Tribal Politics in Iran: Rural Conflict and the New State, 1921-1941 (Royal Asiatic Society Books)

Placing Iran's 'tribal problem' in its historical context, Tribal Politics in Iran provides an overall assessment on the impact of this crucial period on the character of tribe-state relations in Iran to the end of Pahlavi rule and in the Islamic Republic. It analyzes the political and socio-economic factors undermining tribal politics under the regime of Reza Shah, and examines the division which took place regarding the 'tribal problem'. The author argues that on the one hand, it lead to modern ethnic nationalism and on the other, detribalization and absorption into wider class or ideology-based organizations happened. Looking particularly at the land reform of the early 1960s, and the revolution of 1979, Cronin also discusses the final disappearance of the khans as a political force and the rise of a new tribal leadership loyal to and dependent upon the regime. This innovative and important work challenges conventional political and scholarly approaches to tribal politics. BOOK COVER......Page 1 TITLE......Page 4 COPYRIGHT......Page 5 CONTENTS......Page 6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 7 MAPS......Page 8 GLOSSARY......Page 12 INTRODUCTION......Page 14 1 TRIBE AND STATE: The ‘tribal problem’ in Iran......Page 29 2 THE NEW STATE AND THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TRIBAL LEADERSHIPS: The great khans of the Bakhtiyari......Page 53 3 CHALLENGES FROM WITHIN AND BELOW: Junior khans, nomads and peasants in Bakhtiyari......Page 85 4 THE NEW STATE AND THE RURAL POOR......Page 101 5 RURAL RESISTANCE: The tribal uprisings of 1929......Page 126 6 THE POLITICS OF DEBT: The Anglo-Persian Oil Company and the Bakhtiyari khans......Page 146 7 THE POLITICS OF TERROR: The fall of Jafar Quli Khan Sardar Asad Bakhtiyari and the ‘Bakhtiyari plot’......Page 173 CONCLUSION: The end of tribal politics in Iran......Page 204 APPENDIX: Tribal campaigns 1922–41......Page 219 NOTES......Page 221 BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 249 INDEX......Page 257 "This innovative and important book challenges conventional political and scholarly approaches to understanding tribal politics in the Middle East, taking as its historical focus a country and a period where these politics were a site of intense conflict: Iran under Riza Shah. The book places the 'tribal problem' at the centre of Riza Shah's state-building effort. Taking its cue from approaches developed by social historians such as Eric Hobsbawm, and from the Subaltern Studies school of South Asian history, the book offers a major critique of the elite nationalist version of the nature of the shah's rule and of the historical role played by the tribal and nomadic populations." "The book challenges the conventional preoccupation with the Tehran regime and its version of modernity, shifting attention to the rural areas, and restores to the rural poor a sense of their own historical agency."--BOOK JACKET Tribe And State : The Tribal Problem In Iran -- The New State And The Destruction Of The Tribal Leaderships : The Great Khans Of The Bakhtiyari -- Challenges From Within And Below : Junior Khans, Nomads And Peasants In Bakhtiyari -- The New State And The Rural Poor -- Rural Resistance : The Tribal Uprisings Of 1929 -- The Politics Of Debt : The Anglo-persian Oil Company And The Bakhtiyari Khans -- The Politics Of Terror : The Fall Of Jafar Quli Khan Sardar Asad Bakhtiyari And The Bakhtiyari Plot -- Conclusion : The End Of Tribal Politics In Iran -- Appendix : Tribal Campaigns 1922-41. Stephanie Cronin. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 236-243) And Index. Placing Iran's 'tribal problem' in its historical context, this innovative and important work provides an overall assessment of tribal politics in the Riza Shah period, challenging conventional political and scholarly approaches to tribal politics