Ayatollah Gorbachev - The Politics of Change in Khatami's Iran (Hardcover)

The 1997 election of Mohammad Khatami as president of the Islamic Republic of Iran marked that state's apparent emergence from nearly two decades of stagnation and authoritarianism. Promising reform of the government while continuing to adhere to its Islamic character, Khatami's enormously popular mandate and moderate rhetoric inspired anticipation of substantive change at home and abroad. Since his election, Khatami and his reformist allies have advanced their cause in some areas, but conservative opponents have largely refused to give ground. What does this mixed record mean for Iran's future, and for US interests in the region? Maloney addresses those questions by chronicling the process of change since 1997 and providing a critical analysis of the nature of politics in Iran. She illuminates the complexity of Iran's simultaneous pursuit of political, economic, social and foreign policy reform, and offers prescriptions for future US policy toward Iran and toward other transitional states.