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Course Description

Summary

The Iranian revolution of 1979 replaced a secular autocratic monarchy with a populist, nationalist and theocratic political order.  Since then, the Islamic Republic of Iran has become a major player in the Middle East region and a salient country to global affairs.  This course examines the nature of the Iranian revolution and the intricate attributes of its domestic and foreign policies. Major themes include the causes of the revolution, use of Islam as a mobilizing ideology, fragmentation of secular forces, the roots of U.S.– Iran antagonism, tradition vs. modernity, factional rivalry within the Islamist regime and the Iranian rulers' ambition to export their revolution.