Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

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Mohammad Ali Kadivar

Mohammad Ali Kadivar is assistant professor of sociology and international studies at Boston College.

Labor Organizing on the Rise Among Iranian Oil Workers — The Mahshahr petrochemical plant in Khuzestan province. Raheb Homavandi/ReutersFigure 1. The sources of the raw data for these maps are news articles published in Hrana, Akhbar-e Rooz, and Radio Zamaneh. The 2020 map covers strikes reported from August 1 to September 6, 2020, and the 20201 map covers strikes from June 19 to August 2, 2021.Figure 2. Monthly protests reported in ILNA.Figure 3. Monthly number of counties with protest reported in ILNA.

Current Analysis

Labor Organizing on the Rise Among Iranian Oil Workers

Oil workers in Iran have been striking since June 19, 2021, leading some observers to ask whether protests are becoming routine within the existing political system or are a prelude to a bigger uprising. The authors explain what makes these strikes remarkable, why Iran's neoliberal policies pushed w

Mohammad Ali Kadivar, Peyman Jafari, Mehdi Hoseini, Saber Khani • 14 min read

Current Analysis

The Battle Over Higher Education in Iran

The educated middle class that played an influential role in electing Hassan Rouhani to the Iranian presidency in June 2013 is anxious to see his promises of “prudence and hope” fulfilled. One area that Rouhani’s administration is expected to reform is higher education, which was targeted for politi

Mohammad Ali Kadivar • 10 min read