Newman: Should Canada be calling for the overthrow of the Iranian regime?

By: /
31 May, 2013
By: Don Newman
Chairman of Canada 2020, Senior Columnist with ipolitics.ca

Canada should not directly call for the overthrow of the Iranian regime.

Flawed as elections are in Iran, the regime still thinks they are necessary to provide a veneer of respectability. The current government was chosen in an election. An election will be needed to get a better replacement.

What Canada and other like-minded countries should be doing is pressing for different Iranian policies and behaviour. Sanctions are a good way of underlining the pressure.

Ultimately, different policies will be brought about by a different government. But overthrowing the current government doesn’t guarantee that will happen.

Look at Egypt.

Before you click away, we’d like to ask you for a favour … 

 

Open Canada is published by the Canadian International Council, but that’s only the beginning of what the CIC does. Through its research and live events hosted by its 18 branches across the country, the CIC is dedicated to engaging Canadians from all walks of life in an ongoing conversation about Canada’s place in the world.

By becoming a member, you’ll be joining a community of Canadians who seek to shape Canada’s role in the world, and you’ll help Open Canada continue to publish thoughtful and provocative reporting and analysis.

Join us