Abstract:
During the twenties Century, Iran was at the centre of a competition for power
amongst three Socio-political forces. Religion, Nationalism and Marxism each
presented their own solutions for the country. This thesis examines the properties and
contribution of the Marxist dimension in this struggle. The research is organised
around the contrasting profiles and strategies of two of Iran's main Marxist groupings:
namely the pro-Moscow Communist Tudeh Party of Iran and the People's Fedaii
guerrilla organisation. The thesis locates these two organisations within the context of
Iranian politics in general and of the Iranian left in particular. It uses the Tudeh and
the Fedaii to examine the predicaments, opportunities, debates, strategies and tactics
of the Iranian left. The thesis reviews (i) the international debates amongst Marxist
movements in relation to the appropriate responses to revolutionary possibilities in
developing countries; and (ii) the particular conditions and constraints posed by the
political situation in Iran during the pre-Revolutionary and post-revolutionary periods. The main question which the thesis addresses is the failure of Marxist elements to
maximise the potential they possessed to exploit the opportunity for a democratic
revolution and to shape the course of revolutionary action within Iran. The research
assesses the nature and influence of the internal debates within Marxism upon the
strategies adopted across the left in Iran. It concludes that historic opportunity was
lost not only because of doctrinal divisions emanating in the main from the Soviet
Union, but also because of indigenous conflicts within the Iranian left that led to an
inability to convert working class dissent into revolutionary force.
