The History of Iran’s Modern Economy, 1921–1946

Analyses the emergence and expansion of Iran’s national economy from anti-colonial and geo-economic perspectives

• Discusses economic challenges, solutions and turning points from Iranian and foreign perspectives, including Soviet and Western views
• Reevaluates the history of Iranian economic development in an international context
• Brings together political economy and international relations fields while critiquing a range of established assumptions in the historiography of modern Iran
• Uses innovative methodological approaches to show how Iran’s economic modernisation unfolded, including visual aids

This book examines the modernisation of Iran’s economy during the overlooked period from 1921 to 1946. By cross-analysing new and understudied primary sources from North America, Europe and West Asia, it argues how, in spite of challenging circumstances during these years, the country saw significant achievements in its banking, industrial, foreign trade, commercial and transportation sectors.

The book marks a departure from the state–society paradigm’s focus on Reza Shah, instead revealing the coordinated agency of Iranian officials, merchants and others. It asserts that the economic institutions created by these local actors were a clear indication of their nationalist convictions and internationalist outlooks, and that the state policies of this initial phase of Iran’s national economy exhibited more rationality, continuity and global awareness than has been previously assumed.