Robert Templer, "The Shah's Party: And the Iranian Revolution That Followed (Hurst, 2026)

About this episode

Robert Templer discusses his book on the Shah's 1971 celebration and its connection to the Iranian Revolution.

In 1971, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi threw a party to celebrate the 2,500-year anniversary of the Persian Empire. It was planned to be a massive party, with tents set up in the desert, and invitations sent to just about every world leader across both the Western and Soviet blocs. Robert Templer writes about this celebration–and how it presaged the events of the Iranian Revolution of 1979–in his new book The Shah's Party: And the Iranian Revolution That Followed (Hurst, 2026). Robert Templer is a writer and former professor at the Central European University, where he also founded a research centre on post-conflict recovery. From 2011-2012, he was director of the Asia Programme at the International Crisis Group and has visited Iran on many occasions. He is the author of four books including the acclaimed Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam and A Basilisk Glance: Poisoners from Plato to Putin. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

People in this episode

Host: New Books Network

Guest: Robert Templer

Topics covered

• Iranian Revolution
• Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi
• Persian Empire
• political history
• post-conflict recovery

Keywords

• Iran
• Shah
• revolution
• political science
• history
• Templer
• Persian Empire

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Central European University, International Crisis Group

Books & works: The Shah's Party: And the Iranian Revolution That Followed, Shadows and Wind: A View of Modern Vietnam, A Basilisk Glance: Poisoners from Plato to Putin

Places: Iran

More episodes of New Books in Political Science

• Richard Bennet and Alexander Noyes, "War at Arm's Length: How America Can Build Effective Partners Through Military Assistance" (Yale UP, 2026) · June 12, 2026 · 40 min
• AI, Algocracy, and Democracy's Challenging Road Ahead with Andrew Sorota · June 12, 2026
• Karine Premont and Christopher J. Devine eds., "Second in Command: Reevaluating the Role of Vice Presidents and Running Mates in Modern American Politics" (U Michigan Press, 2026) · June 11, 2026 · 41 min
• Arlene W. Saxonhouse, "Athenian Democracy: Modern Mythmakers and Ancient Theorists" (U Notre Dame Press, 2026) · June 10, 2026 · 1h 0m
• Brexit Britain: 10 Years on from the Referendum · June 9, 2026
• Margaret O’Mara on the Clintons, Tech, and Memory · June 8, 2026 · 1h 12m