Will there be war on Iran? A fresh yet divergent look at an old question
In 2002 Iran was added to the neoconservative-designed ‘Axis of Evil’ and thus declared ripe for US military intervention. Wars are often kicked off accidentally. Indeed, that an incident in the heavily militarised Persian Gulf could be utilised as a casus belli by war profiteers who have overcome obstacles on the political scene is certainly not a matter of sheer fantasy. Urgent action is therefore required to lower the temperatures.
Wikileaks and Iran: The Observer Effect at Work in International Security Policy
The consequences of Wikileaks lie not in the information it provides to policymakers, but in the new perspective it may grant the general population. By bringing new evidence into public discourse, the document leak may change the public view of Iran policy, and thus policies themselves as the Arab States, America and its NATO allies react
Iran and Britain: The Politics of Oil and Coup D’état after the Fall of Reza Shah
Mosaddeq’s preoccupation with the nationalization of Iran’s oil sector derived from his belief that such a venture, once realized, could bring economic prosperity, national autonomy and political sovereignty in its wake. The loss of Abadan Oil Refinery dealt Britain’s prestige a stinging blow at a time when it was struggling to adapt itself to the disintegration of empire and come to terms with the ascendance of the US
American Ascendance, British Retreat, and the Rise of Iran in the Persian Gulf
Three recent publications provide a fresh perspective of the developments which resulted in the decline of British influence in the Gulf, and the subsequent rise of the US.
No Crimes But Punishment: The Case of Nasrin Sotoudeh
Nasrin Soutoudeh, one of Iran’s most prominent human rights and women’s rights activist went on a hunger strike for the second time on October 31st to protest her unlawful detention and ill treatment in Iran’s Evin Prison. Last week for the first time her two children, three and eleven years old visited her in prison. They found their mother in poor heath and so frail that she could not even hug them.
Iran and Britain: The Politics of Oil and Coup D’état before the Fall of Reza Shah
British strategy in the Middle East consolidated around a sustained effort to prevent any adversarial penetration into the Persian Gulf, defending its position athwart the principal lines of communication and supply between Northern Europe and British India, and to protect the newly discovered Persian oil that was used to power the Royal Navy
Review – The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy
The Israel lobby thesis, despite some flaws such as a dismissal of the power of other lobby groups. it is a valid attempt to understand a unique facet in how American policy is forged.
‘Ingilis’, ‘Cherchil’ and Conspiracy Theories Galore: The Iranian Perception of the British
The historical experience of Imperial Britain as a dishonest and detrimental interference in Iran’s domestic politics and economy has fostered a lingering sense of suspicion in the collective memory of Iranians. Whether this image is gradually fading away and giving way to equally negative images of other foreign powers remains to be seen
The Neoconservative Movement at the End of the Bush Administration: Its Legacy, Its Vision and Its Political Future
After 9/11, the word ‘hijacking’ has been used for two events. Of course, for the terrorist attacks of that day, but some also talked about a more metaphorical action: the hijacking of American foreign policy through the influence of a “neoconservative” or “democratic imperialist” movement
The New Wave of Social Engineering in Iran
The social engineering venture of the Islamic Republic has been a systematic attempt of the ruling machinery to reshape the socio-cultural infrastructure of the Iranian society in accordance with the ideological mandate of the state. In a recent attempt to stifle the internal opposition, the Islamic Republic has called for more “Islamisation” of the educational system and has in particular targeted universities for further “de-westernisation”
