Democracy in Iran

History and the Quest for Liberty

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, Foreign Legal Systems, History, Middle East, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book Democracy in Iran by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr ISBN: 9780199885060
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: June 15, 2006
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
ISBN: 9780199885060
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: June 15, 2006
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

Today Iran is once again in the headlines. Reputed to be developing nuclear weapons, the future of Iraq's next-door neighbor is a matter of grave concern both for the stability of the region and for the safety of the global community. President George W. Bush labeled it part of the "Axis of Evil," and rails against the country's authoritarian leadership. Yet as Bush trumpets the spread of democracy throughout the Middle East, few note that Iran has one of the longest-running experiences with democracy in the region. In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, Gheissari and Nasr argue. The concept of democracy in Iran today may appear to be a reaction to authoritarianism, but it is an old idea with a complex history, one that is tightly interwoven with the main forces that have shaped Iranian society and politics, institutions, identities, and interests. Indeed, the demand for democracy first surfaced in Iran a century ago at the end of the Qajar period, and helped produce Iran's surprisingly liberal first constitution in 1906. Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state. Why was democracy absent from the ideological debates of the 1960s and 1970s? Most important, why has it now become a powerful social, political, and intellectual force? How have modernization, social change, economic growth, and the experience of the revolution converged to make this possible?

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Today Iran is once again in the headlines. Reputed to be developing nuclear weapons, the future of Iraq's next-door neighbor is a matter of grave concern both for the stability of the region and for the safety of the global community. President George W. Bush labeled it part of the "Axis of Evil," and rails against the country's authoritarian leadership. Yet as Bush trumpets the spread of democracy throughout the Middle East, few note that Iran has one of the longest-running experiences with democracy in the region. In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, Gheissari and Nasr argue. The concept of democracy in Iran today may appear to be a reaction to authoritarianism, but it is an old idea with a complex history, one that is tightly interwoven with the main forces that have shaped Iranian society and politics, institutions, identities, and interests. Indeed, the demand for democracy first surfaced in Iran a century ago at the end of the Qajar period, and helped produce Iran's surprisingly liberal first constitution in 1906. Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state. Why was democracy absent from the ideological debates of the 1960s and 1970s? Most important, why has it now become a powerful social, political, and intellectual force? How have modernization, social change, economic growth, and the experience of the revolution converged to make this possible?

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book The Web of Empire by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Morals from Motives by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Sustaining the Nation by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Sectarian Politics in the Persian Gulf by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book The Memoirs of Fray Servando Teresa de Mier by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book A Theology in Outline by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Hippies, Indians, and the Fight for Red Power by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Raising Musical Kids by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Atomic Obsession by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Parasites and the Behavior of Animals by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Tending the Heart of Virtue: How Classic Stories Awaken a Childs Moral Imagination by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Governing Guns, Preventing Plunder by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book The Multilingual Internet by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book Individual Freedom in Language Teaching - Oxford Applied Linguistics by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
Cover of the book The Clash of Ideologies by Ali Gheissari, Vali Nasr
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy