The election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the summer of 2005 thrust Iran into the international limelight in a way that few would have predicted. Robust, confrontational and given to bombastic rhetoric, Ahmadinejad has drawn condemnation from the West and praise from the Arab street in almost equal measure. This paper will look at the details of his political rise and assess his presidency to date within the context of the dynamics of Iranian politics, and measure his achievements against his own goals as outlined in 2005. Analysing key events during his presidency, the study will assess the effectiveness of his policies, the consequences of populism, and his use of both nationalism and the cult of the 12th Imam. The study will argue that Ahmadinejad, far from retrenching the conservative values of the early revolution, is very much a product of the social and political changes which have occurred since the end of the Iran₁Iraq War; that his populism in both politics and economics, along with the maintenance of a confrontational posture abroad, represents an ad hoc, and somewhat incoherent, attempt to disguise the growing contradictions which afflict the Islamic Republic, and the conservative vision of an unaccountable Islamic autocracy in the face of growing dissatisfaction, especially among key sections of the elite.

Adelphi Paper 393.

The Rafsanjani and Khatami presidencies -- The triumph of the authoritarians -- The Ahmadinejad presidency: imagine and foreign policy -- The Ahmadinejad presidency: domestic policy.