The Last Great Revolution

Abstract

Robin Wright's The Last Great Revolution reflects her 27 years of study and observations of Iran's cultural and political transformations. She interviews thinkers, parliamentarians, administrators, and average people on the streets as she portrays the radical shift in Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Wright starts with her "Personal Odyssey" as an introduction. She describes her first encounter with Iran after the revolution at the airplane in a detailed way. Indeed, she wants her book to "help outsiders to see what is there not just what [they] want to see." She distinguishes this book from her previous ones, because this time, instead of giving only her own impressions, she lets Iranians "speak for themselves about their ideas, experiences, dreams, and frustrations." After the introduction, she provides brief information about the geography, religion, and population of Iran. The first chapter analyzes the revolution as the Last Great Revolution of the modem era, that will stand along with the French and Russian revolutions. Wright explains the reasons which made the Iranian revolution suitable and unique. First, the Shi'ite character of Islam demands a faithful fight against injustice and tyranny. Secondly, Iran has a long political experience that has not come under any colonial power. Thirdly, Iran is heir to a great civilization that had a role in shaping the wqrld. Finally, it is between the West and the East as a meeting point of cultures, which gives the opportunity for revolutionary ideas to reach the people from both directions. To sum up, Wright makes it clear that quest for empowerment in Iran did not ascend from heaven unpredictably in 1979. She notes that everything was already set for an upheaval. Wright's important analysis in this chapter is inspired by Brinton's classic work, The Anatomy of Revolution. Brinton argues that "Revolutions are like fevers". Wright examines the Iranian revolution in three phases ...