Tradition and modernity in Iranian political thought: Prof Ali Ansari in conversation with Ramin Jahanbegloo and Richard Whatmore

A discussion with the noted Iranian philosopher Professor Ramin Jahanbegloo, Vice-Dean and Executive Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Peace Studies at OP Jindal Global University, Delhi, and Professor Richard Whatmore, Chair of Modern History at the University of St Andrews, led by Ali Ansari, Professor of Iranian History and Founding Director of the Institute of Iranian Studies, on Iranian intellectuals and their role in the creation of a distinctly modern Iranian identity in the 20th century and its consequences.

Drawing on the intellectual traditions of nationalism, Marxism and liberalism as well as broader revolutionary ideas, Professor Jahanbegloo will talk about how intellectual thought became increasingly radicalised and gave voice to a powerful revolutionary movement that was eventually to lead to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of an Islamic Republic.