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Gharbzadegi in Iran: A Reactionary Alternative to ‘Development’?

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Development Aims and scope

Abstract

Post-development theory usually engages with examples from Latin America and India and investigates alternative concepts and practices by progressive social movements. This article addresses a post-development concept which originates in Iran, Gharbzadegi or occidentosis, which after the Islamic revolution in 1979 was promoted by the anti-Western Iranian government. It argues that the instrumentalization by right-wing governments should not distract from the emancipatory potential of post-development concepts.

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  1. University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany

    Aram Ziai

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  1. Aram Ziai
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Correspondence to Aram Ziai.

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Ziai, A. Gharbzadegi in Iran: A Reactionary Alternative to ‘Development’?. Development 62, 160–166 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-019-00221-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41301-019-00221-4

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