Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic.

• Author: da Cruz, Joshua Kohler

da Cruz, Joshua K. () "Book Review: Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic by Amin Saikal," International Social Science Review: Vol. 96 : Iss. 1, Article 8.

Available at: https://digitalcommons.northgeorgia.edu/issr/vol96/iss1/8

This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Social Science Review by an authorized editor of Nighthawks Open Institutional Repository.

Saikal, Amin. Iran Rising: The Survival and Future of the Islamic Republic. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019. vii+240. Hardcover, $29.95.

In the past several years diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran have been volatile to say the least. Consequently, understanding the relationship between the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran, as it exists today, is crucial for deciphering their diplomatic future. Amin Saikal, professor of International Relations at the Australian National University, does an excellent job demonstrating this connection in his book, Iran Rising. Saikal's central focus is to explore and analyze the oscillation between Iran's religious legitimacy and its pragmatic policies over the last four decades. In particular, Iran Rising is notable because of the way that Saikal analyzes the interplay between domestic and foreign relations.

Throughout his book, Saikal examines the growth of Iran by charting the steps taken by the founder of the Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, to implement his unique vision of a Shia theocratic order. Saikal outlines varying aspects of the Iranian political and class system, explores its two-dimensional jihadi ("combative") and ijtihadi ("reformist") approach to government, as well as the class struggle between the mosta'zafin (the "have nots," or the "oppressed and downtrodden") and the mostakbarin (the "haves," or "arrogant oppressors"). In the last instance, Saikal argues that the former tends to focus on the Islamization of politics and everyday life while the latter apply a novel interpretation of Islam based on independent human reasoning. Together, these positions are combined to the degree necessary to forge a strong, modern Islamic Iran and, according to Saikal, are terms that may be used interchangeably with the proletariat and bourgeoise.

Saikal also contextualizes the current political situation between the United States and Iran by exploring their...