Iran: The Crisis of Democracy (1860649807) AZIMI

In 1941 the British and the Russians occupied Iran. The autocratic Reza Shah was forced to abdicate under British pressure and there followed one of the most turbulent periods in modern Iranian political history. Iran became the scene of political turmoil involving numerous factions and organizations whose ideological convictions ranged from the communist left to the religious right.

This book, the first detailed study to appear in English, provides dramatic new detail on the in-fighting and intrigue which characterized the period. It also seeks to explain why Iran's only protracted experiment with parliamentary democracy was doomed to failure. The authoritarianism and absence of a real civil society which flowed from the failures of this period help to explain the continuing problems which Iran today faces. This study is unrivalled in its scope and depth of treatment of the subject, as well as its extensive use of the source material in Persian and other languages.

Fakhreddin Azimi is Professor of History at the University of Connecticut and an internationally recognized scholar of modern Iranian history. His most recent book is The Quest for Democracy in Iran: a Century of Struggle against Authoritarian Rule (2008).

"This is the outstanding work on the subject, clearly and gracefully written, as well as informative and authoritative." -- Professor Wm. Roger Louis, University of Texas at Austin

"Dr. Azimi shows with great skill the inherent structural weaknesses in the Iranian constitution - especially the inter-relationship between the Majlis, Court and Cabinet - which contributed to a stalemate in effective government. The thoroughness and detail of the research make this an indispensable introduction for every student of the period." -- John Gurney, Wadham College, Oxford

* Preface * Note on Transliteration * Abbreviations * Introduction * Part I Years of Contested Adjustment * The Government of Furughi: August 1941 - March 1942 * The Government of Suhaili: March - July 1942 * The Government of Qavam: August 1942 - February 1943 * The Government of Suhaili: February 1943 - March 1944 * Part II Years of Uneasy Compromise * The Government of Sa’id: March - November 1944 * The Government of Bayat: November 1944 - April 1945 * The abortive Government of Hakimi: May - June 1945 * The Government of Sadr: June - October 1945 * The Government of Hakimi: October 1945 - January 1946 * Part III The Challenge of Qavam * The first period: January - December 1946 * The second period: December 1946 - December 1947 * Part IV The Attempted Royal Ascendancy * The Government of Hakimi: December 1947 - June 1948 * The Government of Hazhir: June - November 1948 * The Government of Sa’id: November 1948 - March 1950 * The Government of Mansur: March - June 1950 * The Government of Razmara: June 1950 - March 1951 * The Government of Ala: March - April 1951 * Part V The Hegemony of the Nationalist Movement and the Eclipse of the Monarchy * The first Governmetn of Musaddiq: April 1951 - July 1952 * Qavam’s débâcle and the July Uprising, 1952 * The second Government of Musaddiq: July 1952 - August 1953 * Conclusion * Notes * Bibliography * Index *