Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

Journal of Imamiyyah Studies

A Sociological Analysis of the Development-Oriented Approach of Imam Ali’s Governance in Comparison with the Foundational Elements of the Modern Welfare State

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Ali Navazani 1
Narges Molaee 2
1 PhD, Sociology of Socioeconomic Development, Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran
2 Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Humanities, Islamic Azad University, Arak Branch, Arak, Iran
10.22034/jis.2025.421899.1918
Abstract
The increasing spread of development-oriented culture in modern political systems, along with the growing attention to development-oriented themes through the lens of modernization and the improvement of societies, confronts peripheral and underdeveloped countries with a central question: Is the trajectory of underdevelopment a result of the cultural and ideological foundations of the originating society, and does achieving development necessarily require distancing oneself from the theoretical foundations of the established government? In religious societies, these inconsistencies and contradictions are often attributed to the ideological infrastructure and foundational religious knowledge. In the absence of serious critique, methodical scholarly research, and a clear distinction between authentic religious thoughts and socio-historical constructs, alongside the lack of argumentative discussions and analysis of the internal logic of historical events, a distorted worldview based on eclectic ideologies, appearing pseudo-scientific and popular, is strengthened. This flaw is the missing link that, through the normalization and justification of anti-development culture, undermines social trust in cultural foundations and, in the long run, leads to the erosion of social capital. Identifying and analyzing the barriers to development in religious societies is not possible without recognizing the epistemological foundations and the semantic system of the society under examination. A sociological study of the governance models in Imam Ali’s government, as a coherent and structured model of religious governance, aims to demonstrate that, in the comparison and capacity-building between the pre-modern modernization approach and the foundational elements of the modern welfare state, a compatibility can be established. Relying on this epistemic framework, a convergence and identity for a development-oriented governance model can be proposed for contemporary religious societies.
Keywords
development
economic development
social development
welfare state
Imam Ali’s government
comparative metrics
Imam Ali’s development-oriented approach
Subjects
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