Image: Nasrin Sotoudeh, Iranian human rights lawyer and activist. Photo: Hosseinronaghi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

From Israel to Iran: Democracy Cannot Be Imposed from Outside.

The public debate in Israel, surrounding calls for President Isaac Herzog to consider pardoning a prime minister facing criminal proceedings raises a sensitive and fundamental question: what are the limits of democratic institutions, and to what extent is it appropriate to place internal, external, or public political pressure on them during a time of crisis?

Even when such moves are presented as attempts to calm tensions, stabilize the system, or prevent internal rupture, many view them as a test of institutional independence, the rule of law, and democratic sovereignty.

If this is true in an established democracy such as Israel, a broader question naturally follows: how can anyone assume that the political future of Iran can be shaped from outside — through military pressure, sanctions, or declarations calling for regime change?

In recent years, and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)