Khatami's Iran: The Islamic Republic and the Turbulent Path to Reform

To understand contemporary Irana??s notoriously complex politics, it is essential to grasp the monumental changes initiated by Mohammad Khatami. The previously little-known cleric stormed to victory in Irana??s 1997 presidential elections with nearly 70 percent of the vote, encouraging Irana??s reform movement to flourish during his eight year tenure as president. Ghoncheh Tazminia??s book offers a thought-provoking, astutely close-up yet systematic analysis of Khatami the man and the reform movement that supported him. She provides us with the first insight into Khatami and his politics, unravelling from the inside the dramatic emergence and consequences of Irana??s vibrant reform movement. Balanced and analytical, this book provides a comprehensive and finely detailed introduction to the subtleties of contemporary Irana??s complex political culture. At the same time it is an important reference point for a critical period of Irana??s post-revolutionary trajectory, especially given the controversial Post-Khatami developments in the country following the election of President Ahmadinejad.And with the Ahmadinejad view of Iranian politics creating a measure of discord in the country, Khatamia? ?s role as a player on the Iranian political scene remains firm.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents 1 Modernity, Modernisation and Reform Western narratives of modernity Iran’s intellectual encounter with modernity Intellectual roots of Khatami’s reform movement 2 The Man Behind the Movement The making of a leader Childhood, education, career Not an Iranian Gorbachev 3 The Ideas Behind Reform Historical antecedents Towards an Iranian ‘Third Way’ Khatami’s political philosophy 4 The Khatami Way The move behind the movement The ‘moment’: 23 May 1997 5 From Slogan to Practice Institutionalising change The dynamics of social change 6 Unveiling Iran’s Iron Curtain Dialogue among civilisations New political thinking 7 Reform meets reaction Power struggle Khatami: reformist or conformist? 8 Khatami’s Revolution and Beyond Khatami’s conceptual revolution Significance of the reform movement: the Man and the Movement Unfinished Revolution The Future of the Reform Movement in Iran Conclusion

About the Author :
Ghoncheh Tazmini is an Iranian-born independent political analyst who has worked with a number of economic and social research institutes. She holds a doctorate in International Relations from the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Review :
'The Presidency of Mohammad Khatami, from 1997 to 2005, was one of the most important and internationally significant periods in modern Iranian history. Breaking with the rigidities of the revolutionary period, while situating himself firmly with those who wished to consolidate the Islamic Republic, Khatami was a new voice that echoed across his country and the world. In this pioneering and enlightening study, Ghoncheh Tazmini traces the origins and development of Khatami's ideas, evaluates the successes and failures of his Presidency, and sets the scene for what will continue to be a crucial dividing line within contemporary Iran'. - Fred Halliday, author of 'Islam and the Myth of Confrontation'