Iran: Power, Politics Prison

3 Credits · Level: Graduate

The Islamic Republic of Iran has posed one of the most persistent challenges in contemporary international security. Yet, despite nearly half a century of dealing with the regime, including two decades of on and off engagement on the nuclear issue alone, few truly understand what drives it. If Tehran is the strategically patient actor many analysts described in the weeks before the 12-Day War, how do we explain its humiliating defeat by Israel and the United States? And if it is as brittle and doomed as others claim, how has it managed to outmaneuver adversaries at home, survive one of the strictest sanctions regimes in history, and develop a sophisticated nuclear and ballistic missile program? If it only responds to pressure, why did it not fold under Trump’s “Maximum Pressure” campaign — or even after its recent catastrophic military losses? And if it responds to carrots, why did it fail to seize openings under the Biden administration? This course offers a multifaceted view of Iran. In addition to examining the country through the traditional policy lens — focusing on its contemporary history, power structure, national security thinking, geostrategic interests, and defense doctrine — students will engage with two additional perspectives. First, the country risk analysis lens, used by corporations and multilateral agencies to assess the political and economic risks of operating in a territory. Second, and most uniquely, the course draws on rare insights gained by the instructor during eight years inside Iran’s notorious Evin Prison, where proximity to former senior officials, prominent businessmen, activists, human rights lawyers, journalists, intellectuals, and sanctions-busters provided an unparalleled vantage point on how the Islamic Republic actually functions.