The Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics: Elites and Shifting Relations (Iranian Studies) - Hardcover

Sinkaya, Bayram

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 113885364X ISBN 13: 9781138853645

Publisher: Routledge, 2015

Synopsis

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has been dubbed the ‘kingmaker’ in recent studies of Iranian politics, precipitating heated debates surrounding the potential militarization of the Iranian regime and giving rise to paradoxical understandings of the IRGC; whether as a military institution entering politics, or a political institution with a military history.

Revolutionary Guards in Iranian Politics offers a way out of this paradox by showing that the IRGC is not a recently politicized institution, but has instead been highly politicized since its inception. It identifies the ways in which the IRGC relates to national political dynamics, examines the factors contributing to this relationship, and its implications on Iranian politics from the revolution up to the present day. The book examines the three decades following the revolution, uncovering the reasons behind the rise of the Revolutionary Guards and tracking the organization’s evolving relationship with politics. Establishing a theoretical framework from revolution and civil-military relations theories, this book provides new perspectives on the relationship between the IRGC and Iranian politics.

This book would be of interest to students and scholars of Middle East Studies and Iranian Studies, in particular Iranian Politics.

About this title

About the Author:

Bayram Sinkaya is Assistant Professor in the Department of International relations at Yildirim Beyazit University in Ankara.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 113885364X
• ISBN 13: 9781138853645
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224