Paper Title
Impediments to the Development of Political Parties in Iran, after the Islamic Revolution

Abstract
Political parties are formed to seek for power by enabling groups of people who advocate common ideology to express their opinion freely. However, some parties overlook the fact that they are basically founded to act as mediator between the society and the political system. Thus, they may overact in seeking for power and fail to fulfil their fundamental responsibility by disregarding the society and the interests of the country. As the political development increases in a country, it indicates that political parties have had a great influence in the political arena of the society. Examining the barriers that political parties have faced particularly after the Iranian revolution of 1979 enables us to understand the lack of political development which can be regarded as a serious obstacle in achieving democracy. Although one of the most significant impediments to the political development is the restriction of the political parties’ activities imposed upon them by the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, this research aims to focus on some crucial factors which have been overlooked such as religious tyranny within the society and religious superstition particularly among the Shia Muslims which has led to the denial of justice and equality. Keywords- Political Parties, Impediments, Iran after Revolution