Borders and Brethren
Subtitle: Iran and the Challenge of Azerbaijani Identity (BCSIA Studies in International Security)
Edition: New Ed edition
Publisher: The MIT Press
Published: July 1, 2002
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 300
ISBN-13: 9780262194778
Subjects: International relations; c 1800 to c 1900; Iran - History; Nationalism; History; Sociology; Politics/International Relations; Americas (North Central South West Indies); Anthropology - Cultural; Middle East - Iran; History / Americas (North, Central, South, West Indies); Ethnic Studies - General; General; Middle East - General; 20th century; Azerbaijan; Azerbaijanis; Ethnic identity; Iran
First sentence: Iran is a multi-ethnic society in which approximately 50 percent of its citizens are of non-Persian origin.
Description: "The Azerbaijani people have been divided between Iran and the former Soviet republic of Azerbaijan for more than 150 years, yet they have retained their ethnic identity. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the emergence of an independent Azerbaijan have only served to reinforce their collective identity.".

"In Borders and Brethren, Brenda Shaffer examines trends in Azerbaijani collective identity from the period of the Islamic Revolution in Iran through the Soviet breakup and the beginnings of the Republic of Azerbaijan (1979-2000). Challenging the mainstream view in contemporary Iranian studies, Shaffer argues that a distinctive Azerbaijani identity exists in Iran and that Azerbaijani ethnicity must be a part of studies of Iranian society and assessments of regime stability in Iran.

She analyzes how Azerbaijanis have maintained their identity and how that identity has assumed different forms in the former Soviet Union and Iran. In addition to contributing to the study of ethnic identity, the book reveals the dilemmas of ethnic politics in Iran."--BOOK JACKET.