From Conservation to Destruction: The Dramaturgy of Participation in Iranian Politics in 2026 By Nassim Soleimanpour   Abstract This essay examines the dynamics of political participation in Iran in 2026 through a dramaturgical lens, depicting civic life as a theatrical performance in which citizens’ actions are restricted and their agency curtailed. Individuals navigate a reality in which participation is often imposed as exposure rather than choice, subjected to repression, violence, and...