Drawing together the themes of protest, Twitter, and Iran that have dominated the Monkey Cage in the past few days, I published an “Op-Ed piece”:http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6b4dc2b1-6ed2-4544-9095-e59dcf3c4dc0 today over on _The New Republic_ online on lessons from the post-communist colored revolutions that may have been learned by the authorities in Iran. Not sure exactly what the blogging etiquette is on this sort of thing, but thought I would share the first two paragraphs here with readers of the Monkey Cage and then direct those of you that are interested to “TNR”:http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6b4dc2b1-6ed2-4544-9095-e59dcf3c4dc0 to finish reading it:
bq. As I watched events in Iran unfold at the end of last week, I couldn’t help but note the similarities to the “Colored Revolutions” that swept through the post-communist region in the middle of this decade. Pre-election polls predicted a surprisingly competitive election in an erstwhile authoritarian country. Following the election, both sides claimed victory amid allegations of serious electoral fraud. Supporters of the opposition candidate took to the streets, and even had a color — green — lined up to give them the moniker of the “green revolution.”
bq. However, over the past three days, it has become apparent that Tehran is not turning into Kiev. While there are numerous important differences between Iran and the post-communist colored-revolution countries (Serbia, Georgia, Ukraine, and possibly Kyrgyzstan)–with the most notable being that ultimate executive power in Iran lies with the Supreme Leader, currently Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is not popularly elected–it does seem to me that the Iranian authorities may have learned a number of specific lessons from their less fortunate post-communist counterparts.
Continue reading the rest of “From Kiev to Tehran?”:http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6b4dc2b1-6ed2-4544-9095-e59dcf3c4dc0 at “The New Republic”:http://www.tnr.com/politics/story.html?id=6b4dc2b1-6ed2-4544-9095-e59dcf3c4dc0.