Any mature understanding of the history of other peoples, and in particular the former colonies, has to dispense with the absurd fiction of western ‘altruism’ and refocus on both imperial history and its most important anti-thesis, the right of peoples to self-determination, as embodied in all genuine liberation and anti-colonial movements.
There are three strategic questions that seem to me important for western students of the Iranian revolution. The first is: what was the context and Iranian origins of the revolution? The second has to do with how outsiders might best understand Iran’s ‘political Islam’, especially as compared to other forms of political Island, notably those influenced by Salafism. The third question must be about the important role the Islamic Republic has come to play in the region and the world, particularly with respect to the big powers.
2015 Lessons from the Iranian revolution PDF
Anderson, T. (2015). Lessons from the Iranian Revolution. In The Islamic Revolution of Iran: from the viewpoint of Australian Scholars, (pp. 16-38). Canberra, Australia: Cultural Section of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.