Islamic Democracy and its Limits: The Iranian Experience Since 1979

What is the difference between a democracy imposed by foreign powers and one developed locally, albeit within a political system dominated by religion? Tawfiq Alsaif explores Iran’s ever-bumpy road to democracy by analyzing the political ideologies of both the conservative and reformist trends in Iranian politics and their distance from the traditional model of liberal democracy.

Iran’s experiences provide readers with a better understanding of the potentials, difficulties, motives, and limits pertaining to the process of democratization in the modern Middle East.

Tawfiq Alsaif studied religion in Iraq, Kuwait, and Iran. He has published books on Islam and politics in Arabic.