Iran Rising

“An excellent primer on the country of Iran and offers a look behind the curtain on how the Iranian government is organized and administered.” —George Hodge, Military Review

When Iranians overthrew their pro-Western monarchy in favor of an Islamic regime in 1979, many observers predicted that revolutionary turmoil would paralyze the country for years to come. Yet in the decades since, Iran has emerged as a key player in the Middle East and the wider world. In Iran Rising, renowned Iran specialist Amin Saikal describes how the Islamic Republic has managed to survive despite ongoing domestic struggles, Western sanctions, and other serious challenges. Amid heightened global anxiety over alliances, terrorism, and nuclear threats, Iran Rising offers essential reading for understanding a country that, more than ever, is a force to watch.

“[A] lucid exposition of the Islamic Republic’s two main ideological and policy axes: the jihadists, embodied by the country’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and the ijtihadists, the more flexible and rational pragmatists, two of whom, Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani, have been elected president.” —John Waterbury, Foreign Affairs

“A welcome and discerning primer . . . It should be studied carefully by all students of Middle Eastern politics and especially by diplomats, military leaders, and political decision-makers who wish to rectify or avoid repeating the current flawed policies toward the Islamic Republic of Iran.” —Robert L. Tignor, Michigan War Studies Review

“A deft, accessible, and in-depth account of the Islamic Republic, Iran Rising helps us to better understand an important country that continues to defy easy classification.” —Mehran Kamrava, author of The Modern Middle East