Tenets of the Ummah-Imamate Theory and the Nation-State Theory within the framework of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran

There are different theories to express how to regulate the relationship between rulers and subjects. The theory of the nation-state and the theory of the Ummah-Imamate are among the most important of these theories in the intellectual atmosphere of the modern state and the Islamic government. It is certain that the adoption of any of these ideas will have distinct effects in the Constitution. However, the status of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran on this issue is in a state of ambiguity. Therefore, this article answers the question of how much attention is paid to each of the theories of Ummah-Imamate and nation-state in this Constitution. For this purpose, by examining the tenets of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the presuppositions of its authors regarding each of these theories can be achieved. In this article, we have acted with an analytical-critical approach to discover the logic of the Constitution. The result of this research indicates that although the Constitutional law system of the Islamic Republic of Iran is organized at the level of principles and goals based on the idea of the Ummah-Imamate theory; but for some reasons, not all the requirements and accessories that are comprehensive and appropriate to this theory have been included in the Constitution, and at the level of the structures and institutions, ideas from both theories can be seen. Although the establishment of the political and military institutions is necessary to advance the theory of the Ummah-Imamate; but it is not enough, and the full implementation of this theory in the Constitution requires the completion, reform and creation of political, judicial, cultural, social, economic and military structures and institutions.