A Genealogy of the Nationalization of the Iran Oil Industry Movement: A Reflection on the Relations among State, Society and Capitalism 1941 to 1953

Abstract

In this essay we have studied the emergence and genesis of the Nationalization of the Iran Oil Industry Movement from a sociological point of view. We have also analyzed the formation of The National Movement through new power relations among the internal forces of State, Society and International Capitalism. In doing so, Deleuze’s genealogy has been deployed to construct a framework to evaluate the issue critically. Firstly, we consider the subjective position of social forces, the relation between these forces, deformation of the old political order and re-formation of a new state amongst the contemporary discursive metamorphosis and the context in which the events of this movement occurred. Secondly, the peasants’ and laborers’ claims and regional desires to alter the power relationships and riddance from social subjugation have been analyzed genealogically. The multiple and fragmented origins of The National Movement, resulted from the relations between sociopolitical forces containing the multitude, the central state and world powers, have been scrutinized throughout this study. Furthermore we evaluate the convergences and divergences of The National State and The National Movement in the framework of the relation between institution and movement. The results of this study show that “The National Movement” at the beginning of the 50s emerged out of a rupture from the social forces liberation movement of the first half of the 40s, but the domination of the politics of representation over the affirmative metamorphosis of these forces undermined the potentials of the movement for altering the sociopolitical structures.

Keywords

• Active forces; Line of flight; Deterritorialization; State Associations; Central State