Mosaddeghism
Mosaddeghism مصدقیسم | |
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| File:Mohammad Mosaddegh portrait.jpg | |
| Leader | Mohammad Mosaddegh |
| Founded | 1949 |
| Membership |
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| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Part of a series on |
| Liberalism in Iran |
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| File:Iranian Liberalism Flags Symbol.svg |
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| Part of a series on |
| Anti-imperialism |
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| File:Anti-imperialism sign.svg |
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Mosaddeghism is a political doctrine and set of policies supported by Iran's democratically elected Mohammad Mosaddegh, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran from 1951 to 1953. This policy essentially represents a strong convergence of Iranian nationalism and commitment to constitutional democracy, primarily aimed at claiming Iran's full sovereignty and economic independence against foreign intervention. This ideology is best defined by the policy of nationalization in 1951, which seeks to take back control of Iran's vast natural resources from the British-owned Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC).
Doctrine
[edit | edit source]Economic self-determination
[edit | edit source]Mosaddegh believed that true political independence was impossible without economic independence. The nationalization law of 1951 was a de facto manifestation of this principle that rejected concessionary system, which historically benefited foreign powers at the expense of the Iranian state.
Anti-imperialism and Non-Alignment
[edit | edit source]Mosaddeghism was a powerful anti-imperialist whose focus was on eliminating Britain's pervasive influence and later resisting pressure from the United States and the Soviet Union in the early Cold War era. It pursued a 'Negative Equilibrium' (موازنه منفی) policy, meaning Iran refused to make concessions to all foreign powers rather than keeping concessions between rival powers in balance.[4]
Social reform and justice
[edit | edit source]This ideology incorporated elements of social democracy. Mosaddegh's reforms included measures to protect industrial workers, establish compulsory unemployment insurance, and transfer land from Shah's estate to the public domain to address farmers' conditions. These reforms aimed to create a fair and equitable distribution of the national wealth created in the oil industry.
National Front
[edit | edit source]The main political organization that propagated and implemented Mosaddeghism was the National Front. Founded in 1949, it was a broad coalition that united various groups, including liberal democrats, non-communist socialists, moderate conservatives, and secular nationalists, to achieve the common goal of protecting the constitution and nationalizing oil.[8][9]
Downfall and legacy
[edit | edit source]1953 Iranian coup d'état
[edit | edit source]Mosaddeghism was forced to end in 1953 by the U.S. CIA and British MI6 as a result of the 1953 Iranian coup d'état. His overthrow brought Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi back to absolute power and halted progressive experimentation.[10][11]
Enduring legacy and Impact
[edit | edit source]Mosaddeghism remains one of the most important and influential political trends in modern Iranian history:[12]
- Symbols of Resistance: Mosaddegh's image became a strong symbol of resistance against foreign rule and a martyr to Iranian democracy.
- Post-1953 Activism: the principles of Mosaddeghism continued to provoke a movement against the Shah regime, especially against the Freedom Movement of Iran, with Iran seeing itself as the successor to the National Front.
- Impact on the Iranian Revolution: Mosaddeghism is a secular ideology, but its anti-imperialist, anti-colonialist and sovereignty-seeking elements influenced the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
Key figures
[edit | edit source]Early period (1950s)
[edit | edit source]- Hossein Fatemi – Minister of Foreign Affairs, a key martyr of the movement.
- Gholam Hossein Sadighi – Minister of the Interior and a prominent sociologist.
Later followers and split (1979–present)
[edit | edit source]- Secular faction
- Shapour Bakhtiar – The last Prime Minister of the Pahlavi dynasty who opposed the theocracy.[7]
- Dariush Forouhar – Founder of the Nation Party of Iran.[b]
- Religious-liberal faction
- Mehdi Bazargan – First Prime Minister after the revolution, sought to bridge Mosaddeghism with Islam.
- Karim Sanjabi – Leader of the National Front during the revolution.
See also
[edit | edit source]Notes
[edit | edit source]- ^ Some Mosaddeghists like Shapour Bakhtiar opposed the Islamic Revolution,[7] but some Mosaddeghists supported Islamic Revolution.
- ^ Although his party had roots in right-wing pan-Iranism, he became a staunch ally of Mosaddeghists and a symbol of secular nationalist resistance.[13][14]
References
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- ^ a b Lenczowski, George. Russia and the West in Iran, 1918-1948: A Study in Big-Power Rivalry (1987).
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Katouzian, Homa. Musaddiq and the Struggle for Power in Iran (2018 Edition).
- ^ Abrahamian, Ervand. Iran Between Two Revolutions (1982).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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- ^ Chehabi, Houchang E. Iranian Politics and Religious Modernism: The Liberation Movement of Iran Under the Shah and Khomeini (1990).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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