In 1978 and 1979 revolutions in Afghanistan and Iran marked a shift in the balance of power in South West Asia and the world. Then, as now, the world is once more aware that tribalism is no anachronism in a struggle for political and cultural self-determination. This books provides historical and anthropological perspectives necessary to the eventual understanding of the events surrounding the revolutions.

A decade after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001, the country continues to face a growing insurgency and crises of governance. The Afghanistan Conflict and Australia's Role tackles a number of critical dimensions-politics, society, military, and reconstruction-of this conflict from a range of perspectives. This book unpacks the nature and complexity of the conflict at national and international levels. It makes a critical assessment of the performance of President Hamid Karzai and his government, and the efforts made by the international community, the US and its NATO and non-NATO allies in particular, to stabilise, rebuild and secure Afghanistan as a viable state. In addition, it examines critically the role played by Australia in the conflict. The conclusions are far-reaching, with relevance to anyone interested in the interconnectedness of many contemporary issues-governance, democratisation, development, the role of the media, and counterinsurgency. Islamic Studies Series - Volume 8

In this book, Ali Gheissari and Vali Nasr look at the political history of Iran in the modern era, and offer an in-depth analysis of the prospects for democracy to flourish there. After having produced the only successful Islamist challenge to the state, a revolution, and an Islamic Republic, Iran is now poised to produce a genuine and indigenous democratic movement in the Muslim world. Democracy in Iran is neither a sudden development nor a western import, and Gheissari and Nasr seek to understand why democracy failed to grow roots and lost ground to an autocratic Iranian state.

By the author of Destiny Disrupted: an enlightening, accessible history of modern Afghanistan from the Afghan point of view, showing how Great Power conflicts have interrupted its ongoing, internal struggle to take form as a nation

Caught between the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Russian sphere of influence in the north, and the British colonial territories in India and the Middle East, Iran at the end of the nineteenth century was a hotly contested strategic battleground. The ruling Qajar Dynasty was led by a young and inexperienced king, and the British were busy extending their reach through unbalanced treaties and resource concessions. Meanwhile, powerful tribal leaders like Sheikh Khaz’al sought to retain their traditional positions and block efforts to unite the country under a strong central government. With the discovery of oil and Britain’s need to fuel her war machine in World War I, increased attention on Iran demanded a modernization of her policies and government. Reza Khan, an otherwise unknown soldier, united the armed forces and swept to power, bringing with him the unity and structure needed to take Iran into the emerging modern world. After disposing of the former rulers, he became the new shah, and fought to rebuild his country after centuries of abuse and manipulation by foreign powers. What was at stake was the autonomy of Iran’s lifeline, Iran’s “Golden State”, Khuzestan province, a province with abundant, rich oil and gas reservoirs, natural resources with a strategic importance to the warm waters of the Persian Gulf. The full sovereignty (by others) could have exponentially undermined Iran’s position and role on the world stage, both politically and economically, and, even more so, in the turbulent Middle East of today. Events of the time period of this book are very pertinent to the current geopolitical conversation, struggles and developments in the region. This is the story of the dynamic power play for dominance, robust diplomacy, and political rivalries between colonial powers, powerful tribes, and government actors in the Iranian southwest theater. The emergence of a powerful regime in Iran and the superpowers’ radical shifts in foreign policy and in the regional engagements in the post World War I, significantly contributed to averting this geopolitical crisis of a historic proportion. It is an extensively researched and definitive history of Iran at the turn of the twentieth century that is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the history of colonialism, oil exploration, and the ongoing political tensions of the Middle East.

The Hazaras of Afghanistan have borne the brunt of many of the destructive forces unleashed by the establishment of the Afghan monarchy in 1747. The history of their relationship with the Afghan state has been punctuated by frequent episodes of ethnic cleansing, mass dispossession, forced displacement, enslavement and social and economic exclusion. Mostly Shia in a country dominated by Sunni Muslims, and identifiable because of their Asian features, the Hazaras became Afghanistan's internal 'Other'. They look different and practice a different school of Islam in a country that is prone to internal conflict and the machinations of external powers. The history of the Hazaras therefore offers a unique perspective into the deep contradictions of Afghanistan as a modern state, and how its ethnic and religious dynamics continue to undermine the post-2001 political process. This volume provides a fresh account of both the strategies and tactics of the Afghan state and how the Hazaras have responded to them, focusing on three key phenomena: Hazara rebellion and resistance to the intrusion of the Afghan state in the nineteenth century; the incorporation of the Hazara homeland into Afghanistan in the 1890s and their subsequent marginalization and exclusion; and the Hazaras' ethnic mobilization and struggle for recognition in recent decades.

With the exception of two short periods of direct British intervention during the Anglo-Afghan Wars of 1839-42 and 1878-80, the history of nineteenth-century Afghanistan has received little attention from western scholars. This study seeks to shift the focus of debate from the geostrategic concern with Afghanistan as the bone of contention between imperial Russian and British interests to a thorough investigation of the sociopolitical circumstances prevailing within the country. On the basis of unpublished British documents and works by Afghan historians, it lays the groundwork for a better understanding of the political mechanisms at work during the early Muhammadzai era by analysing them both from the viewpoint of the center and the pierphery.