A Glance into the Future: Actual and Possible Co- and Cross-Articulations of Social Justice and Democracy in Iran

In light of the Green Movement of 2009, and as Iran moves toward normalization of its relations with the West, the issues arising from the country’s chronic maldevelopment are increasingly intensified. At the moment, the possibility of unhindering the growth of civil society imposed by the state and resolving the unending labour issues in the country seem dim. The prospects of a deep and total socioeconomic crisis appear vividly, when such facts as staggering social inequalities and massive poverty are viewed in the context of an irremediable ecological collapse through permanent loss of water resources, deforestation, desertification, and air, water, and land pollutions. Iranian activists are cognizant of these processes. While for over a decade a rather naïve view that appealed to human rights and citizenship as key to democratization prevailed over the public discourse, in light of latest developments, there remains no doubt that if the country is to be saved, it has to take the path of social justice and democratization, the path taken by several Latin American countries, Brazil, Venezuela, Bolivia, Rojava or closer to home, Tunisia and Turkey. In light of this trajectory, this paper will offer the engagement of select groups of younger generation activists whose works enable a co- and cross-articulation of social justice and democratic life. These actors adhere to a plurality of subject positions, advocate multiplicity of approaches, and employ minority views. Their views, largely unstudied, hold the key to a new understanding of collective action in Iran.