Iran's Constitutional Revolution:Popular Politics, Cultural Transformations and Transnational Connections

Published by I.B.Tauris in association with the Iran Heritage Foundation, the Iran and the Persionate World series is designed to explore the great richness of Iranian history and culture, both ancient and modern, in its diverse forms and manifestations. Deliberately multi-disciplinary in conception, and broad and ambitious in scope, the series includes topical discussions of history, art, archaeology, literature, religion, cinema and society, with the intent of building a comprehensive library devoted to the lively and heterogeneous field that is Iranian studies today. Titles in Iran and the Persianate World will have great appeal to scholars and students of Iran, as well as to anybody with a serious interest in the remarkable Iranian heritage and civilization.

Born out of a fundamental tension between the old-fashioned and inadequate Qajar monarchy of Mozaffar al-Din Shah and Mohammad Ali Shah, and new reformist democratic ideals, the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906 represents a pivotal moment in the formation of modern Iran. The collapse of the state through financial indigence and foreign pressure - which in the end also consumed the new regime - created a vacuum, which became the subject of many different visions. These included the anti-constitutionalist arguments of Fazlollah Nuri; the moderate Shiite vision of Tabataba'i; the more gradualist secular approach of bureaucrats such as Sani' al-Dowleh and Naser al-Molk; the various radical visions of Taqizadeh and Sattar Khan, as well as the Bakhtiyaris. What were the reformists' various aims and how much did they accomplish in the years before Reza Shah seized power? How do events in Iran compare with similar uprisings in other parts of the world? And what role does the Constitutional Revolution continue to play in defining Iranian self-identity?

The dramatic confrontation of the Iranian Constitutional Revolution was unprecedented in the region and heralded a period of political change that resonated throughout the world. It was also an extremely complex and contentious episode with far-reaching implications, both within Iran and internationally, and is still the subject of much debate and widely varying interpretations. This important and authoritative new book explores all the many different facets of the Revolution, drawing on newly available sources as well as cutting edge research from around the globe to present an innovative account.

The early twentieth century witnessed the collapse of old state structures and values and the complex process of the emergence of new systems to replace them, both in Iran and around the world. Iran's Constitutional Revolution examines how the Revolution was viewed from an international perspective, especially in the Middle East and East Asia, and how it may be understood in the context of a wave of revolutions which took place at the same time. The authors also examine how the Revolution was experienced at all levels of society, from the elite to the most humble, and gives particular emphasis to the ways in which minority groups were affected.

Iran's Constitutional Revolution seeks to develop and advance the many existing debates on the Revolution, as well as to open up new avenues of interpretation. It offers a uniquely comprehensive and insightful analysis of the subject and is essential reading for a full understanding of contemporary Iran

Houchang Esfandiar Chehabi is a professor of international relations and history at Boston University
Vanessa Martin is Professor of Middle Eastern History at Royal Holloway, University of London