Navigating Contemporary Iran: Challenging Economic, Social and Political Perceptions(Routledge Advances in Middle East and Islamic Studies)

This detailed examination of contemporary Iran addresses the most important current social, political, and economic issues facing the nation and the way it is perceived by the outside world. The volume brings together some of the most important scholars and researchers in the field, working in such diverse disciplines as anthropology, economics, history, international relations, philosophy, political science, and sociology, to offer a broad range of perspectives on the significance of three decades of changes for Iran’s current and near-term-future domestic and international politics. Drawing upon a wealth of original field research, the authors challenge conventional wisdom and simplistic media stereotypes about the Islamic Republic. The chapters reach beyond traditional images of the country to show that, as a consequence of thirty years of economic and social changes, the reality, or ‘essence’, of contemporary Iran is more complex and nuanced than is often portrayed in the international media. Offering valuable insights into Iran’s economic and social policies, as well as its politics, since the Islamic Revolution, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of political science, sociology, and Iranian studies.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Part 1: Political Economy 1. Ideals, Interests and Economic Liberalization in the Islamic Republic of Iran 2. Three Placement Modes of the Economy in Post-revolutionary Iranian Society Part 2: Gender and Politics 3. Gender Transformation in Iran: Thirty Years and Thirty Revolutions 4. Double Agency: Women’s Political Participation in Post-revolutionary Iran 5. The One Million Signatures Campaign and its Impact on Legislators and Legislative Policy in Iran Part 3: Social Inclusion/Exclusion 6. Discourses of Nationalism, Modernization, and Gender in 20th Century Iran 7. Gender, Ethnicity and Identity: Surrender without Consent among Baluchi Women in Changing Contexts 8. Changing Drug Policies: Institutionalizing a New Social Order Part 4: Politics, 2009 and Beyond 9. The Post-Election Protests: Reflections from a Country in Transition Jaleh Taheri 10. The Green Movement Part 5: Dimensions of International Relations 11. Iran’s Influence: A Religio-Political State in its Region and in the World 12. Decoding Ahmadinejad’s Rhetoric on Israel

About the Author :
Eric Hooglund is Senior Research Scholar in Contemporary Interpretations of Islam at the Center for Middle East Studies, Lund University, Sweden, and Editor of Middle East Critique. Leif Stenberg is the Director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University.

Review :
The strength of this volume is its inclusion of perspectives from inside Iran, whether based on interviews, personal reflections, or studied observation. The essays avoid complicated theorization, a fact that will make these readings accessible to a wide variety of undergraduate readers. These essays may also be helpful for scholars outside of Iranian studies who seek to add comparative data to undergraduate courses. Kathleen Foody PhD College of Charleston