War in Iran

The headlines are built on long histories and debates.

Posted on March 23, 2026 in Hot Topic

book covers

Thomas, Andrew. Iran and the West: a non-Western approach to foreign policy. Routledge, 2024. 198p bibl index (Routledge studies in Middle Eastern politics, 125) ISBN 9781032646466, $180.00; ISBN 9781032646510 ebook, $54.99.
Reviewed in CHOICE February 2025

Do a country’s historical experiences and cultural identities matter? Does the study of international relations (IR) reflect the inherent bias in the Western intellectual construction of reality? Thomas (Deakin Univ., Australia) believes that it is worth discussing how constructivism intersects and bolsters postcolonial approaches, at least in the context of this study. Identity and sociocultural elements are central to foreign policy construction. The book strives to contribute to the study of IR by critically analyzing Western intellectual narration and policy behavior in dealing with Iran. It uses Iran’s relationship with the West to highlight the dialectical struggle of non-Western identity in IR, while also critiquing the conception of world politics that is “for” the West and reaffirms its values for the rest of the world. Thomas claims that the study is not aimed to undermine Western frames of reference in IR completely, but to bring non-Western perspectives to the forefront when discussing Iranian foreign policy. Moreover, the very nature of non-Western scholarship is decentralized and contextual, often highlighting ideas unfamiliar to the Western academy that may be difficult to interpret. There also exist practical barriers to analysis like language, geography, and resources. The book contributes to the postcolonial discussion of non-Western societies and polity. Summing Up: Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —A. R. Abootalebi, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Khalaji, Mehdi. Regent of Allah: Ali Khamenei’s political evolution in Iran. Rowman & Littlefield, 2023. 244p bibl index ISBN 9781538187500, $95.00; ISBN 9781538187517 pbk, $35.00; ISBN 9781538187524 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE April 2024

Ayatollah Khamenei has served as Supreme Leader of Iran since 1989. Before that, he was president of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He is now 84. Yet, little is known about him or what he believes. He has given no interviews nor published any information about his personal life. In this volume, Khalaji (The Washington Institute) remedies this with a detailed account of where Khamenei came from, what he believes, and who influenced his beliefs. Khamenei was born and raised in the Iranian city of Mashhad, an area thought to be the origin of Iranian culture. His early influences were many, including intellectuals who questioned the role of Islam in Iran. He is also a poet. The task of describing the thoughts and influences of Khamenei is a challenge, but Khalaji, who is from a religious family and trained in Shia Islam, is up to the task. The book is well written and researched and represents an impressive scholarly effort. However, it is a deep dive into the complicated and arcane beliefs and practices of Shia Islam and will be a tough go for some readers. Summing Up: Recommended, with caveat. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —G. M. Farr, emeritus, Portland State University

Carter, Erin Baggott. Propaganda in autocracies: institutions, information, and the politics of belief, by Erin Baggott Carter and Brett L. Carter. Cambridge, 2023. 552p bibl index ISBN 9781009271240, $100.00; ISBN 9781009271233 pbk, $34.99; ISBN 9781009271257 ebook, $34.99.
Reviewed in CHOICE June 2024

According to Carter and Carter’s rich research, Timothy Snyder’s conclusions in On Tyranny (2017) that “post-truth is pre-fascism” and that to “abandon fact is to abandon freedom” are accurate but fall short. To be precise, when autocrats abandon facts, they do so to determine whether their allies will choose power over democracy. Propaganda in Autocracies finds that the electoral constraints on autocrats determine their propaganda strategy. As such, propaganda varies significantly across autocracies because different autocrats employ propaganda for different goals and face varying levels of challenge from electoral politics. For instance, in places where autocrats can control the press and public opinion through fraud and repression with few electoral constraints, propaganda will serve to dominate. The control of memory and the submission to a regime’s historical narrative are among the modern autocrat’s assaults on democratic institutions. Scholarly and empirically robust, this volume opens new ground in the theory of propaganda studies and the politics of belief. Comprehensive in reach, the authors include a wide range of comparative examples, including North Korea, Congo, Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Uganda, Iran, and the United States, along with many others. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —A. R. Brunello, Eckerd College

Kamrava, Mehran. Righteous politics: power and resilience in Iran. Cambridge, 2023. 412p bibl index ISBN 9781009362030, $105.00; ISBN 9781009362054 pbk, $34.99; ISBN 9781009362016 ebook, $34.99.
Reviewed in CHOICE March 2024

Kamrava (Georgetown Univ., Qatar) sets out to explain in 12 chapters how Iran, despite everything that has happened to it and everything it has done to itself, has still managed to survive. The answer points to “hybrid authoritarianism,” the “deep state,” and the entrenched interests of the masses and the elites in the regime’s survivability. Hybrid authoritarianism combines (i.e., uses and controls) elected institutions with nonelected practices. Khamenei is at the core of the deep state. He is surrounded by praetorians (e.g., Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij force), who are, in turn, surrounded by institutions designed for system maintenance (e.g., the elected institutions), which are surrounded by an outer shell comprised of intelligence agencies, the clerical establishment, Friday Prayer Imams, the Special Court for the Clergy, and the official broadcasting system. Among other factors reinforcing resilience are repression, reinvigorated authoritarianism, a weakened civil society, and a system capable of turning outside pressures into opportunities and advantages. Also, for those whose continued wealth depends heavily on the state and the resources it provides, system maintenance is of cardinal importance. Post-Khamenei Iran in the short and medium runs will not fundamentally differ from the Islamic Republic. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —A. R. Abootalebi, University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

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Leslie, Jonathan G. Fear and insecurity: Israel and the Iran threat narrative. Oxford, 2023. 312p bibl ISBN 9780197685556, $55.00; ISBN 9780197695487 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE October 2023

Fear and Insecurity offers an authoritative account of Iranian-Israeli relations revolving around the growing power of the Iran threat narrative, a perception that populist Israeli leaders have long manipulated. The rhetoric of many observers of the Iran-Israel conflict portrays this animosity as an ancient biblical hatred between Jews and the Iranians dating back thousands of years. Drawing on extensive archival and open source research, Leslie (Georgetown Univ.) correctly explains that this rivalry is a far more modern development and the inevitable consequence of contemporary political events. Israeli leaders have largely succeeded in the art of enemy-creation in the current Iranian-Israeli conflict, depicting Iran as an existential threat to Israel’s survival. Leslie persuasively and accurately argues that the ongoing escalation of the Iranian-Israeli tensions has been largely the product of one nation’s efforts: Israel views Iran as a far greater danger than Iran does Israel. To accomplish this goal, Leslie argues that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu successfully employed populist strategies in an attempt to rewrite history, depicting Iran as a global menace to recruit allies and international support against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal. The book succeeds in clarifying the dynamics between these two countries. Summing Up: Recommended. Undergraduates through faculty; professionals; general readers. —K. M. Zaarour, Hampton University

Kamrava, Mehran. A dynastic history of Iran: from the Qajars to the Pahlavis. Cambridge, 2022. 298p bibl index ISBN 9781009224642, $89.99; ISBN 9781009224659 pbk, $29.99; ISBN 9781009224635 ebook, $24.00.
Reviewed in CHOICE August 2023

Kamrava (government, Georgetown Univ., Qatar) presents a clear history of Iran’s Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties from the 1780s to 1980. He captures the dramatic impact Reza Shah had on Iranian society, culture, the economy, and politics. He also handles politically sensitive topics with care, e.g., presenting former Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq as an ardent nationalist but no democrat. The author covers a wide range of issues regarding Iran’s relations with Western states and changes in Iranian society. His analysis of the 1960s land reform and the evolving countryside is balanced and informed. His discussion of the industrialization and urbanization of the 1960s–70s is less satisfactory, minimizing substantial changes. Even so, Kamrava accurately conveys the primary issues of this period: economic development and political underdevelopment. This is a clearly and carefully written account, though it would have benefited from more numbers, e.g., regarding the spread of education and the vastness of the 1970s military buildup. The footnotes and bibliography are wonderful sources with rich references to recent works in both Persian and English. Kamrava’s work has vastly matured from his previous book, The Political History of Modern Iran (CH, May’93, 30-5237).
Summing Up: Highly recommended. General readers through faculty; professionals.ience Foundation —P. Clawson, Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Gordon, Philip H. Losing the long game: the false promise of regime change in the Middle East. St. Martin’s, 2021. 368pp bibl index ISBN 9781250217035, $29.99; ISBN 9781250217042 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE February 2022

In this well-written scholarly work, Gordon (Council on Foreign Relations), who previously served as White House Coordinator for the Middle East (2013–15), ably demonstrates the recurrent failure of US intervention in pursuit of its “regime change temptation” in the Middle East and North Africa, and indeed how initial declarations of victory eventually make way for unanticipated, catastrophic consequences. Seven case-study chapters, which the author calls “tales of hubris, overreach, and magical thinking” (p. 6), make up the bulk of the volume, starting with Iran and continuing with Afghanistan, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, and Syria. While the basic thrust of the book is hardly new, Gordon presents it in a readable way and—particularly in relation to the last four case studies, when the book sometimes takes on the character of a memoir—from the perspective of a policy maker during the Obama administration, which got pulled into catastrophic intervention despite its original intentions to end conflicts. Losing the Long Game is essential reading for students of contemporary Middle Eastern history and politics and of US foreign policy. It should be even more important for policy makers and influencers if they are to avoid future disasters. Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals. —G. E. Perry, emeritus, Indiana State University

Bajoghli, Narges. Iran reframed: anxieties of power in the Islamic Republic. Stanford, 2019. 176p bibl index ISBN 9781503608849, $70.00; ISBN 9781503610293 pbk, $22.00; ISBN 9781503610309 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE November 2020

How does a 40-year-old revolution keep inspiring a generation of teenagers and young adults weaned on Western pop culture and little interested in yesterday’s martyrdom? Seeking to investigate this phenomenon, Bajoghli (Johns Hopkins Univ.) spent considerable time in 2013 and 2014 as a participant observer, surveying those tasked with producing the propaganda that is designed to reach young people with no living memory of the sacrifices their grandparents and parents made during the revolution and subsequent Iran-Iraq War in a language that appeals to them. The result is a lively book that offers great insight into the mindset and approach of the officials who try to keep the Islamic Revolution, and the regime it produced, alive by producing promotional material, documentaries about the Iran-Iraq War, and rap-filled music videos extolling the nation and its heroes. As the author reveals, though partly weary of the project they are engaged in, those who partake in this work still remain committed to the cause. Those who create this material, it turns out, believe in the nation more than in the regime and the religion that underpins it. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. —R. P. Matthee, University of Delaware

Amanat, Abbas. Iran: a modern history. Yale, 2017. 979p bibl index ISBN 9780300112542, $40.00; ISBN 9780300231465 ebook, contact publisher for price.
Reviewed in CHOICE July 2018

This magisterial work distills decades of interpretative research and teaching into a grand overview of Iranian history from 1501 until the current Islamic Republic. Amanat (history, Yale) follows the Iranian state as it was forged in the crucible of competing forces consisting of tribal chiefs on horseback, sedentary kings, and a high clergy that occasionally opposed but typically partnered with worldly rule. Just as brilliant is his analysis of the radical change in Iran’s political culture resulting from the early-20th-century adoption of a constitution and parliament—the fruit of an unlikely coalition of reformist intellectuals, disgruntled merchants, and a clerical class suspicious of secular-minded kingship that set the stage for a confrontation between secular modernism and a clerical claim to power. Clerical power initially went underground during the subsequent Pahlavi dictatorship, only to reemerge as resentful resistance in the 1960s and 1970s that erupted in the successful Islamic Revolution. Amanat deftly navigates various controversial episodes in Iran’s history, most notably the career and fall of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq, brought down in a 1953 British-US-sponsored coup. This book will surely remain the standard synthetic work on Iranian history for some time to come, and all future interpretations of Iran’s history will have to take its measure before offering an alternative reading. Summing Up: Essential. All levels/libraries. —R. P. Matthee, University of Delaware

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