Bazaar and State in Iran: The Politics of the Tehran Marketplace (Cambridge Middle East Studies, Series Number 26) - Softcover

Keshavarzian, Arang

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0521103304 ISBN 13: 9780521103305

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

The Tehran Bazaar has always been central to the Iranian economy and indeed, to the Iranian urban experience. Arang Keshavarzian's fascinating book compares the economics and politics of the marketplace under the Pahlavis, who sought to undermine it in the drive for modernisation and under the subsequent revolutionary regime, which came to power with a mandate to preserve the bazaar as an 'Islamic' institution. The outcomes of their respective policies were completely at odds with their intentions. Despite the Shah's hostile approach, the bazaar flourished under his rule and maintained its organisational autonomy to such an extent that it played an integral role in the Islamic revolution. Conversely, the Islamic Republic implemented policies that unwittingly transformed the ways in which the bazaar operated, thus undermining its capacity for political mobilisation. Arang Keshavarizian's book affords unusual insights into the politics, economics and society of Iran across four decades.

About this title

Book Description:

Arang Keshavarzian's fascinating book compares the economics and politics of the marketplace under the Pahlavis, who sought to undermine it in the drive for modernisation and under the subsequent revolutionary regime which came to power with a mandate to preserve the bazaar as an 'Islamic' institution.

About the Author:

Arang Keshavarzian is Assistant Professor in Political Science at Concordia University, Montréal.

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0521103304
• ISBN 13: 9780521103305
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 324