Revolutionary Iran

Outline

Revolutionary Iran (2013) presents a modern history of Iran from the revolution of 1979 through the political and social developments that followed. It examines leadership, institutions, war, reform movements, and the changing relationship between the state and Iranian society.

• The book gives a modern history of Iran that starts with the 1979 revolution and follows what came after.
• It looks at how leadership and institutions shaped the Iranian state in the years following the revolution.
• War and reform movements are treated as major forces that changed Iran's politics and society.
• The relationship between the state and Iranian society keeps shifting, and the book traces how it has changed.
• Ideology, religion, power and historical memory together help explain Iran's identity and its choices on the world stage.

Michael Axworthy was a British historian, author, and former diplomat who specialised in Iranian history. He also directed the Center for Persian and Iranian Studies at the University of Exeter and wrote several books about Iran.