Jahangir Amuzegar

Bio: Jahangir Amuzegar is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Economic nationalism & Liberian dollar. The author has an hindex of 8, co-authored 9 publications receiving 192 citations.

Iran's Crumbling Revolution

Abstract: WESTERN REPORTERS tend to describe the current situation in Iran in alarmist terms, suggesting that the people are near revolt, the regime faces collapse, and the country is prone to political upheaval. Even if these assessments are premature or extreme, the relentless confrontations between the "reformist" Majles (national assembly) and the "conservative" Council of Guardians (which has veto power over Majles legislation and vets all candidates for elective office) augur a turbulent political future. The 1979 revolution faces a profound challenge from a new and disenchanted generation, widely known in Iran as "the Third Force." For this broad swath of society born after 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's promise of ajust and free Islamic society has proven a sham. After nearly a quarter-century of theocratic rule, Iran is now by all accounts politically repressed, economically troubled, and socially restless. And the ruling clerical oligarchy lacks any effective solutions for these ills. The changes wrought by this turmoil call for a new and nuanced U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic-particularly if the United States goes to war against Iraq. Since the high-profile inclusion of Iran in President George W. Bush's "axis of evil," proposals to deal with that "rogue" state have run the gamut from a preemptive military strike to the pursuit of diplomatic engagement. Between these two extremes, suggestions have included covert action to destabilize the ruling regime, assistance to internal and external opposition groups, financial aid for foreign-based Iranian media, and a call for international

OPEC and the Dollar Dilemma

Abstract: New instability in the international monetary system has developed since the dollar's depreciation began raising concerns that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will turn to a currency with a better exchange value. OPEC losses between December 1976 and April 1978 are calculated for trade depreciation and loss of buying power. The options available to OPEC to counteract this situation are examined, and remedies are suggested for enhancing confidence in the U.S. dollar through free trade activities and intervention policies. The major industrial countries are advised to coordinate their policies to allow noninflationary growth in a free market and to form an accommodative agreement with OPEC that will protect both oil revenues and the dollar.

Oil Is Not a Curse: Ownership Structure and Institutions in Soviet Successor States

Abstract: This book makes two central claims: first, that mineral-rich states are cursed not by their wealth but, rather, by the ownership structure they choose to manage their mineral wealth and second, that weak institutions are not inevitable in mineral-rich states. Each represents a significant departure from the conventional resource curse literature, which has treated ownership structure as a constant across time and space and has presumed that mineral-rich countries are incapable of either building or sustaining strong institutions - particularly fiscal regimes. The experience of the five petroleum-rich Soviet successor states (Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan) provides a clear challenge to both of these assumptions. Their respective developmental trajectories since independence demonstrate not only that ownership structure can vary even across countries that share the same institutional legacy but also that this variation helps to explain the divergence in their subsequent fiscal regimes.

Claims to legitimacy count: Why sanctions fail to instigate democratisation in authoritarian regimes

Abstract: International sanctions are one of the most commonly used tools to instigate democratisation in the post-Cold War era. However, despite long-term sanction pressure by the European Union, the United States and/or the United Nations, non-democratic rule has proven to be extremely persistent. Which domestic and international factors account for the regimes' ability to resist external pressure? Based on a new global dataset on sanctions from 1990 to 2011, the results of a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) provide new insights for the research on sanctions and on authoritarian regimes. Most signifi- cantly, sanctions strengthen authoritarian rule if the regime manages to incorporate their existence into its legitimation strategy. Such an unintended 'rally-round-the-flag' effect occurs where sanctions are imposed on regimes that possess strong claims to legitimacy and have only limited economic and societal linkages to the sender of sanctions.