Modern Iran: Reform and Revolution - Softcover

Ansari, Ali

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1405840846 ISBN 13: 9781405840842

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

Today’s Iran is rarely out of the headlines. Labelled by George W Bush as a part of his ‘axis of evil’ and perceived as a real nuclear threat by some, Iran is increasingly seen as an enemy of the West. And yet for many Iran remains shrouded in mystery and incomprehensible to Western analysis.

 

Modern Iran offers a comprehensive analysis and explanation of political, social and economic developments in Iran during the 20th century.  Since it first published in 2003 Modern Iran has become a staple for students and lecturers wishing to gain a clear understand of the history of this strategically important Middle Eastern Country.

The new edition will bring us up to dateand will include: an analysis of the successes and failures of the Khatami Presidency; an examination of the effect of 9/11; the rise of the Reform Movement and the efforts to promote Islamic
Democracy;  the resistance to democratisation among the hardline elites.

About this title

About the Author

Ali Ansari is currently Reader in history at the University of St Andrews. He is a London-born Iranian with much of his family still in Iran where he goes regularly to see them. As an Iranian himself, he is in a unique position to explain the history of his own country to a Western student audience.

From the Back Cover

Modern Iran

Ali Ansari

"...Ansari has written a straightforward, though skilfully analytical, history of Iran..." Times Literary Supplement (praise for the first edition)

Today?s Iran is rarely out of the headlines. Labelled by George W. Bush as a part of his ?axis of evil? and perceived as a real nuclear threat by some, Iran is increasingly seen as an enemy of the West.

With so much attention paid to this country it is inexplicable that we know so very little about it. Indeed, few countries have proved so persistently incomprehensible to Western analysis as Iran. But an understanding of modern Iran is not impossible with a clear understanding of its history.

Modern Iran fills the gaps in our understanding with a comprehensive analysis and explanation of political, social and economic developments in Iran during the twentieth century.

Arguing that Iranian history has been significantly shaped by its relations with the?great powers?, Ansari provides an important reassessment of key events such as the fall of the Pahlavi dynasty, the 1979 Revolution and the origins of the Iran-Iraq war in this strategically sensitive country.

Using a wide range of foreign and Iranian sources including interviews with key players, Modern Iran traces the rise of the Reform Movement and the efforts to promote Islamic democracy. The successes and failures of the Khatami Presidency are assessed with skill and clarity and the Iran in the aftermath of 9/11 is comprehensively examined.

Between reform and revolution, authoritarianism and democratisation, the history of modern Iran reflects the struggles of an ancient state as it seeks to define itself in the modern world. It is a history of immediate relevance to any interested in the future of the Middle East.

Ali Ansari is Professor of Iranian History at the University of St Andrews. His most recent publications include Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change (2000) and Confronting Iran: The Failure of American Foreign Policy and the Roots of Mistrust (2006).

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 1405840846
• ISBN 13: 9781405840842
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 392