The Mojahedin Khalq Organization is an Iranian political party that helped Khomeini's religious sect in Iran bring about the Islamic revolution of 1979 after being at the forefront of opposition to the rule of the Shah. However, as the revolution got underway, the Mojahedin, which used some elements of Mao Tse Tung's political and warfare philosophy, were sidelined by the religious clerics and were expelled from the political arena. They responded by attacking the dominant polity through democratic means (such as political demonstrations, increasing the role of women, etc.). Later, through armed resistance via Iraq, the Mojahedin became the most significant opposition powerbase to the current regime of Iran. The author details the Organization's relations with Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian Authority, European host nations, Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military, and the end of war (1980-1988) negotiations between Iran and Iraq. Towards the end of its major activities, the Organizati

The first book about Iran's shadowy Ministry of Intelligence Steven R. Ward provides an accessible overview of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence (MOIS) and its focus on tracking and countering domestic dissent and perceived foreign-inspired sedition. The ministry's checkered record of effective intelligence operations includes a history of assassinations and human rights abuses. Developing a clearer picture of the MOIS is important for understanding how the Islamic Republic of Iran operates, seeks security, and competes with its adversaries. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence updates and improves on the paucity of available information about Iranian intelligence activities. The chapters in the book cover the MOIS's origins, leaders, structure and organizational culture, operations and tradecraft, foreign partners, cultural representations, and future outlook. The book also provides a significant examination of this contemporary intelligence agency that does not follow the model of Western organizations. Iran's Ministry of Intelligence will be of interest to scholars, students, and general readers of intelligence and Iran's history and politics. It will also be an important resource for national security and foreign policy practitioners.

Suitable for contemporary security scholars, and those involved in political/military policy, this title offers terminology intends to clarify scholarly understanding of proxy warfare, a framework for understanding why states seek to use proxies in order to fulfil strategic objectives.

Female terrorists are a rare phenomenon. Less than ten terrorist organizations throughout the world have women members. These terrorist groups are either Marxist (atheist) or Jihadist in their ideologies. Sexual Jihad: The Role of Islam in Female Terrorism ascertains, “What is the role of Islam in female terrorism?” It explores the roles of women in eight jihadist case studies including: Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Boko Haram, the Chechen Separatists, HAMAS, Hezbollah, ISIS, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, and Al Qaeda. Primary sources and secondary sources are used, including research conducted on Palestinian women in Israeli prisons who have been convicted of terrorism. It is argued that are three roles for women in Jihadist terrorism: the disposable, the domestic, and the secretary. The theory posited in this book is that the roles of women in terrorist groups are similar to their cultural/religious roles in society.

Upheavals in the Middle East: The Theory and Practice of a Revolution engages with some of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East—revolutions and social protests. The book offers theoretical paradigms that suit the Middle East’s conditions—culturally, religiously and historically. It deals with seventeen case studies from a range of Muslim and Arab states and provides a theoretical framework to study other situations all over the world, including cases from the recent Arab Spring. Revolution, as political action, can occur in all societies, but in recent years it has appeared most frequently in the Middle East. Will this trend continue? What makes the Middle Eastern revolution unique and surprising? This book seeks to answer these questions, placing side by side those cases that were successful and those that were doomed to fail.

Drawing on contemporary issues ranging from globalization and neoliberalism to the environment, this essential textbook - ideal for course use - encourages readers to question the limits of the law in its present state in order to develop fairer systems at the local, national, and global levels.

In film studies, Iranian films are kept at a distance, as 'other,' different, and exotic. In reponse, this book takes these films as philosophically relevant and innovative. Each chapter of this book is devoted to analyzing a single film, and each chapter focuses on one philosopher and one particular aesthetic question.

A study of citizenship formation in post-1979 Iran, examining the centrality of non-elite women's participation in the process.

Identities in Crisis in Iran aims at finding answers to the questions about the puzzling character of the Iranian identity. The contributors acknowledge that identity, especially when it is faced with fundamental tensions as in the case of Iran, is a phenomenon that is constantly developing via factors involving the private self and common social components. This book addresses the tension many Iranian people face that lie between the Persian culture and the Shi’a religion, women versus men, and culture versus traditions.

In Revolutionary Iran, Michael Axworthy offers a richly textured and authoritative history of Iran from the 1979 revolution to the present.