Parliament and the Process of Democratization in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Parliament and the Process of Democratization in the Islamic Republic of Iran PDF

Author: Ali Pedram

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9780863723445

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In recent years, the quest for democracy has become a compelling issue in many developing countries. Iran is no exception to this. However, many argue that democracy is unlikely to emerge in Iran in the near future. This assumption is based on the strong presence of Islam in Iranian society, and a supposed intrinsic incompatibility between Islam and democracy. This book challenges this assumption by examining both the current state of democracy in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the democratization process currently underway within the country. The book examines the role of Shi'a Islam in shaping and determining socio-political realities in Iran. As well, it analyzes the Constitution and the institutional equilibrium of the Islamic Republic, and it discusses how factional politics have evolved and become a conduit for internal reform. The book argues that, in reality, the modern nation-state has incorporated functions and expectations that make democracy not merely one option anymore. The Western-liberal model of democracy is not the sole criterion for perceiving good governance. Non-Western attempts to reform, such as those in Iran, must not be seen as pre-determined to fail simply because reform or democracy is not indigenous.

Democracy in Iran

Democracy in Iran PDF

Author: Ali Gheissari

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2009-07-24

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0195396960

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, and Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state.

Democracy in Iran:History and the Quest for Liberty

Democracy in Iran:History and the Quest for Liberty PDF

Author: Ali Gheissari

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2006-06-15

Total Pages: 232

ISBN-13: 0195189671

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Today Iran is once again in the headlines. Reputed to be developing nuclear weapons, the future of Iraq's next-door neighbor is a matter of grave concern both for the stability of the region and for the safety of the global community. President George W. Bush labeled it part of the "Axis of Evil," and rails against the country's authoritarian leadership. Yet as Bush trumpets the spread of democracy throughout the Middle East, few note that Iran has one of the longest-running experiences with democracy in the region.In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, Gheissari and Nasr argue. The concept of democracy in Iran today may appear to be a reaction to authoritarianism, but it is an old idea with a complex history, one that is tightly interwoven with the main forces that have shaped Iranian society and politics, institutions, identities, and interests. Indeed, the demand for democracy first surfaced in Iran a century ago at the end of the Qajar period, and helped produce Iran's surprisingly liberal first constitution in 1906. Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state. Why was democracy absent from the ideological debates of the 1960s and 1970s? Most important, why has it now become a powerful social, political, and intellectual force? How have modernization, social change, economic growth, and the experience of the revolution converged to make this possible?

Islam and Democracy

Islam and Democracy PDF

Author: John L. Esposito

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 1996-05-09

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0198026757

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

Are Islam and democracy on a collision course? Do Islamic movements seek to "hijack democracy?" How have governments in the Muslim world responded to the many challenges of Islam and democracy today? A global religious resurgence and calls for greater political participation have been major forces in the post-Cold War period. Across the Muslim world, governments and Islamic movements grapple with issues of democratization and civil society. Islam and Democracy explores the Islamic sources (beliefs and institutions) relevant to the current debate over greater political participation and democratization. Esposito and Voll use six case studies--Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Sudan--to look at the diversity of Muslim experiences and experiments. At one end of the spectrum, Iran and Sudan represent two cases of militant, revolutionary Islam establishing political systems. In Pakistan and Malaysia, however, the new movements have been recognized and made part of the political process. Egypt and Algeria reveal the coexistence of both extremist and moderate Islamic activism and demonstrate the complex challenges confronting ruling elites. These case studies prove that despite commonalities, differing national contexts and identities give rise to a multiplicity of agendas and strategies. This broad spectrum of case studies, reflecting the multifaceted relationship of Islam and Democracy, provides important insight into the powerful forces of religious resurgence and democratization which will inevitably impact global politics in the twenty first century.

Contemporary Domestic and Foreign Policies of Iran

Contemporary Domestic and Foreign Policies of Iran PDF

Author: Pejman Abdolmohammadi

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-05-06

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 3030453367

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

This book is a comprehensive analysis of the domestic and foreign politics of Iran, focusing on its complex nature from political, social and cultural perspectives. It has adopted a multidisciplinary approach, combining comparative politics and intellectual and modern history with international relations. It analyses the institutional structure of the Islamic Republic, the main political and social actors and alliances, as well as Iranian opposition forces both inside and outside the country. The book tries to simplify the seemingly intractable complexity of the Islamic Republic by demystifying it and using political science methods to prove that it is a peculiar hybrid regime.

A Social Revolution

A Social Revolution PDF

Author: Kevan Harris

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2017-08-08

Total Pages: 330

ISBN-13: 0520280814

DOWNLOAD EBOOK →

For decades, political observers and pundits have characterized the Islamic Republic of Iran as an ideologically rigid state on the verge of collapse, exclusively connected to a narrow social base. In A Social Revolution, Kevan Harris convincingly demonstrates how they are wrong. Previous studies ignore the forceful consequences of three decades of social change following the 1979 revolution. Today, more people in the country are connected to welfare and social policy institutions than to any other form of state organization. In fact, much of Iran’s current political turbulence is the result of the success of these social welfare programs, which have created newly educated and mobilized social classes advocating for change. Based on extensive fieldwork conducted in Iran between 2006 and 2011, Harris shows how the revolutionary regime endured though the expansion of health, education, and aid programs that have both embedded the state in everyday life and empowered its challengers. This first serious book on the social policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran opens a new line of inquiry into the study of welfare states in countries where they are often overlooked or ignored.

Lanterna Rally - Theme by Grace Themes