The Iranian Political Language From the Late Nineteenth Century to the Present [Hardcover]

In this detailed study of modern Iran, Yadullah Shahibzadeh examines changes in people's understanding of politics and democracy. The book aims to overcome the shortcomings of traditional historiography by challenging the monopoly of intellectuals' perspectives and demonstrating the intellectual and political agency of the ordinary people.

The Iranian Political Language revisits Iran's modern social history from the late nineteenth century to the present. This is a critical study of the concept and practice of democracy for ordinary people both in the southern provinces of Iran and among the Iranian intellectuals. This book has potential to generate critical debates on democracy, socialism, egalitarianism, and the role of ordinary people in the quest for democracy in Iran. It contributes to the growing field of history from below in modern Iran. - Mojtaba Mahdavi, University of Alberta, Canada

Yadullah Shahibzadeh is Instructor of Middle East Studies at the University of Oslo, Norway.