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Hi John,
After years of research and work, I am so happy to share with you that my book, The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran, has been published by Cambridge University Press. It has been a humbling experience that would not have been possible without so many incredible people who supported me throughout.
While the book explores the formation of national identity in Iran, contesting efforts to define that identity, and popular culture in the post-revolutionary era, the inspiration for this project came from my own experience as an Iranian American wanting to better understand the country of my heritage. Growing up in the United States, I was often reminded of the contentious relationship between the U.S. and Iran, but I always believed that at the root were misperceptions from both sides and that knowledge was the key to bridging the gap between us.
It was when I traveled to Iran as an adult for the first time that I realized the gaps in my own perception. Years of field research in Iran opened my eyes to the complexity of its politics and society and how the tendency in the West to simplify Iran into black and white terms leads to imprudent policies. This is why at NIAC, we have worked for policies that promote peace and understanding, and against policies that hurt ordinary Iranians or unfairly impact the Iranian-American community by extension.
I hope that this book can contribute to a better understanding of contemporary Iran and serve to humanize in some small way, a population of people that have long been unjustly demonized. Ultimately, I wanted to tell a story, however incomplete, of a people as diverse as their rich history and culture would suggest.
You can find the book on Amazon here or direct from Cambridge here. Thank you as always for your support of the work we do and of us as individuals that are part of this community.
All the best,
Assal Rad
Research Director, NIAC
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