Historical developments of social policy in the municipality

The history of social policy in Iran is primarily focused on events related to laws and the establishment of social insurance organizations. Paying attention to the municipality as an active institution in the history of social policy can provide a more multi-faceted and long-standing narrative of social policy in Iran.The purpose of this study is to highlight this issue, and identify changes in the direction of municipal social policy with an emphasis on Tehran Municipality. The conceptual approach of this research is based on Marshall's citizenship rights model. The research method is historical analysis based on historical documents available in this field included official documents containing information about the municipality (from 1908 to the end of the 2010s).The research findings indicate that the period under study can be divided into five different periods, in which social policy has been distinct in these periods: First period: Mashruteh heritage (from the first national parliament to the end of the sixth parliament); Second period: Continuation of welfare services while initial hopes are fading (from the beginning of the seventh parliament to the end of the 1950s); Third period: Urban services dominance and social services retreat (1960s until the Islamic Revolution in 1979); Fourth period: leaving the field of social policy (from the beginning of the Islamic Republic system to early 1990s); and Fifth period: Return to the field of social policy (from mid-1990s to end of 2010s).The research results interact with other theoretical approaches testify that immediately after stabilizing political rights in Iran, social rights have been crystallized but with weakening political rights, social services have not decreased but have been at the service of state-building.