Since the 1979 revolution that transformed Iran, some U.S. decision makers have treated the Islamic Republic as a political monolith, ignoring internal disagreements and political factions in favor of broadly painting Iran’s leadership as “evil.” Takeyh (Hidden Iran
) argues credibly that this approach has been to our own peril, as the foreign policies of Iran are often an expression of domestic politics, no matter how opaque these politics may seem to outsiders. Rather than continue to try to contain Iran by means of “a broad-based Arab alliance,” an approach that’s been failing for decades, Takeyh argues that the U.S. must instead “conceive a situation whereby Iran... sees benefit in limiting its ambitions.” In his previous book, Takeyh expressed an unassailable optimism that “Iran will change” and was on an inexorable path to greater openness—almost regardless of who was in power. Takeyh is more pessimistic in his predictions now, writing that Iran has “confounded the West’s anticipation of a forward historical progression.” By failing to acknowledge his own shifting understanding of the situation, Takeyh misses an opportunity to provide a genuinely honest—however inconsistent—assessment. (June)
