“The Iran Primer: Power, Politics and U.S. Policy” is an unprecedented project by 50 of the world’s top scholars on Iran representing some 20 foreign policy think tanks, eight universities, and senior foreign policy officials from six U.S. administrations. The book has no single political perspective or agenda, as the authors approach the subjects with a wide range of views. They include scholars at the US Institute of Peace, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, the Council on Foreign Relations, Brookings Institution, Rand Corp, International Institute for Strategic Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Asia Society, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, American Enterprise Institute, the Institute for Science and International Security, Washington Institute for Near East Policy, New America Foundation, Stimson Center, Center for Naval Analyses, Nixon Center, The Century Foundation, International and Foreign Policy Institute (Berlin), the Foreign Policy Research Institute, and several universities, including Stanford, Michigan, Columbia, Johns Hopkins, Georgetown, Syracuse, and the U.S. Naval Academy Two of the authors are former U.N. weapons inspectors. And the National Security Council adviser or top NSC official in charge of Iran from the past six administrations also contributed chapters on happened between the United States and Iran during their watch.
The book is also a living website project, as the entire book is available free on the web. It will also be constantly updated. The goal is to provide information about the many complex sides of a country with which the United States has not had relations for more than three decades.
The Challenge of Iran – Robin Wright
Iran’s Politics
The Supreme Leader – Karim Sadjadpour
The Six Presidents – Shaul Bakhash
The Parliament - Farideh Farhi
The Islamic Judiciary – Hadi Ghaemi
Politics and the Clergy – Mehdi Khalaji
Iran and Islam – Juan Cole
Iran and Democracy – Daniel Brumberg
The Opposition
The Green Movement – Abbas Milani
The Women’s Movement – Haleh Esfandiari
The Youth – Omid Memarian and Tara Nesvaderani
The New Political Tools – Genieve Abdo
The Iranian Military
The Revolutionary Guards - Alireza Nader
The Basij Resistance Force – Ali Alfoneh
The Conventional Military - Anthony H. Cordesman
Iran’s Military Doctrine – Michael Connell
The Nuclear Controversy
Iran’s Nuclear Program – David Albright and Andrea Stricker
The Politics of Iran’s Nuclear Program – Shahram Chubin
Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program – Michael Elleman
Iran and the IAEA – Michael Adler
Iran’s Economy
The Revolutionary Economy - Suzanne Maloney
The Oil and Gas Industry– Fareed Mohamedi
The Subsidies Conundrum – Semira N. Nikou
The Bazaar – Kevan Harris
Sanctions
U.S. Sanctions - Patrick Clawson
The U.N. Resolutions – Jason Starr
Financial Sanctions – Matthew Levitt
U.S. – Iran
The Carter Administration - Gary Sick
The Reagan Administration - Geoffrey Kemp
The Bush I Administration - Richard N. Haass
The Clinton Administration - Bruce O. Riedel
The Bush II Administration - Stephen J. Hadley
The Obama Administration - John Limbert
Iran and the Region
Iran and Iraq – Michael Eisenstadt
Iran and Afghanistan – Mohsen Milani
Iran and the Gulf States – Afshin Molavi
Iran and Turkey – Henri J. Barkey
Iran and Israel – Steven Simon
Iran and the Palestinians – Rachel Brandenburg
Iran and Syria –Jubin Goodarzi
Iran and Lebanon – Emile Hokayem
Iran and China – John S. Park
Iran and Russia – Mark N. Katz
Iran and the European Union – Walter Posch
Iran’s Alternative Allies – Steven Heydemann
Policy Considerations
Reading Iran—Ellen Laipson
Engaging Iran – James Dobbins
Track II Diplomacy – Suzanne DiMaggio
Containing Iran – Kenneth M. Pollack
The Military Option – Dov S. Zakheim
People, Places and Key Events
Iran’s Power Structure – Mehrzad Boroujerdi and Kourosh Rahimkhani
Iran’s Political Elite – Mehrzad Boroujerdi and Kourosh Rahimkhani
Timeline of Iran’s Political Events – Semira N. Nikou
Timeline of Iran’s Foreign Relations – Semira N. Nikou
Timeline of Military and Security Events – Semira N. Nikou
Timeline of Iran’s Nuclear Activities – Semira N. Nikou
Iran’s Nuclear sites – Semira N. Nikou
Timeline of U.S. Sanctions – Jason Starr
Human Rights Sanctions – Robin Wright
Timeline of U.N. Resolutions – Jason Starr
Oil Price and Production Charts – Fareed Mohamedi
Websites for Additional Information – Semira N. Nikou
About the Authors