Introduction: Iran in the 21st century : politics, economics, and conflict / Homa Katouzian and Hossein Shahidi -- Crafting a national identity amidst contentious politics in contemporary Iran / Farideh Farhi -- The dilemma of national interest in the Islamic Republic of Iran / Hamid Ahmadi -- From multilingual empire to contested modern state / Touraj Atabaki -- Dissent -- Three faces of dissent : cognitive, expressive and traditionalist discourses of discontent in contemporary Iran / Mahmood Sadri and Ahmad Sadri -- From motherhood to equal rights advocates : the weakening of patriarchal order / Azadeh Kian-Thiébaut -- Iran and the United States in the shadow of 9/11 : Persia and the Persian question revisited / Ali M. Ansari -- A look to the north : opportunities and challenges / Farhad Atai -- Israel-Iranian relations assessed : strategic competition from the power cycle perspective / Trita Parsi -- Nuclear policy and international relations / Saideh Lotfian -- A case for sustainable development of nuclear energy and a brief account of Iran's nuclear program / Mehdi Askarieh -- Managing oil resources and economic diversification in Iran / Massoud Karshenas and Hassan Hakimian -- Capital accumulation, financial market reform and growth in Iran : past experience and future prospects / Ahmad R. Jalali-Naini -- Human resources in Iran : potentials and challenges / Djavad Salehi-Isfahni -- The significance of economic history, and the fundamental features of the economic history of Iran / Homa Katouzian.