The Discursivity of theTheory of the Wilayat-i FaqihAs the Foundation of theIdeals of Order and UnityIn the Theocratic Vision ofPower in Iran
by Enrico Graziani
pp. 207-222 Issue 19 (10,1) – January-June 2023 ISSN (online): 2539/2239 ISSN (print): 2389-8232 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14718/SoftPower.2023.10.1.12
Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between order and unity in the theocratic vision of power in Iran. Starting from the analysis of the theory of the Wilāyat-i faqih, the role that these terms assume within the political project of the Islamic State is studied through the analysis of the speeches of the Āyatollāh Khāmeneī. This paper argues that Michel Foucault’s reportages on the Iranian revolution provide conceptual insights for the understanding of the Wilāyat-i faqih as an ideology which stands as an alternative to liberalism and positions itself outside the canons of Western thought. Through highlighting the analogical symmetries between Khāmeneī’s theory of the islamic government and Khomeini’s speeches, the Wilāyat-i faqih is analyzed as a form of ideology that has emerged from the perception of a lack of order in Islamic society following the 1978 Iranian Revolution.