Dariush Gholami; Morteza Dehqannejad
Abstract
The early 19th century was the beginning of fundamental changes in Iran. The Iran-Russia wars made Iranians think of change. The long-standing rule of Nasser-al-Din Shah (1847 - 1896) ...
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The early 19th century was the beginning of fundamental changes in Iran. The Iran-Russia wars made Iranians think of change. The long-standing rule of Nasser-al-Din Shah (1847 - 1896) and the dominant conditions of Iran during his reign resulted in formation of centers for Iranians outside the borders. Istanbul was one of the most important sites where such centers formed. The Akhtar newspaper, being published in Istanbul, was responsible to broadcast the transformationalist views and ideas of this group of Iranians inside the country. The activists who directed Akhtar were involved in two levels of institutionalization of the parliament: firstly, by suggesting intellectual concepts such as science, freedom, and law they wanted to influence the reader's thought and beliefs, and, then, they tried to make them familiar with legislative structure and strengthen their beliefs and wills to participate in administration of the country through introduction of legislation and some examples in constitutional countries. In their view, strengthening the will of the people to participate in the fate of their country could provide the ground for changes needed to achieve the goal. Accordingly, it has been tried in present study to review the approach of the Akhtar to civil structuralizing and its points of view about parliament as a civil institution, and the role it plays in achieving the goal.
