ABSTRACT
The twentieth-century history of Iran has witnessed three major movements, the central aim of which was to persuade the ruling, often dictatorial, monarch to hand over part or all of his power to the elected representatives of the people and thus to create a more democratic society, free also of foreign domination. These were the Constitutional Revolution of 1906, the Mosaddeq era of 1941–53, and the Islamic Revolution of 1979. While the details of events in these movements differ greatly and as such each one requires specific analysis, there are nevertheless important correlations in these events that could be significant in any study of Iran's modern history.
