ABOUT ISA

International Sociological Association stands against the economic sanctions that the United States is applying against Iran, Venezuela and Cuba. We are concerned about the crippling effects of these sanctions on the more than 100,000,000 million citizens of these countries. We deem these sanctions immoral and unconscionable. The measures have already negatively impacted the social and economic infrastructures in these countries. Yet, at this critical juncture, and with the pandemic sweeping the globe, we are particularly concerned that the sanctions will further curb these countries’ ability to respond to and contain its adverse effects. We, thus, stand in solidarity with the citizens of these countries, condemn the restrictions set in place by sanctions, and urge the United States government to lift the sanctions.

Furthermore, we are concerned for and stand in solidarity with our colleagues, students and faculty in Iran, and elsewhere, in their call for a sustainable critical public sphere, free from internal and external pressures, where critical thinking and sociological imagination can flourish in safety. According to our statutes, the main function of the ISA is “to represent sociologists everywhere,” “advance sociological knowledge throughout the world,” and “support and strengthen the free development of sociology in cooperation with similar associations of social scientists.” Thus, we fully support and endorse the statement published by our colleagues at the Iranian Sociological Association, in which they have pointed out the combined effects of sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic on Iranian sociology.