کاظم سلیمانی

Good governance is recognized as a central concept in development discourse, defined by Daniel Kaufman’s six indicators: responsiveness, political stability, regulatory quality, the rule of law, control of corruption, and government efficiency. Kaufman, by emphasizing the direct link between high-quality governance and economic growth and poverty reduction, regards improving governance as a necessary condition for development. In a fundamental contrast, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regards government not as an end in itself but solely as a means to achieve the “Islamic Republic’s New Civilization” and to guide humanity toward a “well-being life.” Critiquing the Western model of development, he emphasizes the superiority of an Islamic “righteous governance” grounded in monotheistic principles, a two-dimensional view of human nature, and the integral link between this world and the hereafter. Martyr Sadr also, centering on “Divine sovereignty” and “human stewardship,” presents the theory of “people’s sovereignty with the oversight of the jurist” as the desirable model of governance for the era of occultation. In his view, Islamic governance must be consonant with Sharia in its essence, structure, and content. This study, in three chapters, adopts a descriptive–analytical method to demonstrate that fundamental critiques of Kaufman’s theory of good governance and the presentation of an alternative model based on the perspectives of these two Muslim thinkers can pave the way for formulating a native model of desirable governance.