Emerging Democracy in Iran

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Iran is the last place America expected to see a burgeoning democracy. But two decades after Ayatollah Komeini’s Islamic revolution, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people seems to be taking hold.

Iranian voters turned out in record numbers to reject the theocracy of Mullahs. Pro-democracy reformers – some of whom stormed the American embassy 20 years ago – have already won a majority in Iran’s parliament and, by the time the last votes are counted, they may take two thirds of the seats.

This latest turn of the Iranian revolution isn’t necessarily pro-American. Iranians and their newly chosen leaders are as deeply rooted in Islam as ever, and they may just be leading the Middle East into a new era where liberal democracy and traditional Islam aren’t mutually exclusive.

The evolution of the Iranian Revolution, in this hour of The Connection.
(Hosted by Christopher Lydon)

Guests:

John Burns, New York Times Correspondent, Gary Sick, professor of international relations at Columbia University and author of “All Fall Down: America’s Tragic Encounter with Iran” and “October Surprise,” and Houchang Chehabi, professor of international affairs at Boston University