China's Political Influence in Turkey and Iran during the Cold War: A Comparison of the Revolutionary Organization of the Tudeh Party of Iran and the Proletarian Revolutionary Enlightenment Movement

Abstract

This study analyses the ideological influence of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) over the non-state political domains in the Middle East during the Cold War. It offers a comparative analysis of the two largest pro-Chinese leftist political groups in Turkey and Iran during the period between 1960 and 1980: the Revolutionary Organization of the Tudeh Party of Iran (ROTPI) in Iran and the Proletarian Revolutionary Enlightenment Party (PRE) in Turkey. It analyses these movements by focusing on their similarities and differences. This study claims that the pro-Chinese leftist political movements in Iran developed closer military and financial relations with the PRC than did their Turkish counterparts. In doing so, the study contributes to the literature on comparative political thought on the Cold War era, which largely tends to focus on the Soviet influence over the domains of politics and its impact on the international relations of Turkey and Iran. Moreover, this work critically challenges the debates over the relations between the PRC and the Middle East, expanding the academic focus beyond trade relations and military affairs towards political ideology debates. By the same token, it aims to scrutinize alternative political instruments of the PRC during this era.