Money Can’t Buy Us Democracy

Cash won’t promote democracy in Iran, and anyone who claims it will is a swindler, writes Akbar Ganji, an Iranian journalist. Money from outsiders can support despotism, but democracy must swell from citizens’ hearts and minds. Iran’s oppression has deep historical roots, and the international community can best help Iran, Ganji writes, by creating conduits that allow diverse dissident voices to be heard. The international community can provide moral support, encourage the study of Iran, and call for regional and global nuclear disarmament. Military intervention would only increase the ability of the Iranian regime to oppress its people, according to Ganji, so countries like the US must control the desire for a quick fix. Only Iranian people, Ganji writes, “can nourish that freedom and create a political system that can sustain it.” The internal struggle may be protracted, but could produce lasting freedom. – YaleGlobal