CIVIL SOCIETY AND DEMOCRATIZATION IN IRAN (1979-2009)

The purpose of the paper is to discuss the effects of democratic civil society in moving towards democratic consolidation in Iran's democratization process. It studies three decades from 1979 to 2009, focusing on institutionalized party system as an indicator for democratic civil society. First, features which characterize an institutionalized party system and then its existence in different decades using historical comparative method are studied. Our findings show democratization in Iran ceased in the democratic transition phase and moving towards democratic consolidation did not occur and since the given era, the democratic civil society in Iran has not realized completely.