Does the Soviet Regime-Change Analogy Apply to Iran?

by Eldar Mamedov Among regime-change advocates, it´s long been de rigeur to invoke the way the President Ronald Reagan dealt with the Soviet Union as a template for hastening the demise of the Islamic Republic. According to this view, Reagan,… Continue Reading

EU in the Middle East: Punching Below the Weight

by Eldar Mamedov At the end of May, citizens across the European Union will elect a new European Parliament for the next five years. The outcome of these elections will determine the future direction of the EU. By the end… Continue Reading

The False Allure of Authoritarian Stability

by Eldar Mamedov When EU leaders met with their Arab counterparts at the first EU-League of Arab States (LAS) summit in Cairo in February, they were criticized for embracing the Arab autocrats too tightly and uncritically. Although the final statement—the… Continue Reading

Sotoudeh’s Case is Iran’s Own Goal

by Eldar Mamedov Last week, the European Parliament joined the international outcry over the sentencing of Iranian human rights defender Nasrin Sotoudeh to a long prison term by voting overwhelmingly for a resolution calling for her release. The European Parliament… Continue Reading