Abstract
It is a fascinating read when a book captures some of the most intriguing moments in a country’s history within a single narrative without losing sight of the broader context, and more so if the focus is one of the regional powers in the Middle East. Amin Saikal’s Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic succeeds in giving a peep into Iranian history through a window of the jihadi–ijtihadi narrative. The book is a follow-up of his previous work, The Rise and Fall of the Shah: Iran from Autocracy to Religious Rule, also published by Princeton University Press in 1980, and provides a comprehensive discussion of the evolution of Iran’s domestic and foreign policies within the changing regional and international context for over four decades since the Islamic revolution.
Iran stands apart from other states for its discernible approach toward the USA, complemented by its capability to withstand internal churnings and external pressures. The book outlines the challenges emanating from the revolutionary theocratic system of governance in Iran, its fear over hostile outside actors, and the need to protect itself through various national and regional security threats. It delineates Iran’s ability to carve an image of an indispensable regional player through Ayatollah Khomeini’s combative–reformative approach in domestic politics and foreign policies.
The revolution that marked a watershed moment for Iran, as well as the larger region, signified a mere perpetuation of authoritarianism that defined a significant part of the 2,500-year-old Iranian history. The leaders who were instrumental in ensuring continuity of the totalitarian character ruled Iran, and Saikal gives a glimpse into their personal traits beginning from Reza Khan, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty to the current Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. Nevertheless, the revolution demarcated the future course of Iran and Khomeini’s distinct stamp is visible in the sociopolitical changes that were introduced since 1979. Khomeini’s importance for Iran cannot be overstated and has been amply discussed. Saikal underlines that the resilient and enigmatic leader believed in the platonic concept of “philosopher king” as evident in his doctrine of Vilayat-e-Faqih and had unwavering conviction in the superiority of Islam. Khomeini opposed imperialism, derided Israel, denounced pro-West Arab regimes, and labeled the USA as the “great Satan.”
Saikal’s use of the jihadi–ijtihadi narrative to reflect on contemporary Iranian history makes the work unique. He opines that Khomeini developed an interplay of radicalism and pragmatism and formulated domestic and foreign policies of Iran accordingly; for instance, while championing the advisory role of Islam in a 1978 interview with Le Monde, he promised that even the communists would have a free voice in an Islamic Iran, and Marxists would be free to express their opinion (p.64). But soon after the revolution, the position was altered and conforming to the conservative ideas, Khomeini subordinated individual rights to political dictates and imposed a conservative lifestyle on women. Saikal highlights the criticisms by Khomeini’s opponent Ayatollah Montazeri and Abolhassan Bani-Sadr for bringing a bad name to Islam and betraying the revolution (p. 92).
Saikal notes that the jihadi–ijtihadi approach to politics outlived Khomeini and his successor Khamenei used it for his own advantage. Khamenei embraced the reform-oriented leaders to head the government but looked to the conservatives for support whenever power seemed to slip away; for instance, Khamenei garnered the support of the conservatives to oppose the reform agenda of Hashemi Rafsanjani (p. 102). He refused to rein in the conservatives, when they registered their disillusionment with the softer and humane version of Shia Islam and publicly criticized Mohammed Khatami (p. 110). Similarly, he gained the support of the ultra-conservatives to reign in Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who had himself risen to power on the nationalist conservative wave. However, to cater to the demands of the post-revolution generation, Khamenei allowed the pragmatists and reformists to win the 2013 presidential election, unlike in 2009 when Mir Hossein Mousavi’s chances of a victory were scuttled.
Nevertheless, Saikal underlines the repressive theocratic legacy of Khomeini continuing under Khamenei is losing its enigma among the new generation disillusioned with the economic stagnation. He notes the continued appreciation of Khomeini’s legacy across the world, especially among the Shia communities, but at the same time, underlines that a section believes that the revolution died with Khomeini, leaving mostazafin (have nots) to be exploited by the mostakbarin (haves) (p. 93).
Saikal further highlights the Iranian approaches to its security and foreign policies that often get intertwined. Devoid of comparable hard power capability, quality of forces, technological deficiencies, and impact of economic sanctions, Iran focuses on asymmetrical warfare and has been actively strengthening its military presence abroad through proxies. It further uses the soft power of cultural, religious, ethnic, and sectarian identities to develop and fortify ties with subnational groups and transnational networks in the region. It targets the Persian speakers of Central Asia, Shia minorities in the Gulf States, and religiously or ideologically amenable groups in Iraq and the Levant. Tehran projects Islam as the pillar against the hegemony of superpowers and promotes the Vilayat-e-Faqih model of Islamic governance, while endorsing anti-imperialist rhetoric as a pragmatic outlook to attract non-Islamic countries of the Global south.
Saikal opines that Iran’s foreign policy has remained one of defiance along with pragmatic reflexivity and is well within the tradition of Khomeini’s jihadi–ijtihadi approach (p. 168). Iran adopted an approach of perseverance and flexible resistance along with pragmatic friendship toward the major powers, including Russia, China, India, and the EU; for instance, Iran–USA relations have been strained since the revolution, but as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) presented security challenges, Tehran aligned with the USA to defeat the terrorist group. Saikal asserts that for Iran, the revolutionary rhetoric justifies the policy actions, but interests are achieved by pragmatism (p. 206). He concludes that the reformist political cluster of Iran is likely to gain further ground in future, while the issue of the Supreme Leader’s succession will assess the cohesiveness of domestic politics.
Iran Rising provides an evolutionary perspective of Iranian politics at a time when USA–Iran relations are plummeting. It is based on research spanning more than four decades and takes a comprehensive and holistic approach toward Iranian politics. The conservative–reformist narrative runs throughout the text except to some extent in the chapter on resource capabilities, which mainly focuses on strain-induced uneven economic development owing to the sanctions, war with Iraq, populist reforms, rentier nature, and poor economic management. At instances, the book does read like a eulogy to Khomeini even though that might not be the intention of the author.
Overall, the book provides a balanced explanation of Iran’s character and behavior since the 1979 Revolution. Amin Saikal’s lucid language and unpretentious style, in addition to the meticulous research, makes the book a riveting read and a necessary primer for students of Iranian politics and foreign policy.