At its core, can Iran be a successful democracy?

[Reza]

In our book for the month of October, "The Ayatollahs' Democracy," author Hooman Majd highlights a firm beleif among the people in the democratic process in Iran, from community leaders to influential ayatollahs. When you peel away Ahmadinejad's rhetoric and the cultural perceptions of Iranian government, does Iran have the foundation and the ability to be a successful democracy? Why or why not?

And mark your calendars for the first weekend of November, when we'll be hosting our live book chat over Twitter to discuss "The Ayatollahs' Democracy."

[Tom]

By definition, as long as Iran is a theocracy, it cannot be a democracy. The state is either ruled by God, or it is ruled by the people; it cannot be both, can it?

That said, I do need to read this book, but not until The Tenth Parallel is finished :)

[Parisa]

Iran is ready for democracy. The 2009 presidential election and the unfortunate turmoil that followed was a small example of how Iranian youth are ready to engage in a new democracy.
Iranian women movement in forms of campaigns such as One Million Signature is another example of how Iranians are using what ever available to make a change about their lives controlled by the system.
Also, looking at Iranian cinema--the films made inside Iran--shows how progressive Iranian society is maneuvering around the censorships and limitation to create such critical, valuable movies that could not voice an opposition in any better way.
I also believe that the high unemployment in Iran is pressuring the youth so hard that they will be forced to uprise soon.
Finally, I don't believe that Iran is a theocracy--in the Western definition of it any ways. Iranian people are very religious and spiritual. It is a mistake to think that getting rid of the Islamic Republic would bring democracy to Iran simply because Iranian are not looking for toppling their government down. They are just looking forward to have equal rights and freedom of speech and right to civil entertainment like in any other normal country.
Here are more of my reasons why Iran in ready for a democracy:
http://parisasaranjblog.wordpress.com/

[Sophia]

I agree with Parisa on several points. (I am picking up Majd's book today so this is not based on his writing). Iran is not what I would call a theocracy, but is rather a system that is has both theocratic and democratic elements. Theocracies, in my opinion, don't generally have a majlis/parliament that is representative of the larger society, or elections (the last election has some issues, I agree). I also worry about the use of the term "democracy" because as Soroush has so eloquently argued, the normative definition of this very Western construct necessarily implies extreme secularism. Rather, what I hope for Iran (and I am not Iranian so it is none of my business, except in the sense that I hope the best for my fellow Muslims) is a kind of Islamic democracy that represents both Islam and democracy, which I do not see as exclusive but mutual.