Today’s Iran is rarely out of the headlines. Labelled by George W Bush as a part of his ‘axis of evil’ and perceived as a real nuclear threat by some, Iran is increasingly seen as an enemy of the West. And yet for many Iran remains shrouded in mystery and incomprehensible to Western analysis.
Modern Iran offers a comprehensive analysis and explanation of political, social and economic developments in Iran during the 20th century. Since it first published in 2003 Modern Iran has become a staple for students and lecturers wishing to gain a clear understand of the history of this strategically important Middle Eastern Country.
The new edition will bring us up to dateand will include: an analysis of the successes and failures of the Khatami Presidency; an examination of the effect of 9/11; the rise of the Reform Movement and the efforts to promote Islamic
Democracy; the resistance to democratisation among the hardline elites.
Ali Ansari is currently Reader in history at the University of St Andrews. He is a London-born Iranian with much of his family still in Iran where he goes regularly to see them. As an Iranian himself, he is in a unique position to explain the history of his own country to a Western student audience.