The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei

Out of the Mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317605812
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

Ayatollah ?Ali Hosseini Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is one of the most controversial and influential Muslim leaders in the world today. As Iran's main decision-maker, his theocratic ideology and decisions carry global consequences.

The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei is the first book to identify and analyze the development and evolution of the theocratic ideology of the Supreme Leader from 1962 to 2014, using his own writings, speeches, and biographies, as well as literature published in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This work provides new insights into Khamenei's political thought and behavior and their impact on Iran's domestic, regional, and international policies. Correlating the development of Khamenei's personality, character, and political behavior with Iran's internal and external challenges, this study explores key issues of the Middle East region, in particular Iran's political posture toward Israel, the United States, and the Muslim world, and the diplomatic crises unfolding over Iran's nuclear development program. This work provides a comprehensive chronological and thematic survey of Khamenei's life.

This book will be of interest to students, scholars, researchers, diplomats, and policymakers focusing on Middle Eastern politics, Iranian affairs, Islamic studies, and international relations; and could serve as an essential resource for those striving to understand Iran's policies toward Israel, the United States, and the Muslim world, as shaped by its supreme autocrat.

UCLA Center for Middle East Development (CMED)

Series Editors:

Steven Spiegel, UCLA

Elizabeth Matthews, California State University, San Marcos

The UCLA Center for Middle East Development (CMED) series on Middle East security and cooperation is designed to present a variety of perspectives on a specific topic, such as democracy in the Middle East, dynamics of Israeli-Palestinian relations, Gulf security, and the gender factor in the Middle East. The uniqueness of the series is that the authors write from the viewpoint of a variety of countries so that no matter what the issue, articles appear from many different states, both within and beyond the region. No existing series provides a comparable, multinational collection of authors in each volume. Thus, the series presents a combination of writers from countries who, for political reasons, do not always publish in the same volume. The series features a number of sub-themes under a single heading, covering security, social, political, and economic factors affecting the Middle East.

1. The Struggle over Democracy in the Middle East
   Regional politics and external policies
   Edited by Nathan J. Brown and Emad El-Din Shahin
2. Women in the Middle East and North Africa
   Agents of change
   Edited by Fatima Sadiqi and Moha Ennaji
3. The Israel-Palestine Conflict
   Parallel discourses
   Edited by Elizabeth Matthews
4. Gender and Violence in the Middle East
   Edited by Moha Ennaji and Fatima Sadiqi
5. Non-State Actors in the Middle East
   Factors for peace and democracy
   Galia Golan and Walid Salem
6. Regional Security Dialogue in the Middle East
   Changes, challenges and opportunities
   Edited by Chen Kane and Egle Murauskaite
7. Israeli Peacemaking Since 1967
   Behind the breakthroughs and failure
   Galia Golan
8. Justice and Peace in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
   Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov
9. The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei
   Out of the mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran
   Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce

The Political Ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei

Out of the mouth of the Supreme Leader of Iran

Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce

First published 2016

by Routledge

2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge

605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

© 2016 Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce

The right of Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Hovsepian-Bearce, Yvette.

The political ideology of Ayatollah Khamenei : out of the mouth of the supreme leader of Iran / Yvette Hovsepian-Bearce.

pages cm. — (UCLA Center for Middle East Development (CMED) ; 9)

1. Khamenei, Ali—Political and social views. 2. Khamenei, Ali—Quotations. 3. Iran—Politics and government—1979–1997. 4. Iran—Politics and government—1997- 5. Iran—Politics and government—1941–1979. 6. Iran—Foreign relations—Philosophy. 7. Heads of state—Iran—Biography. 8. Political leadership—Iran. 9. Islamic leadership—Iran. 10. Islam and politics—Iran. I. Title.

DS318.84.K45H68 2016

320.55′7—dc23

2015002744

ISBN: 978-1-138-81310-6 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-315-74835-1 (ebk)

DOI: 10.4324/9781315748351

Typeset in Times New Roman

by Swales & Willis, Exeter, Devon, UK

To ODETTE

for Openness, Diplomacy, Engagement, Transparency, Trust, and Education

Contents

• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• PART I The early years
  • 1 The rise of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini: The Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran
  • 2 The political journey of Ayatollah ‘Ali Hosseini Khamenei during the Iranian Revolution, 1962–1979
  • 3 The political leadership of Ayatollah Khamenei after the victory of the Islamic Revolution
  • 4 President Khamenei, 1981–1989
  • 5 Khamenei’s succession to Supreme Leadership
• PART II Supreme Leader Khamenei, 1989–2014
  • 6 Khamenei: The leader
  • 7 Khamenei: The person
  • 8 The struggle over the reconstruction of Iran after Khomeini: President Hashemi Rafsanjani, 1989–1997
  • 9 The Iranian reform era and the debate over foreign policy: President Mohammad Khatami, 1997–2005
  • 10 The Tehran Spring and the debate over the freedom of the press: President Mohammad Khatami
  • 11 Iran’s nuclear era: President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, 2005–2013
  • 12 The era of diplomacy: President Hassan Rouhani, 2013–2014
• PART III Central themes in Ayatollah Khamenei...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Frontmatter 1
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• PART I The early years
• PART II Supreme Leader Khamenei, 1989–2014
• PART III Central themes in Ayatollah Khamenei’s ideology
• Conclusion
• Index