Democracy in Iran

Democracy in Iran
Author: Ali Gheissari
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2009-07-24
Genre: History
ISBN: 0195396960

In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, and Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state.

QUEST FOR DEMOCRACY IN IRAN C

QUEST FOR DEMOCRACY IN IRAN C
Author: Fakhreddin AZIMI
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 512
Release: 2009-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674020367

"In a book that provides essential context for understanding modern Iran, Fakherddin Azami present a trenchant narrative- of the history of Iran over the last century, covering political-constitutional developments, society, civic culture, ideology, foreign relations, the economy, and the confrontation between traditionalism and modernity." "In an original account of the revolution of 1978-1979, which overthrew the monarchy, Azimi underlines the salience of democratic aspirations and shows how the rise of the Islamic Republic has boosted the deeply rooted democratic urges in the country." "Based on wide-ranging, original research, this probing and passionate book offers vital historical analysis and addresses issues that remain profoundly relevant to the lives of contemporary Iranians, Equally important, Azimi dispels many misunderstandings about democracy, civic life, and Islamism in Middle Eastern and Muslim societies."--Jacket.

Islam and Democracy in Iran

Islam and Democracy in Iran
Author: Ziba Mir-Hosseini
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 209
Release: 2006-05-26
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0857713752

In today's world all eyes are on Iran, which has grappled with an experiment that has had a massive global impact. For some, the Iranian Revolution of 1978-79 was the triumph of a modern, political Islam, heralding Muslim justice and economic prosperity. Others, including many of the original revolutionaries, saw religious fanatics attempting to roll back time by creating a despotic theocracy. Either way, the Iranian Revolution changed the Muslim world. It not only inspired the Muslim masses but also reinvigorated intellectual debates on the nature and possibilities of an Islamic state. The new 'Islamic Republic of Iran' combined not just religion and the state, but theocracy and democracy. Yet the revolution's heirs were soon engaged in a protracted struggle over its legacy. Dissident thinkers, from within an Islamic framework, sought a rights-based political order that could accept dissent, tolerance, pluralism, women's rights and civil liberties. Their ideas led directly to the presidency of Mohammad Khatami and, despite their political failure, they did leave a permanent legacy by demystifying Iranian religious politics, and condemning the use of the Shariah to justify autocratic rule. This book tells the story of the reformist movement through the world of Hasan Yousefi Eshkevari. An active supporter of the revolution who became one of the most outspoken critics of theocracy, Eshkevari developed ideas of 'Islamic democratic government', which have attracted considerable attention in Iran and elsewhere. In presenting a selection of Eshkevari's writings, this book reveals the intellectual and political trajectory of a Muslim thinker and his attempts to reconcile Islam with reform and democracy. As such it makes a highly original contribution to our understanding of the difficult social and political issues confronting the Islamic world today.

The Quest for Democracy in Iran

The Quest for Democracy in Iran
Author: Fakhreddin Azimi
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 511
Release: 2010-09-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 0674057066

The Constitutional Revolution of 1906 launched Iran as a pioneer in a broad-based movement to establish democratic rule in the non-Western world. In a book that provides essential context for understanding modern Iran, Fakhreddin Azimi traces a century of struggle for the establishment of representative government. The promise of constitutional rule was cut short in the 1920s with the rise of the Pahlavi dynasty. Reza Shah, whose despotic rule Azimi deftly captures, maintained the façade of a constitutional monarch but greeted any challenge with an iron fist: “I will eliminate you,” he routinely barked at his officials. In 1941, fearful of losing control of the oil-rich region, the Allies forced Reza Shah to abdicate but allowed Mohammad Reza to succeed his father. Though promising to abide by the constitution, the new Shah missed no opportunity to undermine it. The Anglo-American–backed coup of 1953, which ousted reformist premier Mohammed Mosaddeq, dealt a blow to the constitutionalists. The Shah’s repressive policies and subservience to the United States radicalized both secular and religious opponents, leading to the revolution of 1979. Azimi argues that we have fundamentally misunderstood this event by characterizing it as an “Islamic” revolution when it was in reality the expression of a long-repressed desire for popular sovereignty. This explains why the clerical rulers have failed to counter the growing public conviction that the Islamic Republic, too, is impervious to political reform—and why the democratic impulse that began with the Constitutional Revolution continues to be a potent and resilient force.

Iran's Grand Strategy

Iran's Grand Strategy
Author: Vali Nasr
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2025-05-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780691268927

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Shia Revival, a revelatory account of Iran's grand strategy at home and on the world stage Iran presents one of the most significant foreign policy challenges for America and the West, yet very little is known about what the country's goals really are. Vali Nasr examines Iran's political history in new ways to explain its actions and ambitions on the world stage, showing how, behind the veneer of theocracy and Islamic ideology, today's Iran is pursuing a grand strategy aimed at securing the country internally and asserting its place in the region and the world. Drawing on memoirs, oral histories, and original in-depth interviews with Iranian decision makers, Nasr brings to light facts and events in Iran's political history that have been overlooked until now. He traces the roots of Iran's strategic outlook to its experiences over the past four decades of war with Iraq in the 1980s and the subsequent American containment of Iran, invasion of Iraq in 2003, and posture toward Iran thereafter. Nasr reveals how these experiences have shaped a geopolitical outlook driven by pervasive fear of America and its plans for the Middle East. Challenging the notion that Iran's foreign policy simply reflects its revolutionary values or theocratic government, Iran's Grand Strategy provides invaluable new insights into what Iran wants and why, explaining the country's resistance to the United States, its nuclear ambitions, and its pursuit of influence and proxies across the Middle East.

Contemporary Iran

Contemporary Iran
Author: Ali Gheissari
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2009-04-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0199888604

Iran is a key player in some of the most crucial issues of our time. But because of its relative diplomatic isolation and the partisan nature of conflicting accounts voiced by different interest groups both inside and outside the country, there is a shortage of hard information about the scale and depth of social change in today's Iran. In this volume, and imposing roster of both internationally renowned Iranian scholars and rising young Iranian academics offer contributions--many based on recent fieldwork--on the nature and evolution of Iran's economy, significant aspects of Iran's changing society, and the dynamics of its domestic and international politics since the 1979 revolution, focusing particularly on the post-Khomeini period. The book will be of great interest not only to Iran specialists, but also to scholars of comparative politics, democratization, social change, politics in the Muslim world, and Middle Eastern studies.

Democracy and Constitutional Politics in Iran

Democracy and Constitutional Politics in Iran
Author: Farshad Malek-Ahmadi
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Total Pages: 221
Release: 2014-01-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9781349558124

An inquisitive socio-historical analysis of the long road Iran has traveled in quest of constitutionalism and democracy. The book explicates the paradox that after over a hundred years of struggle for freedom, the Iranian people currently have less of it than they did a hundred years ago at this time.

Iran's Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and Narratives of the Enlightenment

Iran's Constitutional Revolution of 1906 and Narratives of the Enlightenment
Author: Ali M. Ansari
Publisher: Gingko Library
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1909942944

The Constitutional Revolution of 1906 opened the way for enormous change in Persia, heralding the modern era and creating a model for later political and cultural movements in the region. Broad in its scope, this multidisciplinary volume brings together essays from leading scholars in Iranian Studies to explore the significance of this revolution, its origins, and the people who made it happen. As the authors show, this period was one of unprecedented debate within Iran’s burgeoning press. Many different groups fought to shape the course of the Revolution, which opened up seemingly boundless possibilities for the country’s future and affected nearly every segment of its society. Exploring themes such as the role of women, the use of photography, and the uniqueness of the Revolution as an Iranian experience, the authors tell a story of immense transition, as the old order of the Shah subsided and was replaced by new institutions, new forms of expression, and a new social and political order.

After Khomeini

After Khomeini
Author: Said Amir Arjomand
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2009-11-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 0199745765

For many Americans, Iran is our most dangerous enemy--part of George W. Bush's "axis of evil" even before the appearance of Ahmadinejad. But what is the reality? How did Ahmadinejad rise to power, and how much power does he really have? What are the chances of normalizing relations with Iran? In After Khomeini, Saïd Amir Arjomand paints a subtle and perceptive portrait of contemporary Iran. This work, a sequel to Arjomand's acclaimed The Turban for the Crown, examines Iran under the successors of Ayatollah Khomeini up to the present day. He begins, as the Islamic Republic did, with Khomeini, offering a brilliant capsule biography of the man who masterminded the revolution that overthrew the Shah. Arjomand draws clear distinctions between the moderates of the initial phrase of the revolution, radicals, pragmatists, and hardliners, the latter best exemplified by Mahmud Ahmadinejad. Taking a chronological and thematic approach, he traces the emergence and consolidation of the present system of collective rule by clerical councils and the peaceful transition to dual leadership by the ayatollah as the supreme guide and the subordinate president of the Islamic Republic of Iran. He explains the internal political quarrels among Khomeini's heirs as a struggle over his revolutionary legacy. And he outlines how the ruling clerical elite and the nation's security forces are interdependent politically and economically, speculating on the potential future role of the Revolutionary Guards. Bringing the work up to current political events, Arjomand analyzes Iran's foreign policy as well, including the impact of the fall of Communism on Iran and Ahmadinejad's nuclear policy. Few countries loom larger in American foreign relations than Iran. In this rich and insightful account, an expert on Iranian society and politics untangles the complexities of a nation still riding the turbulent wake of one of history's great revolutions.

Barriers to Effective Civil Society Organisations

Barriers to Effective Civil Society Organisations
Author: Ibrahim Natil
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 157
Release: 2020-08-31
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000163881

This book provides an insight into the historical changes and present-day circumstances that have influenced, and continue to influence, the development and future of civil society. Civil society organisations (CSOs) play a crucial role in international development, however their impact on policy and practice is limited by a range of shifts across their political, social and financial landscapes. Barriers to Effective Civil Society Organisations is divided into three parts addressing each of these shifts in turn, and places particular emphasis on civil society actors linked not only by political constraints, but also by ethnic and cultural diversities that are crucial markers of political and social identity. This book draws on case studies from across Latin America, Africa, MENA and Ireland to highlight how CSOs in these countries are shaped by, and react to, shifting challenges. Reflecting on solutions for the sector, the authors provide an understanding of the various ‘self-accommodation’ policies and techniques employed by CSOs in order to continue their services and increase their credibility across global contexts. Aimed at researchers, policy makers and CSO/NGO workers looking to better understand the current state and future of the sector from the perspective of emerging scholars working in these regions, and in the Global South in particular, this innovative book is a celebration of the important work of CSOs and a reaffirmation of their right to sit at the policy table.