Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1
Associate Professor, Department of Social, Institute of Law Enforcement and Social Studies, Tehran, Iran
2
Master of Arts in Iranian History during the Islamic Period, Al-Zahra University Tehran, Iran
10.22034/jiiph.2025.21332.2593
Abstract
Despite its prominence and influence in contemporary Iranian history, particularly during the oil nationalization movement, the student movement and the political-social activism of the student population have rarely received independent attention or research. With the collapse of Reza Shah's autocratic rule, a political-social open space emerged in Iran, providing fertile ground for the activities of various political, social, and religious currents, parties, and organizations. The oil nationalization movement was one of the most important political-social movements in contemporary Iranian history, offering a broad platform for organization, partisanship, and political mobilization among various social strata, including school students. This research, emphasizing the central importance of students in the oil nationalization movement, employs a historical method and draws upon sources, publications, documents, and memoirs related to this event. It aims to answer the question: What role did student organizations affiliated with the Tudeh Party in Tehran play in the oil nationalization movement? The findings indicate that this period marked one of the most significant phases of political action by students and student organizations in contemporary Iranian history. The Tudeh Party, recognizing that movements require action, political mobilization, organization building, and supporter recruitment, selected some of its most loyal supporters, its party "infantry", from among school students. By organizing them, the party brought them into the realm of political activism. Marches, rallies, slogan writing, and physical confrontations were among the most common forms of action, with Sharaf, Alborz, and Darolfonun high schools serving as the main centers of activism for Tudeh Party students.
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