Holy Defense Studies

Abstract The primary issue of this research is the necessity of developing indigenous and resilient management models to confront conditions of sanctions and maximum pressure. The successful experience of the eight-year period of the Sacred Defense, as an invaluable treasure trove containing effective management patterns, can illuminate the path for management in today's complex circumstances. The objective of this research is to elucidate the model of Jihadi Management based on the documents and experiences of the Sacred Defense and to present a conceptual framework for its application in the realm of national management under sanctions. This research is a qualitative study conducted with a historical-descriptive approach through the study of library documents (including memoirs, archival documents, and valid research). Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis, and the main and secondary themes of the model were extracted. The research findings indicate that the Jihadi Management model, beyond being a set of techniques, is a complete "management paradigm" deeply rooted in Islamic-Iranian culture, founded on value and belief systems, jihadi and ijtihadi leadership, and agile, innovative operational strategies. Applying this framework can enhance the national capability to transform sanction threats into opportunities for progress and self-sufficiency.

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.

Abstract The transmission of the culture and values of the Sacred Defense to the younger generation is one of the most important cultural concerns of the country. The aim of this study is to identify the patterns, strategies, and challenges of strategic management in transferring this culture within the framework of Pierre Bourdieu’s theory of cultural reproduction. The significance of the issue lies in the fact that, with the passage of time and the decline of the generation of direct witnesses, the risk of forgetting or distorting these values increases. Therefore, the reproduction of the cultural capital of the Sacred Defense in new social and media fields is essential for preserving national identity and social cohesion.



The methodology of the research was qualitative and based on grounded theory. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with experts and analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding. To ensure validity, triangulation of data and expert review were applied. Findings showed that causal conditions include “declining generational attachment” and “shifts in media paradigms”; contextual conditions are reflected in “institutional fragmentation” and “resource limitations”; and intervening conditions operate at two levels: facilitators (leadership emphasis, grassroots activities) and inhibitors (historical distortion, psychological warfare). The core phenomenon is “strategic management of intergenerational transmission of the Sacred Defense culture,” pursued through three main strategies: “system integration,” “narrative renewal in innovative formats,” and “empowerment of young narrators.” Outcomes are observed at three levels: identity, soft security, and international.

Abstract Relief and rescue workers of the Red Crescent Society are among the influential and key forces in the development of emergency aid, cultural, and health services in the country. This research aims to analyze the performance and role of the Iranian Red Crescent Society—as a highly ancient, symbolic institution influenced by political and social structures—during the Sacred Defense era, based on institutional theory.

During the Sacred Defense, Iran's "institutional field" was completely transformed, and the Red Crescent found itself at the center of these developments. Relying on documentary analysis and in-depth, semi-structured interviews, this study seeks to answer the following questions: To what extent did the Red Crescent's performance during the Sacred Defense contribute to its legitimacy at both the national and global levels? The findings of this research demonstrate how the Red Crescent, to ensure its institutional survival and success during the war, aligned itself not with global standards, but with the requirements of a thoroughly national and revolutionary institutional field. In doing so, it simultaneously acted as both an instrument of the state and a symbol of the people's sacrifice. This period served as a pivotal turning point for the Red Crescent, enabling it to mobilize widespread public support and carry out its humanitarian mission in the most effective manner possible.

Abstract The use of force in international relations is illegitimate, and the United Nations Charter makes exceptions to this strict rule for collective security and legitimate defense. Contrary to the Charter's stipulation, based on the teachings of customary international law, if there is an immediate threat indicating an imminent enemy attack, Governments can attack the threat centers and take action to eliminate the threats. From a jurisprudential perspective, defensive struggle (Jihad) is an individual and urgent obligatory that does not require the permission of the infallible Imam. Defensive struggle (jihad) means fighting polytheists, infidels, rebels, and any enemy who is feared to overthrow the Islamic state and who is feared to dominate the Muslim lands. The reason for this type of struggle is to preserve the policy of religion, preserve the Islamic state, guard the religion and prevent its destruction, guard the honor and reputation of Muslims, and establish security in the Islamic society. In this article, which will be written in a descriptive-analytical manner, the legitimacy of preemptive defense can be proven by considering things like the existence of conclusive evidence of an attack, the priority of the defensive expediency, and the lack of the need for the permission of the infallible Imam, and by citing the generality of the evidences for the obligation of armed struggle (Jihad), Hadiths, and the concept of the guardianship of the jurist.

Abstract In Iranian Sacred Defense cinema of the 1980s, the Iran–Iraq War is framed not merely as a series of historical events but as an experiential and perceptual human condition. Image, narrative, and temporality operate as mechanisms that transmit wartime experience and transform it into a shared collective memory. This study examines these aesthetic mechanisms and their role in the production and stabilization of collective memory—an aspect often overshadowed in prior scholarship by descriptive or historical approaches. The significance of the research lies in its focus on the formal and perceptual dimensions of Sacred Defense cinema, avoiding a reduction of war films to event-centered or overtly ideological narratives. The main research question asks how Sacred Defense cinema contributes to the formation and stabilization of collective memory through aesthetic means.

Using a qualitative, text-based methodology, the study conducts an aesthetic analysis of narrative structure, cinematic temporality, and visual logic in three selected films—Didban, Mohajer, and Parvaz dar Shab. The findings demonstrate that experience-centered narration, emphasis on stillness and waiting, slow and contemplative temporality, visual economy, and the omission of explicit violence shift war from a historical event to a shared perceptual condition. Furthermore, the portrayal of the combatant as a situational moral agent contributes to the formation of an ethical memory of war. Accordingly, the aesthetic language of Sacred Defense cinema in the 1980s functions as a cultural mechanism for producing and stabilizing a durable collective memory of war.