Workshop

With:
Ali Fathollah-Nejad (Berlin),
political scientist and Middle East specialist
Fatemeh Masjedi (Berlin),
historian of Iran and women’s rights activist
Manouchehr Shamsrizi (Berlin),
philosopher, tech entrepreneur and policy advisor

Chair: Benjamin Zachariah (Potsdam), historian

What is the place of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the world? Where are the Straits of Hormuz? Is there a war on? What has Israel to do with this? Is Iran a bulwark against American imperialism? How many of its own citizens did the regime kill in January? Who are the Houthis? What has Iran to do with Hamas or Hezbollah? Can Iran build a bomb? Is its regime collapsing? What has Iran to do with Russia and the Ukraine War? What was the Iranian Revolution of 1978? Who are the Pahlavis and what are they up to now?
This event will give our public an opportunity to engage in depth with Iran—its past, present, and possible futures—beyond the talking heads and the rhythms of the news cycle. Rather than simply reacting to the latest crisis, we shall step back and ask some of the larger questions: how the Islamic Republic has changed over nearly half a century, how Iranian society itself has changed, how Iran’s relationship to the wider world has evolved, and what political and intellectual possibilities might now lie ahead.
Three short presentations will each be followed by a Q&A session, after which there will be a panel discussion involving all three speakers and a chair.

This is an in-person event only. Please register by e-mail beforehand
(einsteinforum@einsteinforum.de) and bring ID to the venue. Bags larger than an A4 size will not be allowed into the Einstein Forum building, so please don’t bring any with you.

The Chatham House Rule will apply: “When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”