The Failure of an Idea and the Collapse of a Governance Model; A Historical Institutional Analysis of the Decline of Parliamentary Rule in Iran (1921–1925)

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 PhD candidate in Islamic Iran; Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.

2 Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Following the victory of the Constitutional Revolution and the establishment of a parliamentary system in Iran, the National Consultative Assembly (Majlis) was institutionalized as the central legal and political authority of the new order. However, as the early phase of constitutional success passed, political developments prevented constitutionalists from achieving their intended goals. Although World War I caused the effective collapse of parliamentary activity, the end of the war renewed efforts to restore parliamentary governance. Despite the formation of the Fourth and Fifth Majlis, the final outcome of this period was the weakening of the Majlis and the decline of the parliamentary system in Iran.

This article examines why attempts to revive parliamentary governance in the early 1300s (1920s) ultimately failed. It argues that the period between the end of World War I and the change of dynasty represented a critical juncture in Iran’s political history. During such moments of uncertainty, political institutions are shaped less by formal legal continuity than by struggles among competing centers of power. In this context, the success of any political project depended on the ability of political actors to correctly identify the fundamental crisis facing society and to offer practical solutions for transforming existing conditions.

Using the analytical framework of historical institutionalism, with a focus on critical junctures, the study shows that the postwar period was a time of profound redefinition of Iran’s political structure. Political institutions were reshaped through conflicts among rival actors and ideas. The findings indicate that supporters of the parliamentary system failed to accurately diagnose the core crisis of Iranian society and were unable to present an effective and workable response. Consequently, they were gradually marginalized, and the parliamentary ideal they promoted failed to achieve practical realization within the emerging political order.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Tārīkh-i Īrān

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 16 May 2026

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