Journal of Diplomatics Studies and Research

The Evolution of Professional-Cultural Associations in Pahlavi-Era Iran: An Analysis of the Formation and Demise of the Iranian Engineers' Association (1942–1979)

https://doi.org/10.22034/dpr.2026.604152.1031
Volume 1, Issue 2 - Serial Number 2
October 2026
Pages 314-330
Journal of Diplomatics Studies and Research

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

الهام ملک زاده 1
Narges Kalaki 2

1 Department of Social and Economic History, Institute of History, Institute for Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran.

2 PhD student in the field of Post-Islamic Iranian History, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract
Utilizing a historical-analytical framework, this research examines the position of the Iranian Engineers' Association within the contemporary socio-political landscape. The core objective of the study is to elucidate the evolution of this association from a purely technical professional guild into a pivotal agent of power and macro-developmental policymaking in Iran. The fundamental hypothesis posits that the Association served as the executive manifestation of "technocracy" in Iran, leveraging modern knowledge and modeling Western civil structures to reconfigure the nexus between technical elites and the state. The findings indicate that, despite consistent efforts to maintain professional boundaries and avoid partisan volatility, the inherent nature of modernization in Iran necessitated an inevitable foray into the political sphere. By adopting a strategy of "organizational decoupling" and establishing the "Iran Party," the Association sought to insulate its technical identity from political risks while simultaneously cementing its managerial influence within the state bureaucracy. The methodology employs documentary analysis and descriptive-analytical inquiry, drawing upon classified police archives, specialized periodicals, and practitioner memoirs.

Keywords

: Iranian Engineers' Association
Technocracy
Symbolic Capital
Iran Party
San'at (Industry) Magazine
Technical Elites
Pahlavi Era
Subjects
Archival Documents and Sources
 
1.       - Archives of the Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, Retrieval No. 021860:1.
2.       - Archives of the Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, Retrieval No. 021860:7.
3.       - Archives of the Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, Retrieval No. 021860:90.
4.       - Archives of the Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, Retrieval No. 021860:91.
5.       - Archives of the Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, Retrieval No. 021880:24.
6.       - Archives of the Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, Retrieval No. 021860:65.
7.       - Islamic Revolution Documentation Center, *Documents on Political Parties*, Vols. 1 & 2, Tehran.
8.       - National Archives of Iran, *Documents on the Iranian Press (1941–1953)*, Vol. 3, Tehran, 1998.
9.       - Confidential Police Reports, Year 1326 (1947–48), files regarding trade associations and political parties.
 
Persian Books
 
10.   - Ashraf, Ahmad and Ali Azizi, *Social Classes, State, and Revolution in Iran*, translated by Soheila Torabi Farsani, Tehran: Niloufar Publications, 2014.
11.   - Barzin, Masoud, *Profile of the Iranian Press (1836–1979)*, Tehran: Behjat Publications, 1992.
12.   - *Newsletter*, Association of Engineering Graduates of the University of Tehran’s Faculty of Engineering, 2013.
13.   - Damghani, Mohammad-Taghi, *A Soiled Garment in the Sun*, edited by Bagher Momeni, Frankfurt: Alborz Publications, 2003.
14.   - Sedigh, Issa, *Memoirs of a Lifetime*, Vol. 2, Tehran: Sherkat-e Sahami-ye Tab'-e Ketab, 1985. - Taher-Ahmadi, Mahmoud, *Documents on Labor Unions (1942–1944)*, National Archives Organization of Iran Publications, Tehran, 2000.
15.   - Teyrani, Behrouz, *Documents on Iran’s Political Parties (1941–1951)*, Vol. 1, National Archives Organization of Iran Publications (Archives Research Institute), Tehran, 1997.
16.   - Farastkhah, Maqsoud, *What the Professors Did: A History of the Teachers' Training College and the Higher Teachers' Training College (1917–1979)*, Tehran: Ney Publishing, 2021.
17.   - Nejati, Gholamreza, *Memoirs of Engineer Bazargan: Sixty Years of Service and Resistance*, Vols. 1 & 2, Tehran: Rasa Institute, 1996/1998.
18.   - Duverger, Maurice, *Political Sociology*, translated by Abolfazl Ghazi, 2nd edition, Tehran: University of Tehran Press, 1993.
 
Books in Latin-script languages:
 
19.   Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. G. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education (pp. 241-258). Greenwood.
20.    Bourdieu. P. (1990). Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Routledge.
 
Articles
 
21.   - Taher-Ahmadi, Mahmoud, "Biutat Documents: Sepahsalar’s ​​Reforms," ​​*Ganjineh-ye Asnad* Quarterly, Vol. 15, No. 60, 1384 [2005].
  • Receive Date 24 September 2026
  • Revise Date 27 September 2026
  • Accept Date 29 September 2026

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