Fourty years on: How the Iranian regime managed to survive despite powerful internal and external pressures

I have already touched upon the 40th anniversary of the islamic revolution

here

And

here

, and plenty of coverage in the international media is dedicated to this topic. I am not overstating my case I believe when telling you that I have come across an interview which in my view is by far the best and most profound analysis of the Iranian revolution and the current state of the country. In the international broadcasting media. Here, professor

Amin Saikal

Discusses how the regime has managed to survive for such a long time despite severe domestic and international pressures. He is interviewed by the outstanding Australian journalist and presenter of

Late Night Life

Phillip Adams

, and even though Adams is seen by many as somewhat controversial, for me he is one of the most outstanding and even inspiring radio presenters I have ever come across. Indeed, for now almost 16 years, his program has been part of my life, and my admiration and respect for him has only grown over the years. My love affair with his show goes back to my days as a backpacker in Australia, a country I visited from September 2003 until March 2004, and, as is hardly surprising, political life in australia and its media landscape fascinated me from day one. At the time I had a little wireless with me, and I stumbled on his program pretty early on during my trip. Backpacker life was a fun experience, and since I lived for most of the time in the red light district of Sydney in a backpacker hostel, it was only natural that we all did a lot of partying at night, and I remember that night was more or less our day; but, even then, I kept an eye on my intellectual pursuits, as modest as they may have been at the time. After all, you go to Australia to have fun and enjoy life, and I had plenty of fun whilst there. But I remember that, quite frequently, we would throw a big party in the hostel and prepare to go out when, for an hour, I would happily part company with my felow backpackers, retire to my room and enjoy the program presented by Phillip Adams. Once the show was over, I would rejoin the group downstairs, and we would venture out to turn the city upside down. Well, that was Australia for me. It marked the end of my ‘golden years’ and perhaps my youth as well. Hardly surprising, though, that Australia as a country and its politics still feature large in my life, and, today of course, knowing the ins and outs of Australian politics and society is another prerequisite for understanding South East Asia in general, since Australia is at least politically a vital part of this region.