Iran: Crisis of Legitimacy?

This is a virtual program

Earlier this month, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was arrested, apparently for concerns about her hijab by Iran's morality police. Her death in police custody sparked protests that spread across Iran. The Iranian president was in New York for the United Nations General Assembly when the protests broke out, giving world leaders, including President Joe Biden, the opportunity to voice their support for the women of Iran. Are these protests different from earlier demonstrations that have wracked Iran before or could this be a spark for change in Iran?

Join the World Affairs Council and Iran expert Dr. Suzanne Maloney, Vice President and Director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, for a conversation about what the future trajectory of Iran might look like; what role, if any, the United States should seek to play; and how these protests could affect the long-tense U.S.-Iran relationship. The conversation will be moderated by Negar Mortazavi.

About the Speaker

Suzanne Maloney is the vice president and director of the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, where her research focuses on Iran and Persian Gulf energy. Prior to being named vice president and director, she served as the deputy director of Foreign Policy for five years. At Brookings, she is a leading voice on U.S. policy toward Iran and the broader Middle East, testifying before Congress, briefing policymakers, and engaging with government, non-profit organizations and corporations. She is a frequent commentator in national and international media.

Maloney has advised both Democratic and Republican administrations on Iran policy, including as an external advisor to senior State Department officials during the Obama administration and as a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s Policy Planning staff. Earlier in her career, she served as Middle East advisor for ExxonMobil Corporation, where she was responsible for government relations related to all corporate activities in the region.

She has authored or edited three books on Iran: “The Iranian Revolution at 40” (Brookings Institution Press, 2020); “Iran's Political Economy since the Revolution” (Cambridge University Press, 2015); and “Iran's Long Reach” (United States Institute of Peace, 2008). Maloney has also published numerous book chapters and articles in a variety of academic and policy journals as well as news media such as the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. In 2004, she directed and authored the Council on Foreign Relations Task Force on US policy toward Iran, chaired by former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Maloney received a doctorate from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and studied in Tehran as part of the first academic exchanges between the United States and Iran since the 1979 revolution.

About the Moderator

Negar Mortazavi is an Iranian-American journalist and political analyst and host of the Iran Podcast based in Washington DC, who has been covering Iranian affairs and US foreign policy towards the Middle East for over a decade.

She is a regular media commentator and has appeared on CNN, NBC, NPR, BBC, France24, Aljazeera, and i24News. Her writing has been published in Foreign Policy magazine, The Intercept, Politico, and The Independent. She regularly speaks at panels and conferences about Iranian affairs and US foreign policy.

Negar has been featured in FORBES among 30 inspirational women who made great achievements and continue to break boundaries in work and life. She has been named by Middle East Policy Council among 40 under 40 leaders shaping the present and future of US-Middle East relations, and among 40 under 40 Iranian-Americans who have made an enormous impact on their community and country. She was named a rising star in US foreign policy by New America Foundation and also by the Center For Strategic and International Studies, and in 2017 was named a Young Leader by Friends of Europe, a prominent European institutions based in Brussels.

Negar has a Master of Arts from Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts. She lived in Iran and Germany, immigrated to the United States in 2002, and has been forced into exile since 2009.