Political and International Approaches

Political and International Approaches

Neither Paternalism nor Democracy: From al-Farabi’s Political Theory to the Political Theory of the Islamic Republic

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Mahdi Attar Kashani
Level four in Jurisprudence and Principles of Jurisprudence & Ph.D in philosophy of law, Qom Seminary, Qom, Iran.
10.48308/piaj.2026.243191.1851
Abstract

Extended Abstract
Introduction: Despite the central importance of the political theory underlying the Islamic Republic, the precise relationship between its Islamic and republican dimensions—as well as the structural positions of the public, the Wali al-Faqih (Jurist Guardian), and governing institutions—still requires rigorous theoretical elucidation. The absence of a consolidated conceptual foundation often leads to divergent and conflicting interpretations of governance. Islamic political philosophy, particularly al-Farabi’s eudaimonistic (felicity-oriented) thought, offers a valuable analytical framework for re-examining authority models in contemporary Islamic societies. Accordingly, this article compares al-Farabi’s political theory with the constitutional theory of the Islamic Republic of Iran to clarify its core indicators, dimensions, and philosophical foundations, with a special emphasis on the political agency of the people.
Method: This study utilizes a library-based documentary method for data collection and employs a descriptive-analytical framework with a comparative approach for data analysis. First, the primary components of al-Farabi’s political theory are extracted from his canonical works and authoritative scholarly commentaries. These components are then systematically compared with the theoretical foundations of the Islamic Republic of Iran, specifically examining the nexus between its Islamic character and republicanism, the structural role of the public, and their institutional relation to the Wali al-Faqih. Through conceptual analysis and structural comparison, the study aims to formulate a more coherent model to explain the political architecture of the Islamic Republic.
Results and Discussion: Al-Farabi, as a foundational Islamic philosopher and the theorist of the virtuous city (al-Madina al-Fadila), explicitly addressed the role of the populace in political life. By proposing the theory of social cooperation, he posited that government exists to serve the people and facilitate their human perfection, rather than viewing the citizenry as a mere instrument of state power. In this respect, his framework distances itself from classical paternalism. Concurrently, he rejected democracy (al-Madina al-Jama'iyya) as a variant of the ignorant city (al-Madina al-Jahiliyya), viewing it as an order rooted in irrational, unbridled desires. Interestingly, his characterization of the democratic city closely resembles modern liberal-democratic societies: citizens are legally free and equal, hierarchical superiority is rejected, desires are pluralistic, and society is highly factionalized. In such a city, the ruler is selected based on popular will, and his authority is perceived as entirely dependent on public choice.” The Islamic Republic similarly attempts to synthesize divine sovereignty with popular participation in governance. On the one hand, it emphasizes Islamic authority through the doctrine of Wilayat al-Faqih, which critics argue aligns it with paternalism. On the other hand, by stressing public participation and popular mandate in the actualization of governance, it diverges from purely paternalistic models. Crucially, it does not define its republican dimension as an emulation of modern Western democracy, but as an orientation rooted in Islamic epistemology and Qur’anic principles, such as: “He believes in Allah and has faith in the believers” (Qur’an 9:61). Within this framework, the populace is not merely a symbolic entity; rather, public allegiance constitutes the basis for the operationalization of political legitimacy. Consequently, this model differs from reductionist interpretations such as the strict "divine legitimacy vs. popular acceptance" binary or conventional "Ummah–Imamate" paradigms.
Conclusion: This article demonstrates that al-Farabi’s political philosophy shares deep structural affinities with the political theory of the Islamic Republic. This shared paradigm is compatible neither with classical paternalism nor with modern liberal democracy. Instead, it represents an independent, distinct model of governance that can be conceptually defined as people-centered divine sovereignty.
Keywords: Political theory; Islamic Republic; al-Farabi; paternalism; democracy.
Keywords
Political Theory
Islamic Republic
Al-Farabi
Paternalism
Democracy
 
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