The Iranian Studies Unit of the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies will hold its annual conference from 16-18 August 2021. This year’s conference will consider the topic of Institutions and Politics in Iran.

The three-day conference, featuring a selection of scholars specialized in Iran, will examine the institutional makeup of the Islamic Republic and the power arrangements that characterize the Iranian political system. Placing the birth and evolution of the Islamic Republic within a broader context of Iranian history, the conference examines the changes and transformations that various Iranian political institutions have undergone since the state was first established more than forty years ago. Specific focus will be on changes to the institutions of the presidency, the Revolutionary Guards, the Majles, the judiciary, the office of the Velayat-e Faqih, and the foreign policy establishment.

Conference participants include Shahram Akbarzadeh, Wilfried Buchta, Abdolrasool Divsallar, Hamideh Dorzadeh, Alireza Eshraghi, Shireen T. Hunter, Mehran Kamrava, Arang Keshavarzian, Amir Mahdavi, Mahmoud Pargoo, and Alireza Raisi.

In light of the exceptional circumstances of the ongoing pandemic, this year’s conference will be organized remotely via the Zoom video conference platform and will broadcast through the Arab Center’s social media accounts for general public access. Those wishing to attend the conference, open to the general public, can register for individual sessions according to the agenda attached below.