Conversation
Iran from the Perspective of Acemoglu and Robinson; Mohammad Fazeli
This conversation explores Mohammad Fazeli's reading of Acemoglu and Robinson's ideas on dictatorship, democracy, and development. The program's focus is the application of institutional theory and political economy to understanding Iran's situation.
About this video
In this episode of the Sustainable Iran series, Mohammad Fazeli, in conversation with Sajjad Fattahi, delves into the book "Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy" and the possibility of understanding Iran from the perspective of Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson. This conversation follows the eighth episode of "The Narrative of Iran" and focuses on the relationship between institutions, political power, and development paths.
The central theme of the discussion is that democracy and dictatorship cannot be explained solely by individual will or cultural characteristics; rather, attention must be paid to the distribution of power, economic interests, conflicts among social groups, and the structure of political and economic institutions. From this angle, Iran's situation can also be re-examined within an institutional and historical framework.
The significance of this program lies in linking new political economy theories with the issue of Iran. In this conversation, the audience is confronted with the question of what kind of institutions can pave the way for development, freedom, and democracy, and what mechanisms prevent their formation.
