The Other Iranian Army: Understanding the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps

When wars occur after revolutions, revolutionary armies usually are quickly and rigidly professionalized to protect the new government. When Iraq invaded Iran less than two years after the 1979 Iranian revolution, this did not happen to the nascent Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). Instead, the IRGC preserved and institutionalized spontaneity within its military structure. In this talk, Maryam Alemzadeh focuses on the first year of the Iran-Iraq war to address the causes, mechanisms, and implications of the IRGC’s organizational spontaneity. The talk is a part of Alemzadeh’s ongoing book project on the evolution of the IRGC from its conception in 1979 to the peak of its military achievements in 1982. The Project on Shi'ism is proud to invite Maryam Alemzadeh as she leads a discussion on understanding the IRGC and its importance.

Moderated by Dr. Payam Mohseni, Director of the Project on Shi'ism and Global Affairs

Maryam Alemzadeh is the Harold Grinspoon Junior Research Fellow at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies, Brandeis University. She holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Chicago. On this topic, she has published an article in the British Journal of Middle East Studies and a policy paper under the Crown Center’s Middle East Brief series.