Context:
Nationwide, Iranian truckers have united in protest demanding better wages. Their protest, in conjunction with rising levels of resistance to Iran’s leader, Ali Khamenei, signify a changing tide in Iranian society.
In the News:
“The united strike of Iranian truckers follows an almost month-long uprising in the city of Kazerun, starting on 16 April, where protestors defied all regime security measures and shouted for regime change. The Kazerun protests began seemingly in protest at rules over new districts in the region. This follows on the heels of the recent nationwide uprising in late December and early January that shook Iran.”
Insight from Peace Science:
Organized labor bridges social divides, allowing for mass mobilization and nonviolent collective action utilizing economically derived leverage as a means of social resistance.
References:
- “Iran Truckers join nationwide push for change” by Jubin Afshar. openDemocracy. May 28, 2018.
- Peace Science Digest Volume 1, Issue 3 “Manufacturing Dissent: Modernization and the Surge of Nonviolent Resistance”.
