Regime change in Iran? It might not mean what you think

Writing in the Washington Post, Professors Alexander Downes of George Washington University, and Lindsey O’Rourke of Boston College, argue against regime-change in Iran.

I disagree with their rationale for a few reasons. Most importantly, I do not believe that regime change is as easily definable as they assume. Like “politics,” “regime change” has many faces. A policy of regime change might mean withdrawing diplomatic relations, or introducing sanctions, or enforcing a trade boycott, or banning a nation’s citizens from travel to America, or an effort to promote alternate political beliefs. Or, yes, the use of force.