Title

The Ahmadinejad Phenomenon: The Rise and Crisis of Iran’s Neoconservatives

Presenter

Mojtaba Mahdavi

Abstract

Mojtaba Mahdavi will examine socio-political and ideological orientation of Iran’s neoconservatives. He will then investigate both domestic and international factors that contributed to the rise and consolidation of Iran’s neoconservatives. Finally, he will problematize the current crisis of Iran’s neoconservatives in the context of Iran’s Democratic Green Movement.  

Biography

Mojtaba Mahdavi is an assistant professor of Political Science and Middle East & African Studies at University of Alberta. He is the author of Under the Shadow of Khomeinism: problems and prospects for democracy in post-revolutionary Iran (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010). Dr. Mahdavi’s latest journal articles and book chapters include ‘The West and the Rest (2007)”; “On the ‘Dignity of Difference’: Neither ‘the Clash of Civilizations’ nor ‘the End of History’” (2008,co-authored); “Universalism from Below: Muslims and Democracy in Context” (2009); “Islam/Muslim and Political Leadership” (2009); “Iranian Nuclear Ambitions and Political Reform” (2007); “Rethinking Structure and Agency in Democratization: Iranian Lessons” (2008); and “Democracy form Within: Democratization in Post-Khatami Iran (2009).”  He is currently working on two projects: “Post-Islamist Discourse in the Muslim World” and “Dialogue among Civilizations and beyond.”