The Last Great Revolution

Robin Wright's The Last Great Revolution reflects her 27 years of studyand observations of Iran's cultural and political transformations.She interviews thinkers, parliamentarians, administrators, and averagepeople on the streets as she portrays the radical shift in Iran since the 1979Islamic revolution.Wright starts with her "Personal Odyssey" as an introduction. Shedescribes her first encounter with Iran after the revolution at the airplane ina detailed way. Indeed, she wants her book to "help outsiders to see what isthere not just what [they] want to see." She distinguishes this book fromher previous ones, because this time, instead of giving only her ownimpressions, she lets Iranians "speak for themselves about their ideas,experiences, dreams, and frustrations." After the introduction, she providesbrief information about the geography, religion, and population of Iran.The first chapter analyzes the revolution as the Last Great Revolutionof the modem era, that will stand along with the French and Russianrevolutions. Wright explains the reasons which made the Iranian revolutionsuitable and unique. First, the Shi'ite character of Islam demands afaithful fight against injustice and tyranny. Secondly, Iran has a longpolitical experience that has not come under any colonial power. Thirdly,Iran is heir to a great civilization that had a role in shaping the wqrld.Finally, it is between the West and the East as a meeting point of cultures,which gives the opportunity for revolutionary ideas to reach the peoplefrom both directions. To sum up, Wright makes it clear that quest forempowerment in Iran did not ascend from heaven unpredictably in 1979.She notes that everything was already set for an upheaval.Wright's important analysis in this chapter is inspired by Brinton'sclassic work, The Anatomy of Revolution. Brinton argues that "Revolutionsare like fevers". Wright examines the Iranian revolution in three phases ...