Taking Stock of a Quarter Century of the Islamic Republic of Iran
By the President and Fellows of
Harvard College/Massachusetts, USA 2005
53 Pages,
ISBN 0-88086-056-1
Can be ordered via Amazon or directly from the author (see contact)
Table of Content
Preface
Text, by Wilfried Buchta
The "First Republic": The Khomeini Decade
The "Second Republic": The Era of Duumvirate of Rafsanjani/Khamenei
The "Third Republic": Khatami and the Process of Reform
Concluding Remarks
Endnotes
When the Islamic Revolution in Iran sent shock waves through the country and the entire Middle East region in 1978/79, and the revolutionary leader, Ayatollah Khomeini, established the Islamic Republic of Iran on the ruins of the overthrown Shah monarchy shortly afterwards, the whole world was looking on in shock. Few observers gave the revolutionary regime a chance to survive. Today, in 2020, and more than forty years after the victory over the Shah, the Islamic Republic still exists and thus defies all predictions for its demise by Iran’s critics and opponents, who had prophesied the regime’s collapse from the start. Would you like to learn more about the first quarter century of the regime and understand how it overcame all crises? Then you will find what you are looking for in this compact book, published by Harvard in the renowned publication series of the Islamic Legal Studies Program and written by Wilfried Buchta, one of the most internationally known Iran experts of our time.
Dr. Wilfried Buchta
Resume
Born in 1961 in Herne / Westphalia (Germany).
University Diploma in Arabic and Persian Languages from University of Bonn / Germany.
Studied Islamic Studies, Political Science and Religious Studies in Bonn. Conducted long field study in Iran. Doctorate (P.h.D.) on the Religious Policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in 1997.
Head of Arabic Service of Deutsche Welle (DW) in Cologne (1995-96). National Representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Rabat / Morocco (1998-2001). Middle East Project Director for International Crisis Group (ICG) in Amman / Jordan (2001-2002).
Lecturer at the seminar for Islamic studies at the Humboldt University Berlin (2003). Senior Political Analyst for the UN Peacekeeping Mission (UNAMI) in Baghdad / Iraq (2005-2011).
Now lives in Berlin as a political advisor, journalist and author.
Activities
Nonfiction Author and Publicist
- Commentator for German, Swiss and Austrian media on Iran, Iraq, confessional conflicts between Shiites and Sunnis in the Middle East as well as Islamic terrorism.
- Expert opinions on Iran and Iraq for the International Crisis Group (ICG in Brussels), the Bertelsmann Foundation, the GIGA Institute in Hamburg and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
- Advisor in matters concerning Iran and Iraq to members of the German Bundestag who belong to different parties (CDU, SPD) and are active in the Bundestag's Committee on Foreign Affairs
- Expertise on Iran's domestic and foreign policy as well as on the political restructuring of Iraq in the post-Saddam era
- Lectures in the USA, Europe and India on structures, influential forces and political orientations in the Islamic Republic of Iran
- Project evaluations and fact-finding missions for the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Pakistan and Iran (1998)