Authoritarian Upgrading in Action: Iran's Security Apparatuses After the Women's Life Freedom Movement

Abstract

Dictatorships are a living phenomenon, constantly adapting to survive in a hostile environment. Like previous protests, “The Women, Life, Freedom” (WLF) movement was brutally suppressed by the regime's security forces, resulting in the slaughtering of hundreds and injuring thousands of Iranians, mostly youth. Despite the regime's unprecedented brutality, it took months to suppress the protesters and restore the political order. The scope and scale of the protest led the Islamic Republic to enhance its security forces in the middle of the WLF protest. Only 3 months after the death of Mahsa Amini, Iran's law enforcement apparatus went through a massive restructuring; new intelligence organizations were created, and new units were formed. An increase in the budget of the security forces has allowed them to hire additional staff and acquire new repressive technologies. For example, more CCTV cameras were installed nationwide to consolidate control over public spaces. The regime also intensified its transnational repression efforts to silence the Iranian diaspora, who have actively and unprecedentedly protested the Islamic Republic. What lessons did the regime learn from the WLF protests, and how has it prepared for future unrest? This paper argues that the Islamic Republic has upgraded its security forces, created new organizations, and changed its tactics to maintain political order and insulate itself from further uprisings. Incorporating public data, personal interviews, and leaked and hacked information to analyze the changes in Iran's security architecture and its capabilities of political repression after the Women, Life, Freedom Movement, with a focus on Iran's police forces.