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Ali Abootalebi

Ali Abootalebi is Professor of Middle Eastern and Global Politics in the Department of Political Science, the University of Wisconsin, UWEC. He is the author of Islam and democracy: State-Society Relations in Developing Countries, 1980-1994 (Garland, 2000), coauthored with Stephen Hill, Introduction to World Politics: Prospects and Challenges for the United States, 2nd ed. (Kendall Hunt, 2018), edited, Global Politics Reader: Themes, Actors, and Issues (Cognella Publishing, 2019), and numerous articles on Iran, Arab Politics, Civil Society and Democracy and U.S. foreign policy.

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Iran
Foes of a new Nuclear Agreement Demonize Tehran, but what is Iranian Society really Like Today?

Foes of a new Nuclear Agreement Demonize Tehran, but what is Iranian Society really Like Today?

Ali Abootalebi

Eau Claire, Wi. (Special to Informed Comment) – The nature and the parameters of power relations in the state-society relations in Iran since the 1978-79 revolution have radically changed. The revolution ended the twenty-five-hundred-year-old monarchical rule in Iran and gave rise to a Shi’a ‘ulema-dominated rule. The demise of the old Pahlavi regime saw the […]

Iran
Iran doesn’t even have a Nuclear Weapons Program: Why does the US keep passing it off as a Threat?

Iran doesn’t even have a Nuclear Weapons Program: Why does the US keep passing it off as a Threat?

Ali Abootalebi

( Iran Daily) – The American foreign policy establishment is complex and has many layers. Foreign policy in the United States, as in other countries, is presumed to promote its national interests. However, the nature of the state-society relations in the United States allows for many different layers of forces and influences in shaping foreign […]

China
The Lion & the Dragon: Understanding the New Iran-China Strategic Partnership

The Lion & the Dragon: Understanding the New Iran-China Strategic Partnership

Ali Abootalebi

Eau Claire, WI (Special to Informed Comment) – On July 11, the New York Times reported on the Iran-China new economic and security partnership, detailed in an 18-page proposed agreement, that would clear the way for billions of dollars of Chinese investments in energy and other sectors. The proposed 25-year roadmap between Iran and China […]

Israel/ Palestine
The Kushner “Deal of the Century”: If Only America’s Profound Betrayal of the Palestinian People Came as a Shock

The Kushner “Deal of the Century”: If Only America’s Profound Betrayal of the Palestinian People Came as a Shock

Ali Abootalebi

Eau Claire, WI (Special to Informed Comment) – President Trump unveiled his administration’s Israeli-Palestinian peace plan at the White House on January 28, 2020, telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that there are ‘many, many countries who want to partake in this,’ and predicting that “you are going to have tremendous support from your […]

Donald Trump
Iran is not Going Away, and Trump’s only hope of Success is not War but a Deal

Iran is not Going Away, and Trump’s only hope of Success is not War but a Deal

Ali Abootalebi

Eau Clare, Wi. (Special to Informed Comment) – Much has been speculated and written about the possibility, trajectory, and the likely consequences of a war between the United States and Iran. In case of a wider war that may threaten the survival of the Islamic Republic, Iranian leadership will inevitably push for an all-out war […]

Iran
40 Years on, is Iran a Status Quo Power or a Threat to ME Regional Security?

40 Years on, is Iran a Status Quo Power or a Threat to ME Regional Security?

Ali Abootalebi

(Informed Comment) – The US-Iranian relations remain conflictual forty years after the revolution and with an uncertain future. The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that Poland will host an international conference on Iran in February has angered Iranian officials, prompting foreign minister Javad Zarif’s tweeting the upcoming summit as America’s anti-Iran “circus.” Secretary […]

Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia’s Brutal Game of Thrones signals its Lack of Democracy

Saudi Arabia’s Brutal Game of Thrones signals its Lack of Democracy

Ali Abootalebi

(Informed Comment) – The disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi and his possible death at the hands of the Saudi state operatives in its consulate in Istanbul is a blow to responsible politics and advocates of international relations based on broad consensus over norms of behavior, the rule of law, accountability, and transparency. Mr. Khashoggi has sacrificed […]

Foreign Policy
Are US Middle East Policies against the Law?

Are US Middle East Policies against the Law?

Ali Abootalebi

The United States has a long history of foreign policy interventionism in the name of peace but in violation of political realism.

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