Introduction
Political parties and electoral systems are among the core institutions that shape governance and political development. They play a central role in political socialization, elite organization, public participation, and the overall policy-making process. By creating policy discourses and linking political elites with the wider public, parties can foster policy learning, strengthen the rationality of governance, and contribute to the formation of coherent national visions. In contrast, electoral systems, as mechanisms for power circulation and legitimacy renewal, enable fair competition and the presentation of alternative governance ideas.
Despite the presence of formal party and electoral structures in Iran, weak institutionalization, populist tendencies, lack of organizational cohesion, absence of party culture, and unstable electoral laws have prevented political parties from becoming effective actors in policy-making and national planning. The study asks why Iranian political parties have failed to act as learning and mediating institutions that generate sustainable, vision-driven policies, and what structural obstacles have constrained their performance.
A historical overview of Iranian parties shows that since the early post-revolution years, their capacity for discourse formation and doctrine development has steadily declined. Short-term electoral rivalries and populist slogans have replaced long-term policy thinking. This shift has widened the gap between policy-making institutions and society, weakening representation, policy accumulation, and the creation of shared national visions. The paper therefore argues that reforming Iran’s party and electoral systems is a prerequisite for better governance and more effective national policy-making.
 
Methodology
This study adopts a qualitative, descriptive–analytical approach based on documentary and library research. It reviews theoretical sources, legal documents, and comparative experiences to assess the role of political parties in designing and guiding policy processes. The research is exploratory rather than hypothesis-testing.
The theoretical framework rests on three interrelated components—political discourse formation, political marketing, and policy accumulation—which together form a “functional triangle of political parties.” This model explains how parties can promote national visions by creating and communicating policy discourses, marketing their programs within electoral systems, and ensuring continuity in pursuing long-term policies. The concept of policy entrepreneurship is also used to highlight the innovative role of parties in developing and implementing governance ideas.
Data were analyzed through two main steps: (1) tracing the historical and discursive evolution of parties in Iran from the 1970s onward, and (2) comparing party and electoral systems in countries that have successfully maintained coherent national visions. Using institutional and comparative analysis, the study identifies the main sources of dysfunction in Iran’s party system and proposes directions for reform.
 
Findings and Discussion
In developed political systems, parties act as key intermediaries and learning organizations that drive the formulation and implementation of stable policies. In Iran, however, weak institutional foundations and insufficient accumulative infrastructure have undermined such a role. Iranian parties face serious limitations in all three functional areas: discourse formation, political marketing, and policy accumulation.
In discourse formation, personality-based politics, lack of policy training, and weak connections between intellectual elites and party organizations have prevented the generation of lasting governance ideas. In political marketing, elections are dominated by broad, populist slogans rather than evidence-based programs. In policy accumulation, the absence of continuity and coherence in pursuing policies has blocked learning cycles and the systematic transfer of experience in national policy-making.
The country’s legal and institutional frameworks also fail to support party development. The lack of a comprehensive party law, weak financial oversight, poor linkages between parties and parliament, and overreliance on individual politicians have reduced parties to temporary electoral vehicles rather than stable policy institutions. Declining public trust and legitimacy have further weakened the organic connection between society and elites, eroding parties’ ability to inspire hope and articulate shared futures.
Comparative evidence from Germany, India, and China indicates that idea-driven, coherent, and consultative party systems—characterized by sustained interaction between parties and the state—are most capable of producing vision-driven policies. Fragmented systems lacking institutional accumulation, by contrast, struggle to build stable national visions. In Iran, the weakness of political parties not only hampers participatory policy-making but also diminishes the nation’s “political capital of hope.”
 
Conclusion
The analysis shows that Iranian political parties, constrained by structural weaknesses, inadequate legislation, personality-centered politics, and short-term electoral goals, have been unable to contribute effectively to policy-making or the shaping of national vision. As a result, the policy process has become fragmented, reactive, and largely detached from long-term learning and participation.
Revitalizing the role of parties requires action in three areas:
1.         Institutionalizing party culture through civic and political education;
2.         Reforming the electoral system to enhance transparency, competition, and accountability; and
3.         Strengthening the legal and institutional status of parties within the governance framework.
Parties must also reclaim their capacity to generate vision-driven policies grounded in national discourses and collective rationality. Continuous interaction among policy-makers, academics, and civil society can raise the quality of policy-making and rebuild political hope. Ultimately, without a restructured party and electoral system, effective governance, sustainable development, and a coherent national future will remain out of reach. Political parties can become genuine producers of national vision only when they move beyond short-term electoral competition and act as central actors in learning, decision-making, and the creation of development-oriented policy discourses.