This study entails a theoretical reading of the Iranian modern history and follows an interdisciplinary agenda at the intersection of philosophy, psychoanalysis, economics, and politics and intends to offer a novel framework for the analysis of socio-economic development in Iran in the modern era. A brief review of Iranian modern history from the Constitutional Revolution to the Oil Nationalization Movement, the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the recent Reformist and Green Movements demonstrates that Iranian people travelled full circle. This historical experience of socio-economic development revolving around the bitter question of “Why are we backward?” and its manifestation in perpetual socio-political instability and violence is the subject matter of this study. Michel Foucault’s conceived relation between the production of truth and production of wealth captures the essence of hypothesis offered in this study. Foucault (1980: 93–94) maintains that “In the last analysis, we must produce truth as we must produce wealth; indeed we must produce truth in order to produce wealth in the first place.” Based on a hybrid methodology combining hermeneutics of understanding and hermeneutics of suspicion, this monograph proposes that the failure to produce wealth has had particular roots in the failure in the production of truth and trust. At the heart of the proposed theoretical model is the following formula: the Iranian subject’s confused preference structure culminates in the formation of unstable coalitions which in turn leads to institutional failure, creating a chaotic social order and a turbulent history as experienced by the Iranian nation in the modern era. As such, the society oscillates between the chaotic states of socio-political anarchy emanating from irreconcilable differences between and within social assemblages and their affiliated hybrid forms of regimes of truth in the springs of freedom and repressive states of order in the winters of discontent. Each time, after the experience of chaos, the order is restored based on the emergence of a final arbiter (Iranian leviathan) as the evolved coping strategy for achieving conflict resolution. This highly volatile truth cycle produces the experience of socio-economic backwardness and violence. The explanatory power of the theoretical framework offered in the study exploring the relation between the production of truth, trust, and wealth is demonstrated via providing historical examples from strong events of Iranian modern history. The significant policy implications of the model are explored. This monograph will appeal to researchers, scholars, graduate students, policy makers and anyone interested in the Middle Eastern politics, Iran, development studies and political economy.

In Iran, the regime of Mohammad Reza Shah deeply influenced the country's economic, political, and social life. Everything either began or ended with the state. The state was the most important institution in the country and enjoyed a significant monopoly in political and economic decision-making, trade, etc. It enjoyed autonomy from social pressures and pursued its own policies, whilst controlling political groups. Therefore, to analyse the function and behaviour of the state and the economic development of the country, I have used a political economy approach. To this end, a model has been constructed to describe the political structure of the Iranian state and to map the country's political and economic development. It has been argued that: 1. The political structure of the regime was authoritarian-bureaucratic, based on the three pillars of the state bureaucracy, the security machinery and the armed forces, and the network of court patronage. A parallel to this structure can be seen in the Safavid dynasty whose pillars of power were the same.2 The decision-making process and exercise of power was manipulated by, and depended upon, the Shah and the ruling elite. This manipulation depended substantially on the degree of state autonomy from social and economic groups.3. The state acted as the engine of economic growth and the main source of capital accumulation. Thus, the political system became the main economic decision-making body who dictated economic policies for more than the market. In spite of this direction, the state never questioned the essence of private capital accumulation.4. Oil revenues, both by increasing the magnitude of resources at the disposal of the state and by easing structural constraints, substantially increased the capacity of the state to intervene in economy and society to pursue its own policies, and5. Oil revenues provided a new kind of economy, built on rent and heavily reliant on the export of a single raw material, the production of which required little contact with the rest of the economy. It brought spectacular growth, yet at the same time engendered dependency on volatile markets. In the long run oil also created new international interdependencies as the state relied on foreign markets for capital, labour, and goods. Furthermore, Iran had no independent technological capacity and had to import semi finished goods to meet its industrial needs. Therefore, a process of 'dependent development' was shaped during the 1960s and 1970s.

Examines elements of continuity and change in Iran's post revolution oil strtegy the domestic forces that helped to shaps oil policy, the regional repercussions of the Iranian revolution, and the manner in which the Iranian authorities have reacted to changes in the oil market over the past...

This work deals with the oil crises of the 1950s, precipitated by Iran's decision to nationalise the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. The roots of the revolt against British imperialism are explored here, along with the long-term consequences of instability in the Middle East.

Oil Spaces traces petroleum’s impact through a range of territories from across the world, showing how industrially drilled petroleum and its refined products have played a major role in transforming the built environment in ways that are often not visible or recognized. Over the past century and a half, industrially drilled petroleum has powered factories, built cities, and sustained nation-states. It has fueled ways of life and visions of progress, modernity, and disaster. In detailed international case studies, the contributors consider petroleum’s role in the built environment and the imagination. They study how petroleum and its infrastructure have served as a source of military conflict and political and economic power, inspiring efforts to create territories and reshape geographies and national boundaries. The authors trace ruptures and continuities between colonial and postcolonial frameworks, in locations as diverse as Sumatra, northeast China, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Kuwait as well as heritage sites including former power stations in Italy and the port of Dunkirk, once a prime gateway through which petroleum entered Europe. By revealing petroleum’s role in organizing and imagining space globally, this book takes up a key task in imagining the possibilities of a post-oil future. It will be invaluable reading to scholars and students of architectural and urban history, planning, and geography of sustainable urban environments.

Maximilian Kuhn investigates one of the most pressing, yet neglected subjects in the field of global energy politics: the integration of the Iranian gas market. Possessing the world’s second-largest proven natural gas reserves, Iran is a hypothetical energy giant-in-waiting. Yet over three decades of internal divisions, coupled with crippling international sanctions, have left Iran unable to capitalize on its vast energy potential. Increasing global demand for natural gas and a government in constant need of finding new sources of revenue to meet the needs of a fast-growing population should lead Iran to eventually become a large-scale gas exporter. How this could take place and what the implications for global gas markets would be are the central research questions tackled by this study. The study allows a look beyond international politics, Iranian political decision-making, investment laws, and pipeline games.

After detailed discussions of the economy's basic sectors, major national economic trends, and the government's economic policies, the author offers an assessment of the economy's overall performance against the regime's initial agenda. The final chapters discuss the extent of the dilemma confronting the government.