Iran has not ceased to surprise the world since the American ambassador`s famous "thinking the unthinkable" 1978 cable about the imminent fall of the Shah and the coming of Islamic revolution. The apparent sequence of moderate government of President Hashemi-Rafsanjani (1989-97) and democratic reform under President Khatami (1997-2005) was followed by the return of the hardliners and revolutionary populism coupled with an aggressive foreign policy, including a nuclear program. Iran`s political regime has proved remarkably resilient through all these changes, despite the disaffection of the younger half of the population, and become all the stronger, partly as a result of the Bush administration`s ill-advised bluff about regime change.
The death of Imam Khomeini as its charismatic leader in 1989 did not mean the end of the Islamic revolution, but only the beginning of a prolonged struggle among the children of the revolution over Khomeini`s heritage. The integrative social revolution begun in 1979 has continued quietly, while the raucous/noisy struggle to define, structure and control the new Islamic political order set up by Khomeini among different factions of his followers has produced a unique political regime which defies understanding. Arjomand draws on the sociology of revolution to offer a general explanation of political developments in Iran in the last two decades while seeking to understand its unique features in terms of constitutional politics of the creation of the post-revolutionary order. Not only Iran`s domestic politics but also its foreign policy are shown to follow a pattern typical of the great revolutions. Surprising as it may seem, the parameters for Iran`s constitutional politics in the last two decades are those set by Khomeini`s mixture of theocratic, republican and populist elements in the ideology of the Islamic revolution.

Contnents:
Introduction
1: Khomeini and the Islamic Revolution
2: Dual Leadership and Constitutional Developments after Khomeini
3: Thermidor at Last: Hashemi-Rajsanjani`s Presidency (1989-1997)
4: Revolutionary Ideology and Its Transformation into Islamic Reformism
5: The Rise and Fall of President Khatami and the Reform Movement (1997-2005)
6: Return to Revolutionary Populism and Ahmadinejad`s Presidency (2005-09)
7: Social and Political Consequences of the Integrative Revolution
8: Iran`s Foreign Policy: From the Export of Revolution to Nuclear Development
9: Khomeini`s Successor: Ayatollah Sayyed `Ali Khamene`i as the IRI Leader (1989- )
Conclusion

A szerzőről:
Saïd Amir Arjomand, Distinguished Service Professor of Sociology and Director of the Stony Brook Institute for Global Studies, Stony Brook University.