نشریه اسناد بهارستان
پیاپی 5 (پاییز و زمستان 1393)

The history of Iran-US relations dates back to the nineteenth century and the year 188, however, following the Second World War and the crisis of the Soviet invasion of Iran, the presence of the US in the foreign policy of Iran became stronger; a presence that led to the US intervention in Iran’s affairs and the overthrow of the legitimate government of Dr. Mohammad Mosaddegh. The downfall of Mosaddegh paved the way for a stronger presence of the US in the Iran’s policy through the setup of the SAVAK (Organization of the National Security and Intelligence) apparatus. Further, the forty percent share of the US in the oil consortium strengthened the role of the US in the economy of Iran. The main question of the present study is: What stances did the nineteenth and the twentieth parliaments take to extend the Iran-US relations? The core hypothesis is that these parliaments approved of the foreign policy of the Shah due to the unpopularity of both parliaments and due to the presence of Shah-related elements. The study will be carried out through a documentary method in which the subject of the research will be analyzed by resorting to the library resources and the detailed accounts of the parliamentary negotiations.

Haj Mohammad Moein ul-Tojjar is among the popular figures in the history of trade and politics in the south of Iran whose activities kept Iran’s economy alive and booming in the period of the Constitutional era and the First World War. The onset of his economic power dates back to the Naseri era and his political activity began in the era of Mozaffar ud-Din Shah Qajar. Surviving a period of family bankruptcy, Moein ul-Tojjar used the heritage from his father’s aunt to gain fame as a merchant and later stepped in the realm of politics. Haj Agha Mohammad Moein ut-Tojjar Boushehri is among the well-known figures in Boushehr who has played a very important role in the economic, political, and social history of Iran in the Qajar and Pahlavi eras. His economic capability and tact promoted him to high positions in the most important political organ of the country, i.e. the parliament of the National Assembly. Upon the formation of the parliament of the National Assembly, he was one of the two influential and competent representatives of the merchants in the first parliament. Once again, he entered the third parliament of the National Assembly as the representative of Boushehr.The following are among the main questions of the present study: How did Haj Moein ut-Tojjar’s family rescued their trade after the bankruptcy? How was economy applied to Moein ut-Tojjar’s political thinking? And how authentic were the accusations about his activities?The study is an attempt to provide an account of Haj Mohammad Moein ut-Tojjar Boushehri’s biography, review his economic activities in the international and the Persian Gulf trades, and explore the influence of his opinions on the political, economic, and cultural changes during his activity in these fields.

The political system of the second Pahlavi dynasty, just like any other government, possessed its own unique theoretical and ideological foundations upon which it endeavored to obtain its political legitimacy. One of the most important means of realizing such a goal was the establishment of “governmental” or “imperative” parties. However, up until the year 1956, the idea had remained a fantasy when finally in April 1957, Assadollah 'Alam received the order from the Shah to establish the “popular party”. A year later, the prime minister of the time, Manouchehr Iqbal, declared the existence of the second governmental party, called the “nationalists (Melliyoun)”. As a consequent, the institutional function of the elections and the parliament changed in favor of maintaining the autocratic government of the Shah. The acme of political activities of the popular parties and the nationalists emerged in 1960, concurrent with the election for the twentieth parliament of the National Assembly. Despite the Shah’s promise about a free election, the majority party, which held control of the executive institutes, cheated in the election. The Shah was forced to declare the election invalid due to harsh complaints about the electoral fraud.The main question of the present study is: What position and function did the 1950s’ governmental parties hold in the political government of the second Pahlavi era? And at a lower level, how were their relations with the nineteenth and the twentieth legislative assemblies? Accordingly, the aim of the research is to provide answers to the above-stated questions based on Huntington’s theory about the top-down political institutionalization in resolving the crisis of political participation and legitimation in the developing countries. The research follows a qualitative method for causal explanation to provide a descriptive-analytical account based on library and internet resources.

Iran’s constitutional revolution paved the way for the formation of democratic institutes, one of which being the municipality (Baladiyeh) assembly. The enactment of the municipality law in the parliament of the National Assembly provided the conditions for the formation of municipality assemblies in different cities. This institute was established in the city of Qazvin during the first parliament of the National Assembly. There is no noteworthy information about the formation of the Qazvin municipality assembly in research resources and what is available is associated with conjecture and uncertainty. The present study is based on primary resources and documents to explore the manner in which the Qazvin municipality assembly was formed.

The paper studies the political siding of Solat ud-Doleh about the political changes in Fars province during the First World War. Included in the topics of research are his relations with Fars gendarmerie forces, the British and his combats against them, the period of Mosaddeq al-Saltaneh’s government, his relations with Reza Khan, his period as a representative in the fifth parliament, his imprisonment during the nomads’ riots in Fars province, his presence in the eighth parliament as a representative, the cancellation of his political immunity, and ultimately his murder in the prison.