Iranian Studies unit announces annual conference

 

 

 

The Iranian Studies Unit of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies will hold its second annual conference from August 22-23 on 'Iran: The Raisi Presidency One Year On.'The conference, featuring a selection of scholars of Iran, will analyse the first year of Raisi’s presidency by examining the continuities and changes in politics and policies. The topics to be covered are:- Iranian foreign policy, especially Iran’s relations with the great powers; Iran and the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC); Iran and non-state actors; nuclear negotiations and the JCPOA; and Iran in the Caucasus;- Domestic politics, including the role of the various political institutions; the legitimacy of the system; treatment of activists; media freedoms, the future of the Velayat-e Faqih; the religious establishment; labour issues and activism; protests; cyber activism and restrictions;- The Iranian economy, with a focus on the impact of sanctions and the Iranian economy; cryptocurrency; workforce and employment; income inequality; industrial manufacturing and production; agricultural production;- Public policy, including the state’s approach to the Covid-19 pandemic and healthcare, demographic shifts and developments, refugees, climate change and environmental challenges, and cyberspace.The conference will address these topics in 15 papers distributed among seven panels, in addition to a public lecture titled 'Iranian Foreign Policy and the Raisi Presidency,' delivered by Seyed Hossein Mousavian, former spokesman for Iran in its nuclear negotiations with the international community and a Middle East Security and Nuclear Policy Specialist at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs.Conference participants include a number of prominent scholars, including Hamid Ahmadi, Leen al-Rabbat, Hassan Muzaffar al-Razzo, Gawdat Bahgat, Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, Abdolrasool Divsallar, Javad Heiran-Nia, Bernard Hourcade, Nikolay Kozhanov, Eric Lob, Amir Mahdavi, Rovshan Mammadli, Ilkhom Mirzoev, Mahmood Monshipouri, Mahmoud Muhareb, Anas Omair, and Mahjoob Zweiri.