Eternal Iran

Yesterday I was reading an interesting book titled: "Eternal Iran: continuity and chaos" (1), written by Patrick Clawson and Michael Rubin. Basically, the book had a historical approach, but there was something in it that I want to notice. The writers in the last chapter conclude that:

Iranians remain proud of their success, even in adversity. At times of civil strife and external invasion, be it Arab, Mongol, or Afghan, the Iranian state fractured but the Iranian people always remain cohesive (2).

It means that in spite of unstable governments ruling in Iran, there has always been a cohesion in the society. Whether it is true or not, I think one of the most important problems for the sociologists in Iran should be the problem of cohesion. There has been a lot of chaotic periods in the Iranian history with lack of political stability. But even in these periods we can see the signs of cohesion.
The uniform identity of these people as "Iranians" during the history has precluded some events such as collapsing of the country. As the writers has mentioned:

While some Muslims may point out that Islamic civilization was at its height when Europe was engulfed in the Dark Ages, Iranians would remind them that Islamic civilization was at its height when centered in Iran (3).

The aforesaid book has pointed out and passed from this extremely important issue, but I will discuss the matter of cohesion and chaos in Iran in my future posts. Nevertheless, if you want the book, just send me an email.
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1- Clawson, P and Rubin, M (2005): "Eternal Iran: continuity and chaos", Middle East in focus series, Palgrave Macmillan.
2- Ibid, 159.
3- Ibid, 159.