Iran 2022: Domestic Challenges to State Legitimacy and Isolation in The Global Arena

The Islamic Republic of Iran has faced severe domestic and international challenges that have progressively brought the country to the brink of global isolation. The on-ing impasse over nuclear negotiations, due largely to contentious demands from the Iranian side, has only served to exacerbate the negative effects of international sanc- tions on ordinary Iranian citizens. Likewise, Iran’s controversial position in regard to the Russian war in Ukraine has increased its isolation on the international stage and resulted in greater domestic economic hardship. Against this background, significant popular protests, led predominantly by Iranian youths, erupted in the autumn of 2022 and continued for over three months. The nature of these protests offers valuable insights into the weakening legitimacy of the country’s establishment, in which prominent political slogans and new forms of societal mobilization have revealed the profound gap that exists between the state’s historic institutions and the younger segments of Iran’s population.