Book Talk | The Great Powers, and Iran’s Social and Political Evolution
Iran is again in the headlines. Under attack, but still mysterious – it continues to be misrepresented, misunderstood, and regarded in the West as a pariah and a threat. But is it?
In this her 20th and newest book, The Great Powers, and Iran’s Social and Political Evolution, scholar and author Shireen T. Hunter delves into the nuances of Iran’s past and present, offering a deeply personal analysis – part autobiography, part history – of how the country of her birth became the nation it is today, how it was torn by great power machinations, and how the currents of international politics swept through society and affected the lives of ordinary people in Iran. Interweaving her own experiences with short, insightful histories of events and actors of significance through Iran’s modern period, the story unfolds as a granular, analytic and emotional panorama that offers important and novel perspectives on the diverse crises that have sequentially shaken the country and its people. Hunter sets out to chronicle her own journey from Iran to the US and what that has meant, but in the process she reveals a picture of Iran buffeted by great power politics that both demystifies and clarifies why it is the complex, misunderstood and modern state it has become.
In conversation with Roxane Farmanfarmaian, non-resident fellow of the Quincy Institute, this talk explored the major themes that Hunter identifies as critical for understanding the character, motivations and international politics of Iran, including Iran versus Islam, Tradition versus Modernity, the Turkic-Persian divide, the Left-Right divide, and the perils of the country’s geopolitics.
Panelists
Shireen Hunter
Shireen Hunter is a honorary fellow at the Center For Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. From 2005 to 2007, she was a senior visiting fellow at the center, a visiting professor from 2007-2014, and a research professor from 2014 to July 2019. Before joining, she was director of the Islam program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a program she had been associated with since 1983. She is the author and editor of 27 books and monographs. Her other recent books include, "God On Our Side: Religion and International Affairs" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2016), and "Iran Divided: The Historical Roots of Iranian Debates On Identity, Culture and Governance" (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014
Roxane Farmanfarmaian
Roxane Farmanfarmaian is a non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute and the director of International Studies and Global Politics at the University of Cambridge Institute for Continuing Education. She lectures on the modern Middle East at the Cambridge Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) and is a founder of the department’s Centre for the International Relations of the Middle East and North Africa (CIRMENA). She is a senior associate fellow of the European Leadership Network, where she collaborates with senior public figures on nuclear threat containment. She also serves on the board of the Cambridge Forum on Technology and Global Affairs, a new journal launched by Cambridge University Press. Her work focuses on the U.S.-Iran nuclear deal, Gulf security, oil politics, and regional communication strategies.