Objective: This study examines the internal causes and factors that shaped the rise, decline, and transformation of leftist discourse in Iran between 1941 and 1953 a period during which the Tudeh Party emerged and operated as the principal representative of this political current.
Method: The study employs a qualitative, historical analytical approach, using process tracing to explain the causal relationships among variables. The research population consists of primary and secondary sources related to the leftist discourse in Iran during 1941–1953, selected through purposive and criterion‑based sampling. Data were collected from press archives, libraries, governmental documents, and the memoirs of political leaders, and were analyzed using the method of historical discourse analysis.
Results: The results indicate that the rise, fluctuation, and transformation of leftist discourse in Iran were driven primarily by a set of internal factors rather than being solely influenced by external variables. The utilization of the political openness following the fall of Reza Shah, early organizational cohesion, the role of intellectuals, and the party’s penetration into labor unions were among the major drivers of its ascent. Conversely, ideological and strategic dependence on the Soviet Union, internal conflicts and factional splits, the inability to fully localize Marxist ideology, and structural incompatibility with Iran’s cultural and religious context constituted the main factors leading to the discourse’s decline and eventual failure.
Conclusions: The combination of these factors prevented leftist discourse despite its considerable influence during the 1940s from attaining a hegemonic and stable position within Iran’s political structure, ultimately leaving it weakened and constrained by the early 1950s.