@misc{Nateghpour2004, author = {Nateghpour, Mohamad Javad}, title = {Islamic councils and social democracy in Iran}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-47145}, year = {2004}, abstract = {For the first time when the new Islamic councils began their Operation, many intellectuals and politicians proclaimed that there would be no room for the young Islamic councils to proceed. In political terms, because of the new challenges between the rightists and leftists, many people had no hope to see the results of the councils. Still others believed that under the dominating ruling system of Iran there is no space for public opinion and participation in local decision-making. This paper focuses on the role of the Islamic Councils as a new form of social democracy, which decentralizes power and creates good local governance. The paper also discusses the obstacles for the Councils in the development of the region.}, language = {en} }