REVOLUTIONARY IRAN: Challenge and Response in the Middle East

by R.K. Ramazani ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 1986

A collection of scholarly essays assessing the continuing impact of the Iranian revolution of 1979 and its significance for US Middle East policy. Ramazani (government and foreign affairs/Virginia) has previously written The United States and Iran. If there is anything that holds these essays together, it is Ramazini's criticism of those who see Khomeini as a Hitleresque Satan. The author doesn't dispute that lslamic zealots have attempted to export their credo to other nations in the region, but he insists that this must be understood in the context of age-old conflicts that cut across national boundaries. His essays explore a variety of Middle-Eastern-related issues, including the causes and persistence of the Iran-Iraq War, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the ever-present question of oil, and the influence of Iran on Israeli policy. Despite the hate-America fervor of the early Khomeini years, Ramazani Finds a new pragmatism creeping into Iranian policy, which he feels holds promise for an eventual return to the traditional confluence of interests of America and Iran. Consequently, he advises US policymakers to rethink their current ""tilt toward Iraq."" He writes: ""Washington should not rule out the possibility of an unconditional Iranian victory. Iraq's staying power is not absolute."" Ramazani has an occasional tendency to sound like an apologist for the excesses of Iran's revolution, but overall these are well-tempered essays that deserve study, especially in light of current headlines.

Pub Date: Jan. 16, 1986

ISBN: 0801836107

Page Count: -

Publisher: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1986

Categories: NONFICTION