Capitalism in Contemporary Iran: Capital Accumulation, State Formation and Geopolitics - Paperback

by Kayhan Valadbaygi (Author)

This book traces the patterns of capital accumulation and the changes in class and state formation emanating from it in Iran during the global neoliberal era. It demonstrates how there are inner connections between the nature of contemporary development in Iran, the form of the state, the ongoing sociopolitical transformations in society and the geopolitical tensions with the West. Simultaneously, it highlights that these issues should be explored in terms of their internal relations to the motions and tendencies of neoliberal global capitalism and resulting geopolitics. Accordingly, the book demonstrates that Iranian neoliberalisation has brought about new contested class dynamics that have fundamentally reconstructed the Iranian ruling class, aggressively shaped and reshaped the working class and the poor, and drastically impacted the state form and its foreign policy.

Back Jacket

'Capitalism in contemporary Iran provides an original account of the modern Iran that rethinks its complex development and revolutionary ruptures through the wider dynamics of global capitalism and its geopolitical sinews. It is a must read for academics, students and political practitioners alike.'
Kamran Matin, University of Sussex

'This is a powerful and highly original account of Iran's political economy. Unlike so much analysis and commentary on Iran, Valadbaygi carefully situates processes of domestic class formation and the country's deep social antagonisms within the development of the wider capitalist world market. It is a deeply insightful re-telling of Iran's history.'
Adam Hanieh, University of Exeter

'Valadbaygi delivers the most influential single book on the making of contemporary Iran and therefore the most valuable in helping us to understand the geopolitics of our times.'
Adam David Morton, University of Sydney

'This book successfully situates Iran in the global history and historical sociology of capitalism. A must-read for anyone interested in Iran.'
Ayse Zarakol, University of Cambridge

This book traces the patterns of capital accumulation and the changes in class and state formation emanating from it in Iran during the global neoliberal era. It demonstrates how there are inner connections between the nature of contemporary development in Iran, the form of the state, the ongoing sociopolitical transformations in society and the geopolitical tensions with the West. Simultaneously, it highlights that these issues should be explored in terms of their internal relations to the motions and tendencies of neoliberal global capitalism and resulting geopolitics. Accordingly, the book demonstrates that Iranian neoliberalisation has brought about new contested class dynamics that have fundamentally reconstructed the Iranian ruling class, aggressively shaped and reshaped the working class and the poor, and drastically impacted the state form and its foreign policy.

Author Biography

Kayhan Valadbaygi is a Research Fellow at the International Institute of Social History (IISH) in Amsterdam