Tribal Politics in Iran: Rural Conflict and State Formation 1921-1941 - Royal Asiatic Society Books | Historical Study of Middle Eastern Politics for Academics & Researchers

Having read the first chapter, (and only the first chapter), the following comments apply only to Chapter 1:Author seems to know more tribal figures than necessary to tell a cohesive story. She in fact seems so overwhelmed with these names (as if cramming for an undergraduate psychology class) that she fails to convey any sort of story or message throughout the chapter. For ever 1000 words, there are maybe 100 that concisely and clearly what is occurring in Iranian politics. She seems knowledgeable about the timeline of events that are occurring in this time period, but they are of little relevence to the big picture, which seems to be lacking. She emphasizes the interactions between individuals in both tribes and government, but provides little context for their significance or relevence. She almost strings together about anecdotes about a number of individuals without explaining how they relate to the grand narrative or even what that grand narrative is. Although we can try to piece it together from the explanations here and there, the purpose behind the information she is describing is ambiguous.Part of the lack of clarity comes from poor organization. Information seems randomly presented and thrown at the reader without careful categorization by theme or importance.The information reads a bit like a general history text - that is hugely problematic. As a story about tribes and politics, there needs to be some thesis about tribes and their contribution to history. The quality of the information reads like an encyclopedia entry about Iran's tribal relations in 1920-1930.The author seems to have have a solid understanding of Iranian politics, however. Perhaps the context of its politics was what she should have focused more on and less the details of tribal relations.