Political Radicalism in Iran and Ahmadinejad’s Presidencies

“At a time when most analyses of Iran resort to simple binaries and over generalization, Perletta’s book draws our attention to the many complexities that mark the country’s politics. This meticulously research work, on one of the more tumultuous chapters of contemporary Iranian politics, is essential reading for anyone wishing to acquire a more complete understanding of Iran and its highly complex politics.” --Mehran Kamrava, Georgetown University, Qatar “No personality encompasses and embodies the fluidity and the ideological complexities of the Islamic Republic as much as president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. By investigating his presidency Dr. Perletta shows how he utilised populism to garner popular support and upend pre-conceived notions among the political elite as well as outside observers of Iranian politics as to what constitutes radicalism, conservatism, and tradition. Dr Perletta’s book is a welcome and incisive reframing of the political dynamics and spectrum in Iran. By critically re-examining ostensibly given categories such as reform and radicalism she invites the reader to analyse and understand the development of politics in the Islamic republic from new perspectives and angles.” --Rouzbeh Parsi, Swedish Institute of International Affairs, Sweden This book offers a critical deconstruction of radicalism as a political category and through this analytical approach seeks to interpret and assess the presidencies of the former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad. It contextualizes radicalism within a broader framework of Western-derived political categories, which are too frequently used to simplify the complexities of Iran's domestic political landscape, generally reducing any comprehensive and objective understanding of Iranian politics. Since the term radicalism is often misrepresented and misused in readings of contemporary Iran, this study examines several analogousPersian and English labels, exploring their different meanings, significances, and varied applications, in order to challenge any fixed and universal interpretations of radicalism as a concept. The political experience of Mahmud Ahmadinejad, who has been widely perceived as a radical politician, provides an ideal case study in this regard, offering valuable insight into how best to frame and interpret radicalism in post-revolutionary Iran. This book will be of particular interest to both scholars and students of Iranian Studies, but also to more general readers who are broadly interested in Middle Eastern studies, political science, and comparative politics. Giorgia Perletta is Adjunct Lecturer of Iranian History and Politics at the Graduate School of Economics and International Relations (ASERI) in Milan, Italy, and Visiting Lecturer at the Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic.