The Warriors of Islam: Iran's Revolutionary Guard
In recent years it has been fashionable to note that the Iranian Revolution is once again turning inward. Many have noted that Islamic ideology is making way for traditional Iranian nationalism. But this study concentrates on the organization that seems most immune to these trends: the Revolutionary Guard. Unlike some other revolutionary armies, the guard has resisted professionalization; it remains a source of revolutionary zeal, concentrating its efforts now on the export of the revolution. This case study is well-researched, and the argument seems valid. Inevitably for a topic of this sort, evidence is hard to come by, and the author sometimes seems to be relying too heavily on press accounts of events. Also, the future may not resemble the past; it still seems possible that at some point the political leadership will confront the guard. Nonetheless, this is a valuable study of a neglected topic.
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