The role of Tudeh Party in 1979 Iranian Revolution

Within the frame of the question of how 1979 Iranian revolution, which was a popular revolution realized by a wide social coalition with the participation of almost all parts of Iranian society having different causes and political aims to revolt, resulted in the establishment of Islamic Republic under the influence of fundamentalist Islamists which were just one part of this coalition; the purpose of this thesis is to put forth the role of Tudeh Party of Iran, as a part of the social coalition and one of the rivals to the Islamists within the Marxist movement, in shaping the output of the revolution with its activities and policies during and after the revolution.In this context, the thesis aimed primarily at determining the internal and external factors designating the position of Tudeh Party in the revolutionary process. To this end, as the external determinants of this position concurrently, the causes of the wide social unrest and the political movements and groups that were the rivals of Tudeh were looked over extensively including their ideologies, policies and activities important for understanding their role in the Islamic Republic output of the revolution. The internal determinants of Tudeh?s position in the revolutionary process lie in its history of almost half a century. Therefore, the period from its establishment to the revolution were examined extensively to include the ideological and organizational change and/or continuity and the ideological and structural characteristics underlying its policies which strengthened the power of Islamists by unconditionally supporting Ayatollah Khomeini during and after the revolution and thus laying the ground for its own end were analyzed.The thesis concluded that Tudeh played a role at two different platforms in the establishment of Islamic Republic as output of the revolution. The first platform relates to the failure of Tudeh in seizing the leadership of the revolution or the power after the revolution with its limited resources and social base. The second relates to the role played by Tudeh in the crush of the opposition step by step by Islamic Republic as its support for fundamentalists in the ruling bloc under Khomeini?s leadership as a result of its anti-imperialist obsession strengthened the disunity of the opposition and thus the Islamic Republic. The causes of the failure in seizing the leadership or the power relates to the organizational incapabilities depending on factors such as the pressure of the Shah regime, organizational advantages of the Islamists, social structure ? especially the characteristics of workers class, Marxist rivals, the negative impacts of Tudeh?s stance in 1953 coup and relations with USSR and the political discourse far from reaching public. Tudeh?s ideological and structural characteristics and weaknesses such as Stalinist way of thinking and anti-imperialist paradigm that enslaved all Iranian Marxists underlies Tudeh?s role of loyal opposition at the more lethal second platform.