Papers read at a seminar held in Peshawar on Jan. 03-04, 2003.

Both Iran and Pakistan represent two distinct patterns of political systems and navigating their relationship is a very difficult task indeed. However, new developments between them in recent years have created salutary interest among scholars of international relations to focus on their long term relationship. This book focuses on various facets of this relationship in a long term perspective by analyzing them under various phases. The period from 1947 to 2010 has been chosen to analyse this relationship, particularly from an Iranian angle, in the context of different ruling systems such as monarchy and theocracy so as to understand the overall state pattern of Iranian foreign policy. The book traces the Iranian independence in a modern state system, the entire gamut of Iranian foreign policy towards Pakistan followed under a monarchial system, an analysis of the relationship of the Islamic Republic of Iran with Pakistan from 1979 to 1989, an in-depth study that covers the period from 1990 till the current regime to understand the tone and tenor of a modified theocratic foreign policy pursued under various Iranian Presidents and its approach towards Pakistan and finally leading on to a total assessment of the relationship between the two states with some fresh and prognostic thoughts.

The respective policies of the governments of Iran and Pakistan pose serious challenges to US interests in the Middle East, Asia and beyond. These two regional powers, with a combined population of around 300 million, have been historically intertwined in various cultural, religious and political ways. Iran was the first country to recognise the emerging independent state of Pakistan in 1947 and the Shah of Iran was the first head of state to visit the new nation. While this relationship shifted following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and tensions do exist between Sunni Pakistan and Shi'i Iran, there has nevertheless been a history of cooperation between the two countries in fields that are of great strategic interest to the US: Afghanistan, nuclear proliferation and terrorism. Yet much of this history of cooperation, conflict and ongoing interactions remains unexplored. Alex Vatanka here presents the first comprehensive analysis of this long-standing and complex relationship.

Both Iran and Pakistan represent two distinct patterns of political systems and navigating their relationship is a very difficult task indeed. However, new developments between them in recent years have created salutary interest among scholars of international relations to focus on their long term relationship. This book focuses on various facets of this relationship in a long term perspective by analyzing them under various phases. The period from 1947 to 2010 has been chosen to analyse this relationship, particularly from an Iranian angle, in the context of different ruling systems such as monarchy and theocracy so as to understand the overall state pattern of Iranian foreign policy. The book traces the Iranian independence in a modern state system, the entire gamut of Iranian foreign policy towards Pakistan followed under a monarchial system, an analysis of the relationship of the Islamic Republic of Iran with Pakistan from 1979 to 1989, an in-depth study that covers the period from 1990 till the current regime to understand the tone and tenor of a modified theocratic foreign policy pursued under various Iranian Presidents and its approach towards Pakistan and finally leading on to a total assessment of the relationship between the two states with some fresh and prognostic thoughts.

This book examines the nature of the China-Pakistan relationship from the 1950s until April 2015, when the Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Pakistan. The author takes a historical approach and traces the growth of the alliance underpinned by domestic, regional, and international factors. The book offers a riveting account of Sino-Pakistan ties for readers with a cursory knowledge of the subject. It will also pique the interest of students, academics, and policy makers.

This is a study of modern Iranian political history and is set in the international context of the Second World War and its aftermath. The rise and fall of the autonomous state in Iranian Azerbaijan can be said to be the beginning of the Cold War, and the issues it threw up - nationalism, ethnicity and citizenship - are vital towards understanding the present Azeri crisis. The book covers the essential background in Iranian political history in the 20th century including the role played by Azerbaijani politicians in the Constitutional Revolution of 1905-6, the drastic reforms of the autocratic Reza Shah regime and its effect on ethnic identity in Iranian Azerbaijan, the abdication of the Shah and the role of the Allied Powers and the occupations of Iran. The core of the study is the establishment of the autonomous government in 1945-6 and its demise, and an assessment of its achievements and organization - a vignette perhaps on the stage of international history but one which brings to the fore vital elements in the political history of the 20th century. The book draws on Turkish, Persian and Azeri sources as well as British, French, American and Soviet materials and interviews with surviving members of the period of autonomous government in Iranian Azerbaijan. It contains biographical details of the leading protagonists of the period.