PSIR383 IRANIAN POLITICS AND FOREIGN POLICY
Course Content
In the first section of the course the Iranian politics in the eve of the rise of the modern state in the aftermath of the Constitutional revolution of 1906. Then, the rise of the modern state and transition to modernity through socio-political and economic reforms during Reza Shah (1921-1941). Following the failure of the transition to democracy during 1941-1953 the rise of authoritarian-Bureaucratic state during the reign of Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi (1953-1978) will be analyzed. Finally, the Revolution and the politics of a radical fundamentalist state in Iran will be the main focus. In the ``foreign policy`` section, both Iranian foreign policy and the ``orientations`` and ``goals`` will be analyzed. Next, the context of Great Games and its aftermath in early twentieth century will be analyzed. Following the era of a search for the Third Force, Iranian foreign policy during the modernization period of Reza Shah (1921-1941) will be the main issue of the course. This will be followed by the Iranian Foreign Policy in the early years of Cold War. Then, the return to classic foreign policy orientation of ``Alliance and Coalition`` (1953-1979) will be discussed. Finally, the rise of Idealism in the Islamic foreign policy and regional and international challenges faced by Iran will be discussed.
