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Evanston Public Library - Community Room, 6:00pm

Saeid Golkar, Senior Visiting Fellow, Chicago Council on Global Affairs and Visiting Scholar, Buffett Institute

The nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 nations has been widely welcomed by many Iranians from different walks of life. The only loud voice against the deal is the voice of young hardliners belonging to Iran paramilitary force called the Basij. The Basij, which means “mobilization,” has for more than three decades been a lethal tool of the Iranian state – disseminating propaganda, conducting internal surveillance, and policing society. As the largest civil militia on the planet, the Basij became the model for some of Militia forces in the Middle East including in Iraq and Syria.

Saeid Golkar is a lecturer for the Middle East and North African Studies Program at Northwestern University, and senior fellow of Iran policy at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. His research interests encompass politics of authoritarian regimes, state and society relationships, civil military gaps, social movements and new Information technologies and politics all with a focus on the Middle East.