Contribution short abstract:

Drawing on two texts by Hannah Arendt, 'On Humanity in Dark Times' and 'Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,' this paper explores the post-war experiences of wounded Afghan veterans in Iran, examining the possibilities and limits of sustaining a shared world under dictatorship.

Contribution long abstract:

In 'On Humanity in Dark Times,' Hannah Arendt describes “worldlessness” as the shattering of the shared world that exists “in-between” people, depriving them of the ability to engage in discourse that respects differences. I situate Arendt’s call for open discourse in public space alongside her essay 'Personal Responsibility Under Dictatorship,' where she insists on the moral obligation to judge (discerning what’s wrong and right) and to resist complicity, even under authoritarian duress.

Drawing on fieldwork with Afghan refugees who returned to Iran after being injured in regional conflicts, this paper examines how these disabled ex-combatants actively sought to involve Iranian state actors and military cadres in their lives, inviting them to participate in intimate events such as children’s birthdays, religious gatherings, and even family disputes. Despite achieving a degree of state intimacy, their demands for kin-like care from the state unfolded within a broader context of national hostility. In public discourse, close identification with the state was equated with allegiance to an oppressive regime, leading neighbours and communities to respond with mistrust and derision. These dynamics often severed preexisting ties, highlighting the fraught nature of the ‘shared world’ in politically contested spaces.

By foregrounding these everyday, conflictual encounters, this paper draws on Arendt’s insights into the ‘moral imperative to judge’ and the ‘significance of discourse in sustaining the world and humanity’ to illustrate how individuals craft moral judgments and navigate collective life under conditions that strain coexistence, exploring both the viability and dissolution of a “shared world” under dictatorship.