Shahram Akbarzadeh

As featured on BookAuthority's list of best International Relations books to read in 2024. Continuing civil wars and humanitarian crises, coupled with a changing geopolitical dynamic, highlighted by increased Russian and Chinese presence in the Middle East, call for new thinking. What happens in the Middle East has major global repercussions. This second edition of the ground-breaking textbook Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary Middle East politics. The book traces the roots of recent events across the region’s modern history, enabling readers to appreciate both the significance of such events and the importance of history in influencing their outcomes. Structured chronologically, with updated stand-alone chapters containing history, context and contemporary analyses, this edition examines a series of interconnected themes and issues, including external intervention, political manifestations of Islam, the role of political authority, nationalism, self-determination and human rights. The book provides a valuable teaching tool, both in its content and structure. Students will gain a deeper understanding of a changed Middle East and the evolving role of states and non-state actors in the region.

As featured on BookAuthority's list of best International Relations books to read in 2024. Continuing civil wars and humanitarian crises, coupled with a changing geopolitical dynamic, highlighted by increased Russian and Chinese presence in the Middle East, call for new thinking. What happens in the Middle East has major global repercussions. This second edition of the ground-breaking textbook Middle East Politics and International Relations: Crisis Zone provides a comprehensive overview of contemporary Middle East politics. The book traces the roots of recent events across the region’s modern history, enabling readers to appreciate both the significance of such events and the importance of history in influencing their outcomes. Structured chronologically, with updated stand-alone chapters containing history, context and contemporary analyses, this edition examines a series of interconnected themes and issues, including external intervention, political manifestations of Islam, the role of political authority, nationalism, self-determination and human rights. The book provides a valuable teaching tool, both in its content and structure. Students will gain a deeper understanding of a changed Middle East and the evolving role of states and non-state actors in the region.

The dominant narrative of Iranian society and politics heralds the reformist movement as the epitome of Iran's transition to secularity, while conservative political forces are positioned as advocates of Islamization and a bulwark against secularization. Examining all the presidential elections since the revolution, Mahmoud Pargoo and Shahram Akbarzadeh argue that in contrast, political and cultural imagination and expectations in Iran have actually secularized regardless of the reformist/conservative divide. Exploring the evolution of campaign discourses from the 1980s elections which brought Abolhassan Banisadr, Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Ali Khamenei to power, to the more recent campaigns of Mohamad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani, this book suggests that current debates in Iranian domestic politics are not between secularists and their opponents, but rather, between different kinds of secular forces.

The dominant narrative of Iranian society and politics heralds the reformist movement as the epitome of Iran's transition to secularity, while conservative political forces are positioned as advocates of Islamization and a bulwark against secularization. Examining all the presidential elections since the revolution, Mahmoud Pargoo and Shahram Akbarzadeh argue that in contrast, political and cultural imagination and expectations in Iran have actually secularized regardless of the reformist/conservative divide. Exploring the evolution of campaign discourses from the 1980s elections which brought Abolhassan Banisadr, Mohammad-Ali Rajai and Ali Khamenei to power, to the more recent campaigns of Mohamad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Rouhani, this book suggests that current debates in Iranian domestic politics are not between secularists and their opponents, but rather, between different kinds of secular forces.

Muslim Active Citizenship in the West investigates the emergence and nature of Muslims’ struggle for recognition as full members of society in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. What actions have been taken by Muslims to achieve equal civic standing? How do socio-political and socio-economic factors impact on these processes? And how do Muslims negotiate their place in a society that is often regarded as sceptical – if not hostile – towards Muslims’ desire to belong? This book sheds new light on Muslims’ path towards citizenship in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. Existing research and statistics on Muslims’ socio-economic status, community formation, claim-making and political responses, and the public portrayal of Islam are systematically examined. These insights are tested ‘through the eyes of Muslims’, based on in-depth interviews with Muslim community leaders and other experts in all three countries. The findings offer unique perspectives on Muslim resilience to be recognised as equal citizens of Islamic faith in very different socio-political national settings. Pursuing an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, this book examines the country-specific interplay of historical, institutional, political, and identity dimensions of Muslims’ active citizenship and will be invaluable for students and researchers with an interest in Sociology, Religious Studies and Political Science.

From late 2010 a series of dramatic and unprecedented events swept across the Middle East and North Africa, toppling several autocratic regimes that had held power for decades and ushering in a new climate of dissent and democratisation. The Arab Revolutions in Context seizes a unique opportunity to reflect on these seismic events, their causes and consequences, and the core issues facing the region as it moves forward. This volume is more than a collection of detailed thematic essays. It situates the Arab Revolutions within their broader contextual backgrounds - showing that a unique set of historical events, as well as local, regional and global dynamics, has converged to provide the catalyst that triggered the recent revolts-and also within a new conceptual framework. The argument here is that the Arab Revolutions pose a very specific challenge to conventional wisdom concerning democracy and democratisation in the Middle East. The Arab Revolutions in Context is the first volume of its kind to address the Arab Revolutions and the varying analyses, debates and discussions that they have stimulated.

Muslim Active Citizenship in the West investigates the emergence and nature of Muslims’ struggle for recognition as full members of society in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. What actions have been taken by Muslims to achieve equal civic standing? How do socio-political and socio-economic factors impact on these processes? And how do Muslims negotiate their place in a society that is often regarded as sceptical – if not hostile – towards Muslims’ desire to belong? This book sheds new light on Muslims’ path towards citizenship in Australia, Great Britain and Germany. Existing research and statistics on Muslims’ socio-economic status, community formation, claim-making and political responses, and the public portrayal of Islam are systematically examined. These insights are tested ‘through the eyes of Muslims’, based on in-depth interviews with Muslim community leaders and other experts in all three countries. The findings offer unique perspectives on Muslim resilience to be recognised as equal citizens of Islamic faith in very different socio-political national settings. Pursuing an interdisciplinary and comparative approach, this book examines the country-specific interplay of historical, institutional, political, and identity dimensions of Muslims’ active citizenship and will be invaluable for students and researchers with an interest in Sociology, Religious Studies and Political Science.

Over the last sixty years, Washington has been a major player in the politics of the Middle East. From Iran in the 1950s, to the Gulf War of 1991, to the devastation of contemporary Iraq, US policy has had a profound impact on the domestic affairs of the region. Anti-Americanism is a pervasive feature of modern Middle East public opinion. But far from being intrinsic to ‘Muslim political culture’, scepticism of the US agenda is directly linked to the regional policies pursued by Washington. By exploring critical points of regional crisis, Kylie Baxter and Shahram Akbarzadeh elaborate on the links between US policy and popular distrust of the United States. The book also examines the interconnected nature of events in this geo-strategically vital region. Accessible and easy to follow, it is designed to provide a clear and concise overview of complex historical and political material. Key features include: maps illustrating key events and areas of discontenttext boxes on topics of interest related to the Arab/Israeli Wars, Iranian politics, foreign interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the wars of the Persian Gulf, September 11 and the rise of Islamist movementsfurther reading lists and a selection of suggested study questions at the end of each chapter.

Over the last sixty years, Washington has been a major player in the politics of the Middle East. From Iran in the 1950s, to the Gulf War of 1991, to the devastation of contemporary Iraq, US policy has had a profound impact on the domestic affairs of the region. Anti-Americanism is a pervasive feature of modern Middle East public opinion. But far from being intrinsic to ‘Muslim political culture’, scepticism of the US agenda is directly linked to the regional policies pursued by Washington. By exploring critical points of regional crisis, Kylie Baxter and Shahram Akbarzadeh elaborate on the links between US policy and popular distrust of the United States. The book also examines the interconnected nature of events in this geo-strategically vital region. Accessible and easy to follow, it is designed to provide a clear and concise overview of complex historical and political material. Key features include: maps illustrating key events and areas of discontenttext boxes on topics of interest related to the Arab/Israeli Wars, Iranian politics, foreign interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the wars of the Persian Gulf, September 11 and the rise of Islamist movementsfurther reading lists and a selection of suggested study questions at the end of each chapter.