Everyday Life in Late Qajar Iran

The social history of Iran in general and that of the Qajar era in particular, has been little studied. The subject of this paper, private life in the late Qajar period, has barely been touched upon, probably because it is a subject on which there is not much primary material. There are no comprehensive accounts of people's daily lives of any class or occupation. In this article an attempt is made to give an account of the daily domestic life and activities of the household in the Qajar period. As there were major differences between the daily life and households of urban and rural areas, the discussion is limited to urban areas and Shi'i households. The article discusses the roles of the various members of the household as well as the consumption patterns of the family and those from inside or outside the household who catered to its needs.     

The Caspian Forests of Northern Iran during the Qajar and Pahlavi Periods: Deforestation,Regulation, and Reforestation

Uniquely among the world’s temperate forests, much of the vegetation of the Caspian forests is now endangered. But while deforestation has accelerated in Iran, these processes were actually underway in the nineteenth century. This article offers a brief introduction to the history of forest exploitation and concessions during the Qajar and Pahlavi periods, addressing actions taken by the Iranian state to protect and extend forest cover, but also the deficiencies of that legislation and the reasons for its failure. Though it is one of the most forested countries in the Middle East, Iran’s forests remain understudied. Existing scholarship mostly addresses the contemporary period; this paper extends the scope of our knowledge, offering a deeper history of forest exploitation in Iran.     

The Military of Qajar Iran: The Features of an Irregular Army from the Eighteenth to the Early Twentieth Century

The article examines the parameters of the irregular army in Qajar Iran, including its assembly, numbers, and provisions, as well as the army's organizational structure: its administration and the divisions of the ad hoc forces (provincial militia and tribal cavalry) and of the standing forces (the shah's bodyguard and artillery corps). Until the creation of the so-called regular army units in Iran at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the irregular army was regarded as the only military force in the service of the Qajar dynasty. Despite the existence of a “regular army,” irregular forces, particularly tribal cavalry, continued to play a significant role in Iran's military system throughout the nineteenth century. By understanding the features of the irregular army—its role in Qajar society, its organizational and social structures, its ethnic composition, and other characteristics—we can better understand the character of the state itself.     

Beyond the Segmentary State: Creative and Instrumental Power in Western Uganda

The concept of the segmentary state was proposed by Southall, based on ethnographic fieldwork among the Alur people of Uganda, and subsequently applied elsewhere, notably to the putative ancient kingdom of Bunyoro-Kitara. Archaeological research, summarized here, has demonstrated that ancient Bunyoro-Kitara was not a segmentary state; indeed, neither was the political system of the Alur. The Nyoro state of the nineteenth century shows a complex interplay of political sovereignty and ritual suzerainty and of accommodation and resistance to central authority. This is understood through examination of the concepts of instrumental and creative power, the latter particularly relevant to negotiations concerning the status of women. The archaeological record of this region is then explored for evidence of earlier expressions of instrumental and creative power. Finally, the paper shows how the archaeological record of Munsa is itself an arena for modern political struggles in which protagonists harness different forms of power.     

A Guarded Courtship: Soviet Cultural Diplomacy in Iran from the Late 1940s to the 1960s

By bringing to bear previously unstudied Soviet archival documents and conducting firsthand interviews with former diplomats, the article traces the ways in which the Soviet Union sought out opportunities to reinvigorate deteriorated Soviet?Iranian ties through cultural organizations and events in Iran during the decades following World War II. A variety of Soviet cultural representatives—from wrestlers to classical musicians to scholars of Iranian literature—were marshaled for this effort, which bore unexpected fruit considering the modest expectations of the Soviet leadership, ideological differences between the two countries, and increasingly dominant US cultural projection. The connections between cultural ties and state goals, Iranian perceptions of Russia, and the Soviet/Russian sympathies of some members of the shah’s government are among sub-themes examined.     

Ronald Reagan and the Russians

Abstract

Wilson, James Q. The Moral Sense New York: Free Press 313 pp., $22.95, ISBN 0-02-935405-6 Publication Date: 1993

Dionne, E. J., Jr. Why Americans Hate Politics New York: Simon &; Schuster 430 pp., $22.95, ISBN 0-671-68255-5 Publication Date: May 1991

Nelson, Michael, ed. The Elections of 1992 Washington, DC: CQ Press 192 pp., $15.95 paper, ISBN 0-87187-657-4 Publication Date: March 1993

Aaron, Henry J. and Charles L. Schultze, eds. Setting Domestic Priorities: What Can Government Do? Washington, DC: Brookings Institution 318 pp., $32.95, ISBN 0-8157-0054-7 Publication Date: September 1992

Norrander, Barbara Super Tuesday: Regional Politics and Presidential Primaries Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky 239 pp., $29.00, ISBN 0-8131-1773-9 Publication Date: March 1992

Fried, Charles Order and Law: Arguing the Reagan Revolution: A Firsthand Account New York: Simon &; Schuster 256 pp., $19.95, ISBN 0-671-72575-0 Publication Date: April 1991

Hrebenar, Ronald J. and Clive S. Thomas, eds. Interest Group Politics in the Northeastern States University Park, PA: Penn State Press 404 pp., $55.00 cloth, $18.95 paper, ISBN 0-271-00900-4 cloth, ISBN 0-271-00901-2 paper Publication Date: September 1993

Snowball, David Continuity and Change in the Rhetoric of the Moral Majority New York: Praeger 200 pp., $39.95, ISBN 0-275-93689-9 Publication Date: March 1991

Sadofsky, David The Question of Privacy in Public Policy: An Analysis of the Reagan-Bush Era Westport, CT: Praeger 198 pp., $49.95, ISBN 0-275-94300-3 Publication Date: July 1993

Gentry, Curt J. Edgar Hoover: The Man and the Secrets New York: Norton 846 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-393-02404-0 Publication Date: September 1991

Stettner, Edward A. Shaping Modern Liberalism: Herbert Croly and Progressive Thought Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas 225 pp., $29.92, ISBN 0-7006-0580-0 Publication Date: April 1993

Kerr, Clark The Great Transformation in Higher Education 1960-1980 Albany, NY: State University of New York Press 383 pp., ISBN 0-7914-0511-7 Publication Date: 1991

Fuchs, Ester R. Mayors and Money: Fiscal Policy in New York and Chicago Chicago: University of Chicago Press 361 pp., $15.95 paper, ISBN 0-226-26791-1 Publication Date: June 1992

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Vernon, Raymond, Debora L. Spar, and Glenn Tobin Iron Triangles and Revolving Doors: Cases in U.S. Foreign Economic Policymaking Westport, CT: Praeger 184 pp., $17.95, ISBN 0-275-93926-X Publication Date: September 1991

Pastor, Robert A. Whirlpool: U.S. Foreign Policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press 338 pp., $24.95, ISBN 0-691-08651-6 Publication Date: 1992

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Sprinzak, Ehud and Larry Diamond, eds. Israeli Democracy under Stress Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner 385 pp., $45.00 cloth, $16.95 paper, ISBN 1-55587-378-2 cloth, ISBN 1-55587-380-4 paper Publication Date: June 1993

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Siverson, Randolph M. and Harvey Starr The Diffusion of War: A Study of Opportunity and Willingness Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press 160 pp., $29.95, ISBN 0-472-10247-8 Publication Date: August 1991

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Hackett, Clifford Cautious Revolution: The European Community Arrives New York: Praeger 240 pp., $42.95, ISBN 0-275-93605-8 Publication Date: 1990

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Restaging Time: Photography,Performance and Anachronism in Shadi Ghadirian's Qajar Series

This paper looks at a group of photographs entitled Qajar Series (1998) by artist Shadi Ghadirian. Ghadirian recreates sets to look like those used in photographic portraits taken during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century of the Qajar dynasty period and dresses her female sitters in costumes reminiscent of clothes from the era. The artist also integrates contemporary objects that do not fit within the historical setting created for the camera. This essay examines how the artist uses performance to stage this anachronism and think critically about temporal discourses and their links to the categories of modernity and tradition.