Political Security in the Thought of Imam Khomeini

Emergence of theoretical studies concerning national security has given rise to the possibility of raising the issue of security in the frameworks of political thought. One of the focal points in the political thought of Imam Khomeini is the position and significance of the political system briefly termed as the position of political system. The present article terms the same issue as political security. The main question of the present article is: What is the meaning and referent of political security according to Imam Khomeini? The hypothesis says: Imam Khomeini has given the highest significance to the principle and position of the political system based on two postulates: a) Government is the only guarantee for implementation of Islamic regulations b) Establishment of Islamic government is an obligation. Testing the hypothesis occurs through a theoretical framework being a modified and supplemented form of the theory of political security of Buzan. The three elements of this theory are elaborated and used as the indices of political security in analyzing the political thought of Imam Khomeini. This fact is explained by mentioning various evidence from Imam Khomeini political thought. The second part of the article focuses on the threats of political security. The outcomes of the article show that the threats of coherency and security of political system are directed respectively to the idea of state, the political institutions, and finally the material stance of government.