THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-May 18, 2017- Topic 2

High-stakes battle

On the Iran elections

With Iranians going to the polls on Friday to elect a President, the odds appear to be in favour of the incumbent, Hassan Rouhani. Since the 1979 Revolution, all but the first President of the Islamic Republic, who had been impeached, have served two terms. Mr. Rouhani is particularly popular among the reformist section of the electorate, and is seeking to return to office on a clear political platform of integrating Iran further with the global order and initiating reforms at home. 

Still, his victory in the first round, for which he needs more than 50% of the vote, is far from certain. In 2013, after eight years of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s rule, which saw Iran’s international isolation grow and repression at home harden, voters across the spectrum rallied behind Mr. Rouhani. He had promised to break Iran’s isolation, resolve the nuclear crisis through diplomatic means and turn that into economic benefit for all citizens. He delivered on some of those promises. He clinched the nuclear deal and oversaw greater Iranian engagement on the world stage. But he has yet to make good on his goal of attracting foreign direct investment and modernising the economy. It is partly not in his hands. International companies and banking giants still shy away from making deals with Tehran. Though the UN-mandated sanctions on Iran were lifted after the nuclear deal, the non-nuclear sanctions imposed by the U.S. are still in place. The expected thaw in relations between Washington and Tehran did not take place in the wake of geopolitical tensions in West Asia. Worse, the Trump administration’s anti-Iran rhetoric is not only scaring off western investors but also playing it into the hands of the hardliners in Iran.

The hardliners now see an opportunity to take back power from the “elitist” Mr. Rouhani. Ebrahim Raisi, a cleric and a former aide of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is Mr. Rouhani’s main rival. Though Mr. Khamenei has not openly endorsed any candidate, the clerical establishment’s preference is no secret. The Iranian presidency is not a strong institution compared to other presidential systems. In the Islamic Republic, real power lies with the Supreme Leader, who is not directly elected by the people. Nonetheless, the office of the President lends credence to the country’s theocratic system, and a visionary, popular leader can manoeuvre within the limitations and push his agenda gradually. Mohammad Khatami, one of Mr. Rouhani’s predecessors, tried to do so, with limited success. Though his first term was not flawless, Mr. Rouhani has demonstrated that he is capable of navigating through Iran’s complex power dynamics, perhaps more efficiently than Mr. Khatami could. It is now his chance to convince voters to give him one more term so he can continue this gradualist but substantive reform agenda.

Vocabulary

Incumbent: necessary for someone as a duty or responsibility.

Example: It is incumbent on all decent people to concentrate on destroying this evil

Synonyms: necessary for one to, essential that, required that

Reformist: supporting or advancing gradual reform rather than abolition or revolution.

Example: In the past, the Democrats combined their anti-communism with liberal reformist policies

Repression: the action of subduing someone or something by force.

Example: Irish readers will quickly spot the familiar pattern of failed uprising followed by brutal repression .

Synonyms: suppression, quashing, subduing, crushing, stamping out

Clinched: confirm or settle a contract or bargain.

Example: To clinch a business deal

Synonyms: secure, settle, conclude, close, pull off, bring off

Oversee: supervise a person or work especially in an official capacity.

Example: A trustee appointed to oversee Corrie's finances

Synonyms: supervise, superintend, be in charge/control of, be responsible for

Thaw: a period of warmer weather that thaws ice and snow.

Example: The thaw came yesterday afternoon

Synonyms: runoff, debacle, ice-out

Rhetoric: the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Example: Born into a rich provincial family, he studied philosophy as well as rhetoric and law.

Synonyms: oratory, eloquence, command of language, way with words

Elitist: favoring, advocating, or restricted to an elite.

Example: The old, elitist image of the string quartet

Synonyms: aristocratic, snobbish, snobby, superior, supercilious

Endorsed: declare one's public approval or support of.

Example: The report was endorsed by the college

Synonyms: countersign, sign, autograph, authenticate, chirographate

Manoeuvre: a movement or series of moves requiring skill and care.

Spectacular jumps and other daring maneuvers

Synonyms: operation, exercise, activity, move, movement, action

Substantive: having a firm basis in reality and therefore important, meaningful, or considerable.

Example: There is no substantive evidence for the efficacy of these drugs