Iran : A Country Study

by Curtis, Glenn E.; Hooglund, Eric

• ISBN13: 9781598044294
• ISBN10: 159804429X
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-04-01
• Publisher: Claitors Pub Div

Summary

Area Handbook Series. 5th edition. Edited by Glenn E. Curtis and Eric Hooglund. Offers a concise and objective examination of the dominant historical, geographic, social, economic, political, and military aspects of contemporary Iran. Has 5 chapters on: Historical Setting; The Society and its Environment (covers geography, population, social systems, education, health, and welfare); The Economy (focuses on overview and sectorial analyses); Government and Politics (covers political institutions, political dynamics, and foreign policy); and National Security (covers military institutions and regional and national security problems/issues).

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. iii
Acknowledgments	p. v
Preface	p. xiii
Chrnology of Important Events	p. xv
Country Profile	p. xxiii
Introduction	p. xxxix
Historical Setting	p. 1
Ancient Iran	p. 6
Pre-Achaemenian Iran	p. 6
Immigration of the Medes and the Persians	p. 6
The Achaemenian Empire, 550-330 B.C.	p. 7
Alexander the Great, the Seleucids, and the Parthians	p. 10
The Sassanians, A.D. 224-642	p. 11
Islamic Conquest	p. 13
Invasions of the Mongols and Tamerlane	p. 17
The Safavis, 1501-1722	p. 18
The Qajars, 1795-1925	p. 22
The Constitutional Revolution	p. 25
World War I	p. 26
The Era of Reza Shah, 1921-41	p. 27
World War II and The Azarbaijan Crisis	p. 30
Mossadeq and Oil Nationalization	p. 32
The Post-Mossadeq Era and the Shah's White Revolution	p. 35
State and Society, 1964-74	p. 37
Renewed Opposition	p. 44
The Coming of the Revolution	p. 46
The Bakhtiar Government	p. 50
The Revolution	p. 52
Bazargan and the Provisional Government	p. 52
The New Constitution	p. 56
The Bani Sadr Presidency	p. 57
Terror and Repression	p. 63
Consolidation of the Revolution	p. 66
Khomeini's Last Years	p. 68
The Post-Khomeini Era	p. 70
The Rafsanjani Presidency	p. 70
Khatami and the Reform Movement	p. 76
The Society and Its Environment	p. 81
Geography	p. 84
Topography	p. 85
Climate	p. 87
Environment	p. 87
Population	p. 88
Emigration	p. 89
Refugees	p. 90
Languages and Peoples	p. 91
The Persian Language and People	p. 91
Other Indo-Iranian-Speaking Groups	p. 93
Turkic-Speaking Groups	p. 96
Semitic Groups	p. 99
Armenians	p. 101
Structure of Society	p. 101
Urban Society	p. 102
Social Class in Contemporary Iran	p. 104
Urban Migration	p. 108
Rural Society	p. 108
Nomadic Society	p. 110
The Family	p. 112
Gender Issues	p. 115
Traditional Attitudes Toward Segregation of the Sexes	p. 115
Female Participation in the Workforce	p. 116
Religion	p. 118
Shia Islam in Iran	p. 118
Sunni Muslims	p. 127
Non-Muslim Minorities	p. 128
Education	p. 132
Health and Welfare	p. 135
Medical Personnel and Facilities	p. 136
Health Hazards and Preventative Medicine	p. 137
Water Supply and Sanitation	p. 138
Welfare	p. 139
The Economy	p. 143
Historical Background	p. 146
The Economy under the Pahlavis, 1925-79	p. 146
The Economy after the Islamic Revolution, 1979-Present	p. 149
The Role of Government	p. 150
Human Resources	p. 153
Labor Force Participation	p. 153
Unemployment	p. 154
The Distribution of Employment	p. 155
Organized Labor	p. 156
National Output Measurements	p. 156
Gross Domestic Product	p. 156
Gross Domestic Expenditure	p. 159
The Informal Sector	p. 159
The Petroleum Industry	p. 160
Historical Overview	p. 160
Oil Production and Reserves	p. 162
Oil Refining and Consumption	p. 163
Trade in Oil and Oil Products	p. 163
Natural Gas	p. 165
Petrochemicals	p. 166
Mining	p. 167
Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing	p. 168
Crops and Livestock	p. 169
Government Agricultural Policy	p. 170
Forestry	p. 172
Fishing	p. 172
Industry and Construction	p. 173
Handicrafts	p. 173
Manufacturing	p. 176
Construction and Housing	p. 180
Services	p. 180
Domestic Trade and Distribution	p. 181
Insurance	p. 181
Tourism	p. 182
Transportation and Telecommunications	p. 183
Roads	p. 183
Railroads	p. 185
Water Transport	p. 186
Air Transport	p. 186
Air Transport	p. 188
Electronic Media and Telecommunications	p. 188
Energy Supply	p. 190
Fiscal and Monetary Policy	p. 191
Fiscal Policy	p. 191
Banking and Monetary Policy	p. 194
International Trade and The Balance of Payments	p. 197
Imports	p. 198
Nonoil Exports	p. 199
Balance of Payments and Debt	p. 200
The Foreign-Exchange System	p. 201
Foreign Direct Investment	p. 202
Government and Politics	p. 205
Political Dynamics	p. 208
A Reformist Comes to Power	p. 208
Conservatives Strike Back	p. 208
The Power Struggle Intensifies	p. 209
The Reformists Retreat	p. 210
Khatami's Second Term	p. 212
The End of the Khatami Era	p. 214
Government Institutions	p. 215
The Leader, or Faqih	p. 218
The Assembly of Experts	p. 220
The President and Cabinet	p. 221
The Parliament	p. 221
The Guardians Council	p. 222
The Expediency Council	p. 222
The Judiciary	p. 223
The Problem of Dual Sovereignty	p. 224
Local Government	p. 226
The Electoral System	p. 227
Political Parties and Civil Society	p. 229
The Reformist Coalition	p. 229
The Centrist Faction	p. 230
The Conservative Coalition	p. 231
Other Political Groups	p. 232
Civil Society Organizations	p. 233
Human Rights	p. 233
Mass Media and the Arts	p. 237
Foreign Policy	p. 240
Relations with Europe	p. 240
Relations with Neighboring Arab Countries	p. 243
Relations with other Middle Eastern Countries	p. 244
Relations with Neighbors to the North and East	p. 246
The United States and Iran	p. 248
National Security	p. 255
The Armed Forces	p. 258
Historical Background	p. 258
Command and Control	p. 262
Decision Making	p. 264
Organization, Size, and Equipment	p. 264
Special and Irregular Armed Forces	p. 269
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)	p. 269
The Basij	p. 270
Arms Acquisition	p. 272
Arms Imports	p. 272
Domestic Arms Production	p. 274
Missiles	p. 275
Internal Security	p. 276
Intelligence Services	p. 276
Law Enforcement	p. 277
The Military's Relations with Society	p. 278
Defense Economics	p. 279
Military Doctrine	p. 280
The Legacy of the Iran-Iraq War	p. 281
Contemporary Security Policy	p. 282
Nuclear Issues	p. 285
International Reactions to Iran's Nuclear Program	p. 286
Nuclear Facilities	p. 287
Tables	p. 291
Bibliography	p. 299
Glossary	p. 327
Index	p. 331
Contributors	p. 351
Published Country Studies	p. 353
List of Figures
Administrative Divisions	p. xxxviii
Persian Empire, ca. 500 B.C.	p. 8
Sassanian Empire, Sixth Century A.D.	p. 12
Initial Iraqi Attack on Iran, September-November 1980	p. 62
Physical Features	p. 86
Population Distributions by Age and Sex, 2006	p. 90
Major Ethnic Groups	p. 92
Industry and Mining, 2005	p. 164
Transportation System, 2005	p. 184
National Budget Expenditures for Social and Economic Purposes, Fiscal Year 2004	p. 194
Appointive Powers of the Leader	p. 220
Strait of Hormuz and Vicinity	p. 268
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.