Civil Society and Democracy in Iran

Ramin Jahanbegloo editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Lexington Books

Published:16th Dec '11

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Civil Society and Democracy in Iran cover

In this timely, informative edited volume, major Iranian scholars and civic actors address some of the most pressing questions about Iranian civil society and the process of democratization in Iran. They describe the role of Iranian civil society in the process of transition to democracy in Iran and offer insight about the enduring legacy of previous social and political movements—starting with the Constitutional Revolution of 1906— in the struggle for democracy in Iran. Each contributor looks at different aspects of Iranian civil society to address the complex nature of the political order in Iran and the possibilities for secularization and democratization of the Iranian government. Various contributors analyze the impact of religion on prevailing democratic thought, discussing reformist religious movements and thinkers and the demands of religious minorities. Others provide insight into the democratic implications of recent Iranian women’s rights movements, call for secularism within government, and the pressure placed on the existing theocracy by the working class. The contributors address these and related issues in all their richness and complexity and offer a set of discussions that is both accessible and illuminating for the reader.

Ramin Jahanbegloo has collected an outstanding group of specialists to produce Democracy and Civil Society in Iran. This work will be of greatest interest not only to those concerned with the current state of the civil society problem internationally, but to all who have been watching the Iranian crisis and the Green movement. The analyses offered here have a better chance of helping to comprehend where Iranian politics may be headed than any other available study. A remarkable piece of collective work. -- Andrew Arato, The New School for Social Research
This is a timely collection of essays that look beyond recent events to engage with the perennial problems of Iranians’ quest for constitutional governance and a more humane society. -- Houchang Chehabi, Boston University
Inspiring. By bringing out the richness of Iranian civil society traditions, Jahanbegloo’s volume sustains the hope that a tolerant, pluralistic and liberal society may yet eventually emerge out of the current repressive situation in the country. -- Shlomo Avineri, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

ISBN: 9780739165447

Dimensions: 240mm x 162mm x 28mm

Weight: 635g

318 pages