For Immediate Release, June 12, 2013
Contact: Allison Sturma, 202-429-4725

(Washington) – Robin Wright and Daniel Brumberg, experts with the U.S. Institute of Peace, are available for comment on Friday’s presidential election in Iran.

Robin Wright, a fellow with USIP and the Wilson Center, stated:

The field of candidates in Iran’s 2013 presidential poll may be limited, but the outside world can still learn three pivotal metrics about the Islamic republic now that the Ahmadinejad era is ending:  The public’s interest in theocratic rule, who now captures their political imagination, and how far they’re willing to go if they don’t like the results. The last two elections for new presidents in 1997 and 2005 produced surprises. This one could too.

Dan Brumberg with the Institute’s Center for Conflict Management commented:

As Iran moves towards presidential elections, the challenge for the regime is to mobilize sufficient public support so that it can claim that the election is a legitimate exercise, while as the same time insuring that there is no one candidate who can attract a following outside of the regime's base, enabling the election to be a popular referendum on the regime. There have been efforts by the regime to maintain this delicate balancing act, but it is not clear whether it will succeed or not. Friday may be a day of surprises after all.

Robin Wright has traveled to Iran dozens of times since 1973. She has covered several elections, including the 2009 presidential vote. She is the author of several books on Iran, including “The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil and Transformation in Iran” and “The Iran Primer: Power, Politics and U.S. Policy.”

Daniel Brumberg is a senior program officer at USIP and focuses on issues of democratization and political reform in the Middle East and wider Islamic world. He is also an associate professor at Georgetown University and a former senior associate in the Carnegie Endowment’s Democracy and Rule of Law Project (2003-04).

Wright and Brumberg are available for additional comment. Please contact the Institute’s media desk at 202-429-3869 or interviews@usip.org.

Additional analysis is available at the Iran Primer online.

###

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan conflict management center created by Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict through nonviolent means. USIP works to save lives, increase the government’s ability to deal with conflicts before they escalate, reduce government costs, and enhance national security. USIP is headquartered in Washington, DC. To learn more, visit www.usip.org.