Politics of Modern Iran (Critical Issues in Modern Politics)

Politics & Social Sciences

Ansari, Ali M.

Politics & Government

Routledge

Politics of Modern Iran

Iran under Ahmadinejad: The Politics of Confrontation (Adelphi series)

The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the summer of 2005 thrust Iran into the international limelight in a way that few would have predicted. Robust, confrontational and given to bombastic rhetoric, Ahmadinejad has drawn condemnation from the West and praise from the Middle Eastern street in almost equal measure. This Paper looks at the details of his political rise and assesses his presidency to date within the context of the dynamics of Iranian politics. Examining the key themes of his presidency, it assesses the effectiveness of his policies and analyzes his populist approach, in particular his use of nationalism and the cult of the Twelfth Imam. The author argues that Ahmadinejad, far from retrenching the conservative values of the early revolution, is very much a product of the social and political changes which have occurred since the end of the Iran–Iraq War; that his populism in both politics and economics, along with the maintenance of a confrontational posture abroad, represents an ad hoc, and somewhat incoherent, attempt to disguise the growing contradictions which afflict the Islamic Republic, and the conservative vision of an unaccountable Islamic autocracy in the face of growing dissatisfaction, especially among key sections of the élite.

Reference

The Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran (Cambridge Middle East Studies, Series Number 40)

This sophisticated and challenging book by the distinguished historian Ali M. Ansari explores the idea of nationalism in the creation of modern Iran. It does so by considering the broader developments in national ideologies that took place following the emergence of the European Enlightenment and showing how these ideas were adopted by a non-European state. Ansari charts a course through twentieth-century Iran, analyzing the growth of nationalistic ideas and their impact on the state and demonstrating the connections between historiographical and political developments. In so doing, he shows how Iran's different regimes manipulated ideologies of nationalism and collective historical memory to suit their own ends. Firmly relocating Reza Shah within the context of the Constitutional Revolution, Ansari argues that Reza Pahlavi's identification with a monarchy by Divine Right bore a greater resemblance to, and facilitated, the religious nationalism that catapulted Ayatollah Khomeini to power on the back of a populist and highly personalized mythology. Drawing on hitherto untapped sources, the book concludes that it was the revolutionary developments and changes that occurred during the first half of the twentieth century that paved the way for later radicalization. As the first book-length study of Iranian nationalism in nearly five decades, it will find an eager readership among scholars of the Middle East and those students more generally interested in questions of nationalism and ideology.

History

Middle East

Cambridge University Press

This sophisticated and challenging book by the distinguished historian Ali M. Ansari explores the idea of nationalism in the creation of modern Iran. It does so by considering the broader developments in national ideologies that took place following the emergence of the European Enlightenment and showing how these ideas were adopted by a non-European state. Ansari charts a course through twentieth-century Iran, analyzing the growth of nationalistic ideas and their impact on the state and demonstrating the connections between historiographical and political developments. In so doing, he shows how Iran's different regimes manipulated ideologies of nationalism and collective historical memory to suit their own ends. Firmly relocating Reza Shah within the context of the Constitutional Revolution, Ansari argues that Reza Pahlavi's identification with a monarchy by Divine Right bore a greater resemblance to, and facilitated, the religious nationalism that catapulted Ayatollah Khomeini to power on the back of a populist and highly personalized mythology. Drawing on hitherto untapped sources, the book concludes that it was the revolutionary developments and changes that occurred during the first half of the twentieth century that paved the way for later radicalization. As the first book-length study of Iranian nationalism in nearly five decades, it will find an eager readership among scholars of the Middle East and those students more generally interested in questions of nationalism and ideology.

The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the summer of 2005 thrust Iran into the international limelight in a way that few would have predicted. Robust, confrontational and given to bombastic rhetoric, Ahmadinejad has drawn condemnation from the West and praise from the Middle Eastern street in almost equal measure. This Paper looks at the details of his political rise and assesses his presidency to date within the context of the dynamics of Iranian politics. Examining the key themes of his presidency, it assesses the effectiveness of his policies and analyzes his populist approach, in particular his use of nationalism and the cult of the Twelfth Imam. The author argues that Ahmadinejad, far from retrenching the conservative values of the early revolution, is very much a product of the social and political changes which have occurred since the end of the Iran�Iraq War; that his populism in both politics and economics, along with the maintenance of a confrontational posture abroad, represents an ad hoc, and somewhat incoherent, attempt to disguise the growing contradictions which afflict the Islamic Republic, and the conservative vision of an unaccountable Islamic autocracy in the face of growing dissatisfaction, especially among key sections of the �te.

Iran (Polity Histories)

Polity

Philosophy

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