“Woman, Life, Freedom” is the slogan that has galvanized tens of thousands of citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran to participate in protests since a young woman’s death in police custody in September, 2022, after her arrest for improperly wearing hijab.  On Feb. 8, the World Affairs Council-Tacoma and Bellarmine Preparatory School co-hosted a talk by Saghar Amini, a recent graduate of UWS with a degree in political science with a focus on international security.

Since the protests broke out, Ms. Amini has been actively organizing and attending protests against the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Seattle area.  Ms. Amini explained that while reformist presidents have come and gone in Iran over the past decades, the death of Mahsa Amini (no relation) proved a breaking point for many Iranians who have lost hope for change.  Current protests differ from previous ones in that people of all ages, genders, economic classes, ideologies and religions have been activated and are finding common cause against the Islamic Republic of Iran. By calling it the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ms. Amini emphasized that she was drawing a line between the Iranian people and their government, making the point that the Supreme Leader, the  President and the Parliament, whose “principles of identity” revolve around mandatory hijab, anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism, do not represent the will of the Iranian people.

Protest in Bellevue this past fall (Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times)

Ms. Amini emphasized that the current protests in Iran represent a domestic Iranian issue and that foreign governments should not intervene. But she said that people around the world can offer support by sanctioning the Iranian leadership, and by emphasizing human rights.  The American people can help by keeping the protests in the news and by attending protests such as have been held in Seattle, Los Angeles, and other cities around the country.

The World Affairs Council-Tacoma has long included a PPPA faculty member on its board. For upcoming events, see: https://www.wactacoma.com/

As part of an ongoing series sponsored by the World Affairs Council-Tacoma in collaboration with UW Tacoma, On January 11, Dr. Andreas Udbye presented a talk at UWT titled, “The Nordic Model: What Is It and Can’t We Just Copy It?”  Dr. Udbye, Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Puget Sound, discussed findings that the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) consistently receive the highest scores on global ratings such as the Human Development Index, World Happiness Report, and Democracy Index. Meanwhile the US rankings continue to slide downward. Given this, Dr. Udbye’s talk posed the question of whether the US should adopt and emulate more of the Nordic policies in an effort to stem the decline. 

The main focus of the talk was on key aspects of the Nordic Model, including policies related to social welfare, education, health care, and economic equality, examining the ways in which these contribute to the top ten rankings enjoyed by all of the Nordic countries in the World Happiness Report. Dr. Udbye also shed light on the evolving history of these policies in different countries, including some recent strains tied to growing consumerism and resistance to taxes by wealthier citizens.  Although the title of the talk asked whether the US could “copy” these policies, the talk left relatively unexplored the role culture plays as an underpinning for the Nordic Model, leaving the question of the adaptability and feasibility of the Nordic Model for the US open for further consideration.

Dr. Udbye’s talk inspired a lively Q and A session, and questions remained even after the session was called to a close.  For upcoming World Affairs Council-Tacoma talks by UWT faculty and other local scholars, visit https://www.wactacoma.com/