Captive Society: The Basij Militia and Social Control in Iran

Captive Society: The Basij Militia and Social Control in Iran is a book written by Saeid Golkar and published by Woodrow Wilson Center Press and Columbia University Press in June 2015. The book presents the first concentrated, in-depth analysis of the Basij, Iran's prominent paramilitary organization that suppresses dissidents, votes as a bloc, and indoctrinates Iranian citizens.

Golkar draws from a wealth of both published and unpublished sources, from more standard documents such as Basij and Revolutionary Guard publications to his own informal communications with Basij members. The book warns that the power of the Basij in Iran has led to the creation of a "captive society" – one that is run on paramilitary-generated fear. Golkar is a Middle East and North African studies lecturer at Northwestern University and a visiting fellow for Iran policy at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. From 2013 to 2014, he was a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Prior to that, he served as a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University.

Book Reviews

The Book was selected as one of the best human rights books of 2015. Foreign Affairs journal also called the book, a "skillful rendering".

Book Reviewed by Guardian ; New book on basij helps explain how Iran's hardline faction keeps country captive