Struggles of Social Forces on the Verge of Constitutionalist Revolution in Iran

Abstract

On the verge of the Constitutionalist Revolution in Iran, the three social forces existing in the socio-political arena were competing with each other and at the same time, struggling with the Monarchy to increase their share of power: independent intellectuals, traditional followers of religion, and merchants. This rivalry set the scene for a discursive battle in which, each social force was trying to load nodal points such as the nation, king, and monarchy with contents that were compatible with other features of their discourse to push forward its hegemonic project. The period under study in this paper, more or less coincides with the outbreak of protests and strikes under the leadership of Sayed Mohammad Tabatabaei and Sayed Abdolah Behbahani against Nouze, the Belgian head of Iran Customs house in 1905which paved the way for emergence of Tobacco Movement. In this era, three social forces were actively involved in the socio-political scene of Iran: independent intellectuals, traditional followers of religion, and merchants