Iran, Human Geography, Sociology, Middle Eastern, Political Science, Middle East, International Relations 

Preface


The Islamic Revolution in Iran has undoubtedly been one of the most momentous developments in the modern history of the Middle East. It has led to a dramatic change in the domestic landscape and had a far­ reaching influence in the region and far beyond Iran's borders.
Since its outbreak, the revolution has attracted a great deal of public opinion, as well as the interest of scholars, the media and policy-makers worldwide. Some of its unique features, such as mass participation, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's charismatic leadership, the revolution­ary movement's ideology and the politics of the new regime, turned Iran into a focus of public attention from the outset. Thereafter, the process of Islamization, the modus operandi of the clerical regime, the Iran-Iraq war, and the revolution's influence in the Muslim world
con­ tinued to fascinate observers. More recently, the emergence of President Mohammad Khatami and the wave of reformism have further fired the imagination of observers. Iran's relatively free press, the open domestic debate and deep soul-searching process, the colorful election campaigns (notably to the presidency in 1997 and to the Majlis [parliament] in 2000), and the subsequent countermeasures by the conservative elite,have turned the reformers into the main focus of attention.
More than two decades after the revolution, the Islamic Republic remains in many respects an enigma. The power structure, decision­ making process and exact politics of the Islamic regime are far from clear, and the struggle over the revolutionary path is not yet decided. Moreover, at the time of writing, the main developments under discus­ sion seem to have reached a new, more complex and convoluted peak. The principles of the revolutionary philosophy and politics are now being examined in a fierce and open debate about religion
and state, Islam and politics, Islam and democracy, state interest versus revolu­tionary ideology, and Iran's relations with the outside world. This book does not pretend to resolve all such complexities. It strives, however, to shed some additional light on the main processes in post-revolutionary Iran and to try clarify Iran's political landscape.

 

After the Islamic revolution in Iran, revolutionary leaders had to compromise their ideology. The Iranian ship of state continues to drift in search of an equilibrium between revolutionary convictions and the demands of governance, between religion and state, and Islam and the West. - from Amzon 

Contents






Preface
VII
List of Abbreviations XI


Introduction: Revolutionary Politics in Iran

PART ONE: THE DOMESTIC SCENE


1. The Guardianship of the Jurisconsult: The Ideological
Dilemma 13
Khomeini's Succession and Retreat from Dogma 13
The Challenge from the Clergy 22
Religion and the State: An Alternative Concept 32

2. The Political Scene: Rival Factions and Conflicting
Tendencies 47
Conflicting Tendencies within 'the Line of the Imam' 47
Rafsanjani and the Challenge of the Presidency 61

3. Khatami's Emergence 78
Khatami: The People's Choice 79
In Search of Authority 90

4. Social and Economic Difficulties and Political
Repercussions 105
Government Policy: Vision and Reality 105
Popular Response: Growing Impatience 116

5. The Quest for Freedom and Intensified Struggle
for Power
131
Signs of Free Expression and Government Policy 131
Student Riots and the Conservatives' Response 142
Explosive Political Atmosphere 152

Conclusion: A Tentative Appraisal 163



VI
Post-Revolutionary Politics in Iran

PART TWO: IRAN, THE WEST AND THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS

Introduction 173

6. Iran, the West and the United States 182
The United States Remains 'The Great Satan' 187
The Khatami Factor 205

7. Iran and its Troubled Neighborhood 227
The Triumph of National Interests 227
The Gulf States and the Arab World 237
Iran and its Non-Arab Neighbors 249

8. Israel: 'The Enemy of Iran and Islam' 261
The Ideological Basis for Animosity 264
Pragmatic Considerations and Opposition to the
Peace Process 281
Signs of a More Nuanced Attitude 287


Epilogue
305
Prelude: The Offensive of the Reformists 306
The Conservatives Strike Back 311
A Stormy Climate: In the Aftermath of the
Majlis Elections 316

Appendix: List of Iranian Newspapers 325

Glossary
333

Bibliography 337

Index
345