Princeton University Press
The Rise and Fall of the Shah: Iran from Autocracy to Religious Rule
Key Metrics
- Amin Saikal
- Princeton University Press
- Paperback
- 9780691140407
- 9.2 X 6.3 X 0.81 inches
- 1.01 pounds
- Political Science > History & Theory - General
- English
Secure TransactionBook Description
On November 4, 1979, when students occupied the American Embassy in Tehran and subsequently demanded that the United States return the Shah in exchange for hostages, the deposed Iranian ruler's regime became the focus of worldwide scrutiny and controversy. But, as Amin Saikal shows, this was far from the beginning of Iran's troubles.
Saikal examines the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, especially from 1953 to 1979, in the context of his regime's dependence on the United States and his dreams of transforming Iran into a world power. Saikal argues that, despite the Shah's early achievements, his goals and policies were full of inherent contradictions and weaknesses and ultimately failed to achieve their objectives. Based on government documents, published and unpublished literature, and interviews with officials in Iran, Britain, and the United States, The Rise and Fall of the Shah critically reviews the domestic and foreign policy objectives--as well as the behavior--of the Shah to explain not only what happened, but how and why.
In a new introduction, Saikal reflects on what has happened in Iran since the fall of the Shah and relates Iran's past to its political present and future.
Author Bio
Amin Saikal is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (the Middle East and Central Asia) at the Australian National University. Professor Saikal has been a visiting fellow at Princeton University, Cambridge University, and the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex, as well as a Rockefeller Foundation Fellow in International Relations (1983-1988). He was awarded the Order of Australia (AM) in January 2006 for his services to international community and education as well as an advisor and author.
He is the author of numerous works on the Middle East, Central Asia, and Russia. His latest publications include Modern Afghanistan: A History of Struggle and Survival, London: I.B. Tauris, 2012; The Rise and Fall of the Shah: Iran from Autocracy to Religious Rule, Princeton: Princeton University Press 2009; Islam and the West: Conflict or Cooperation?, London: Palgrave, 2003. (Co-editor) American Democracy Promotion in the Middle East: From Bush to Obama, London: Routledge, 2012; ‘Islamism, the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan’, The Cambridge History of the Cold War, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
He has also published numerous scholarly articles in International Journals, and chapters in edited volumes. Further, he has published many Op-Ed pieces in a number of national and international dailies, including The International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The Guardian, and is a frequent commentator on issues related to the Middle East and Central Asia on radio and television.
Source: Middle East Institute Washington, D.C.
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