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WATER POLITICS

Via Future Directions International, commentary on Iran’s water crisis:

Iran’s water crisis has not occurred in a vacuum. To understand the crisis and how to fix it, a study that goes beyond the economics or the science of the water crisis is needed. A focus on institutions and political processes inside Iran is what problem solvers need to emphasise; how, not what, decisions are made needs to be the focus. Unfortunately, this tack struggles to gain traction within the Iranian media or political circles.

Comment

Political and economic institutions determine how effectively a country will create policy that benefits the lives of its people. The types of institutions that regimes or governments preside over are influential in determining the level of economic development. As some have correctly stated, economic policies are not chosen outside political decision-making circles. In the case of tyrannical or authoritarian regimes, the leader, or a selection of political elites, pick the economic policies that ensure they remain in charge.

In Iran’s case, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is pre-disposed to prefer policies that strengthen his grip on those arms of the government that are pivotal to his position as ruler; such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the economy and the judiciary. This leaves public economic development as a policy choice subordinate to the needs of the leadership.

Writing in Why Nations Fail, Acemoglu and Robinson argue that ‘poor countries are poor because those who have power make choices that create poverty. They get it wrong not by mistake or ignorance but on purpose.’ Regimes, such as the one running Iran, have institutionalised practices that centre the country’s wealth and power inwards, favouring those in power.

Without a free, inquisitive press and robust institutional checks and balances, corrupt practices go un-exposed and the need for political reform is ignored. Since all avenues of power and influence run through the halls of Tehran, journalists and policy makers offer token explanations for problems such as the water crisis, instead of exposing the root causes. Whether this is out of fear or loyalty, it still has the same deleterious effect.

The Tehran Times, for example, chooses to prioritise ‘irregular population growth’, the agricultural industry, climate change and the ‘economic approach to water management’, as the causes of the water crisis. Such ambiguities are dotted throughout regime-affiliated publications. There are genuine journalists working to expose the regime, without the protections enjoyed by their counterparts in the West, but it is a difficult industry through which to extract and spread information.

The same can be said for those who believe the country needs to change. It is difficult to measure the political weight reformists have within the government. Reformists are treated with scepticism by the outside world, because, despite their apparent perspective, they operate inside a system that marginalises them. Whatever their purpose, their suggestions will not become policy unless the Supreme Leader desires it, or the regime changes. Those operating within such a system will struggle to produce policy of lasting consequence.

Suggestions from reformist politicians in Tehran have included the creation of a “water entity“ to address the water crisis. It remains to be seen what use a water entity could be, when an Environmental Protection Agency currently exists to tackle the issue.

The move could be taken as a show of initiative; the new mayor has voiced ambitions to turn Tehran into a habitable city, capable of absorbing the city’s growing population.

The survivability, as well as the rationale, of the proposal deserves to be treated with scepticism. It is possible that the purview of this entity would not extend beyond the city of Tehran itself. Most of the officials recommended to lead the group are city councillors and politicians. While some of them speak of conspiracies instead of solutions, the actions of their fellow politicians, both past and present, leave much to be desired.

The constant political infighting between reformists and hard-liners, however, risks derailing any plans a councillor or politician may have to better the city, or for that matter, the country.

In addition to the protests, a corruption battle has been raging within Tehran that demonstrates the gridlock that is Iranian politics. Tehran’s City Council, now run by reformists, was controlled by Khamenei loyalists for 14 years before a transition last year. In that time, billions of dollars were stolen by the IRGC and put towards construction projects and elections that benefited them. Mohammad-Ali Najafi, Tehran’s mayor, as of April, was pressured to resign by the judiciary after publishing a report exposing the IRGC. Khamenei ordered an investigation, but since the replacement of Najafi, allegations levelled against the IRGC have died down.

Examples of corruption can surface just as quickly as they can be buried. While politicians who realise that the water crisis, along with the country’s condition of vast underdevelopment, is the fault of the regime, there is not a lot that can be done while they operate within a system that limits their power to take action.