Iran in turmoil?

Well, don’t I feel like the perfect fool. Post something about possibly cooperating with the Iranian government, and then the Iranian people go and rise up. Click here, here, and here for details. We’ll see where this leads. One wonders whether the complete impotence of “reformers” in the government triggered this outbreak. I would love ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Well, don't I feel like the perfect fool. Post something about possibly cooperating with the Iranian government, and then the Iranian people go and rise up. Click here, here, and here for details. We'll see where this leads. One wonders whether the complete impotence of "reformers" in the government triggered this outbreak. I would love for this to pan out -- but I have every confidence that the hardliners are prepared to be as brutal as necessary to stay in power. I really hope my confidence is misplaced.

Well, don’t I feel like the perfect fool. Post something about possibly cooperating with the Iranian government, and then the Iranian people go and rise up. Click here, here, and here for details. We’ll see where this leads. One wonders whether the complete impotence of “reformers” in the government triggered this outbreak. I would love for this to pan out — but I have every confidence that the hardliners are prepared to be as brutal as necessary to stay in power. I really hope my confidence is misplaced.

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.