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Summary
Summary
In 1941 the British and the Russians occupied Iran. After autocratic Reza Shah had been forced to abdicate under British pressure, there followed one of the most turbulent periods in Iranian politics in the twentieth century. Forces and passions, which had been simmering for decades, erupted. Iran became the scene of widespread political activity by 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 politics, infighting and intrigue which characterized the period. It also seeks to explain why Iran's only protracted experiment with parliamentary democracy was doomed to failure. Fakhreddin Azimi examines the many factors which eventually prevented the success of parliamentary government, in spite of the challenge to the monarchy, first from Prime Minister Qavam, then from the Musaddiq-led nationalist movement. He shows how the position of the monarchy was strengthened by its control of the flow of patronage.
He analyses the factional behaviour of the elite, and weaknesses in the constitution, such as the power of the parliament - the Majlis - to undermine the cabinet. He also examines social and economic factors in Iran which aggravated instability. In addition, he considers the international political situation, particularly after 1951 when Musaddiq nationalized the oil industry. This is a key period in Iranian domestic politics, which has influenced all political developments since. Azimi's analysis is unrivalled in the scope and depth of its treatment of the subject, and in its extensive use of source material in both Persian and other languages. "Iran: The Crisis of Democracy" is the standard work on the period.
Author Notes
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).
Table of Contents
Preface to the Paperback Edition | p. vii |
Note on transliteration | p. ix |
Abbreviations | p. x |
Introduction | p. 1 |
Part I Years of Contested Adjustment | |
1 The Government of Furughi: August 1941-March 1942 | p. 35 |
2 The Government of Suhaili: March-July 1942 | p. 51 |
3 The Government of Qavam: August 1942-February 1943 | p. 63 |
4 The Government of Suhaili: February 1943-March 1944 | p. 80 |
Part II Years of Uneasy Compromise | |
5 The Government of Sa'id: March-November 1944 | p. 99 |
6 The Government of Bayat: November 1944-April 1945 | p. 113 |
7 The abortive Government of Hakimi: May-June 1945 | p. 121 |
8 The Government of Sadr: June-October 1945 | p. 124 |
9 The Government of Hakimi: October 1945-January 1946 | p. 135 |
Part III The Challenge of Qavam | |
10 The first period: January-December 1946 | p. 147 |
1 The second period: December 1946-December 1947 | p. 164 |
Part IV The Attempted Royal Ascendancy | |
12 The Government of Hakimi: December 1947-June 1948 | p. 183 |
13 The Government of Hazhir: June-November 1948 | p. 192 |
14 The Government of Sa'id: November 1948-March 1950 | p. 201 |
15 The Government of Mansur: March-June 1950 | p. 218 |
16 The Government of Razmara: June 1950-March 1951 | p. 226 |
17 The Government of Ala: March-April 1951 | p. 246 |
Part V The Hegemony of the Nationalist Movement and the Eclipse of the Monarchy | |
18 The first Government of Musaddiq: April 1951-July 1952 | p. 257 |
19 Qavam's débâcle and the July Uprising, 1952 | p. 288 |
20 The second Government of Musaddiq: July 1952-August 1953 | p. 293 |
Conclusion | p. 339 |
Notes | p. 345 |
Bibliography | p. 405 |
Index | p. 427 |