The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs: How the United States and Iran Demonize Each Other

ISBN-13: 9780226041476 / Angielski / Miękka / 2008 / 320 str.

William O. Beeman

Opis

For more than twenty-five years, the United States and Iran have been diplomatically estranged, each characterizing the other not only as a political adversary, but also as devious, threatening, and essentially evil. According to William O. Beeman s provocative book, "The Great Satan vs. the Mad Mullahs, " such demonization is a self-fulfilling prophecy, as both countries have embraced exactly the policies and rhetoric that would particularly threaten or insult the other. Drawing on his experience as a linguistic anthropologist, Beeman parses how political leaders have used historical references, religious associations, and the mythology of evil to inflame their own citizens against the foreign country, and proposes a way out of this dangerous debacle.
William Beeman s analysis of dissonant perceptions of Iran and the USA is compelling and important. . . . I am particularly grateful for this work. James Peacock, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Beeman] is more interested in informing the reader than in impressing his peers. The other strength of the book lies in the author s knowledge of Iranian history and culture. . . . It challenges the reader and forces him to question stereotypes about Iran and Washington s perspective on the country. Abbas William Samii, "Middle East Journal""""""