Includes bibliographical references and index.

1. Introduction -- 2. Sources of Iranian influence and significance --3. Agents of change within Iran -- 4. U.S. policy toward Iran.

This volume sheds much-needed light on Iran's strikingly complex political system and foreign policy and its central role in the region. Suzanne Maloney systematically outlines Iran's sources of influence in the Muslim world, including its strategic ambitions and dynamism, political innovations, economic clout, religiocultural institutions, and historical and cultural linkages. Maloney argues that although its leadership and rhetoric often appear stagnant, Iran is in reality one of the least static societies in the Muslim world. Iran today is fraught with pressures and tensions as a result of a disproportionately young population, an economy subject to considerable external pressures and cyclical fluctuation, and the massive transformations occurring along its borders in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maloney analyzes the social, economic, and regional forces that are driving Iran toward change and asks what these factors mean for U.S. foreign policy.