Ali Gheissari is Professor of History at the University of San Diego. He has written extensively on the intellectual history and politics of modern Iran. His edited volume, Contemporary Iran: Economy, Society, Politics, was published by Oxford University Press in 2009.
Vali Nasr is Professor of International Politics in the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. He is the author of several books, including Islamic Leviathan: Islam and the Making of State Power (OUP 2001).

• Chronology


• Introduction


• Part I: Rise of the State


• 1: Democracy or State-Building? 1906-1941


• 2: The Triumph of the State, 1941-1979


• Part II: The Crucible of Revolution


• 3: Revolution and War Fundamentalism, 1979-1989


• 4: An Islamic Developmental State? 1989-1997


• 5: State and Limits to Democracy, 1997-2005


• 6: Epilogue


• Prospects for a Democratic State


• Notes


• Bibliography


• Index

In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there.