Imperial Civilizationalism? Iran's Long 1970s
Titre : Imperial Civilizationalism? Iran's Long 1970s
Invité : Cyrus Schayegh (Geneva Graduate Institute)
Résumé : In this talk, Cyrus Schayegh will argue that Mohammad Reza Shah's ambitious foreign policy in Iran's "global long 1970s" amounted to a distinctly non-territorial, post-European imperial project. As Iran's dependence on the USA eased and its regional and international clout grew—through diplomatic
outreach across ideological blocs, a major military buildup, and geostrategic assertiveness in the Gulf and Indian Ocean—the shah reframed this hard power in cultural terms. He projected Iran globally as an ancient tamaddon (civilisation) bridging East and West, and as the architect of tamaddon-e bozorg (the Great Civilisation), a syncretic developmental model rivaling both capitalism and communism. This civilisational-developmental discourse legitimized Iran's imperial ambitions while responding to a broader crisis in the Global North in the Long 1970s: economic slowdown, welfare-state doubts, and post-1968 unrest—paralleling the anxieties of post-imperial Britain. This talk thus repositions Iran's 1970s and its civilizational discourse within global histories of empire's afterlife, development ideology, and shifting North-South power dynamics.
Date, horaires : mercredi 2 septembre 2026, 14h00
Lieu : Salle de Sacy - Inalco, Maison de la Recherche (2, rue de Lille - Paris 7e)
Coordination de l'axe Proche et Moyen-Orient (WP6) : Laetitia Bucaille (Inalco), Gilles Dorronsoro (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), Alia Gana (Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne), Valentina Napolitano (IRD) et Rima Sleiman (Inalco) avec Jan-Markus Vömel, postdoctorant, programme DÉCRIPT.
Les échanges se dérouleront en anglais.
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