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Recent Research
The proceedings of the conference, on Iranian Historiography is due for publication this year by I B Tauris. For detail see here:
'Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran
Professor Ansari's recent book length study of the 'Politics of Nationalism in Modern Iran' is due for publication with Cambridge University Press in 2012.
Ali Ansari, explores the idea of nationalism in the creation of modern Iran. It does so by considering broader developments in national ideologies which took place following the emergence of the European Enlightenment, and showing how these ideas were taken up by a non-European state. The book charts a course through twentieth-century Iran, analyzing the growth of ideas and their impact on the state, and demonstrating the connections between historiographical and political developments. In so doing, the study shows just how the different regimes manipulated ideologies of nationalism and collective historical memory, to suit their own ends. Firmly relocating Reza Shah within the context of the Constitutional Revolution the study argues that his son’s identification with a monarchy by Divine Right bore a greater resemblance to, and facilitated the religious nationalism that catapulted Ayatollah Khomeini to power on the back of a populist and highly personalized mythology. Drawing on hitherto untapped sources, the book concludes that it was the revolutionary developments and changes that occurred during the first half of the twentieth century, which paved the way for the radicalisation that was to follow
Professor Ansari was elected Vice President of the British Institute for Persian Studies in June 2011 for a period of three years
Professor Ansari recently discussed his latest book 'Crisis of Authority: Iran's 2009 Presidential Election' (Chatham House, London, 2010) with a panel chaired by The International Herald Tribune and The New York Times Columnist
Roger Cohen.
This new study of the contested Iranian presidential election of 2009 examines its historical, social and political context, setting it within the framework of the rise of Principle-ist project under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Professor Ansari assesses the various campaigns, the allegations of fraud and the subsequent political fallout and argues that the crisis of authority facing the Islamic Republic is at the heart of an ideological crisis over the meaning and legacy of the revolution.
Click here to listen to the discussion
and here to listen to the Question and Answer session The full transcript of the interview can be downloaded from the Chatham House website.
Professor Ansari talks to Inside Story's Peter Clarke about the growing split in Iran’s ruling elite. Listen to the broadcast online or download the podcast.
Preliminary Analysis of the Voting Figures in Iran’s 2009 Presidential Election
Ali Ansari, Daniel Berman and Thomas Rintoul, Chatham House, June 2009
Working from the province by province breakdowns of the 2009 and 2005 results, released by the Iranian Ministry of Interior, and from the 2006 census as published by the official Statistical Centre of Iran, this paper offers some observations about the official data and the debates surrounding the 2009 Iranian Presidential Election.
Download the Paper from the Chatham House website here (PDF Format)
Professor Ansari discusses the Iranian Presidential Elections with Inside Story's Peter Clarke. Listen to the broadcast online or download the podcast [Part 1, Part 2]
Historiography & Iran in Comparative Perspective
Institute of Iranian Studies, University of St Andrews / Iran Heritage Foundation
10-13th September 2009
More information about the conference.
9-12th April 2010: The Shahnameh and Identity in the Persianate World
Click here for more information
10-13th September 2009: Iranian Historiography in Comparative Perspective.
Click here for more information.
13-14th March 2009: Sasanian Historiography & modern Iranian identity