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The article explores cultural nostalgia in Persia as a means of political dissent. Noted is how the political and social culture in the country has changed since the founding of Iran's Islamic Republic in 1979, which shifted the country's ancient culture to a theocratic dictatorship. Other topics include nostalgia for the Persian Empire's pre-Islamic past among Iranian exiles and an extensive look a survey that took place in California that aimed to gather more data about Iranian-American views of the Islamic Republic.

Although the ulama have lost their traditional roles in many parts of the Islamic world as a result of the modernization process of the social and political structure, the Iranian ulama not only have played a pivotal role in many important events in the recent history of Iran, but also emerged as the most powerful socio-political class since the Iranian revolution of 1979. In this article, I aim to understand major factors that facilitate the development of the ulama as the most powerful political actor in Iranian polity. Drawing on the analysis of two highly crucial historical events (the Constitutional Revolution and the Iranian Revolution of 1979), I point out four major factors for the development of an influential ulama class: The reconstruction of Shi'i Islam for the rule of the ulama in the absence of the Hidden Imam, the political and economic independence of the ulama from the state, the close relationship between the ulama and the urban middle class, and the weakness of the central governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khomeini, the leader of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, sought to chart out an independent course for Iran in regional and global affairs: 'neither East, nor West, the Islamic Republic.' Khomeini's successors have often attempted to compromise with the West by undertaking economic reforms aimed at reintegrating Iran into the imperialistic capitalist world economy. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed in mid-July 2015, brings Iran new opportunities but it also greatly compromises the ideological, philosophical and economic foundations of Khomeini's Islamic Republic. After four decades of anti-imperialist struggle, Iran has now largely come back to the fold of imperialism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 1986 a Lebanese newspaper revealed the secret arms-for-hostages deal between Tehran and Washington that subsequently became known as the Iran-Contra-Affair. The newspaper had been tipped off by friends of the Iranian radical Mehdi Hashemi who had been arrested shortly before in Iran. This article explores the link between the arrest of the ardent supporter of the then deputy leader Hossein-Ali Montazeri and the secret talks with the US government. The article will show that his arrest was not only an attempt of the then dominant faction around Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani to bring the future leader Montazeri under its control, but also an attempt to eliminate a rival actor opposing the rapprochement with the USA and threatening to disrupt the arms-for-hostages deal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The thirteen years Khomeini spent in exile in the Iraqi shrine city of Najaf is still a littleknown page of his life. Based on a collection of published interviews with Iranian clerics, this article explores the social mechanisms of his growing authority, both as a religious scholar and a revolutionary figure. His leadership practices were, the article argues, a mirror of his position of in-betweenness characterized by his physical presence in Najaf and his continued attachment to the home country. The social dynamics at work inside the Iraqi seminaries are explored first to situate Khomeini in his place of exile. While he was kept at a distance by Najaf's most influential clerical groups, he also had access to a social base of his own, a group of supporters composed mainly of Iranian students and low-ranking scholars. The local and transnational development of Khomeini's religio-political leadership is addressed next. His scholarly and social activities among Najaf's community of learning allowed him to consolidate and spread his religious influence. His political activities were less overt than generally assumed; he kept a low profile in Najaf's public sphere yet maintained a political presence transnationally through his network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines US covert operations toward Iran from February until November 1979. It focuses especially on whether the CIA was trying to undermine or overthrow Iran's nascent Islamic regime, as many Iranians believed. The article details the extensive covert contacts the CIA and other US personnel established in this period with Iranian officials and various Iranian opposition factions. Its main conclusion is that US officials established these contacts for the purpose of gathering intelligence about the rapidly changing situation in Iran, rather than to undermine the Islamic regime. Indeed, US personnel never encouraged these Iranian contacts to plot against the regime and often explicitly discouraged them from doing so. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the political leadership of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini. Topics include political divisions in Iran during the 1978 to 1979 revolution, Khomeini's role in turning Iran into an Islamic state, and Khomeini's personality in relation to his purported authoritarian leadership of Iran. His role in the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis during 1979 to 1981 is noted.

This article examines the role of student activism in enhancing or weakening democratization in authoritarian contexts, focusing on the case of the Islamic Republic of Iran. It contends that while numerous studies indicate that student activism has been crucial in processes of regime change, insufficient attention has been paid to the circumstances under which it contributes to strengthening authoritarian rule. The case of Iran demonstrates that there are two different ways in which this occurs. First, much like many other civil society actors, student activism can be co-opted and at times willingly so because of a coincidence of material and/or ideological interests. Second, even when student activism genuinely pushes for democratization and becomes independent and autonomous from political power, the authoritarian constraints in place can contribute to marginalize it and defeat it. The Iranian case highlights the problems student activism faces when it attempts to disengage from the dominant structures of authoritarian politics, and in line with Jamal's findings, demonstrates how authoritarian structural constraints can undermine the democratic aspirations of well-organised groups. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

On 3 December 1979, almost one year after Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi left Iran, the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran replaced the monarchical constitution of 1906. The new constitution was to guarantee that the monarchy was abolished and the Islamic Republic system of government was enforced in its place. The constitution was to observe the Islamic and the nationalistic aims of the revolution with regard to the demands of a public that came from various social, religious, ethnic, and political backgrounds. Thus the 1979 constitution included differing components, which necessitated the amendments and the modifications that were added to the constitution in 1989. The constitution and its development are subjects that have been discussed in detail by scholars of modern Iran, among whom Asghar Schirazi stands out for his comprehensive study of the constitution. The following translation of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran highlights the relationship between the 1979 text of the constitution and the 1989 amendments in an attempt to contribute to the ongoing discussions on this subject. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

While dealing with the human rights issue, the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO), which used to be the main opposition group that fought the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), did not realize that this sensitive struggle would cost it a ‘triple exclusion’. The MKO wished to use international agencies and diplomatic bodies, such as the European Union, the European Parliament, the UN and others, in order to raise the issue of human rights violations in Iran. In general, the aim was to topple the IRI by putting pressure on it through international sanctions and by gathering diplomatic support to replace the IRI with a democratic MKO government. The use of the human rights issue as a tool to gain support resulted in the opposite of what they wished. They became discriminated against by the IRI and excluded from the Iranian and international political spheres. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses international relations, with a focus on the Iranian presidential election on June 14, 2013, the victory of Hassan Rouhani, and Western policymakers' misconceptions about Iran's governing elites and political reforms. Topics include elections between moderate and fundamentalist candidates, regime oppression and brutality, and the rise of Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani as president in 1989. Additional information is presented on postwar reconstruction, relations between Germany and Iran, and international pressure.

The early drafts of the constitution of 1979 have represented a crucial moment in the creation of the post-revolutionary Iranian state. This article makes use of primary sources of the time and recently revealed material in order to provide a systematic analysis of the events which led to the production of the key versions of the draft constitution and the reaction to them by the multitude of political movements which were then active. The aim of this study is to clarify events and processes which have been left unexplored by the existing academic literature. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the attempts of nations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region to become middle powers in international relations. Topics include geopolitical aspects of regional powers, Pan-Arab and Islamic political ideologies, and the impact of Western powers on the region. The histories of Egypt, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey are discussed in relation to politics and international relations since the middle of the 20th century.

This paper aims to understand the consequences of US-led sanctions on two important industries in Iran: the oil and gas industry and power plant construction. Using qualitative methods and providing empirical evidence, this paper demonstrates the shortcomings of the pro-sanctions argument in the Iranian context. This paper argues that pro-sanctions literature is more inclined towards American politics; it ignores socially recurring effects such as empowering self-reliance in the target country. In the Iranian context, while sanctions regimes are beyond the control or power of industry managers, they have acted as a double-edged sword. On one hand, the sanctions have imposed extra costs on domestic companies in acquiring technological knowledge. On the other hand, they have stimulated policy-makers' determination and empowered a self-reliance doctrine amongst them. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article describes a US initiative to provide intelligence to Iran in 1979, as radical Islamists were becoming increasingly powerful there and tensions were escalating with the United States. This initiative began in May 1979, when Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan and other Iranian officials asked US embassy personnel for information on ethnically based uprisings that threatened the new Islamic regime. It culminated when a CIA officer gave two briefings in mid-October warning Iran's leaders that Iraq was making preparations for a possible invasion of Iran. It ended abruptly in November 1979, when radical Islamist students seized the US embassy in Tehran. Iran's leaders did not heed the US warning and were entirely unprepared for the Iraqi invasion of September 1980, which had a devastating impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the transformation of Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. It states that the Iranian nation-state was no longer defined in terms of its connections to its ancient empires and monarchical past, rather the new regime sought to define the country as a national community united under Shi'a Islamic principles. With the new regime, the country was formed to Islamic Republic of Iran and established Islam as the state's official religion which greatly affected Iran's religious minorities.

The journal "Dynamics of Power in Contemporary Iran" is presented. It explores the relations of the state and society under the monarchy, the consolidation of the dependent-capitalism under the Shah, and the rise of the revolutionary state. It highlights the 1979 middle class revolution of Iran, the power politics in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and an a discussion on the reform Cul de Sac and secularization of Iranian politics.

The article discusses the political power of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the era of Iranian history following the death of Ayatollah Khomeini. Specific focus is given to the general militarization of Iranian politics and society during this period. The author identifies the Iranian military state as a "praetorian" one. The authors discuss the social upheavals and protests following the June 12, 2009 elections in Iran, emphasizing the role of civil society in them. They detail the political stability of Iran while describing difficulties caused by this stability for the international community.

In post-revolution Iran, the sacred notion of martyrdom has been transformed into a routine act of government - a moral sign of order and state sovereignty. Moving beyond the debates of the secularisation of the sacred and the making sacred of the secular, this article argues that the moment of sacralisation is realised through co-production within a social setting when the object of sacralisation is recognised as such by others. In contemporary Iran, however, the moment of sacralising bodies by the state is also the moment of its own subversion as the political-theological field of martyrdom is contested and challenged from within. This article traces the genealogy of martyrdom in contemporary Iran in order to explore its institutionalised forms and governmental practices. During the revolution, the Shi'a tradition of martyrdom and its dramatic performances of ritual mourning and self-sacrifice became central to the mass mobilisation against the monarchy. Once the revolutionary government came into existence, this sacred tradition was regulated to create 'martyrs' as a fixed category, in order to consolidate the legacy of the revolution. In this political theatre, the dead body is a site of transformation and performance upon which the original narrative of martyrdom takes place even as it displaces it and gives new meanings to the act. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Iran-Iraq war remains one of the longest conflicts in the history of the modern Middle East. The war would define Iran's foreign policy orientation, as the exigencies of the conflict conditioned its approach to the United States, the Arab world, and even Israel. Along the way, Iran's leaders made a series of mistakes and miscalculations that ensured a stalemated conflict. Subordinating strategy to ideology and misplaced hopes that Iraq's population would rise to welcome Iranians as liberators contributed to prolonging a devastating war. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does Washington care about freedom in Iran? On the surface, it seems like a silly question, since Ruhollah Khomeini to in 1979, Ever Ayatollah swept power Washington policymakers of all political stripes have been holding out hope that a kinder, gentler regime would emerge in Tehran. Republican and Democratic administrations alike have expressed their support for freedom within the Islamic Republic, and both sides of the political aisle have condemned the regime's repressive domestic practices. Yet, concrete proof of the U.S. commitment to pluralism in Iran is hard to come by. The strategies by which the United States can assist Iran's opposition remain poorly understood and even less effectively implemented. This is unfortunate, since with the proper vision and political will, the United States can harness economic, diplomatic and informational strategies to significantly affect the unfolding struggle for Iran's soul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this article is to examine the policies of the elite in Iran in relation to political parties and organizations that have emerged between 1979 and 2009. It also attempts to argue that the politics of factionalism has proven to be incapable of creating a viable political system. On the other hand, it has been difficult to anticipate the emergence of a system based on party politics in Iran more than three decades after the revolution. The findings of this article demonstrate how determined the elite were in shaping politics in Iran, and will also show that the move away from factionalism to a system based on party politics between 1997 and 2009 faced stiff opposition from the conservative elite. The situation polarized politics in Iran and further increased intra-elite factionalism. This article relies mostly on Iranian primary sources, accessing opinions that have not yet been published or discussed. The focus is on examining the relationship between high-ranking members of the elite and organizations representing different interests within the system that came to existence either before or immediately after the revolution in 1979. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the foreign policy of the government of Iran, as of January 2010. It focuses on Iran's efforts to become a nuclear power, and the efforts of the U.S. to prevent this, particularly through imposing sanctions. The antagonistic relationship between Iran and the U.S. which has prevailed since the late 20th century is discussed, and issues related to U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy initiatives are analyzed in this context. It is argued that sanctions have some effect on public opinion, but will not produce direct changes in the policy of Iran's rulers.

The article discusses the foreign policy of the government of Iran, as of January 2010. It focuses on Iran's efforts to become a nuclear power, and the efforts of the U.S. to prevent this. The antagonistic relationship between Iran and the U.S. which has prevailed since the late 20th century is discussed, and issues related to U.S. President Barack Obama's foreign policy initiatives are analyzed in this context. The Iranian people are said to have shown a desire to normalize relations with the rest of the world. However, it is argued that the country's rulers are more interested in propping up their anti-democratic regime through repressive political violence and electoral fraud.

The article discusses the foreign policy of the government of Iran, as of January 2010. It focuses on the antagonistic relationship between Iran and the U.S. which has prevailed since the late 20th century, and the question of whether Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and U.S. President Barack Obama will be able to negotiate some form of detente. Iran's attempts to become a nuclear power, and U.S. military operations in two of Iran's neighboring countries, Iraq and Afghanistan, are discussed in this context.

The article explores the 1979 revolution against the Shah in Iran. The author explains that the Iranian Revolution outraged both the affirmed atheists of the communist world and a rising secular West by founding an anachronistic theocracy. The author claims that the lessons distinguished from the Iranian Revolution are especially poignant with respect to the stability of several lower Gulf States.

This examination of the changes that have occurred in the relationship between the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the supreme guide during the past 30 years suggests that the Islamic Republic as a theological entity died just before noon on June 19, 2009. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'Alawis of Syria are part of the Shi'a stream; this has led to an alliance with Iran, the center of Shi'ite Islam. This alliance aggravated the oppositionist Syrian Muslim Brotherhood (MB), whose members have been in exile since 1982. According to them, the alliance is a stage in a Shi'ite scheme to take over the Sunni countries, including Syria. However, during the past year the MB has changed their strategy, and we are currently witnessing a rapprochement between the Brotherhood and Damascus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses events surrounding the June 12, 2009 election in Iran. It states that the election results represent the end of the political stalemate that followed the 1989 death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and the beginning of a period of confusion, predicting a nuclear explosion in the desert. It notes the installation of Shah Reza Pahlavi in 1921 with Western help, and his son Mohammed Reza in 1953. The son ordered Khomeini into exile in 1964 in an attempt to demolish political influence of the clergy. Khomeini came to power in the revolution of 1978-1979. Mir Hossein Mousavi, a 2009 candidate for president, was then an influential newspaper editor. The 2009 election retained Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in power but is widely considered to have been fraudulent and unrest persists.