Public Law Studies Quarterly

The Constitution of the Islamic The Constitution of the Islamic Republic ‎of Iran and the Modern Meaning of the Nation

Document Type : Article

Authors

Hamed Nikoonahad 1
Mahsa Salah 2

1 Assistant Prof, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Phd. Student in Public Law, College of Farabi, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2023.348691.3179
Abstract
The concept of "nation" is a modern phenomenon and a product of the intellectual advancements of the Renaissance. As a demographic element, it shapes the identity of the modern state alongside territory and sovereignty, playing a significantly more prominent role than other components in the formation of the modern state. Thus, the nation and the state are two interrelated and opposing concepts, each lacking meaning without the other. The phenomenon of the nation, like other modern phenomena, is based on specific foundations and is logically and systematically connected to other components of modernity, in line with the goals of Western civilization. On the other hand, the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a model of post-Islamic Revolution governance, claims to represent a new political order with its own foundations and ideals. By deeply exploring the foundations and components of the phenomenon of the nation through an exploratory approach, as well as descriptively examining the foundations and ideals of the Islamic Republic system as manifested in its Constitution, we arrive at the central question: Despite the use of the term "nation" in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the demographic element of the state in post-Islamic Revolution Iran is not aligned with the modern concept of the nation as a demographic element of the modern state, and the core elements of the modern nation are incompatible with the theoretical foundations of the Islamic Republic.

Keywords

modern nation
modern ‎state
population element
‎the constitution of the ‎Islamic Republic Of Iran
‎ummah
muslim nation
‎Iranian nation.‎
Subjects

  1. English

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Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 54, Issue 4
Winter 2025
Autumn 2024
Pages 2619-2645

  • Receive Date 27 September 2022
  • Revise Date 18 February 2024
  • Accept Date 30 January 2023

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