THE REFORMATION OF THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN IRAN (1926–1946) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY MURAT YÜMLÜ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY DECEMBER 2016 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Tülin Gençöz Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Philosophy of Doctorate. Prof. Dr. Ömer Turan Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Philosophy of Doctorate. Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur (METU, HIST) Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür (METU, IR) Prof. Dr. Mehmet Seyitdanlıo ğlu (Hacettepe Uni.,HIST ) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Birten Çelik (METU, HIST) Assist. Prof. Dr. Agâh Hazır (Yüzüncü Yıl Uni., IR) iii PLAGIARISM I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name : Murat Yümlü Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE REFORMATION OF THE POLITICAL OPPOSITION IN IRAN (1926–1946) Yümlü, Murat Ph. D. Department of History Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur December 2016, 390 pages This dissertation aspires to analyze the reemergence of the political opposition in Iran during the period between 1926 and 1946 by adopting a historical perspective. The consistency of the political opposition depends on the internal and external factors which define the capacity of the political movements that prescribe the representation of the political interests. Additionally, the dissertation deals with the political transformation’s limits and the political party formation during the rule of Reza Shah Pahlavi and its immediate aftermath. By doing so, the study aspires to answer the question to what extent did the political party formations bring a successful result to transform the political life in Iran. This question continues through the early period of the nationalist interregnum. Briefly, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the political life in Iran transformed from a strict structure of administration into a relatively liberal atmosphere with the help of the international domain’s crisis and the manipulation of Allies. The dissertation asserts that aside from the limits of external factors, the domestic factors also affected the proliferation of political parties and associations. Hence, the dissertation targets to elucidate the course of political events, patterns, and the political rivalries during the period from 1926 to 1946, and to examine that the political opposition reemerged during the early transition period of the nationalist interregnum. Keywords: Pahlavi Dynasty, Politics in Iran, Political Opposition, Nationalist Interregnum. iv ÖZ İRAN’DA S İYASAL MUHALEFET İN YEN İDEN OLU ŞUMU 1926–1946 Yümlü, Murat Doktora, Tarih Bölümü Danı şman: Prof. Dr. Recep Boztemur Aralık 2016, 390 sayfa Bu çalı şma, tarihsel bir çerçeve içerisinde İran’da siyasal muhalefetin 1926-1946 yılları arasında yeniden ortaya çıkı şını hazırlayan nedenleri incelemeyi amaçlaktadır. Siyasal muhalefetin istikrarı, siyasal çıkarların temsiliyetini öngören hareketlerin kapasitesini belirleyen iç ve dı ş faktörlere dayanmaktadır. Ek olarak, çalı şma siyasal dönü şümün limitleri ve Rıza Şah Pehlevi döneminde siyasal parti olu şumunu ele almaktadır. Böylelikle, çalı şmada parti olu şumlarının siyasal hayatı ne dereceye kadar dönü ştürmekte ba şarılı oldu ğunun incelenmesi amaçlanmı ştır. Bu soru milliyetçi ara dönemin erken evresini de kapsamaktadır. Kısaca, 1920’lerden 1940’lara, İran’da siyasal hayat uluslararası ili şkilerdeki kriz dinami ği ve i şgalci Müttefik devletlerin manipülasyonları yoluyla katı bir yönetim çizgisinden görece liberal bir atmosfere dönü şmü ştür. Çalı şmada dı şsal faktörlerin limitlerinin yanında, içsel faktörlerin siyasal partilerin ve derneklerin yaygınla şmasında etkili oldu ğu ileri sürülmektedir. Böylece çalı şma 1926-1946 arasındaki dönemde siyasal olaylara, modellere ve mücadelelere ı şık tutmayı ve milliyetçi ara dönemin erken evresinde İran’da siyasal muhalefetin yeniden ortaya çıkı şını incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Pehlevi Hanedanı, İran Siyaseti, Siyasi Muhalefet, Milliyetçi Ara Dönem. v Bu çalı şma; Çağda ş, laik, ço ğulcu, demokratik ve e şitlikçi bir Dünya ve Türkiye idealine adanmı ştır. This dissertation is dedicated to the ideal of a modern, secular, pluralist, democratic and egalitarian World and Turkey. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my supervisor Professor Recep Boztemur for his encouragement and guidance throughout my dissertation. His trust and support, whenever I requested, has been an inevitable part of my study. Undoubtedly, it’s to be stated that I could not have dared to begin this work without orientation of esteemed Professor Recep Boztemur. Without his unwavering support, this study, I could not have completed this work. Although he was missioned as the Assistant to the Chancellor of the Middle East Technical University (Northern Cyprus), his support in critical times was invaluable, and beyond any kind of worth. I would also like to thank esteemed members of the dissertation board, Professor Özlem Tür, Professor Mehmet Seyitdanlıo ğlu, Associate Professor Birten Çelik, and Assistant Professor Agâh Hazır, who kindly accepted to be members of the dissertation committee; read the draft and made valuable comments, critiques, and suggestions which vastly improved the work. My thanks, and gratitudes also go to my friends Perihan, Volkan, Evren who scrupulously read the text and provided constructive criticism. I would like to thank my friends from the department years Perihan Ünlü Soylu, Derya Büyükduru and Evren Eren for their encouragement and motivation during the writing process. I would also like to thank the Perry-Castaneda Library’s personnel and Associate Professor Kamran Scott Aghaie at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, the University of Texas at Austin for their valuable guidance during my visiting research term in the U.S.A. Finally, I would like to thank my family for their deep and infinite love. My father Abdullah, mother Hamdiye, brother Mustafa Serdar, and his family members have always been there. Last, of all, I couldn’t have undertaken this task had it not been for I şıl’s (Bayraktar) assistance. With being provided both rhyme and reason, I am indebted to her with all my heart. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM ....................................................................................................... iiii ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................v DEDICATION ....................................................................................................... vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................... vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ...................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER 1.INTRODUCTION 1.1.Statement of The Problem ...................................................................................1 1.2.Significance of the Study ....................................................................................8 1.3.Literature Review.............................................................................................. 20 1.3.1.Evolving Political Party-Based Narratives: Dowreh-System ........................... 22 1.3.2. Modernization Under Reza Shah: Instrumentalist or Enlightened?................. 25 1.3.3. Confrontation of the Society with the State .................................................... 29 1.3.4. Approach of Compromise ............................................................................. 35 1.3.5.Ruling-Party Approach................................................................................... 42 1.3.6. Conceptual Framework ................................................................................. 51 1.3.7.Arbitrary Rule and the Aridisolatic Society .................................................... 52 1.3.8. The Conceptualization of the Early Phase of The Nationalist Interregnum ........................................................................................................ 57 viii 2.POLITICAL HISTORY OF IRAN UNDER REZA SHAH PAHLAVI 2.1.Introduction ...................................................................................................... 63 2.2. Clash of Foreign Powers In Iran and The Rise of Reza Shah ............................ 63 2.3. The New Dynasty: Reza Shah’s (Pahlavi) Rule (1926–1941) .......................... 83 2.3.1. Pahlavi Dynasty’s Relations With The Clergy and The Tribes .................... 83 2.3.2. Revisiting The Shah’s Modernization Program ......................................... 105 2.3.3. Revisiting The Political Opposition In Iran (1926–1941) .......................... 133