Iranian Women & Gender in the Iran-Iraq War, by Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2021. 457 pages.

Abstract

with that of the organization. Second, somewhat related to the first question and broadening the analytical lens beyond Iran, how does the IRGC’s historiography of the war compare with such projects in the United States and other countries? Although the IRGC may “not fit neatly into existing conceptual categories,” as Samuel’s book contends (20), the organization’s chronicling of the conflict may bear some similarities to the field of military history in the United States and other Western countries. As in Iran, the field in these countries tends to be largely dominated by military entities like the US Army Combined Arms Center’s Combat Studies Institute and Center of Military History, and less developed and more marginalized in other areas, particularly academia. One reason for this reality is that militaries have a vested interest in studying wars and their historical parallels, lessons learned, and best practices, to avoid repeating past mistakes and to improve current and future performance, the IRGC being no exception to this rule, as Samuel’s book makes clear. Another reason is the added difficulty for individuals and institutions outside the military and government to access classified and sensitive documents and records, assuming they exist and have not been destroyed. As is likely the case in Iran and elsewhere, military history in the West has been plagued and distorted by idiosyncratic and inherent biases, such as Euroand statecentric analysis. In sum, Samuel’s book is required reading for students and specialists of Iranian and Middle Eastern history and politics and, more generally, armed conflict, social revolution, and collective memory. It makes a significant scholarly contribution by delving into untapped sources and by offering unique insights into the IRGC, the Iran–Iraq War, and the Islamic Republic. Finally, the book raises stimulating and engaging questions about military historiography as a national project in Iran and beyond. These questions will surely prompt path-breaking research within the disciplines of history, area studies, and comparative politics in the future.