Iran and Its Place Among Nations
Lecture by Dr. Alidad Mafinezam
Date: Friday July 11, 2008
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Auditorium, Noor Cultural Centre
Admission: $5
Alidad Mafinezam will present an interesting discussion about contemporary Iran within the global context, based on his recently released book Iran and Its Place among Nations.
The book takes a bird’s-eye view of where Iran has been in the international community, where it is today, and where it may ideally end up in the future. Is Iran an Eastern country, bound by traditions that hinder economic development? Or does it also have some attributes of Western countries, given its history, geographic location, culture, and politics? Among the key insights in this book is the observation that Iran is a bridge between East and West.
Is Iran a fomenter of Islamic radicalism in the Middle East and beyond, or can it be a promoter of moderation and reform within its own borders and in other Muslim countries? How effectively can the religious and national sources of Iran’s identity by reconciled, or must the country choose one over the other and overcome the inherent tensions of this dual identity? This book addresses these and similar questions regarding one of the most important and newsworthy countries in the world.
Combining description and prescription, the authors shed light on the tumultuous history of Iran in the twentieth century and uncover the domestic and foreign factors that have aided and retarded the country’s development in modern times. Providing a close look at the backgrounds and identities of key pre- and post-revolutionary leaders in Iran, the authors make insightful recommendations to Iranians and the international community on how to integrate Iran into harmonious and stable relationships that benefit Iranians, the region that surrounds them, and the world. Grounded in solid scholarship yet written accessibly, this is a must-read for all Iran watchers today.
Dr. Alidad Mafinezam is Director of Research at the Mosaic Institute in Toronto, an organization focused on harnessing Canada’s ethnic and cultural diversity for international peace and development.
He is a public policy expert with a focus on think tanks, the relationship between academia and government, as well as diversity, pluralism, and multiculturalism. He has worked as a consultant to the International Development Research Centre, the Royal Society of Canada, the UN-mandated University for Peace, the Geneva-based Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations, among other organizations. He has worked as a program director at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in New York City, the Atlantic Council of the United States in Washington, D.C., and the Center for Urban Policy Research in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He has taught upper-year public policy courses at the University of Toronto at Scarborough.
Dr. Mafinezam received his BA from the University of Western Ontario, and Masters and Ph.D. degrees from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, where he wrote a dissertation on the history and current condition of American think tanks. His work has been published in the Literary Review of Canada, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Toronto Star and numerous other publications. He has also written on Iran, Eurasia, and U.S. foreign policy. His book Iran and Its Place Among Nations was published by the Connecticut-based Greenwood Publishing Group in 2008.