ایران چیست؟ ایرانی کیست؟ | گفتگوی حسام سلامت و شروین وکیلی درباره قومیت و نظریه ایرانشهری

In this interview, Hosam Salamat and Shervin Vekili discuss the concept of Iranian identity and the legacy of monarchy in Iran. Salamat argues that the idea of monarchy persisted after the 1979 revolution and that the notion of ‘Iranshahr’ fails to recognize equality. He explains that the Constitutional Revolution was about citizenship rights and rejecting the king’s absolute power, and that the Iranshahr theory attempts to depoliticize this by claiming that ancient Iranians also had the right to determine their destiny. Vekili counters that Iranian monarchy was distinct from other monarchies, rejecting the notion of an autocratic, patriarchal East. He points out that Iranian kings such as Naser al‑Din Shah and Reza Shah were different from contemporaries like Mussolini and Hitler, and that Iran had a tradition of deposing powerful kings, unlike the divine right of kings in Egypt and Europe. He emphasizes that Iran has a complex, documented tradition that should be updated and rebuilt. Shervin Vekili, born 8 September 1974, is a historian, researcher, and author with a background in biology and sociology, and has published over 80 books and 200 articles. Hosam Salamat, born 1982, is a sociologist and researcher with a PhD in economic sociology from Tehran University.