Vanguard of the Imam: religion, politics, and Iran's Revolutionary Guards

This work is about the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and its ascent to become one of the most formidable entities in Iran and the Middle East. It follows the organization from its birth in the midst of the 1979 revolution through the succeeding decades of the Islamic Republic's maturation

Machine generated contents note: -- 1. Introduction -- Brief Overview of the IRGC -- Literature Review -- Conceptualizing the IRGC -- Pro-clerical Activism -- Primacy of the Leader -- Military Power and State-building -- Chapters and Questions -- 2. From Ali to Khomeini -- The Formation of Shiite Islam -- Rise of the Clergy -- The Islamic Movement -- Revolutionary Ideology -- 3. Vanguard of the Imam -- Enter the Vanguard -- Roots and Radicals -- Khomeini Über Alles -- One System to Rule Them All -- 4. The Imposed War -- Invasion -- Civil Discord and a Stymied War Effort -- The Islamic Republic Strikes Back -- 5. The Long War -- The International Dimension -- Running into Walls -- In the Path of the Divine -- A Fleeting Taste of Victory -- The Bitter End -- 6. Exporting the Revolution and the Khomeinist Divide -- Revolutionary Internationalism -- A Conservative Turn -- Toward the Liberation of Jerusalem -- The Revolution Comes to Lebanon -- Fall of the Radicals -- 7. Culture and Identity -- The Islamic Model Army -- Power of the Pen -- Wartime Cultural Activism -- Visual Identity -- Iconology of the Self -- Warriors of Karbala -- 8. When Johnny Comes Marching Home -- Postwar Reconstruction under Rafsanjani -- Propagating Virtue, Prohibiting Vice -- Taking Back the Revolution -- 9. The War on Terror -- Fear of a Nuclear Iran -- Electing Ahmadinejad -- An Iran Ascendant -- The Specter of War -- 10. Big Bang, Big Crunch -- "Death to the Dictator!" -- Rebranding the Basij -- Springtime -- A Cornered Lion -- Knives Out -- 11. In Defense of the Family of the Prophet -- In Defense of Sayyida Zaynab -- A Return to Karbala -- 12. Conclusion

Iran's Revolutionary Guards are one of the most important forces in the Middle East today, but remain poorly understood to outside observers. In Vanguard of the Imam, Afshon Ostovar has written the first comprehensive history of the organization. Situating the rise of the Guards in the contexts of Shiite Islam, Iranian history, and international affairs, Ostovar takes a multifaceted approach in demystifying the organization and detailing its evolution since 1979. The book documents the Guards transformation into a power-player and explores why the group matters now more than ever to regional and global affairs. It is simultaneously a history of modern Iran, and an engrossing entryway into the complex world of war, politics, and identity in the Middle East.

"Iran's Revolutionary Guards are one of the most important forces in the Middle East today, but remain poorly understood to outside observers. In Vanguard of the Imam, Afshon Ostovar has written the first comprehensive history of the organization. Situating the rise of the Guards in the contexts of Shiite Islam, Iranian history, and international affairs, Ostovar takes a multifaceted approach in demystifying the organization and detailing its evolution since 1979. The book documents the Guards transformation into a power-player and explores why the group matters now more than ever to regional and global affairs. It is simultaneously a history of modern Iran, and an engrossing entryway into the complex world of war, politics, and identity in the Middle East"--