Amir-Ebrahimi 331economic inequality between rich and poor. An activist socio-cultural
and physical policy was thus implemented to homogenize the capital,
with significant investment in the construction of new highways, urban
infrastructure, cultural centers, parks and other public spaces, especially in
southern and central Tehran (Amir-Ebrahimi 2004). From these new pub-
lic spaces/public spheres, new social actors gradually emerged who would
later become the main agents of change in the political sphere, stimulating
the reform movement that culminated in Khatami’s presidency in 1997.
urthermore, the open policy of Mohammad Khatami as Minister F
of Guidance (1989–1992) allowed the publication of several alternative
and critical newspapers and magazines, such as Salam, Hamshahri, Kian
or Gardoon, some of which became the most important platforms for
critics and later came into conflict with the state. By 1992, the number of
Iranian newspapers had risen by about fifty percent, reaching 274.^15
ven though these new public spheres and spaces remained tran-E
sient due to the political pressure and limitations of conservative forces,
it seems that the experience of “homeopathic” doses of relative freedom
could not be eradicated from the everyday life of people who found new
ways of expression and interactions.
ith the election of Mohammad Khatami to the presidency in 1997, W
public spaces became more stable. Tensions visibly decreased, and the
moral police relaxed their control of streets and public spaces. Cultural
and artistic centers became important places for gathering and discussing
many issues. Critical reformist newspapers emerged by the hundreds; and
if conservatives found a pretext one day to ban some of them, they were
republished the next day under a different name. NGOs also emerged
during this period, which represented a time of new and exciting pos-
sibilities for forming a public sphere where different groups could express
their opinions. None of these spaces and groups could last long, as they
were constantly threatened and confined by conservatives and Islamist
forces, but they did not disappear from the public scene, and they con-
stantly reemerged at new opportunities. As Hossein Shahidi writes:
Iran’s history has been characterized by repeated political con-
vulsions that have led to the creation of a “short-term soci-
ety,” without the opportunity to accumulate sufficient material
and moral wealth for the well-being of all its citizens. As far as