Modern Iran: National Identity as a Tool of Resistance or Coercion?

About this episode

Assal Rad discusses the role of national identity in modern Iran and its implications for resistance and coercion.

This interview was originally published on May 19, 2023. We are republishing it as the war in Iran continues to escalate. Historian, Assal Rad, explores identity formation in modern Iran, both under the Pahlavi dynasty as well as after the 1979 Revolution under the Islamic Republic. Her book “State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran” examines top-down and bottom-up manifestations of national identity as narrated by state structures and popular culture, respectively. Her fascinating analysis is based on a historical assessment of how modern state-building in Iran inculcated a sense of national belonging in the population, as well as on interviews with people in Tehran and examples taken from popular music and film. Can national identity play a positive role in liberation struggles?

People in this episode

Host: Paul Jay

Guest: Assal Rad

Topics covered

• national identity
• Iran
• historical analysis
• state-building
• liberation struggles
• cultural identity

Keywords

• Iran
• national identity
• Assal Rad
• Pahlavi dynasty
• Islamic Republic
• state-building
• liberation struggles
• cultural identity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Pahlavi dynasty, Islamic Republic

Books & works: State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran

Places: Iran, Tehran

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