評介Arshin Adib-Moghaddam的Iran in World Politics

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, 'Iran in World Politics: The Questions of the Islamic Republic'

本書作者阿迪布摩格達姆藉由討論幾個不同的議題，來改變大眾對於伊朗的負面形象。首先從文化的角度，解釋伊朗在一九七九年伊斯蘭革命後，表現出對內與對外都有追求公平正義的意圖；其次，也解釋了伊朗在國際社會上，受到兩伊戰爭時期伊拉克所強加的「波斯威脅」之罪名，以及美國新保守主義勢力單一與偏激的批判；再者，指出伊朗伊斯蘭共和國在民主發展的潮流中，國內自由的風氣已經成熟，與過往的巴勒維舊政府專制政權截然不同。本書從方法論來看，呼應了薩伊德「自我──他者」的論述，說明當今世人多是以「自我」的角度去認識或解釋伊朗這個「他者」，缺少以伊朗為出發點的觀察角度，即使是學術研究也不多見。從研究主題來看，作者筆下的伊朗，有著正面發展的內政與外交的面向，同時承受國際社會莫大的壓力，不同於多數伊朗研究集中於內政的問題或對世界的威脅。在眾多當代伊朗研究之中，此書是可讓讀者正向、多層面瞭解伊朗的佳作。

Arshin Adib-Moghaddam provides a multidimensional perspective in this book by four parts on Iran in world politics after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. The first part analyses Iran's culture of foreign policy that inherited its spirit of the 1979 Revolution for justice. The second part asserts that Iraq utilised the myth of 'Persian-Arab' enmity and support of the international society during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-1988. The third part claims that Iran is given a negative impression, especially its hostility to the Jewish people and nuclear weapons, by Newconservatives of the United States. The fourth part displays that Iran has been on a trend to be a liberal and democratic state since 1979. So far there are numerous organizations of human right and women right in Iran, which are more liberal and pluralistic than Iran in the Pahlavi period before 1979. In response to Edward Said's argument of 'Self-Other,' Adib-Moghaddam argues that Iran is viewed as an 'other,' and there is not actual knowledge on Iran in academic research. Topics of this book are different to other Iranian studies that mainly focus on only some issues, such as Islamic fundamentalism, anti-American, and nuclear weapons. Among various negative or unfriendly judgments on Iran, therefore, Adib-Moghaddam presents a more objective vision on Iran, which is valuable for present Iranian and Middle Eastern studies.