Title: Going to Tehran : why the United States must come to terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran /
Authors: Leverett, Flynt Lawrence.; Leverett, Hillary Mann.
Publisher: Metropolitan Books,
Year: 2013
Subjects: POLITICAL SCIENCE / General.; HISTORY / Middle East / General.; POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / Diplomacy.; United States Foreign relations Iran.; Iran Foreign relations United States.; United States Foreign relations; United States Foreign relations
Abstract: "Less than a decade after Washington endorsed a fraudulent case for invading Iraq, similarly misinformed and politically motivated claims are pushing America toward war with Iran. Today the stakes are even higher: such a war could break the back of America's strained superpower status. Challenging the daily clamor of U.S. saber rattling, Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett argue that America should renounce thirty years of failed strategy and engage with Iran--just as Nixon revolutionized U.S. foreign policy by going to Beijing and realigning relations with China. Former analysts in both the Bush and Clinton administrations, the Leveretts offer a uniquely informed account of Iran as it actually is today, not as many have caricatured it or wished it to be. They show that Iran's political order is not on the verge of collapse, that most Iranians still support the Islamic Republic, and that Iran's regional influence makes it critical to progress in the Middle East. Drawing on years of research and access to high-level officials, Going to Tehran explains how Iran sees the world and why its approach to foreign policy is hardly the irrational behavior of a rogue nation. A bold call for new thinking, the Leveretts' indispensable work makes it clear that America must 'go to Tehran' if it is to avert strategic catastrophe"--
Contents: Will the United States lose the Middle East-- or come to terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran? -- The Islamic Republic as rational actor. A revolutionary state in a dangerous world ; Rationality, realism, and Iranian grand strategy ; Engaging America -- The Islamic Republic as legitimate state. Religion, revolution, and the roots of legitimacy ; A leader and three presidents ; A controversial election -- The Islamic Republic as American target. Myths and mythmakers ; Iran and America's imperial turn ; The road to Tehran.