Anoushiravan Ehteshami

Mahjoob Zweiri

This is the book that exposes the workings of Iranian politics today. The authors penetrate the labyrinth of political relationships and family networks that is the Iranian ruling class, and reveal the forces which brought hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. They argue that the power base behind Ahmadinejad represents a kind of Iranian version of American neoconservativism. The Iranian neocons, like their Washington counterparts, have come in from the cold. Politicians and clerics exiled from influence under the reformist President Khatami have seized their chance to get back in to power, and to push an uncompromising foreign policy agenda.Anoushiravan Ehteshami and Mahjoob Zweiri show how Ahmadinejad's surprise victory in the 2005 elections was just one facet of this group's strategy for regaining influence. In an analysis which has major implications for Western policymakers, the authors examine the group's agenda on issues like Iraq, Israel and nuclear enrichment, and assess how likely it is that they will be able to implement it. "Iran and the Rise of its Neoconservatives" is the essential guide to the politics of this turbulent nation, whose importance to world security has never been more keenly felt.

The Politics of Tehran's Silent Revolution

Iran and the Rise of Its Neoconservatives

Neil Quilliam

Gawdat Bahgat

This book provides a detailed analysis of the complicated relations between Iran and its Arab neighbours. Arab perceptions of Iran, its regional policies and role in the Arab region, have never been more complicated than today. How is one to make sense of the increasingly complex and at times tense relationship between Iran and its Arab neighbours? Given the strategic significance of this sub-region and the importance of relations between its states to international security, this edited volume systematically accounts for each Arab neighbour’s perception, policies and approach towards the Islamic republic, for the first time providing a clear and detailed comparative analysis of these relationships. This book, bringing together a group of leading scholars of the region, not only provides a clear lens for the policy community through which to gauge the causes of change and the reasons for continuity in relations, but also offers an invaluable tool for scholars of the wider region and the growing community of researchers focusing on this sub-region.

Security and Bilateral Issues between Iran and its Arab Neighbours

Reza Molavi

Much attention in the West has focused on Iran as a problem country. This book challenges the representations of Iran as a hostile regional power led by ideologues, and goes further by discussing how international relations are viewed from inside Iran itself, outlining the factors which underpin Iranian thinking on international relations and considering what role Iran, as a large and significant country in the Middle East, ought to play in a fairly constructed international system. The book is written by leading scholars and policy makers from inside, as well as from outside, Iran and includes academics with unparalleled access and insights into the world-views of the Iranian leadership. Subjects covered include: the rationale of Iran's Islamic constitution, including its electoral system, and the impact this has on international relations; Iran's view of the ideal international system, including the place therein of ethics, justice, and security; Iran's international interests, including energy needs; and relations with the West, including the clash between Iranian and Western views of the world order.

Iran and the International System

Hannah Carter

Carter and Ehteshami consider the significant geopolitical, economic and security links between the Middle East and the wider Asian world - links which are often overlooked when the Middle East is considered in isolation or in terms of its relations with the West, but which are of growing importance. Topics covered include Asia's overall geostrategic realities and the Middle East's place within them; relations between the Middle East and China, Russia, central Asia, southeast Asia and south Asia; Islam in central Asia and southeast Asia and the connections with the Middle East; and the important links between the Middle East and India and Pakistan's military and security establishments.

The Middle East's Relations with Asia and Russia

For Iran the years since Ayatollah Khomeini's death have been dominated by the need for political consolidation and economic reconstruction. The book assesses the critical dilemmas of the regime both previous to and since the demise of its first spiritual leader. The vital issues of political succession and constitutional reform are addressed, contributing to an analysis of the structures and politics of power. How these have reflected upon economic policy is considered with close atttention being given to the reform policies of Rafsanjani. Foreign policy and security issues are discussed in both regional and global terms and include a study of Iranian defence strategy and its controversial re-armament drive. The final chapter examines the direction and context of all of these major policy areas, providing an analysis of whether the Islamic Republic truly represents a revolutionary alternative for the Third World or whether in fact it has developed in time to fall within a similar mould to other notable revolutions, casting by the wayside any uniquely Islamic agenda and alternatives. At the heart of this study is the belief that the Islamic regime has, since the cease-fire with Iraq, but more specifically since Ayatollah Khomeini's death passed into a new stage of development, referred to in the book as the `Second Republic'.

The Iranian Second Republic

After Khomeini

Niv Horesh

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “One Belt, One Road” (OBOR) vision, heralded as an attempt to revive the pre-modern Silk Route, is intended to strengthen West Asia’s economic links with China through ambitious infrastructural projects. Central to this are fast-track rail links, funded by the newly-established Asia Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), which has its headquarters in Beijing. This book explores the implications of OBOR and the AIIB for the Middle East/West Asia, and addresses a number of key strategic questions arising from China’s new initiatives. These include: how far are the strategic imperatives underpinning China’s policies connected to the political dynamics of Xinjiang and the spread of radical Islam in Central Asia? How are Middle Eastern stakeholders’ views of China affected by the new initiatives? How does China’s increasing involvement in the Middle East/West Asia affect other regional powers with ambitions in the region, notably Russia? The book also considers the impact of China’s increasing presence on individual countries, including Saudi Arabia and Israel.

The Implications of the One Belt, One Road Initiative

China's Presence in the Middle East

Daniel Byman

Jerrold D. Green

Shahram Chubin

Religion, nationalism, ethnicity, economics, and geopolitics all are important in explaining Iran's goals and tactics in its relationship with the outside world, as are the agendas of key security institutions and the ambitions of their leaders. This report assesses Iran's security policy in light of these factors. It examines broad drivers of Iran's security policy, describes important security institutions, explores decisionmaking, and reviews Iran's relations with key countries. The authors conclude that Iraq is widely recognized as the leading threat to Iran's Islamic regime and Afghanistan is seen as an emerging threat. In contrast, Iran has solid, if not necessarily warm, relations with Syria and established working ties to Pakistan and Russia. Iran's policies toward its neighbors are increasingly prudent: It is trying to calm regional tension and end its isolation, although its policies toward Israel and the United States are often an exception to this policy. Iran's security forces, particularly the regular military, are often voices of restraint, preferring shows of force to overactive confrontations. Finally, Iran's security forces generally respect and follow the wishes of Iran's civilian leadership; conducting rogue operations is rare to nonexistent.

Iran's Security Policy in the Post-Revolutionary Era

An authoritative analysis of Iran's defense doctrine and security policies set within the context of security and political relations in the Middle East.

From Revolutionary Guards to Ballistic Missiles

Defending Iran

The Politics of Economic Restructuring in Post-Khomeini Iran

Yukiko Miyagi

As the economies of East Asia grow ever stronger, their need for energy resources increases, which in turn compels closer relations with the countries of the Middle East. This book examines the developing relations between the countries of East Asia, especially China and Japan, with the countries of the Middle East. It looks at various key bilateral relationships, including with Iran and Syria, discusses the impact on the United States’ hegemony in both regions, considers whether the new relations represent a contribution to, or a threat to, peace and stability, and assesses the implications of the changes for patterns of regional and global international relations systems.

Anoushiravan Ehteshami

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