Richard Bulliet
The jury is still out over whether last week’s election was fair, and the truth of the matter may never be known. In a fair election the baby boomers may already have the numbers to win. But if not, their share of the electorate is bound to grow in coming years.
So the Greatest Generation faces a challenge. Either persuade the boomers to accept their leadership, which would require loosening restrictions and increasing access to the outside world, or restructure the republic along authoritarian lines to solidify domination by Ahmadinejad’s supporters.
If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad decide on the latter course, as may become evident during the coming weeks, the immediate crisis may be successfully suppressed. But the Islamic Republic will be in for a more serious clash in a few years time
The commitment to freedom that fueled the 1979 revolution began with the rage and tears that followed the U.S.-engineered coup against Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953. Restored to his throne by CIA intervention, the shah presided over an oppressive absolute monarchy. But the seeds of his overthrow were growing.
If a new oppression grows out of the current crisis, the clash of generations will take far less than 26 years to turn today’s political frustration into a successful movement for fundamental change.(Courtesy Herald Tribune)
The jury is still out over whether last week’s election was fair, and the truth of the matter may never be known. In a fair election the baby boomers may already have the numbers to win. But if not, their share of the electorate is bound to grow in coming years.
So the Greatest Generation faces a challenge. Either persuade the boomers to accept their leadership, which would require loosening restrictions and increasing access to the outside world, or restructure the republic along authoritarian lines to solidify domination by Ahmadinejad’s supporters.
If Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Ahmadinejad decide on the latter course, as may become evident during the coming weeks, the immediate crisis may be successfully suppressed. But the Islamic Republic will be in for a more serious clash in a few years time
The commitment to freedom that fueled the 1979 revolution began with the rage and tears that followed the U.S.-engineered coup against Mohammed Mossadegh in 1953. Restored to his throne by CIA intervention, the shah presided over an oppressive absolute monarchy. But the seeds of his overthrow were growing.
If a new oppression grows out of the current crisis, the clash of generations will take far less than 26 years to turn today’s political frustration into a successful movement for fundamental change.(Courtesy Herald Tribune)
