Guardians of the Revolution: Iran and the World in the Age of the Ayatollahs
May 2009 · Oxford University Press
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About this ebook
For over a quarter century, Iran has been one of America's chief nemeses. Ever since Ayatollah Khomeini overthrew the Shah in 1979, the relationship between the two nations has been antagonistic: revolutionary guards chanting against the Great Satan, Bush fulminating against the Axis of Evil, Iranian support for Hezbollah, and President Ahmadinejad blaming the U.S. for the world's ills. The unending war of words suggests an intractable divide between Iran and the West, one that may very well lead to a shooting war in the near future. But as Ray Takeyh shows in this accessible and authoritative history of Iran's relations with the world since the revolution, behind the famous personalities and extremist slogans is a nation that is far more pragmatic--and complex--than many in the West have been led to believe. Takeyh explodes many of our simplistic myths of Iran as an intransigently Islamist foe of the West. Tracing the course of Iranian policy since the 1979 revolution, Takeyh identifies four distinct periods: the revolutionary era of the 1980s, the tempered gradualism following the death of Khomeini and the end of the Iran-Iraq war in 1989, the "reformist" period from 1997-2005 under President Khatami, and the shift toward confrontation and radicalism since the election of President Ahmadinejad in 2005. Takeyh shows that three powerful forces--Islamism, pragmatism, and great power pretensions--have competed in each of these periods, and that Iran's often paradoxical policies are in reality a series of compromises between the hardliners and the moderates, often with wild oscillations between pragmatism and ideological dogmatism. The U.S.'s task, Takeyh argues, is to find strategies that address Iran's objectionable behavior without demonizing this key player in an increasingly vital and volatile region. With its clear-sighted grasp of both nuance and historical sweep, Guardians of the Revolution will stand as the standard work on this controversial--and central--actor in world politics for years to come.
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Mr. Takeyh has done an excellent job in factually and objectively explaining the current situation and the past 31 years in the life of the tenacious Islamic Republic that has outlasted all its enemies and adversaries within and without. Most of western, particularly US policies towards Iran have been based on the very simplistic fallacy of "regime change" and delusional efforts at destabilizing Iran. Both approaches have failed, and the regional dynamics have shifted in Iran's favour where Iran has reasserted itself with confidence.
In the new Asia centric global economic and geo-strategic power shift, Iran is destined to play a major role. Iran's pivotal geographical position, energy superpower status and astute manipulation of global powershifts have propelled into the major league. It is time the US also soberly examine its Iran policy and move beyond hollow military threats and ineffective economic sanctions which simply can not work in the 21st century on a energy rich nation of 72 million as US power and leverage shrinks with each passing day as its military overstretch in the Middle-East and the world consume its deplelted economy.
Mr. Takeyh's book is a timely reminder for the "velvet revolution" cheerleaders that Iranian regime and "Guardians of the Revolution" are not about to fold and go on an extended vacation to Panama. It is indeed in the interest of global peace to engage Iran as a partner and regional power and work towards a diplomatice solution based on respect and not thuggish threats. A 3,000 year old ancient Empire that has outlasted many "superpowers" of the day will simply outlast the retreating US empire too.
marivic dela cruz
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November 12, 2016
Ahmadinejad dan Momy muslim no subject power
About the author
Ray Takeyh is a Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations and the author of Hidden Iran and The Origins of the Eisenhower Doctrine . He lives near Washington, DC.
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