Zhiʼūpulītīk-i Shīʻah: Īrān va hilāl-i Shīʻī

Written by ʻIzzat Allāh ʻIzzatī, now in its second edition, this study traces the geopolitical evolution of the Islamic world with attention to Shīʻī Islam and its regional standing. Organised in six chapters, the work opens with the geopolitical features of the Islamic world before turning to the geopolitics of Shīʻism along Īrān's peripheries and the concept of the "Shīʻah Crescent," a term the author traces to its origins and situates within contemporary regional rivalries. Subsequent chapters examine the historical spread of Shīʻism into Īrān through seven stages, from its early presence among Iranian clients in Iraq to the rise of the Ṣafavid state, before addressing border geopolitics along the Islamic Republic's frontiers, with sustained analysis of the Afghan border. The book closes with an account of Lebanese Shīʻism, covering the Ismāʻīlī and ʻAlawī communities and the structure and regional alliances of Ḥizbullāh.