Re-Revolutionising Iran: Condemning Prosperity and Jihadi Management

Iran's conservative politicians, known to be loyal supporters of Ayatollah Khamenei, have been actively working to revitalise the regime's revolutionary values according to his vision. President Ebrahim Raisi's efforts to deliver on such aims are linked with his hopes of becoming the country's next supreme leader. As poverty and inflation increase in Iran, various rounds of protests demonstrate brewing socio-economic discontent among ordinary Iranians. While the regime's direct response consists of severe repression, President Raisi's administration has also reacted with a mixture of propaganda, populist economic policies, and attempts to strengthen relations with Eastern powers. Promoting a "modest lifestyle" as an Islamic and national virtue, condemning economic prosperity as part of materialistic, Westernised culture, and campaigning to change the nation's consumption habits are among the current regime's key responses to economic privation. Declaring a commitment to solve the nation's economic hardship through populist gestures and policies that are short of robust economic solutions has been emerging as an accompanying strategy. Doggedly pursuing the consolidation of ties with non-Western global powers has been continued as a strategy to cope with Western sanctions. These elements are embedded in the encouragement, promotion, and support of a new generation of political elite, frequently referred to as the "young jihadi managers," who in Khamenei's imagination, will be the vanguard of Iran's progress in the years to come. Iran on the path of re-revolutionising itself will be more resistant to demands for change domestically, less likely to abandon its regional security strategies, and harder for Europe to cooperate with. Therefore, it is important for EU and German policymakers to take Iran's longer-term strategies into consideration in order to develop lasting responses to them.