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| Mehdi Neimi |
Mehdi Neimi believes that in some countries, people become accustomed to poverty and harsh economic conditions, seeing their situation as their destiny. However, in Iran, where the population is not homogeneous, this does not seem possible.
Speaking to Voice of America, the economist comments on Iran’s current economic and political situation and evaluates the relationship between economic development and political stability.
According to Mehdi Neimi, "The impact of worsening economic conditions and the responses to them will be clearly visible in society. However, this will not lead to the same responses everywhere."
"When the subjective interests of a society are hurt, many people may not feel it immediately and might not respond. Issues like the mother tongue, for example. But when we consider the economy as the society’s objective interests, it concerns everyone… Since the beginning of time, humans have struggled to fill their stomachs," he adds.
The economist highlights the impact of economic conditions on elections in partisan regimes, stating, "Generally, when there are economic difficulties, the current ruling power might not win the desired result in the next election."
He explains that in systems like the Islamic Republic of Iran, where there are no political parties, reactions to such issues manifest differently:
"Iran's population is 80 million, and it's as if each of them is living alone. Even if 60% or 70% of these 82 million people express their dissatisfaction, they cannot unite with each other. There is no organization. The Iranian government has managed to prevent these people from coming together. But the fact that protests are small in number does not mean that the people are satisfied with the situation."
According to him, "The people do not know how to protest, and everyone feels alone... But no matter how much fear there is, the society’s tolerance will eventually reach its breaking point, and protests will begin."
Highlighting Iran’s ethnic diversity, the expert notes that it is not possible for the population to become accustomed to the difficult economic situation in Iran due to its lack of homogeneity.
"In Iran, there is something that keeps the feeling of resistance against the government alive. Iran’s population is not homogeneous. There is ethnic diversity. Even though these ethnic groups may not have traditional forms of organization, they share a common spirit. This could lead to the start of protests. For example, if the Turks begin protesting for some reason, the protests could spread from there to other regions. Other ethnic communities also have the capacity and readiness to do the same," Neimi says.
"If this issue didn’t exist, there could be a fear that people would become accustomed to the situation and accept it as their fate. For instance, in India, poverty is rampant, yet protests don’t occur easily because people view it as their destiny."
Link to the original interview in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
Mehdi Nəimi: İran əhalisi homogen deyil, bir nöqtədə baş qaldıracaq