Into the Shadows: Radical Vigilantes in Khatami's Iran by Michael RubinReview by: L. Carl BrownForeign Affairs, Vol. 80, No. 6 (Nov. - Dec., 2001), p. 189Published by: Council on Foreign RelationsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20050381 .

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Into the Shadows: Radical Vigilantes in Khatami's Iran, by Michael rub?n.

Washington: Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 2001,123 pp. $19.95.

Since 1997 President Muhammad Khatami and the reformists in Iran have won

elections overwhelmingly, but they continue to face adamant opposition ensconced in the judiciary, the military, and the security forces?not to mention

the preemptively powerful office held by Ayatollah Khamenei. As if these legally constituted forces were not challenge

enough, a number of extremist groups

continue to use intimidation, beatings, and even assassination to oppose those

who would dare to call for reform. Worse,

they have ties to government officials. In

this short book, Rubin identifies these

groups, describes their antecedents, and

traces their links to government officials.

Much remains obscure, including even

the numbers involved, which seem to be

only a few hundred. Rubin concludes

that no "diplomatic or economic carrots"

should be offered to Iran until its govern ment reins in these vigilantes. But is the

government itself not divided between

Khatami's followers and the Islamist

conservatives, many of whom want no

ties with the West anyway?

FOREIGN AFFAIRS- November / December 2001 [ 18 9 ]

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