This book examines the cycle of the oil boom and the years that led up to it – from the rural and essentially backward nature of the country to the euphoria of 1973 when the Shah seriously talked of Iran reaching the Great Civilisation, where by the 1990s Iran would be the world’s fifth power. And then finally through to the loss of control over expenditure, the cancellation of ambitious projects and eventual disillusionment with all the attendant problems of expectations and increased social and political tension. A comprehensive analysis of the system of government in Iran is provided in Part Three of the book, demonstrating that this has created a repressed stability, incapable of promoting social and economic progress.
