Description
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), founded after the Iranian revolution in 1979, is one of the most powerful and prominent but least understood organizations in Iran. In this book, Annie Tracy Samuel presents an innovative and compelling history of this organization and, by using the Iran-Iraq War as a focal point, analyzes the links between war and revolution. Tracy Samuel provides an internal view of the IRGC by examining how the Revolutionary Guards have recorded and assessed the history of the war in the massive volume of Persian language publications produced by the organization's top members and units. This not only enhances our comprehension of the IRGC's roles and power in contemporary Iran, but also demonstrates how the history of the Iran-Iraq War has immense bearing on the Islamic Republic's present and future. In doing so, the book reveals how analyzing Iran's history provides the critical tools for understanding its actions today.
An examination of how Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) view their history and their roles in the Iran-Iraq War.
About the Author
Annie Tracy Samuel is a scholar specializing in the modern history of Iran and the Middle East. She is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and previously served as a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her publications include journal articles in International Security and Diplomatic History; her commentary on current events has been published in Lawfare, The Hill, CNN, and The Atlantic; and she has delivered talks at universities and conferences and briefed government agencies in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Reviews
The Iran-Iraq war was a defining period in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its upstart military: the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). In this impressive monograph, Annie Tracy Samuel dives deeply into the IRGC's own historiography and explores how the organization understands the conflict and how it wants the war to be remembered in Iran's political consciousness. More broadly, it is a book about war and memory, and of the politics and meaning-making of institutional histories.' Afshon Ostovar, Naval Postgraduate School
'The IRGC's role in the Iran-Iraq War has not terminated with the end of war-related activities, but continued with a mission of writing the history of the 'holy defense.' Considering the critical roles of the war and the IRGC in state-building of the Islamic Republican regime, Tracy Samuel's study provides an impressive account of the IRGC's framing of the long-lasting war.' Bayram Sinkaya, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University
'... the book is highly valuable as it introduces the wealth of primary sources created by the IRGC over the decades, which are seldom examined in historical studies.' Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh, The Middle East Journal
'This probing analysis makes for compelling reading. ... Highly recommended.' R. P. Matthee, Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9781108478427
Author Annie Tracy Samuel
Format Hardback
Page Count 302
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 620g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 158mm * 21mm
An examination of how Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) view their history and their roles in the Iran-Iraq War.
About the Author
Annie Tracy Samuel is a scholar specializing in the modern history of Iran and the Middle East. She is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and previously served as a research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. Her publications include journal articles in International Security and Diplomatic History; her commentary on current events has been published in Lawfare, The Hill, CNN, and The Atlantic; and she has delivered talks at universities and conferences and briefed government agencies in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East.
Reviews
The Iran-Iraq war was a defining period in the formation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its upstart military: the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). In this impressive monograph, Annie Tracy Samuel dives deeply into the IRGC's own historiography and explores how the organization understands the conflict and how it wants the war to be remembered in Iran's political consciousness. More broadly, it is a book about war and memory, and of the politics and meaning-making of institutional histories.' Afshon Ostovar, Naval Postgraduate School
'The IRGC's role in the Iran-Iraq War has not terminated with the end of war-related activities, but continued with a mission of writing the history of the 'holy defense.' Considering the critical roles of the war and the IRGC in state-building of the Islamic Republican regime, Tracy Samuel's study provides an impressive account of the IRGC's framing of the long-lasting war.' Bayram Sinkaya, Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University
'... the book is highly valuable as it introduces the wealth of primary sources created by the IRGC over the decades, which are seldom examined in historical studies.' Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh, The Middle East Journal
'This probing analysis makes for compelling reading. ... Highly recommended.' R. P. Matthee, Choice
Book Information
ISBN 9781108478427
Author Annie Tracy Samuel
Format Hardback
Page Count 302
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 620g
Dimensions(mm) 235mm * 158mm * 21mm
