Description
Book SynopsisSima Shakhsari analyzes the growth of Weblogistan—the online and real-life transnational network of Iranian bloggers in the early 2000s—and the ways in which despite being an effective venue for Iranians to pursue their political agendas, it was the site for surveillance, cooptation, and self-governance.
Trade Review“Sima Shakhsari has crafted a superb account of the convergence of neoliberal governmentality, social media, and Iranian diasporic cultural productions. A critically compelling and rich narrative by a passionate and brilliant scholar,
Politics of Rightful Killing is a significant contribution to the field of gender and sexuality studies, anthropology, and Iranian cyber studies.” -- Minoo Moallem, author of * Persian Carpets: The Nation as a Transnational Commodity *
“A rich on- and off-line ethnographic account of what is now the artifact of techno-optimism and its post-9/11 deployment to promote imperial democracy. Sima Shakhsari's sharp analysis of rightful killing pursued in the service of freedom is a crucial addition to the biopolitical theorizing of gender, sexuality, and empire.” -- Jasbir K. Puar, author of * The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability *
"Sima Shakhsari's innovative new book is a welcome addition to… scholarship, and the most uncompromisingly pessimistic analysis of the politics of the Iranian internet to be published to date." -- Alireza Doostdar * International Journal of Middle East Studies *
"Mixing an exemplary mastery over theory with rigorous close readings of texts in an understudied area of research, Shakhsari’s
Politics of Rightful Killing is a highly worthwhile read for anyone interested in the subtle workings of power in cyberspace." -- Mostafa Abedinifard * Journal of Middle East Women's Studies *
"Sima Shakhsari’s
Politics of Rightful Killing is . . . a much-needed contribution to a growing body of scholarship examining the culture, politics, and identity of Iranians living primarily in the West and their relationship to those living in Iran." -- Manijeh Moradian * GLQ *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments vii
Prologue xiii
Introduction 1
1. Weblogistan and the Iranian Diaspora: Nation and Its Re-territorializations in Cyberspace 32
2. Civil Society (
jaame'e-ye madani), Soccer, and Gendered Politics in Weblogistan: The 2005 Presidential Election 72
3. Whores, Homos, and Feminists: Weblogistan's Anti-modern Others 112
4. Weblogistan and Its Homosexual Problem 145
5. The War Machine, Neoliberal
Homo Œconomicus, and the Experts 169
Coda. Revolutionary Ends: Weblogistan's Afterlife 195
Appendix 207
Notes 209
Works Cited 257
Index 277
