Shi'ism and the Democratisation Process in Iran

Since its emergence in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has remained a conundrum for observers, particularly in the West. Shi'ism and the Democratisation Process in Iran examines the fundaments of Iran's Islamic governance and asks the pivotal question: can democracy and Islam cohere? Addressing Wilayat al-Faqih, or rule by the jurisprudent - the theory upon which the Islamic Republic was constructed - he asserts that the system upholds both individual and communal rights, and provides scope f