Durham E-Theses Organisational Change in Political Parties in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With Special Reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat) MOHAMMADIGHALEHTAKI, ARIABARZAN How to cite: MOHAMMADIGHALEHTAKI, ARIABARZAN (2012) Organisational Change in Political Parties in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979. With Special Reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat) , Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/3507/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Organisational Change in Political Parties in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 With Special Reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat) “The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published without the prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged.” A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy By Ariabarzan Mohammadighalehtaki Durham University School of Government and International Affairs 2011 1 Abstract: The aim of this study is to develop a historical analytical narrative of the development of political parties under the Islamic Republic of Iran, accounting for their organisational structures, ideological evolution and internal distributions of power; to provide an analysis of the change in Iranian political parties after 1979; to examine their intra-party dynamisms of power as well as the developments in the environment of the Iranian parties which stimulated their change. This study gives special reference to the Islamic Republic Party (IRP) and the Islamic Iran Participation Front Party (Mosharekat). Also to address the problem of poor party institutionalisation in Iran after the revolution by examining a combination of factors that have contributed to the disruption of the institutionalisation process in the Iranian political parties such as at the hostility and uncertainty in party environment, the organisational zones of uncertainty in the Iranian political parties and the impact of state on party institutionalisation in Iran. Finally to examine the typological similarities between at least one modern party in Iran (Mosharekat) and some parties in the Western Democracies to understand whether partial similarity in society dimensions such as advancements in technology and the emergence of a new social cleavage map instead of the old social stratification, have resulted in similarities in the party types in Iran and the West. 2 Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Declaration 7 Statement of Copyright 8 Introduction 9 Literature Review and Methodology 11 Change in Party Organisation in Iran After the Revolution 15 Defining Political Party 16 The Sociological Prejudice in Party Definition 16 The Teleological Prejudice in Party Definition 17 Two Types of Teleological Prejudices 17 Why Parties Change? 18 1. Chapter One: The Organisational Order of Political Parties 23 1.1. The Rational Model 23 1.2. The Natural Model 24 1.3. Power, Incentives and Party Organisational Order 25 2. Chapter Two: The Problems of Party Institutionalisation in Iran from Path Dependency Point of View 30 2.1. Party Institutionalisation According to Panebianco 33 2.2. Freedom of Action Versus Organisational Constraints 33 2.3. The Relevance of Historical Institutionalism in a Short-Term Society such as Iran 37 2.4. Has Party institutionalisation Reached a Dead-end in Iran? 44 3. Chapter Three: Party Typology in the Western Democracies 45 3.1. Cadre or Caucus Party 45 3.2. Mass Party 46 3.3. Catch-All and Electoral-Professional Parties 48 3.4. Electoral –Professional Party 50 3.5. Cartel Party 51 4. Chapter Four: The Party Order and the Significance of the Elites in Iran 52 3 4.1. The Significance of the Political Elites in Iran after the Revolution 57 4.2. Does the Behaviour of the Party Elites in Iran Follows a Rational Choice? 60 5. Chapter Five: Social Stratification and The State in Relation to Parties in Iran 61 5.1. The Changing Social Stratification in Iran 63 5.2. The Current Crucial Cleavages in Iran 66 5.2.1. Tehrani-Shahrestani: 67 5.2.2. Centre of the Province-Outer Cities of the Provinces: 68 5.2.3. The City Northerners-The City Southerners: 68 5.2.4. Nationalism-Ethnic Minorities: 68 5.2.5. Secular-Religious: 70 5.2.6.Gender Cleavage: 74 5.2.7. Generational Cleavage 76 5.2.8. Concluding Remarks 78 5.3. The Complexity of the Iranian Political System and its Effects on Partisanship in Iran 79 6. Chapter Six: The Emergence of IRP 85 6.1. Islamic Republic Party: The Genesis 85 6.2. Khomeini’s Support and Patronage of the Party 88 6.3. The Council of Islamic Revolution (CIR) 90 6.3.1. The process of Creating The Council of Islamic Revolution (CIR) 90 6.3.2. The Ages of CIR 93 6.3.3.The Real Decision Makers in CIR 95 7. Chapter Seven: Environmental Uncertainty in The Case of IRP 100 7.1. The Zones of Organisational Uncertainty 101 7.2. The Hostility and Uncertainty in the Party Environment and Organisational arenas in the Post-Revolution Iran 102 7.3. The Critical Junctures of IRP 104 7.3.1. From the Victory of the Revolution to the Resignation of Bazargan 104 7.3.2. The Hostage-Taking Incident and Bazargan’s Resignation 109 4 7.3.3. From Appointing Banisadr as a Member in CIR to His Removal from Presidency 111 7.4. The President and People’s Coordination Office: a Failed Experiment 114 7.5. Concluding Remarks 118 8. Chapter Eight: The Articulation of the Party Ideology in the Case of IRP 119 8.1. The Sources of IRP Ideology 121 8.1.1. The Emergence of Islamomarxism 121 8.1.2. The Enhancement of Islamomarxism in Iranian Politics 128 8.2. The Paradoxical Social Base: Bazaaris and the Mostazafin both Support the Islamic Republic Party 131 8.3. Ideology Education in IRP 135 8.3.1. Mavaze Ma [Our Positions] 136 8.4. Summery and Concluding remarks 138 9. Chapter Nine: Change and Crisis in The IRP 141 9.1. The Bad Influence of the Leftists 144 9.2. The Assassination of Party Leaders and Cadre 146 9.3.The Hostage-Taking Crisis Impact on IRP’s Behaviour Toward other Parties 148 9.4. The Iran-Iraq War 151 9.5. The Obstructive Role of Ayatollah Montazeri 153 9.5.1. Ayatollah Montazeri and Party Politics 155 9.5.2. The Mehdi Hashemi Affair 155 9.5.3.Conflict of Authorities in Isfahan 156 9.6. The Demise of all Rivals 157 9.7. Khomeini’s Interventionism and Arbitrary Rule 158 9.8. Intensification of Left and Right Divisions within IRP 159 9.8.1. Disagreement over the Precedence of Imam Khomeini’s Decrees over the Past Tradition of Islam 159 9.8.2. The Parties within the Party 164 9.8.2.1. Parties that Merged or Formed an Alliance with IRP 165 9.8.2.1.1. Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organisation (MIRO) 165 9.8.2.1.1.1. MIRO, a Historical Background 166 9.8.2.1.1.2. Khomeini Intervention in the Affairs of MIRO 167 9.8.2.1.1.3. MIRO’s Legacy 169 9.8.2.1.2. Islamic Coalition Association: Heyate Motalefeh Eslami 170 5 9.8.2.1.2.1. Party loyalty, to IRP or Motalefeh? 172 9.8.2.1.3. The Combatant Clergy Association (CCA) 175 10. Chapter Ten: Mosharekat As an Incomplete Experience of a Modern Party 178 10.1. Mosharekat the Genesis 182 10.2. President Khatami: I am Not the Leader of the Reformists 186 10.3. Over-Reliance on the Parliamentary Arena 190 10.4. The Crisis of Mosharekat 193 10.5. Adaptation or Domination? Trial-and-Error in Mosharekat Strategies 195 10.6. Mosharekat as a New Party Type 200 Conclusion 205 Appendix 1. 213 Appendix 2. 215 Appendix 3. 216 Bibliography 217 222 Figure 1: Panebianco Ideal Type 29 Figure 2: Sources of Resilience over Time 39 Figure 3. Parties of The Cadre or Caucus Type 46 Figure 4: Comparing Mass Parties with Electoral-Professional Parties 50 Figure 5: A Typology of Secularism 71 Figure 6: Different Narrations of the CIR Members’ Identity 95 Figure 7: The IRP Central Council Members 1983 160 6 Declaration I hereby declare that no portion of the work that appears in this study has been used in support of an application for another degree in qualification to this or any other university or institution of learning. 7 Statement of Copyright The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any format, including electronic and the Internet, without the author’s prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. 8 Introduction Mohammad Taghi Bahar(1884-1951), widely known by his title Malek ash-Shu‘ara (Poet Laureate), was a prominent Iranian writer, poet and politician.