Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change

by Ali M. Ansari

Overview

The surprise election of Hasan Rouhani in 2013 has refocused attention on the dynamics between Islam and democracy in Iran after the hiatus of the Ahmadinejad presidency. With comparisons being drawn between Rouhani and his predecessor, the late Reformist President Mohammad Khatami, there has never been a better time for a close look at the rise and fall of the Reform movement in Iran, situating it within the context of the “politics of managing change.” This revised and updated edition incorporates recent work on the presidential election crisis of 2009, along with the election of Rouhani in 2013, and an additional essay on the idea of reformism in Iran in historical context. The study remains then most comprehensive account of the politics of reform and, in situating the Rouhani presidency within that context, it shines a clear light on the pressures and pitfalls Iran faces in politics and international relations.
 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781909942950
Publisher:	Gingko
Publication date:	05/15/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	220
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Ali M. Ansari is the founder and director of the Institute for Iranian Studies at St Andrews University and the president of the British Institute for Persian Studies.
 

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgements to the Third Edition Preface to the Third Edition Part I - Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Politics of Managing Change Introduction Structure of the book Sources 1. Iran, Islam and Democracy: The Theoretical Context Iran, Islam and the 'secularisation thesis' Civil society and democratic development A contested inheritance The constitutional period, 1906–1921 Reza Shah and the Pahlavi autocracy The interregnum, 1941–1953 The restoration of autocracy, 1953–1979 The dialectics of the 'collective will' The limits of 'charisma' Competing movements Religious nationalism An unorthodox legacy The ideological dimensions of power The war 4. Rafsanjani and the Ascendancy of the Mercantile Bourgeoisie The roots and development of the 'mercantile bourgeois republic' Developments in intellectual life The intellectual revitalisation of the myth of political emancipation The theoretical foundations of an Islamic democracy Social responses to the bourgeois republic 5. The Failure of the Mercantile Bourgeois Republic and the Election of Khatami Parties and personalities The election campaign The election of 2 Khordad 6. Contested Hegemonies and the Institutionalisation of Power The reformist worldview Policies Agents of change (1): students Agents of change (2): the press Agents of obstruction A new beginning The foreign policy of reintegration 7. The Dialectics of Reform The politics of managing change The parameters of 'civil society' Constitutionalism and historical appropriation Reform and reaction The politics of economic reform 8. The Tide of Reform The imprisonment of Kadivar The student riots The campaign for the Sixth Majlis and the arrest of Nuri The dialectic returns High tide? 9. The Tide Stemmed The attempted assassination of Hajjarian The Berlin conference The emasculation of the Majlis The presidential elections of 2001 Reform in the shadow of 9/11 Iranian-US relations in the shadow of Afghanistan The 'axis of evil' Gridlock and the pursuit of constitutional reform Lost opportunities: Aghajari, Shahroudi, Taheri America and the pollsters Reform in the shadow of Iraq Iran and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty The arrogance of power Conclusion: From Reform to Neo-conservatism Opportunities lost The end of an era? Appendix I: A Crisis Every Nine Days: Khatami's First Term Appendix II: Ayatollah Taheri's Resignation Letter Appendix III: Letter from 127 Deputies to the Leader Ayatollah Khamenei Part II – Iran under Ahmadinejad: Populism and its Malcontents The routinisation of charisma The reinvention of charisma Part III – Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran's 2009 Presidential Election Executive summary Irregularities in voter turnout Where did Ahmadinejad's new votes come from? Do rural voters support Ahmadinejad? Appendix Part IV – Crisis of Authority: Iran's 2009 Presidential Election Introduction Sources and methodology The 2009 presidential election: the background A brief history of elections in the Islamic Republic The 2009 presidential election campaign Countdown to victory The primaries Raising the stakes A tale of two cities: Iran's opposing worldviews Towards election day Groundhog Day: from the sublime to the ridiculous Fallout Crisis of authority The crisis escalates The incoherence of dominance 'A global conspiracy' A conservative crisis Domestic questions Post-election violence and the fundamentals of governance Government options Assessing government support The spectre of 1978 The opposition and the Green Movement The economy The direction of travel Iran and the West The necessary tools Engaging Iran and the Iranians Mastering Iranian narratives Iran and the United States Iran and the United Kingdom Iran and the EU Iran, Russia and China Geopolitical lessons Conclusion An inconvenient truth? Part V – Iran's Eleventh Presidential Election: The Politics of Managing Change Revisited Introduction The ghost of Khatami The campaign Public scepticism Hardline divisions Building a drama out of a crisis The election process The diplomatic sheikh A fractured elite The result A new dawn of prudence, moderation and hope? Postscript: the politics of managing change Part VI – The United States, Iran, and the Politics of the JCPOA Introduction The arc of history A nuclear narrative An inconvenient truth? Heroic flexibility Manufacturing consent The 'Guns of August' The agreement Looking forward Conclusion Part VII – Epilogue: Britain, Iran, and the idea of the Reform Glossary Chronology Bibliography Index

Editorial Reviews

"The most comprehensive account of the politics of reform in contemporary Iran . . . . there has never been a better time for a review and detailed analysis of the rise and fall of the reform movement in Iran."

Asian Review of Books