Holy Defense Studies

Components of the Comprehensive Defense Theory in the Defensive-Security Doctrine of Imam Khamenei with Emphasis on the Sacred Defense Experience

Document Type : Research/Original/Regular Article

Authors

Abbas Ali Farzandi Ardakani 1
Hossein Zafari Davazdah Emami 2

1 Assistant Professor of Strategic Defense Sciences, Supreme National Defense University, Tehran, Iran

2 Ph.D. Candidate in Political Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran.

Abstract
Defense and security are two fundamental and intertwined components of national resilience, whose function at the macro-governance level is to ensure the internal and external security of the country. The absence of a comprehensive strategy in this field can render the Islamic Republic of Iran vulnerable to hybrid threats from hegemonic powers and terrorist movements. This study, adopting a descriptive–analytical approach and employing the method of “qualitative thematic analysis,” examines the components of the theory of comprehensive defense within the defensive-security doctrine of Imam Khamenei— a doctrine whose conceptual and practical foundations have been reinforced by the eight-year Sacred Defense experience. Data analysis (conducted using MAXQDA software) led to the identification of 125 key components, organized into nine main dimensions: political, social, cultural, economic, jurisprudential–legal, scientific, military, managerial, and psychological–spiritual. The findings indicate that this theory, relying simultaneously on the hardware and software capacities of national power, rests upon pillars such as strategic depth, culture-based authority, people-centered defense, and active resistance. As such, it can serve as an indigenous model for the design and updating of the defensive–security strategies of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Keywords

Imam Khamenei
Thematic Analysis
Comprehensive Defense
Components
Defensive–Security Framework
Subjects

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