Ronen A. Cohen – författare

Upheavals in the Middle East: The Theory and Practice of a Revolution engages with some of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East—revolutions and social protests. The book offers theoretical paradigms that suit the Middle East’s conditions—culturally, religiously and historically. It deals with seventeen case studies from a range of Muslim and Arab states and provides a theoretical framework to study other situations all over the world, including cases from the recent Arab Spring. Revolution, as political action, can occur in all societies, but in recent years it has appeared most frequently in the Middle East. Will this trend continue? What makes the Middle Eastern revolution unique and surprising? This book seeks to answer these questions, placing side by side those cases that were successful and those that were doomed to fail.

During the revolution in Iran, a small, fanatical group called the Forqan used targeted assassinations of religious leaders to fight the Ayatollah Khomeini's plan to establish a theocratic Islamic state. Ronen A. Cohen examines what really happened behind the fog of revolution.

Among the players in the Iranian Revolution were tens of groups, including the Mojahedin-e Khalq, the Forqan Group, the Hojjatiyeh, and the Tudeh, among others. Yet, one was not so well-known and, unlike others that embarked on revolutionary paths, this group was not big or active enough to do any serious damage to anybody, except perhaps to themselves, by scratching out their own innovative brand of ideological revolution. Sharia’ti’s ideology and revolutionary thought was on the front lines of the Revolution playing its modest part. Moreover, on second, third, or even fourth look, the Islamic Revolution could not have gone on without them. Though their contribution may have been modest and not easily detected, their role was nonetheless very important and must be understood to fully comprehend the main theme of the Revolution. This book speaks to the Arman-e Mostadha’fin’s story. Confused and frustrated, this group tried to make its contribution to the Revolution’s spirit, in particular how to understand Sharia’ti’s ideological path. At the end of the day, their impact was too little to influence the wave of the Revolution; however, their existence within it helped to serve Sharia’ti’s ideology in a way that changed the shape of the Islamic Revolution’s first days.

Identities in Crisis in Iran aims at finding answers to the questions about the puzzling character of the Iranian identity. The contributors acknowledge that identity, especially when it is faced with fundamental tensions as in the case of Iran, is a phenomenon that is constantly developing via factors involving the private self and common social components. This book addresses the tension many Iranian people face that lie between the Persian culture and the Shi’a religion, women versus men, and culture versus traditions.

Upheavals in the Middle East: The Theory and Practice of a Revolution engages with some of the most sensitive issues in the Middle East—revolutions and social protests. The book offers theoretical paradigms that suit the Middle East’s conditions—culturally, religiously and historically. It deals with seventeen case studies from a range of Muslim and Arab states and provides a theoretical framework to study other situations all over the world, including cases from the recent Arab Spring. Revolution, as political action, can occur in all societies, but in recent years it has appeared most frequently in the Middle East. Will this trend continue? What makes the Middle Eastern revolution unique and surprising? This book seeks to answer these questions, placing side by side those cases that were successful and those that were doomed to fail.