Prince Reza Pahlavi’s Guidance and the Scientific and Practical Logic of Civil Disobedience

S. Rouzbeh – Civil disobedience is not merely a tool for confronting authoritarian governments; it is a cornerstone of democracy. Citizens are not subjects, and the law is legitimate only when it upholds human dignity and rights. Whenever saving lives becomes a crime and defending human rights is labelled “subversion”, democracy has failed from within. In such circumstances, civil disobedience, through non-violent, low-cost and inclusive methods, both erodes the legitimacy of repression and organises social power. Prince Reza Pahlavi’s emphasis on strikes and civil disobedience is based on the same logic: political victory at the lowest human and economic cost, and with the greatest capacity for national solidarity.

1) What is civil disobedience?

The conscious, public and non-violent refusal to obey an unjust order or law, with the aim of changing the law or public policy. This is not “blind law-breaking”; it challenges an unjust law or policy in the name of a higher moral and legal law, so that the mechanisms of power and law can be reformed.

2) Why now? The scientific and historical rationale

Empirical evidence: non-violent campaigns are, on average, more successful and more durable than violent campaigns, because they attract broader participation, cause the pillars supporting power to crumble, and make the non-violent suppression of dissent more costly for the authorities.

The theory of non-cooperation: political power rests on the cooperation of others; through disobedience and non-cooperation, the economy, bureaucracy, media and coercive forces can be worn down.

Non-violent discipline and dilemma-creating action: this puts the ruler in a lose-lose situation; if the ruler tolerates it, the people’s message is heard; if the ruler cracks down, the cost in legitimacy and public opinion rises.

3) Prince Reza Pahlavi’s latest guidance

On Tuesday, 18 Shahrivar 1404, corresponding to 9 September 2025, Prince Reza Pahlavi spoke at the fourth “Iran Conference”, hosted by the “National Union for Democracy in Iran” in Washington, D.C. He once again expressed optimism about the Iranian people’s success in bringing down the Islamic Republic regime, and said that the essential condition was for the people of Iran to take part and rise up. His emphasis on strikes and civil disobedience, which he has maintained for years, remains a strategic priority: wearing down the machinery of repression through non-violent methods, organising social pressure, and fostering unity among different sections of society.

4) Historical examples

India, 1309: the Salt March; America, 1334–1335: the Montgomery bus boycott; South Africa, the decades from 1330 to 1360: consumer and cultural boycotts; Poland, 1359: Solidarity and strikes; Serbia, 1379: Otpor; Sudan, 1398: nationwide civil disobedience. What they have in common: disciplined non-violence, clear aims, inclusive participation and targeting the structural pillars.

5) Benefits for society

Fewer casualties and less destruction, and a greater chance of a stable transition.

Inclusive participation: everyone can contribute in a low-risk way—through clothing, light, silence or standing in a queue.

Neutralising the narrative of chaos: non-violent discipline renders attempts to provoke violence ineffective.

Wearing down the structural pillars: repeated economic and administrative non-cooperation and symbolic actions exhaust the machinery of repression.

6) A practical toolkit for Iran today

A responsible reminder: always observe the law and public safety; avoid any confrontation, destruction, or putting yourself or others at risk. Emergency services are a red line.

Simple, repeatable symbols

A white shirt or ribbon on a designated day; a cross of adhesive tape over the lips as a silent protest against censorship.

Coordinated lights: switching on car headlights or a mobile phone torch at a set time.

A march or silent stand with hands visible, ending at the agreed time.

Civilian presence without confrontation

Quiet queues without slogans at bakeries, supermarkets and petrol stations, making demands such as cheaper bread and better quality.

Rotating queues: today at the bakery, tomorrow at the supermarket, the day after tomorrow at the petrol station; dispersing them across different locations and times increases the cost of repression.

A coordinated purchase of a single item, such as eggs or cheese, to make specific demands and create a media image.

Low-risk economic and social non-cooperation

Boycotting companies that benefit from patronage; supporting independent businesses.

Small payments within the law to slow down bureaucracy.

Working strictly according to the law in government offices: following regulations precisely, without initiative or overtime.

Delaying bill payments in a considered way, while being aware of the administrative consequences; one bill at a time.

Urban and digital household techniques

Walking slowly across a pedestrian crossing while obeying the law; a silent chain of several people; washable chalk markings.

A coordinated household blackout or lights in windows instead of nighttime slogans; a media boycott, with the television switched off during official programmes.

Changing profile pictures at the same time or using a shared hashtag to demonstrate solidarity.

Soft and occupational strikes

Delaying the reopening of businesses by an hour, or briefly closing them at the height of the shopping period, as a protest against high prices.

Car-free days or alternative travel patterns, such as using only buses or only the metro, while observing the law and safety rules.

7) Key points for success

Strict non-violence: a code of conduct, clear rules or distinctive phrases; for example, standing silently dressed in white.

Concrete, measurable goals: moving from general slogans to SMART objectives; for example, suspending a bread-pricing directive in a specific city through orderly queues, written demands and regular reports.

Simple, low-cost and repeatable actions: white shirts, coordinated lights, brief silences, and working without initiative or overtime.

Geographical and temporal dispersion: instead of concentrating in one place, create short waves at multiple locations, rotating between bakeries, supermarkets, petrol stations and so on.

Targeting structural pillars: before each action, clearly ask which structure it is meant to weaken and how; if there is any ambiguity, these actions should be redesigned.

Personal safety and public ethics: do not obstruct emergency services, respect privacy when recording images, set an end time and ensure a safe departure.

Examples of civil disobedience appropriate for Iran

1- Public speeches

2- Protest letters or individual and collective statements

3- Signature collections and petitions

4- Caricature and political satire

5- The use of flags and protest symbols

6- Wearing a particular symbolic colour or item of clothing

7- Wearing a distinctive armband, ribbon or badge

8- Writing slogans and using placards

9. Silent marches

10. Memorial or commemorative ceremonies

11. Lighting candles or lamps

12. Sending postcards and symbolic messages

13. Using handmade symbols such as dolls or models

14. Collecting and publishing records of human rights violations

15. Symbolic disrespect—not physical insult—towards the regime’s symbols

16. Displaying images of victims

17. Broadcasting protest songs or poems

18. Showing banned films or video clips

19. Making coordinated calls to a government phone number

20. Coordinated car-honking

21. Coordinated clapping

22. Collective silence in a public place

23. Using independent or underground media

24. Writing slogans on banknotes or official documents

25. Distributing leaflets or brochures

26. Writing slogans on walls or graffiti

27. Putting up banners in prominent locations

28. Protest visual art, such as paintings or sculptures

29. Wearing masks or symbolic make-up

30. Symbolically renaming streets or places

31. Using digital media, blogs or hashtags

32. Sending flowers or gifts with a protest message

33. Phone silence: ending calls from government advertising campaigns

34. Making a symbolic display at home with lights on or white curtains

35. Writing and reciting protest poems

36. Using historical or national flags

37. Creating satirical and humorous slogans

38. Playing particular music in a public place

39. Writing short slogans on walls

40. Children’s drawings with protest themes

41. Sending letters to international officials

42. Giving speeches in informal settings

43. Street gatherings with a display of silence

44. Using symbolic colours in public places

45 – Releasing balloons or paper messages

46 – Sending coordinated emails or text messages

47 – Socially boycotting government officials

48 – Leaving official associations and institutions

49 – Not attending state ceremonies

50 – Not welcoming government agents

51 – Not attending official celebrations or holidays

52 – Not taking part in government occasions

53 – Boycotting state media

54 – Not voting

55 – Publicly ignoring government propaganda

56 – Not taking part in compulsory anthems or ceremonies

57 – Not attending government demonstrations

58 – Not buying specific goods

59 – Boycotting the purchase of luxury goods associated with the government

60 – Not using state-owned banks

61 – Not using government-affiliated commercial media

62 – Avoiding foreign goods linked to the regime

63—Strikes by factory workers

64—Strikes by government office employees

65—Teachers’ strikes

66—Student strikes

67—Drivers’ strikes

68—Doctors’ strikes, except in emergencies

69—Not attending government work meetings

70—Closing shops or markets

71—Refusing to sell goods to government institutions

72—Refusing to co-operate with affiliated companies

73—Refusing to pay taxes

74—Refusing to pay duties

75—Withdrawing money from banks

76—Refusing to invest

77—Not taking part in government-run lotteries

78—A general strike

79—A hunger strike

80—A warning strike lasting a few hours

81. Sit-in strike

82. Rotating strike

83. Student strike

84. Refusal to implement discriminatory laws

85. Refusal to cooperate with security forces

86. Boycott of sham referendums

87. Refusal to register for government projects

88. Sit-in demonstrations

89. Human chain

90. Strike at the workplace without leaving the premises

91. Blocking a route by sitting down peacefully

92. Making protest documentaries

As a hypothetical example, imagine that the people of Tehran, on a particular day and at a particular hour, all inflate balloons and release them into the sky. What power and strength could hundreds of thousands—or even millions—of balloons in the sky demonstrate on the part of the people? Can the regime arrest people for releasing balloons? This could even be done in streets and parks without chanting slogans. What fear would it create in the regime? People can plan acts of civil disobedience suited to their own local circumstances. For example, the people of Isfahan could show their protest by taking a bottle of water to the Zayandeh Rud, and there are hundreds of other possibilities.

Conclusion

Civil disobedience is a dispersed, bottom-up, symbolic and attritional pressure campaign that pursues small, successive goals through non-violence. This is the logic of Prince Reza Pahlavi’s guidance: a low-cost, inclusive and effective path towards a better political order. These small sparks, if organised and repeated, will become flames that burn the machinery of despotism and, afterwards, bring a decade of freedom, democracy and a secular society for all future generations and those who cherish the Iranian nation. The people’s victory is closer than we think. The time to decide and act has arrived.

Sources:

Gene Sharp – 198 Methods of Nonviolent Action

Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan – Why Civil Resistance Works

International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC)

CANVAS – practical guides to civil disobedience

Historical examples: the Salt March, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, South African apartheid, Poland’s Solidarity movement, Serbia’s Otpor, Sudan