Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Senior Analyst at Center for Strategic Studies at CNA; PhD in History from the University of Michigan

Vanguard of the Imam offers seasoned students of Iran a more granular view of the early years of the revolution and the post-war period, as seen through the lens of the IRGC's rise. Readers who are new to the subject of Iran will benefit from a thorough introduction into the politics of the Islamic Republic, and they may also find useful the final chapters, which neatly synthesize many of the current events unfolding in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon... Vanguard of the Imam is a useful addition to the literature, and one that both graduate and undergraduate instructors of courses on Middle Eastern politics would benefit from adopting.

• 1. IntroductionBrief Overview of the IRGCLiterature ReviewConceptualizing the IRGCPro-clerical ActivismPrimacy of the LeaderMilitary Power and State-buildingChapters and Questions 2. From Ali to KhomeiniThe Formation of Shiite IslamRise of the ClergyThe Islamic MovementRevolutionary Ideology 3. Vanguard of the ImamEnter the VanguardRoots and RadicalsKhomeini Über AllesOne System to Rule Them All 4. The Imposed WarInvasionCivil Discord and a Stymied War EffortThe Islamic Republic Strikes Back 5. The Long WarThe International DimensionRunning into WallsIn the Path of the DivineA Fleeting Taste of VictoryThe Bitter End 6. Exporting the Revolution and the Khomeinist DivideRevolutionary InternationalismA Conservative TurnToward the Liberation of JerusalemThe Revolution Comes to LebanonFall of the Radicals 7. Culture and IdentityThe Islamic Model ArmyPower of the PenWartime Cultural ActivismVisual IdentityIconology of the SelfWarriors of Karbala 8. When Johnny Comes Marching HomePostwar Reconstruction under RafsanjaniPropagating Virtue, Prohibiting ViceTaking Back the Revolution 9. The War on TerrorFear of a Nuclear IranElecting AhmadinejadAn Iran AscendantThe Specter of War 10. Big Bang, Big Crunch"Death to the Dictator!"Rebranding the BasijSpringtimeA Cornered LionKnives Out 11. In Defense of the Family of the ProphetIn Defense of Sayyida ZaynabA Return to Karbala 12. Conclusion

Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Senior Analyst at Center for Strategic Studies at CNA; PhD in History from the University of Michigan

Vanguard of the Imam offers seasoned students of Iran a more granular view of the early years of the revolution and the post-war period, as seen through the lens of the IRGC's rise. Readers who are new to the subject of Iran will benefit from a thorough introduction into the politics of the Islamic Republic, and they may also find useful the final chapters, which neatly synthesize many of the current events unfolding in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon... Vanguard of the Imam is a useful addition to the literature, and one that both graduate and undergraduate instructors of courses on Middle Eastern politics would benefit from adopting.

• 1. IntroductionBrief Overview of the IRGCLiterature ReviewConceptualizing the IRGCPro-clerical ActivismPrimacy of the LeaderMilitary Power and State-buildingChapters and Questions 2. From Ali to KhomeiniThe Formation of Shiite IslamRise of the ClergyThe Islamic MovementRevolutionary Ideology 3. Vanguard of the ImamEnter the VanguardRoots and RadicalsKhomeini Über AllesOne System to Rule Them All 4. The Imposed WarInvasionCivil Discord and a Stymied War EffortThe Islamic Republic Strikes Back 5. The Long WarThe International DimensionRunning into WallsIn the Path of the DivineA Fleeting Taste of VictoryThe Bitter End 6. Exporting the Revolution and the Khomeinist DivideRevolutionary InternationalismA Conservative TurnToward the Liberation of JerusalemThe Revolution Comes to LebanonFall of the Radicals 7. Culture and IdentityThe Islamic Model ArmyPower of the PenWartime Cultural ActivismVisual IdentityIconology of the SelfWarriors of Karbala 8. When Johnny Comes Marching HomePostwar Reconstruction under RafsanjaniPropagating Virtue, Prohibiting ViceTaking Back the Revolution 9. The War on TerrorFear of a Nuclear IranElecting AhmadinejadAn Iran AscendantThe Specter of War 10. Big Bang, Big Crunch"Death to the Dictator!"Rebranding the BasijSpringtimeA Cornered LionKnives Out 11. In Defense of the Family of the ProphetIn Defense of Sayyida ZaynabA Return to Karbala 12. Conclusion

Adjunct Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Senior Analyst at Center for Strategic Studies at CNA; PhD in History from the University of Michigan

Vanguard of the Imam offers seasoned students of Iran a more granular view of the early years of the revolution and the post-war period, as seen through the lens of the IRGC's rise. Readers who are new to the subject of Iran will benefit from a thorough introduction into the politics of the Islamic Republic, and they may also find useful the final chapters, which neatly synthesize many of the current events unfolding in Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon... Vanguard of the Imam is a useful addition to the literature, and one that both graduate and undergraduate instructors of courses on Middle Eastern politics would benefit from adopting.

• 1. IntroductionBrief Overview of the IRGCLiterature ReviewConceptualizing the IRGCPro-clerical ActivismPrimacy of the LeaderMilitary Power and State-buildingChapters and Questions 2. From Ali to KhomeiniThe Formation of Shiite IslamRise of the ClergyThe Islamic MovementRevolutionary Ideology 3. Vanguard of the ImamEnter the VanguardRoots and RadicalsKhomeini Über AllesOne System to Rule Them All 4. The Imposed WarInvasionCivil Discord and a Stymied War EffortThe Islamic Republic Strikes Back 5. The Long WarThe International DimensionRunning into WallsIn the Path of the DivineA Fleeting Taste of VictoryThe Bitter End 6. Exporting the Revolution and the Khomeinist DivideRevolutionary InternationalismA Conservative TurnToward the Liberation of JerusalemThe Revolution Comes to LebanonFall of the Radicals 7. Culture and IdentityThe Islamic Model ArmyPower of the PenWartime Cultural ActivismVisual IdentityIconology of the SelfWarriors of Karbala 8. When Johnny Comes Marching HomePostwar Reconstruction under RafsanjaniPropagating Virtue, Prohibiting ViceTaking Back the Revolution 9. The War on TerrorFear of a Nuclear IranElecting AhmadinejadAn Iran AscendantThe Specter of War 10. Big Bang, Big Crunch"Death to the Dictator!"Rebranding the BasijSpringtimeA Cornered LionKnives Out 11. In Defense of the Family of the ProphetIn Defense of Sayyida ZaynabA Return to Karbala 12. Conclusion