Iran in World Politics: The Question of the Islamic Republic

by Arshin Adib-Moghaddam

From the publisher:
How has the Islamic Republic developed ideologically since the revolution of 1979? What are the best ways of comprehending the country at this critical juncture in its history? In his book, Arshin Adib-Moghaddam combines theory and lived experience to explain the foreign relations and domestic politics of post-revolutionary Iran. He guides the reader through the country's complex identity and actions, from the nuclear issue to Iran's perpetual political standoff with the United States, from the future of Iranian democracy to Iranian-Arab relations, from American neoconservatism to Islamic utopian-romanticism, and from Avicenna to Ayatollah Khomeini.

An Iranian born in Turkey but educated in Germany and England, Adib-Moghaddam shows a unique empathy towards the understanding of both Eastern and Western cultures. His thoughtful analysis engages the existing literature on Iran and Islam and exposes the limitations of mainstream representations of the country and the wider Muslim world. He addresses not only what caused the war between Iran and Iraq but also its dangerous consequences; the impact of neoconservative policy on Iranian political rhetoric; and the pluralism of Iran's civil society, in which factionalism among the ruling class and peripheral representation in government have encouraged free discourse among its people.