Fariba Adelkhah

The Iranian Afghans1

Emigration from Afghanistan is the product of socio-political circumstances—drought, regime changes, wars—and economic structures—pastoralism and agricultural seasonal cycles—but it is also situated in a historical continuum of recurrent population movements on a regional scale. As a phenomenon, it has been well-researched in Pakistan, but has been less well understood from the Iranian side. However, many Afghans, notably but not exclusively Hazaras, have settled there since the end of the nineteenth century. Immigration from Afghanistan intensified from the 1970s onwards following the Iranian oil boom and drought in Afghanistan and the political turbulence in that country after 1978. The policies of the Islamic Republic towards this population have been both variable and inconsistent. Recently, their main priority has been the repatriation of Afghans in an atmosphere of both official and popular xenophobia. The experience of exile has resulted in important social changes, in particular with respect to education and the position of women. Moreover, the Afghan presence on Iranian soil appears to be irreversible: it satisfies economic needs, reflects the intensity of commercial exchanges between the two countries, and in itself constitutes a complex trans-border reality. Finally, it sustains a public and juridical debate on the definition of citizenship and appears to be inherent in the idea of the Iranian nation itself. 1The first part of this paper was written by Olszewska based on nine months of fieldwork conducted among Afghans in Iran between 2004 and 2006. The subsequent two sections, the introduction and the conclusion, were written by Adelkhah based on two months of research in Iran from August-September 2005 and ongoing research on border markets since 2000. This is an abridged version of a working paper originally published by CERI in French under the title Les Afghans Iraniens, Les Etudes du CERI, 125 (Paris, April 2006).

The Political Economy of the Green Movement: Contestation and Political Mobilization in Iran

The Iranian presidential elections on June 12, 2009, led to social and political mobilizations on a scale not witnessed since the 1979 revolution. The campaign itself was heated and included hard-hitting televised debates between the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and the other candidates, notably Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi. Voters and spectators filled the main streets of the capital following those TV programs, lending a festive atmosphere to the campaign, not unlike that which reigned during the big football rallies of 1997–1998. On the day after the first round of voting, hopes faded as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared the victor, despite all evidence to the contrary. This, however, did not put an end to the rallies; in fact, it had the opposite effect. Immediately following the official announcement of the results, opposition supporters gathered in the streets to ask what had happened to their votes. The intensity and momentum of the ensuing protests can be explained by the stark contrast between people’s expectations and the reality surrounding the elections; that is, the relative freedom with which people had been allowed to express their views about the sitting president throughout the campaign, and a combination of the speed with which his victory in the first round was declared and the severity with which all expression of doubt regarding the legitimacy of the results was repressed. Still, by the fall, protests resumed, generally during official national celebrations or religious ceremonies. The protests peaked during the Ashoura1 commemoration in December 2009, following the death of Ayatollah Montazeri.

La vie politique dans une province frontalière: l’exemple du Khorasân

EnglishIran’s political life is particularly complex and changing especially through regular elections since the revolution of 1979. The national debates between « conservatives » and « reformers » are far from reflecting the reality of the balance of power, of the conflict and dynamics at work in the country. The detailed analysis of the 2016 parliamentary elections in two constituencies of Khorasân (Torbat-e Jam / Tâyebâd and Sarakhs / Farimân), shows the place of the conflicts related to the land, the weight of the personalities and religious institutions (poet Jâmi and especially the very powerful foundation of Astân-e Qods), personal relationships, intrigues and ethnic or rather clannish solidarities with the multitude of diverse populations, often refugees in this border province of Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. This complex local dynamic is not « traditional » nor characteristic of a « peripheral » region and has to be taken into account to understand the national political debates. francaisLa vie politique iranienne est particulierement complexe et changeante, notamment a travers des elections regulieres depuis la revolution de 1979. Les debats nationaux entre « conservateurs » et « reformateurs » sont loin de refleter la realite de l’equilibre des forces, des conflits et des dynamiques a l’œuvre dans le pays. L’analyse detaillee des elections legislatives de 2016 dans deux circonscriptions de Khorasân (Torbat-e Jam / Tâyebâd et Sarakhs / Farimân) montre la place des conflits lies a la terre, le poids des personnalites et des institutions religieuses (le poete Jâmi et surtout Astân-e Qods), des relations personnelles, des intrigues et des solidarites ethniques ou plutot claniques avec la multitude de populations diverses, souvent refugiees dans cette province frontaliere de l’Afghanistan et du Turkmenistan. Cette dynamique locale complexe n’est ni « traditionnelle » ni caracteristique d’une region « peripherique », elle doit etre prise en compte car elle fait desormais partie du contexte politique national.