Customer Reviews

Democracy in Iran: History and the Quest for Liberty

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I went to the eye doctor years ago and told him I had problem with my right eye. He began to look at my left eye. I said to him . . . no that is not the one giving me the problem. The eye doctor became frustrated and said to me "How can I possibly know what is wrong with your right eye without looking at both . . . do you not understand that they are connected."

The authors demonstrate that Iran has had something to do with democracy at least as far back as 1906. Even if you are not interested in Iran you should read this book to more fully understand Western democracy . . . and to understand how global democracy is taking shape.

I have read many books on Iran. I liked this one. It is readable and very insightful. There are many new facts in it, and it interprets Iran's history from a new perspective and at times with views that are different from those commonly held. I found it to be balanced, and when it comes to democracy to provide a deep and historical view that goes beyond simple answers in media today. I recommend to anyone who wants to understand Iran.

The heart of this short book is a precis of modern Iranian history with an accompanying analysis of the social and political phenomena responsible for important events. While the authors go back to the early 20th century, most of the discussion focuses on the birth of the Iranian revolution and its aftermath, leading right up to recent events. This is very well done with insightful analysis of the major trends in recent Iranian history. The authors, however, try to present their interpretation with the major theme of efforts to build a democratic Iran. This interpretation is belied by their own narrative which seems to present the recurrent theme of trying to build a modern state under considerable external pressure. Nonetheless, this book deserves wide readership because it displays an objective view of Iranian history uncontaminated by popular cliches and with a lot of interesting detail. Gheissari and Nasr argue that the residuum of historic efforts to democratize Iran and unexpected consequences of the Iranian revolution has resulted in a state with a strong democratic movement and a number of democratic practices. Unfortunately, this book probably won't reach a broad audience because in the interests of concision, the authors have had to leave out a fair amount of relevant historical background. For example, it will be hard to understand the authors' discussion of 1930s Iran unless you know what "Kemalist" means. The quality of writing is generally good but the authors sometimes fall back to academic cliches. It has an excellent bibliography.

While Geissari and Nasr make a very good case for the potential strength of democractic practice in Iran and opportunities for conversion to real democracy, they don't discuss a real danger of this situation. Authoritarian regimes under domestic challenge from strong domestic democratic pressures have a tendency to resort to reckless foreign policies to distract domestic attention and to build domestic legitimacy.

This a serious and smart book about the history of democracy in a Muslim country. It shows that democracy is not a new idea for Iranians. They have debated and experimented with it, and why they have failed to become democratic has more to do with political developments in that country than any other issue. The authors do a good job of explaining the weight of historical developments in how democracy develops and why its succeeds or fails. A good news in this book is that despite its harsh government there is more debate and interest in democracy than at any other time in recent Iranian history, and more Iranians now see it as a practical idea than before.

Will Iran be a democracy? Gheissari and Nasr gives a good overview of history of Irania history with one point in mind: why has there been so much debate over democracy but no real democracy. This is a serious book with a good deal of history. A must read for all those who discuss future of democracy in the Muslim world and Iran.

This a sweeping history of Iran. It shows how democracy has been debated over the years. What comes form this text is that Iranians have a rich history of debating democracy, and its is not just religion that accounts for absence of democracy in that country. It is a worthwhile read for everyone as these days talk of Iran and its government dominate the media.

Democracy in Iran provides a good base to dive deeper into understanding the political history of Iran. The book covers the major events in Iran's past, focusing more on the last two centuries. If you are interested in Iran this book is a great place to start and quite a complement to Polk's, Understanding Iran.

My impression is that the author wants democracy to develop (further) in Iran, but may be too optimistic about its prospects -- at least in the short term, without clear plans on how to bring about progress.

An excellent history of modern Iran and the Islamic Republic, as well as the struggle for democracy, all the way up until Ahmadinejad and the elections he stole and the democracy movement that followed it. It would great if the authors updated the book.

The two Iranian-American scholars argue that quest for democracy began in Iran over a century ago and there are structural reasons why it has not succeeded. They argue to develop Iran has invested in building a powerful state which has then made democracy impossible. Recent suppression of election riots show that the state is still suppressing democracy. The book is also a very good historical survey of modern Iran.