Enforced Disappearance

Jafar Behkish

Leading Iranian human rights defender Jafar Behkish confronts the use of kidnapping and forced disappearance as instruments of terror, with a focus on Iran’s systematic abuses. Drawing on the experience of loosing her own sister and four brothers - murdered and hidden by the regime—and the pain and persecution of his surviving parents, Behkish explores the psychological devastation of uncertainty and the global struggle for truth. Combining personal testimony with rigorous analysis, this book exposes both the machinery of disappearance and the urgent need for accountability.

War and Anti-War in Our Time

Edited by Ayda Hagh Talab

Collection of incisive writings on what drives modern conflict.  and how peace might still be forged. From Svetlana Alexievich’s powerful Nobel lecture on human suffering to Margaret MacMillan’s reflections on the moral arguments used both to justify and to restrain war, the book examines the myths and ideologies that continue to fuel violence, and the historical lessons that may prevent catastrophe. Blending analysis, testimony, and reflection, it asks what it means to face war in the twenty-first century—and to imagine alternatives.

Roots of Modernity

Changiz Pahlavan

Engaging history of the School of Political Science, founded in Tehran in 1899. As the country’s first institution dedicated to training future politicians and diplomats, it shaped generations of top Iranian public servants. Phalavn explores how the school was created and governed, its curriculum and ambitions, and the visionary figures behind it — offering a vivid account of an institution that helped usher Iran into political modernity.

In Search of a Better World, A Human Rights Odyssey

Payam Akhavan

A powerful book of memoir, history, and a call to action, by internationally renowned human rights lawyer and scholar, Payam Akhavan, translated and published in Persian. Akhavan confronts some of the darkest atrocities of our time — from the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran to ethnic cleansing in Yugoslavia, and genocide in Rwanda, while celebrating the enduring resilience and interdependence that can give us hope.

The Nonviolence Handbook: A Guide for Practical Action

Translated in prison by Farhad Meisami

This concise yet powerful book by Michael Nagler presents a compelling case for nonviolence as a disciplined, strategic force for change. Challenging the myth that nonviolence is passive, it reveals the courage and rigor it demands. Translated in prison by Farhad Meisami, one of Iran’s leading advocates of nonviolent civil resistance - the book is a timely and relevant guide for Iranians seeking effective, principled resistance today.

The Future of Islam in Iran

Edited by Reza Alijani

In this ground-breaking volume, Reza Alijani brings together leading Iranian thinkers for a series of candid, searching conversations about the future role of Islam in Iran’s social and political life. They grapple with pressing questions: After the experiences of ISIS, the Taliban, Wahhabism, the Muslim Brotherhood, and decades of Islamic rule in Iran, can Islam still offer a path to progress? Is a constructive reformist vision possible, or must Iran imagine a future in which religion retreats to the private sphere? A bold and essential exploration of the crossroads facing Iran and the wider Muslim world.

The Future of Shia Clergy

Edited by Mohammad Heydari

The bookgathers probing interviews and essays from leading Iranian scholars to examine the past, present, and uncertain future of Iran’s clerical establishment. Spanning historical roots, the rise of clerical power, the transformations brought by the Islamic Republic, and the challenges posed by social change, the contributors debate legitimacy, authority, gender, economics, and post-theocratic possibilities. This collection offers a rare, multifaceted inquiry into what place the clergy may occupy in Iran’s tomorrow.

Nomos

Edited by Mansoureh Shojaei and Maryam Foumani

The book confronts the persistent reality of so-called “honour killings” in Iran and the wider region. Bringing together investigative essays, interviews, legal analysis, and testimonies from Kurdish, Arab, Baluch, and other communities, the volume exposes how law, religion, patriarchy, and media indifference collude in the killing of women. It also documents local resistance and feminist activism, arguing that naming these crimes is the first step toward ending them.