{"title":"Alex Vatanka","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"battle-of-the-ayatollahs-in-iran-book-alex-vatanka-9781838601546","title":"The Battle of the Ayatollahs in Iran","description":"The foreign policy agenda and behavior of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a critical challenge for the world. But where do the principal Iranian regime actors come from in terms of political background, experiences and interests? Which types of ambitions or policy conflicts have dominated and shaped foreign policy debates since 1979?     This book explains the internal policy process in Tehran by following two regime personalities, Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who before his death in January 2017 amassed some of the most powerful political positions in Iran. No two men have been more influential in dictating the regime’s decision-making processes since 1979. Yet little is known about how their competing worldviews and interests, their key moments of dispute – both personal or policy-based – or their personal ambitions have informed the trajectory of Iranian politics. The book analyzes Khamenei and Rafsanjani’s own words and writings - and accounts of them given by others -  to reveal how the domestic policy contest has shaped Tehran’s actions on the regional and international stage. Comprising primary and secondary Iranian sources - including untapped memoirs, newspaper reports, and Iranian electronic media and personal interviews - the book highlights the principal rivalries over the lifespan of the Islamic Republic and offers new insights into the present and future of Iranian foreign policy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50697747759377,"sku":"NGR9781838601546","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52148823064849,"sku":"NLS9781838601546","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1838601546.jpg?v=1751459253"},{"product_id":"iran-and-pakistan-book-alex-vatanka-9781784536909","title":"Iran and Pakistan","description":"The respective policies of the governments of Iran and Pakistan pose serious challenges to US interests in the Middle East, Asia, and beyond. These two regional powers, with a combined population of around 300 million, have been historically intertwined in various cultural, religious, and political ways. Iran was the first country to recognize the emerging independent state of Pakistan in 1947 and the Shah of Iran was the first head of state to visit the new nation. While this relationship shifted following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and tensions do exist between Sunni Pakistan and Shi'i Iran, there has nevertheless been a history of cooperation between the two countries in fields that are of great strategic interest to the US: Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation, and terrorism. Yet much of this history of cooperation, conflict, and ongoing interactions remains unexplored. Alex Vatanka here presents the first comprehensive analysis of this long-standing and complex relationship.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51381252751633,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51381252915473,"sku":"GOR012973228","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784536903.jpg?v=1751059191"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-ie\/collections\/author-books-by-alex-vatanka.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}