Domination of Dashnaktsutyun on the Armenians Political Life

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor,University of Tarbiat Modarres

2 PhD Student of History, University of Tarbiat Modarres

Abstract

When Dashnaktsutyun party was established in 1890, it was considered the third Armenian political party. However, in the year the Republic of Armenia gained independence in 1918, the party had acquired a position of dominance in the life of the Armenians of the Caucasus. This position became a serious source of the obstacle in the way of the interactions and cooperation of the Armenian political parties for the future of the country right after the establishment of the independent Armenia. Relying on Robert Michel's theory of political party, the objective of the present study is to explain how such greatness and cohesiveness was created for Dashnaktsutyun party. The use of the theory of political party reveals that "leadership in organization", "dictatorial tendencies of leaders", and the effect of the psychology of power on the personality traits of the leaders changed Dashnaktsutyun from an open opposition association to a cohesive oligarchic organization. This oligarchic structure placed Dshnaksiun above all other Armenian political party, and led to its domination in Armenian political life.

Keywords