones, and the Pictures Start Flowing’, New York Times, 2 September 2014, https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/03/world/asia/iran-speeds-up-cellphone-connections.html?ref=middleeast&_r=2.
- 76.
‘Mobile Data Traffic Increased Five-Fold Last Year’, Information Technology and Communications News, 15 June 2014, http://www.itna.ir/fa/doc/news/30951/%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-%DA%AF%D8%B0%D8%B4%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%81%DB%8C%DA%A9-%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%A7-%D8%B4%D8%A8%DA%A9%D9%87-%D9%87%D9%85%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%87-%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%A8%DB%8C%D8%B4-%D9%BE%D9%86%D8%AC-%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A8%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D9%88%D8%AF%D9%87.
- 77.
‘Iran Internet’.
- 78.
‘Iran Issues 3G Licences’.
- 79.
‘Iran: President Criticises Anti-Government “Conspiracies”’, Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, 30 March 2017 (Tehran: BBC Monitoring Middle East, 2017).
- 80.
‘Freedom on the Net 2015’.
- 81.
Pavel Durov, Twitter, 19 April 2017, https://twitter.com/durov/status/854472773137256448.
- 82.
Small Media, Iranian Internet Infrastructure and Policy Report: Special Edition the Rouhani Review (2013–15) (London: Small Media, 2015). https://smallmedia.org.uk/sites/default/files/u8/IIIP_Feb15.pdf.
- 83.
‘Freedom on the Net 2015’.
- 84.
‘Rouhani Battles Judiciary over Internet Censorship’, Al-Monitor, 28 May 2014, http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/05/iran-rouhani-battled-judiciary-internet-censorship.html.
- 85.
Small Media, Iranian Internet Infrastructure and Policy Report.
- 86.
‘The Monopoly of the 5-Member Group on Filtering Is Broken’, Technologists (ITMEN), 21 July 2014, http://www.itmen.ir/index.aspx?pid=99&articleid=56029.
- 87.
Human Rights Watch, ‘Iran’, World Report 2017: Events of 2016, 2017, https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/iran.
- 88.
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (US), ‘Iran’, 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 3 March 2017, https://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2016/nea/265496.htm.
- 89.
Babak Dehghanpisheh, ‘Arrests in Iran Show Rouhani’s Difficulty Shielding Reformists Ahead of Vote’, Reuters, 4 April 2017, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-politics-prisoners-idUSKBN1761IW.
- 90.
Rachel Roberts, ‘Iranian Man Sentenced to Death for “Insulting Islam” Through Messaging App’, Independent, 30 March 2017, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/iranian-man-sina-dehgham-death-sentence-insult-islam-muslim-line-messaging-app-arak-prison-amnesty-a7658466.html.
- 91.
Saeed Kamali Dehghan, ‘Iranian Painter and Women’s Rights Activist on Trial for Insulting Mps’, Guardian, 21 May 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/20/iranian-painter-and-womens-rights-activist-on-trial-for-insulting-mps.
- 92.
‘Iran Arrests Fashion Models, Blog Manager in Social Media Crackdown’, Reuters, 17 May 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-rights-socialmedia-idUSKCN0Y71JT.
- 93.
‘Rouhani Government “Closed Seven Million” Websites in First Term’, Center for Human Rights in Iran, 8 June 2017, https://www.iranhumanrights.org/2017/06/rouhani-government-closed-seven-million-websites/.
- 94.
Virtual Embassy Tehran, Human Rights Report: Iran—2016, 10 May 2017, https://ir.usembassy.gov/human-rights-report-iran-2016/.
- 95.
Golnaz Esfandiari, ‘Alleged Role in State Crackdown Haunts Rohani’s New Communications Minister’, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 20 August 2017, https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-jahromi-allegations-surveillance-interrogations-intelligence-ministry/28686488.html.
- 96.
Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Yara Bayoumy and Sam Wilkin, ‘Rouhani Hails “Golden Page” in Iran’s History as Sanctions Lifted’, Reuters, 17 January 2016, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-rouhani-idUSKCN0UV052.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Conduit, D., Akbarzadeh, S. (2018). The ‘Inside-Track’ Approach to Change in Iran Under President Rouhani: The Case of Freedom on the Internet. In: Barlow, R., Akbarzadeh, S. (eds) Human Rights and Agents of Change in Iran. Studies in Iranian Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8824-7_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8824-7_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8823-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8824-7
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)