The Image of Effective Governance from the Perspective of Khajeh Nizam-al-Mulk Tusi, Imam Mohammad Ghazali and Niccolò Machiavelli (Analysis of the Content of the Siyasatnama, Nasihat al-Molouk, and The Prince)

This study aims to answer the key question “What are the characteristics of effective governance from the perspective of Nizam al-Mulk, Ghazali and Machiavelli?” In order to find the answer to this question and to understand what similarities and differences are in effective governance from the point of view of these thinkers, their most important works in governance, namely Siyasatnama, Nasihat ol Molouk, and The Prince were studied. Using the comparative-research methodology based on a variable-based descriptive approach and the application of content analysis technique, the data were organized in the form of two main themes (individual characteristics and managerial approaches). Considering the prevailing notion of each source and network of themes, and paying attention to the intellectual system of each of the thinkers, the Nizam-al-Mulk’s desirable style of governance coined “Moderate Governance” which refers to the world, the hereafter, ethics, and politics in the same way and with balanced look. Examining al-Ghazali's set of concerns, his style may be called "Pious Governance", which emphasizes the transcendent traits and attitudes based on the hereafter and mystical view. The Machiavelli's favorable style of governing can be described as “Destructive or Poisonous Governance”.