Synopses & Reviews
Exploring continuities and changes, this book provides the historical backdrop crucial to understanding how Iranian pride and sense of victimization combine to make its politics contentious and potentially dangerous. From the struggle between the Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini to the current tension between the reformers and traditionalists, a central issue in Iranian domestic politics has long been its place in the world and relations with the West.
Review
“The book is ambitious in its scope and range…an accessible account of Iranian history and its present political dynamics…the book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on Iranian history and politics, and its accessible prose renders it appealing to a wider audience.”--International Journal of Middle East Studies"An essential guide to a country, and a foreign policy problem, that we ignore at our peril"--Rich Lowry, Editor, National Review
"Eternal Iran is a sophisticated and subtle book, a seamless narrative of Iranian history and contemporary politics. A book of careful scholarship, yet accessible to a wide readership. One of the best accounts of recent years on that important and problematic country."--Fouad Ajami, Author of The Dream Palace of the Arabs"For those looking at Iran and how it has evolved, the character and roots of its nationalism, the self image of its people and their attitude toward the outside world and the United States, and the potential for internal change away from stifling rule of the mullahs, there is no better book to read. Clawson and Rubin offer a clear picture of a people and a political culture that too often has seemed opaque to American observers."
--Ambassador Dennis Ross, Author of The Missing Piece: The Inside Story of the Fight for Middle East Peace
Synopsis
Exploring continuities and changes, this book provides the historical backdrop crucial to understanding how Iranian pride and sense of victimization combine to make its politics contentious and potentially dangerous. From the struggle between the Shah and Ayatollah Khomeini to the current tension between the reformers and traditionalists, a central issue in Iranian domestic politics has long been its place in the world and relations with the West.
About the Author
Patrick Clawson is Deputy Director of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Michael Rubin is Resident Scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. Between 2002 and 2004, he worked as a staff advisor for Iran and Iraq in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Table of Contents
Preface * Introduction * Land and People * From Empire to Nation * A New Order, 1921-1953 * Modernizing Iran, 1953-78 * Revolution and War, 1978-1988 * The Second Islamic Republic, 1989-2005 * Difficulties With The Broader World During The Khatami Years * Summary and Prospects