Explaining the malfunction and failure of associational & party participation in the constitutional age in Iran

Constitutional Revolution, took place in 1906 for establishing of National Sovereignty and the Rule of Law. In the Constitution, some indices of democracy Like: Freedom Of Associations,Press And Legal Equality, were stipulated. In the Constitutional age, too many associations, political groups and two main parties and dependent press were shaped, but instability and law-breaking spread in the society. In this article, the author tries to explain the malfunction and failure of the first experience of associational & party participation. To explain this theme, Huntington’s institutionalizing theory and theory of social cleavages are used.The author maintains that, on the one hand, this revolution occurred in the absence of cultural, economic and social necessary conditions for parliamentary democracy and on the other hand, ideological paradoxes and undemocratic, un institutionalized competition lead to failing of associations and political parties in their democratic functions.