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In his new book, Iran Unveiled, former AEI research fellow Ali Alfoneh illuminates one of the most important changes in Iran’s history since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979: the transformation of a regime ruled by Shia clergy into a military dictatorship dominated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The rise of the IRGC is bound to choke political liberalization at home and increase risk taking and adventurism abroad, threatening US interests in the Middle East and beyond.
Alfoneh uses rarely studied sources from the Persian-language press to reveal the calculated rise of the Guards: As the civilian leadership increasingly found itself challenged by the domestic opposition, the IRGC was systematically used to suppress dissent, which in turn had made the IRGC a major player in the country’s domestic politics. Over time, the Guards have become a “state within a state,” and civilian leaders find themselves hostages in the hands of their own praetorian guard – with grim consequences for Iran and the for the world.
This book is an essential study for policymakers in the United States and allied nations who must understand the inner workings of the regime in Tehran if they are to effectively counter the threat it poses.
RELATED EVENT: April 23, 2013: Iran unveiled: How the Revolutionary Guards is turning theocracy into military dictatorship.
About the Author: Ali Alfoneh is a former resident fellow at AEI and a doctoral candidate at the department of political science at the University of Copenhagen. His research areas include civil-military relations in the Middle East, with a special focus on Iran and the role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in the politics of the Islamic Republic. Previously, Alfoneh was a research fellow at the Institute for Strategy at the Royal Danish Defence College and taught political economy at the Centre for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Southern Denmark.
For more information, to arrange an interview or to speak with the author on background please contact AEI Media Services at mediaservices@aei.org or 202.862.5829.
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