Iran and its place among nations

160 Pages·2008·0.65 MB·English

by  Alidad Mafinezam

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IRAN AND ITS PLACE
AMONG NATIONS
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IRAN AND ITS PLACE
AMONG NATIONS
Alidad Mafinezam and
Aria Mehrabi
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Mafinezam,Alidad.
Irananditsplaceamongnations/AlidadMafinezamandAriaMehrabi.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–275–99926–1(alk.paper)
1.Iran—Politicsandgovernment—20thcentury. 2.Iran—Foreignrelations.
3.Geopolitics—Iran. 4.Iran—Economicpolicy. 5.EastandWest. I.Mehrabi,Aria. II.Title.
DS318.M315 2008
327.55–dc22 2007029919
BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataisavailable.
Copyright(cid:1)c 2008byAlidadMafinezamandAriaMehrabi
Allrightsreserved.Noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproduced,byanyprocessortechnique,withoutthe
expresswrittenconsentofthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCatalogCardNumber:2007029919
ISBN-13:978–0–275–99926–1
Firstpublishedin2008
PraegerPublishers,88PostRoadWest,Westport,CT06881
AnimprintofGreenwoodPublishingGroup,Inc.
www.praeger.com
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Thepaperusedinthisbookcomplieswiththe
PermanentPaperStandardissuedbytheNational
InformationStandardsOrganization(Z39.48–1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction ix
PARTI:LearningfromthePast 1
1 TheLegacyofUnsustainedAchievements:ATourofIran’s
ExperiencewiththeTwentiethCentury 3
ThreePivotsofIran’sBipolarity 7
ConstitutionalRevolution 9
WorldWarI 15
RezaShah:TheSoldierTurnedKing 17
WorldWarII 23
MohammadRezaShah:TheCosmopolitan 24
PillarsofNationBuildingandRegionalStability 31
TheDecadeofRevolutionandWar 35
TheIslamicRevolution’sReportCard 38
PARTII:ChallengesofthePresent 43
2 BetweenEastandWest:TheGeopoliticsofIran 45
TheOriginsofModernForeignPolicyThinkinginIran 46
ForeignPolicyinthePahlaviEra 47
PushandPull:Iran’sEastwardDrift 49
Turko-PersianRealm 54
3 NewDirectionsinIranianForeignPolicy 63
Introduction 63
Ahmadinejad’sLetterstoAmerica:DecipheringtheForeignPolicy
ThinkingofIranianLeaders 66
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vi Contents
IranandtheGCC 68
RelationswithRussia 72
RelationswithIndia 76
RelationswithChina 79
4 PathwaystoDevelopment:TheSearchforStableProgress 85
DevelopingIran’sEnergySector 89
TheChallengeofEconomicReform 96
ThePlightofthePoorandRuralDevelopment 99
EducationforDevelopment 100
PARTIII:ProspectsfortheFuture 105
5 TheCultureofDevelopment 107
TheLegacyofReligiousReform 108
DiversityandMulticulturalisminIran 117
Women’sRights 119
Conclusion 125
Notes 129
Bibliography 135
Index 139
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the following individuals for their ideas and
supportinthewritingofthisbook.InToronto,Mr.VahanKololian,ProfessorReza
Baraheni, Ms. Leili Pourzand, Dr. Mehrdad Hariri, and Mr. Ali Ehsassi deserve
specialmention.InNewYork,ProfessorRichardBullietandDr.HosseinKamaly
gavegenerouslyoftheirtime.InMaryland,Mr.ArdeshirLotfalian’sadvicewas
highlyvaluable.Theimpetusforwritingthisbookcamefromaconversationwith
Mr.AfshinMolavi,whichtookplaceinthespringof2005atKramerBooksand
AfterwordsCafe´ intheDupontCircleareaofWashington,DC.Thewisecounsel
ofMs.HilaryClaggett,senioreditoratPraegerPublishers,hasbeenindispensable.
Wearethankfultothemall.
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Introduction
Few countries in the world are as newsworthy as the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Inthepasttwoyears,especially,fromthesummerof2005onward,Iranhasbeen
intheinternationalheadlinesonanalmostdailybasis,givingtheimpressionthat
itisoneofthemostimportantcountriesintheworld.Tobesure,almostallofthe
newsaboutIranhasbeennegative,asmajorpowers,ledbytheUnitedStates,have
continually expressed alarm over Iran’s nuclear program, its growing influence
in neighboring Iraq, and its moral and material support for anti-Israel, Islamist
groupsinthePalestinianterritoriesandLebanon.Thewarofwordsshowsnosigns
ofabating,asIran’spopulistpresident,MahmoudAhmadinejad,withthenodof
thecountry’ssupremeleader,SeyedAliKhamenei,railsagainstwhatheseesas
theinjusticesofthecurrentinternationalorder,andtakeshisharshrhetoricandhis
messageofdefiancetothefar-flungcornersofIranandtoeverycountryhevisits
inthedevelopingworld,aswellastheflooroftheUnitedNationsinNewYork.All
oftheworld’smainindustrializedcountries,loathetohosttheIranianpresidentin
theircapitals,lookoninshockanddismay,wonderinghowtheIraniangovernment
hopestoimprovethelotofitspeoplewhenitrejectsthefoundationsofthecurrent
internationalorder,fromwhichitwishestodrawsustenanceandknow-how.How
canIrandevelop,manywonder,whenitsleaders’favoritepastimeislashingout
atthemostpowerfulandadvancedcountriesintheworld?
In the eyes of the United States and numerous leading European countries,
Iranisindeedtheblacksheepoftheinternationalcommunity.Apartfromabrief
visitbythenItalianprimeministerRomanoProdiinthesummerof1997,inthe
finalmonthsofhistenure,noheadofstatefromtheeliteG8hasvisitedpostrev-
olutionaryIran.IntheNorthAmericanandEuropeanpress,Irancontinuestobe
portrayed as a source of instability and radicalism in a vitally important part of
the world. The acute sense of worry about Iran’s intentions has culminated in
successive United Nations Security Council sanctions resolutions against Iran,