| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In the early years of the twentieth century, a wave of constitutional revolutions swept over the developing world, attracting the attention of European observers. One of these was the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1906-11. British perceptions of this "brave new world" in Iran were more nuanced and diverse than one would expect for this era, commonly portrayed as a time of jingoism and rampant "Orientalist" racism. This study identifies four broad perspectives which shaped British perceptions: the imperialist, Europeanist, liberal idealist and local pragmatist. Within the context of these perspectives, British perceptions were further shaped by different understandings of Iran-influenced by a specifically Iranian-flavored literary Orientalism, Aryanism and history-and by understandings of what constituted an authentic reform or revolutionary movement.
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