The Emergence of a New Concept of Homeland in Iran during the Age of Renewal (19th Century C.E.) (Case Study: The Political Thought of Mirza Malkam Khan Nazem al-Dowleh)
Subject Areas : پژوهش سیاست نظریmehdi rouzkhosh 1 , Ahmad khaleghi dameghani 2
1 - Ph.D in Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University of Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Tehran, Iran.
Keywords: Progress, Homeland, State, Nation, Regulations.,
Abstract :
and artificial intelligence.
The Emergence of a New Concept of Homeland in Iran during the Age of Renewal (19th Century C.E.)
(Case Study: The Political Thought of Mirza Malkam Khan Nazem al-Dowleh)
Mehdi Roozkhosh*
Ahmad Khaleghi Damghani**
This paper aims to investigate the formation of a new concept of homeland in the political thought of one of the most prominent Iranian intellectuals of the nineteenth century, Mirza Malkam Khan Nazem al-Dowleh. The data was collected through documentary and library methods, and analyzed using content analysis approach, which is a recognized qualitative method for text analysis in many humanities studies, including intellectual history studies. However, considering the research topic, the analytical framework of Quentin Skinner was selected for examining the political ideas that explore the views of intellectuals in relation to the "issue" of the historical era. This research indicated that the new concept of homeland in 19th century Iran emerged in response to the "progress" issue. Iranian intellectuals of the 19th century saw the establishment of a modern nation-state as a way for Iran to overcome underdevelopment. Since the concepts of state, nation, and homeland (country) are interconnected in the new political thought, one of the key requirements for establishing a national state was to redefine homeland as a common property of the nation, replacing the traditional narrative that considered the homeland as the property of the king. Due to the lack of supportive legal traditions in Iran, this was particularly significant. The need for laws to establish an independent sovereignty to strengthen the new concept of homeland required legislation, which Mirza Malkam Khan pursued with his proposal for regulatory laws to establish a modern bureaucracy, laying the theoretical foundation for it in Iran. His efforts to establish a "regulated absolute government" represent the first legal interpretation of the new concept of homeland in modern Iran. The concept of "regulations" in Malkam Khan's political thought, more than any other concept, illustrates the endeavor to establish this system. Emphasizing the organization of the bureaucratic system as a necessary condition for advancing the homeland over prioritizing nation-building in the formation of the modern concept of homeland by him signifies his commitment to progress in the state-building process.
Keywords: Progress, Homeland, State, Nation, Regulations.
* Corresponding Author: Ph.D in Political Science, Tarbiat Modares University of Iran.
roozkhosh.mehdi@gmail.com
** Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Tehran, Iran. drkhaleghi@ut.ac.ir