How Afghan’s experience teaches Iranian democrats?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTVXo9Sgryk

Hi, I am Modjtaba Najafi. Before I start, please join my YouTube channel so that we can have more discussions in the future. Today, I want to talk about the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan, 20 years after the US invasion. In the previous video, I introduced the book “ Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism.” In this book, written after the events of 9/11, the author believes that the United States is suffering terrible consequences from its mistake. The author explains that the defeat of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, communism in the Cold War rivalry and the final blow to the collapse of its traditional rival, led to a catastrophe in the Middle East and the spread of terrorism in the region. Based on the previous discussion it leads to disaster, and “those who do not learn from previous mistakes are forced to repeat them.” Those who were optimistic about this policy at the time of the US invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq must now respond. The issue of Afghanistan is not limited to Trump or Biden. Many considered the Afghanistan project a failure. Why? We cannot define the democracy by the establishment of democratic institutions, and a modern bureaucracy. More important than government establishments, institutions and modern development of cities, democracy is defined by the institutionalization of values.

Democracy is multifaceted. It is not limited to political institutions, and it is a way of human life. We will not be in the democratic process until these values ​​are institutionalized. Democracy is a path, not an end goal. Must go through trial and error. Past experiences help to correct new experiences. Is war capable of establishing democracy? The Middle East experience tells us no. The US strategy should not be evaluated in the approach of the Trump or Biden administrations. The United States itself allied itself with secular and authoritarian conservative governments, especially at the height of the Cold War. We will soon be on the eve of August 28, 1953. The day Democratic Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh was overthrown in a British-American coup d’Etat. The former Shah’s court and the reactionary clergy also took part in this coup. I believe that the overthrow of the Mossadegh government was the biggest American mistake in the Middle East. The Middle East was thirsty for a constitutional government. I see the meaning of constitution here as the limitation of absolute power and the rule of law. The American mistake in the Cold War was to choose allies who suppressed the public sphere. The result of the suppression of this public sphere was the growth of extremism. The only model in the Middle East that could open new horizons in the field of people-government relations was the Mossadegh government, which the United States and Britain, with the cooperation of their internal agents, took this unique opportunity from the people of Iran and the Middle East. This coup not only deprived Iran of the exercise of democracy, it also deprived the Middle East of a groundbreaking model.

Authoritarian conservative governments that suppress the public sphere contribute to the growth of jihadists and extremists. The bitter reality of the history of the Middle East confirms this principle that the repression of freedom had a significant relationship with the growth of extremism. Because tyranny destroys the possibility of dialogue and communication between different layers of people. Repression strengthens the humiliated, and not all humiliation are necessarily committes to democratic values. Many humiliated and ignored movments are the product of a process of repression in the public sphere. These computational errors were repeated in the Middle East. The failure of the Afghanistan project was predictable for the proponents of democracy as an endogenous process. In development of Democracy, in which the institutionalization of values ​​is more important than modern institutions. The experience of Afghanistan, Iraq, the civil war in Syria, and the return of the Arab Spring to authoritarian regimes all show that we need deep cultural work to make tyranny irreversible. This does not mean that political institutions are not important. They are important, but the establishment of modern institutions is temporary until a civil discourse is formed in a country. This lesson was taught to us by the experience of Afghanistan, Egypt, the civil war in Syria, Libya and many other countries. My emphasis is that the situation in the Middle East is very complex. Establishing democracy requires the unremitting efforts of activists. In particular, the experience of Iraq and Afghanistan tells us that more work is needed to institutionalize Iran based on a civil discourse in which pluralism is recognized along with society. Despite this pluralism that gathers around a single goal and a national consensus is necessary for the country’s development. And we have to work harder because we are in a very dangerous region where Talabani way of thinking is rooted both in Iran and in many countries. America did not invent Jihadism and fundamentalist ideas rooted in the Middle East.

We can not limit the issue of jihadism to an external factor. It is important to note that US foreign policy has led to the development of extremist thinking in the region. Sometimes in alliance with jihadist groups and sometimes in alliance with secular conservative authoritarian regimes in the context of the Cold War, it helped to strengthen extremism. Part of the growth of extremism in the region is also a product of US policy. In particular, critics of the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan believed that the lack of a local alternative that these wars created was a vital space for the terrorist’s groups and strengthened them. We witnessed this vital space. As a result, the experience of Iraq and Afghanistan forces us to talk about the goal of civilizing Iran. We must think about the problems of the Iranian model based on civil discourse. Especially in this situation where the conservatives are in a hegemonic position in terms of access to political institutions, and the society lives in a different discourse there is a deep gap created between the majority of the people and the government. In this context hardline conservatives seek to control the majority opposition. Today’s experience in Afghanistan raises the question of how we can think about the realization of futuer Iran based on civil discourse in a dark Middle East and in a world where democracy is lagging behind. How can we establish democratic relations in Iran? When I speak of democratic relations, I do not only mean changes in political institutions, but also the institutionalization of democratic values ​​such as freedom and acceptance of pluralism. That is, the institution of government and the institution of society both are emphasized. We do not just want to treat the experience of Afghanistan as a bitter, unfortunate or emotional phenomenon, but this experience should be considered as a warning. An issue that should make democrats contemplate. Those who believe that with the establishment of democratic systems, our crises will be alleviated and a national consensus will be formed to reduce crises.

I asked this question from the experience of Afghanistan and made assumptions to answer it. I also mentioned the role of the United States in the Middle East. Why the great powers either sided with the black jihadist action or with the conservative secular dictatorships. Given these external components, the discourse void that has occurred in this region, and given that we do not have a model in the Middle East, the question also arises for Iranian democrats that in this complex situation. What solutions do they have to establish democratic relations? At the same time extremist conservatives have seized all power in our region, and we are facing a backward path, especially after the Arab Spring. What to do in this situation? This is an important question and needs a lot of discussion and precision. Thank you for your attention. I hope you will join me in the next videos so that we can open more issues. Comments are closed unfortunately. it is not my fault. YouTube has imposed restrictions because I have also made this video visible to children. Otherwise, I would like to use your comments. I hope a solution is found to this problem. Have a nice day. Wishing freedom and democracy for Iran and the Middle East and peace for the world.