Navigating Contemporary Iran: Challenging Economic, Social and Political Perceptions (Routledge Advances in Middle East and Islamic Studies)

Hardcover, xiv + 234 pages, NOT ex-library. Book is clean and bright with unmarked text, free of inscriptions and stamps, firmly bound. Issued without a dust jacket. -- This is a multidisciplinary reassessment of the Islamic Republic's internal and external developments since 1979. Drawing on contributions from political science, sociology, gender studies, economics, and anthropology, the volume is organized around five thematic sections: Political Economy, Gender and Politics, Social Inclusion/Exclusion, Politics 2009 and Beyond, and International Relations. It explores how revolutionary ideals, economic restructuring, political contestation, and social change have intersected over three decades. Part I focuses on economic liberalization and its ideological conflicts. Evaleila Pesaran examines how revolutionary ideals of equity and independence clashed with neoliberal reforms promoted during the Rafsanjani and Khatami presidencies. She highlights how elite interests, particularly parastatal organizations, shaped uneven liberalization. Mohammad Majloo identifies three distinct phases - social justice logic (1979-1989), market-driven economic logic (1989-2005), and political logic (post-2005) - framing the evolution of economic governance in relation to class formation and power consolidation. Part II addresses gender transformations. Roksana Bahramitash outlines how post-revolutionary developments in health care, education, and employment altered women's lives. She emphasizes rising literacy, declining fertility, delayed marriage, and growing participation in cultural and professional fields. Fatemeh Sadeghi explores the constraints on women's political participation, identifying both familial and institutional barriers. Fatemeh Haghighatjoo assesses the One Million Signatures Campaign, examining its effects on legislative awareness and engagement with gender-discriminatory laws. Part III examines mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. Rouzbeh Parsi analyzes historical and contemporary discourses on nationalism and gender, comparing debates from the 1920s with those post-2000. Azadeh Kian focuses on Baluchi women, showing how migration and exposure to Persian-majority areas influence changing gender expectations in contrast to traditional roles in rural Baluchestan. Janne Bjerre Christensen investigates the evolution of Iran's drug policy, tracing the shift from punitive models to treatment-based strategies amid factional disagreements and institutional inertia. Part IV turns to the political aftermath of the 2009 presidential election. Jaleh Taheri explores the post-election protests, emphasizing protesters' motivations, fears, and the mobilizing effect of moral outrage. Farhad Khosrokhavar situates the Green Movement in the broader trajectory of reformism, evaluating its decentralized structure, class composition, and limitations in bridging social divides beyond the urban educated middle class. Part V assesses Iran's foreign relations. Elaheh Rostami-Povey argues that Iran's influence among Arab populations stems from its perceived resistance to U.S. regional policies and its identification with Islamic populism. Eric Hooglund examines President Ahmadinejad's rhetoric on Israel, linking international anxieties to broader concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions rather than linguistic provocations. Together, the chapters offer researchers frameworks for analyzing the contradictions and continuities in Iran's economic strategies, gender dynamics, political culture, and regional position. The volume provides empirically grounded perspectives that inform both comparative politics and area-specific investigations.…