Episode
An Interview with Peyman Vahabzadeh: Revolution, Shuras, and the Politics of Self-Rule
- Published
- Mar 7, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 6963
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Summary
In this episode, we speak with Dr. Peyman Vahabzadeh , Iranian-born sociologist, theorist of radical phenomenology, and author of For Land and Culture , about the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the largely erased Turkmen Council (Shura) movement that briefly flourished in its wake. Having participated in the revolution at age 17, Vahabzadeh reflects on the intoxicating rupture of revolutionary time—when the state’s grip loosens and new possibilities emerge—and asks whether freedom can exist outside such moments of upheaval. We center the Turkmen Shuras: nearly 300 grassroots councils that organized land redistribution, education, women’s participation, and self-defense during a fleeting dual-power moment before being crushed by converging forces of the nascent Islamic Republic, vanguardist leftists, and counter-revolutionary actors. The conversation bridges revolutionary Iran, Kurdish autonomy in Rojava, Black self-defense traditions, and global anti-imperialist struggles—offering a meditation on nonviolence, violence, autonomy, and what a truly free society might look like. At a time when nationalist rhetoric once again disguises authoritarian consolidation across the globe, this episode reminds us: anti-imperialism without autonomy can reproduce tyranny at home. ------------------------------------------------------------- READ HIS HOOK - For Land and Culture: The Grassroots Council Movement of Turkmens in Iran, 1979-1980 https://bookshop.org/a/109212/9781773636658 “Internationalism, Anti-Imperialism, and the Origins of Campism” — Dan La Botz https://anticapitalistresistance.org/internationalism-anti-imperialism-and-the-origins-of-campism/ ------------------------------------------------------------- Stay connected with The Dugout ! Follow us for updates, exclusive cont…