Mircea MARIN, PhD^

Abstract. The purpose of our essay is to offer a historical perspective on the politics of modern Iran (Persia, before 1935) on both the national and international scenes. While paying lesser attention to all details – some episodes, figures and their contribution not being mentioned – we present arguments that support the idea that both national and foreign policies are generated by the same perceptions, preferences and conceptions dominant during given moments in the history of a nation. We shall provide arguments for the idea that in the case of Persia / Iran, as in the case of other non-Western nations, internal realities were determined by the international ones – reflecting the balance of power and the structures of the international order. As well, we shall provide arguments for the idea that the modernization process out the Western World was embraced both by those that were infatuated with the West and by those who rejected it. This difference in the attitudes toward the West, determined the clash between forces favouring different concepts on modernization that defined the content of nation’s politics. As in all cases the process of modernization was referred to as revolution – we first, establish a framework for the understanding of this concept.

Keywords: Persia, Iran, Islamic Revolution