Contemporary Iran: Economy, Society, Politics

by Ali Gheissari

Overview

Iran is a key player in some of the most crucial issues of our time. But because of its relative diplomatic isolation and the partisan nature of conflicting accounts voiced by different interest groups both inside and outside the country, there is a shortage of hard information about the scale and depth of social change in today's Iran. In this volume, and imposing roster of both internationally renowned Iranian scholars and rising young Iranian academics offer contributions—many based on recent fieldwork—on the nature and evolution of Iran's economy, significant aspects of Iran's changing society, and the dynamics of its domestic and international politics since the 1979 revolution, focusing particularly on the post-Khomeini period. The book will be of great interest not only to Iran specialists, but also to scholars of comparative politics, democratization, social change, politics in the Muslim world, and Middle Eastern studies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195378498
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	04/02/2009
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ali Gheissari is Professor of History at the University of San Diego. He has written extensively on the intellectual history and politics of modern Iran. His book, Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty, was published by Oxford University Press in 2006.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Ali GheissariPart One: Economy1. The Oil Wealth and Economic Growth in Iran, Djavad Salehi-Isfahani2. The Urban Provincial Periphery in Iran: Revolution and War in Ramhormoz, Kaveh Ehsani3. Nimble Fingers No Longer! Women's Employment in Iran, Roksana Bahramitash and Hadi Salehi EsfahaniPart Two: Society4. Religion, Women, and Political Agency in Iran, Shahla Haeri5. Who Will Catch me if I Fall? Health and the Infrastructure of Risk for Urban Young Iranians, Pardis Mahdavi6. From Punishment to Harm Reduction: Resecularization of Addiction in Contemporary Iran, Amir-Arsalan Afkhami7. Iran's New Scientific Community, Farhad KhosrokhavarPart Three: Politics8. Constitutional Implications of Current Political Debates in Iran, Saïd Amir Arjomand9. New Conservative Politics and Electoral Behavior in Iran, Ali Gheissari and Kaveh-Cyrus Sanandaji10. Ethnicity and Religious Minority Politics in Iran, Nayereh Tohidi11. Iran's Regional Policies since the End of the Cold War, Anoushiravan Ehteshami12. Iran's Persian Gulf Policy in the Post-Saddam Era, Mohsen M. MilaniIndex

Editorial Reviews

"A skillful collection of work...an excellent, thought-provoking set of papers about the challenges, perils and promises of a country undergoing dramatic changes under theocratic rule. Its engaging and erudite chapters introduce the reader to different cultural, economic, religious, and political spheres of interaction, and offer valuable lessons about the dynamics of a changing society...This stimulating work will be welcomed by historians and social theorists and by anyone interested in the contemporary history and political dynamics of Iranian society."—Iranian Studies

"A critical book for engaging Iran in the post-Bush era. It reveals Iran's complex society as it deals with the crises all societies must now deal with: from crises in energy, economics, law, scientific research and foreign policy to drugs, sex, housing, health care, population growth and crime to local and ethnic tensions, war and violence and their terrible after effects. A serious work of scholarship by European and North American writers, rising stars and longtime Iran watchers."—Darius Rejali, Professor of Political Science, Reed College

From the Publisher