When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Geopolitics

For Iran, Western Values Are The True Threat To Power

More than an Israeli or American air strike, or the economic effects of sanctions, the powers-that-be in Tehran face a deeper risk rising from within Iranian society.

Girls in western jeans walking past a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran
Girls in western jeans walking past a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran
Rudolph Chimelli

-Analysis-

BERLIN - In Teheran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has the last word. But is the “No” of Iran’s spiritual leader really his last word when it comes to negotiating directly with the U.S. in the conflict over his country’s nuclear program?

Maybe not. His position must be seen in the context of Iran’s domestic politics – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is not in Khamenei’s good books, only has four more months in office. Taking such a huge step as starting to reconcile with the U.S. – something most Iranians want – is not going to take place while Ahmadinejad is in office.

In this conflict, now over a decade old, so many red lines have been crossed, so many opportunities wasted, so many deadlines frittered away, that there is no longer such a thing as “never.” Israeli leaders have been seeing the imminent advent of an Iranian bomb since the mid-1990s.

On the other hand, a few years ago Khamenei himself said that if it served Iran to cultivate relations with the U.S., he would be the first to do so. And if things get that far he wants the credit to go to him, not to reformers or populists. Now however, the Americans have tightened sanctions against Teheran so from his standpoint talk is useless. "I’m not a diplomat, I’m a revolutionary," he says.

A solution to the conflict is possible despite Khamenei’s deep-rooted mistrust of the Americans. Settling the exasperating dispute about uranium and centrifuges would end economic sanctions – and then nothing more would stand in the way of broader reconciliation between the two countries. But here’s the rub – the spiritual leader fears nothing as much as he fears free exchange between people, free exchange of thought and goods. Every chance he gets, he warns of “cultural invasion.”

In Khamenei’s view, the spread of cultural values would lead to moral corruption, promiscuity and the destruction of social fabric. In that sense such values are far more dangerous to him than military attack. Washington pundits are credited with saying that mini-skirts would be more effective than bombs in Iran. This fear is what has led to the recent increase of pressure on Iranian journalists, artists and intellectuals, and the demonization of opposition leaders as “deviants.” For Khamenei, economic sanctions are the lesser of two evils.

When the Ayatollah speaks

Khamenei himself does not feel the consequences of such sanctions. For over three decades he has been either president or supreme leader, separated from the reality of everyday Iranians by the security measures and personality cult that surround him. He doesn’t believe that the sanctions can hurt the country in the long-term. On the contrary, he says: the sanctions foster independence, the development of Iran’s own potential, and a sense of self-determination.

The reality is a little less rosy. For followers of the spiritual leader, Iran’s independence and national dignity may be a fetish, but the truth is that nearly all Iranians suffer from the sanctions. But Khamenei has the last word.

The Western media doesn’t seem to have picked up on the fact that Khamenei recently read Iran’s political classes the riot act. Never have the president, parliament, high-ranking clerics, revolutionary guard and business leaders been so divided. Never have there been so many accusations of corruption, protection and despotism.

The most recent conflict between Ahmadinejad and the powerful clan of parliamentary chairman Ali Larijani was only stopped because Khamenei ordered a stop to it. Until the presidential elections, all critical discussion in public is forbidden. To Khamenei, anyone who disregards this is a “traitor.”

Various institutions will be making sure that Khamenei has the June presidential elections well under control – first and foremost the Guardian Council that vets all candidates and weeds out the ones deemed unsuitable.

For President Ahmadinejad it will be difficult in the time he has remaining to find puppet candidate – someone to carry on his policies – through all the hurdles. Among conservatives, it’s not yet clear who of the many contenders will get Khamenei’s seal of approval. And whether former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, the big outsider in the Iranian power tussle, gets into the race again is presently unclear. Meanwhile, moderate reformers appear to be betting on Hassan Rowhani, a former Iranian nuclear program negotiator.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Society

What's Spoiling The Kids: The Big Tech v. Bad Parenting Debate

Without an extended family network, modern parents have sought to raise happy kids in a "hostile" world. It's a tall order, when youngsters absorb the fears (and devices) around them like a sponge.

Image of a kid wearing a blue striped sweater, using an ipad.

Children exposed to technology at a very young age are prominent today.

Julián de Zubiría Samper

-Analysis-

BOGOTÁ — A 2021 report from the United States (the Youth Risk Behavior Survey) found that 42% of the country's high-school students persistently felt sad and 22% had thought about suicide. In other words, almost half of the country's young people are living in despair and a fifth of them have thought about killing themselves.

Such chilling figures are unprecedented in history. Many have suggested that this might be the result of the COVID-19 pandemic, but sadly, we can see depression has deeper causes, and the pandemic merely illustrated its complexity.

I have written before on possible links between severe depression and the time young people spend on social media. But this is just one aspect of the problem. Today, young people suffer frequent and intense emotional crises, and not just for all the hours spent staring at a screen. Another, possibly more important cause may lie in changes to the family composition and authority patterns at home.

Firstly: Families today have fewer members, who communicate less among themselves.

Young people marry at a later age, have fewer children and many opt for personal projects and pets instead of having children. Families are more diverse and flexible. In many countries, the number of children per woman is close to or less than one (Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong among others).

In Colombia, women have on average 1.9 children, compared to 7.6 in 1970. Worldwide, women aged 15 to 49 years have on average 2.4 children, or half the average figure for 1970. The changes are much more pronounced in cities and among middle and upper-income groups.

Of further concern today is the decline in communication time at home, notably between parents and children. This is difficult to quantify, but reasons may include fewer household members, pervasive use of screens, mothers going to work, microwave ovens that have eliminated family cooking and meals and, thanks to new technologies, an increase in time spent on work, even at home. Our society is addicted to work and devotes little time to minors.

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest