Comments on: Mirrors of the Unseen http://robm.me.uk/2009/10/20/mirrors-of-the-unseen Tue, 07 Sep 2010 03:25:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1-alpha By: TRACY EDWARDES http://robm.me.uk/2009/10/20/mirrors-of-the-unseen/comment-page-1#comment-26660 TRACY EDWARDES Fri, 08 Jan 2010 16:11:19 +0000 http://robm.me.uk/?p=1775#comment-26660 <p>Can you enlighten me as to what you understand Elliot means at the end of the book when he says he has finally crossed the threshold? Many thanks, Tracy</p> Can you enlighten me as to what you understand Elliot means at the end of the book when he says he has finally crossed the threshold? Many thanks, Tracy

]]> By: Rob Miller http://robm.me.uk/2009/10/20/mirrors-of-the-unseen/comment-page-1#comment-26575 Rob Miller Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:37:16 +0000 http://robm.me.uk/?p=1775#comment-26575 <p>I don't think "anti-west" really captures the subtlety of the population's attitudes, or the urban population at least. Being against "western" (for want of a better word) meddling in your country is a pretty reasonable attitude, and one that's shared by virtually every non-western country in the world; the only difference with Iran is that they can actually be excused some trepidation or even paranoia towards the west, given that they've spent the last century fighting off first British and then American interference in every level of their domestic affairs. I mean, it's barely fifty years since a democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister dared to make popularly-mandated decisions about Iran's domestic energy supplies, and the US's first response to was to launch a coup d'état.</p> <p>In my experience Iranians generally have nothing against the west, its culture, its institutions, or its people; a desire for sovereignty and autonomy is not really the same as a blanket hatred of the west. The thing that complicates things is the triangular system of tensions that operates between the three primary actors: the regime, keen to exploit a convenient scapegoat; the west, keen to pursue their own strategic interests in the region; and the population, who want both autonomy (thereby resisting the west) but also many "western" reforms (thereby resisting the regime). If either the regime or the west push too hard, they cement the interests of the other at the expense of their own; hence the frequent stalemates over issues that should be relatively simple, like the nuclear programme.</p> I don’t think “anti-west” really captures the subtlety of the population’s attitudes, or the urban population at least. Being against “western” (for want of a better word) meddling in your country is a pretty reasonable attitude, and one that’s shared by virtually every non-western country in the world; the only difference with Iran is that they can actually be excused some trepidation or even paranoia towards the west, given that they’ve spent the last century fighting off first British and then American interference in every level of their domestic affairs. I mean, it’s barely fifty years since a democratically-elected Iranian Prime Minister dared to make popularly-mandated decisions about Iran’s domestic energy supplies, and the US’s first response to was to launch a coup d’état.

In my experience Iranians generally have nothing against the west, its culture, its institutions, or its people; a desire for sovereignty and autonomy is not really the same as a blanket hatred of the west. The thing that complicates things is the triangular system of tensions that operates between the three primary actors: the regime, keen to exploit a convenient scapegoat; the west, keen to pursue their own strategic interests in the region; and the population, who want both autonomy (thereby resisting the west) but also many “western” reforms (thereby resisting the regime). If either the regime or the west push too hard, they cement the interests of the other at the expense of their own; hence the frequent stalemates over issues that should be relatively simple, like the nuclear programme.

]]> By: Ben http://robm.me.uk/2009/10/20/mirrors-of-the-unseen/comment-page-1#comment-26573 Ben Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:57:53 +0000 http://robm.me.uk/?p=1775#comment-26573 <p>Most immediately interesting about (the general population of) Iran is how it can be so pro-Democracy but anti-West. Having so long thought of ourselves as a synechdoche for Democracy, it's—somewhat—shocking for a country to emulate us and hate us at the same time.</p> <p>But then, Iran's always been the odd man out in the region, I suppose.</p> Most immediately interesting about (the general population of) Iran is how it can be so pro-Democracy but anti-West. Having so long thought of ourselves as a synechdoche for Democracy, it’s—somewhat—shocking for a country to emulate us and hate us at the same time.

But then, Iran’s always been the odd man out in the region, I suppose.

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