Obstacles to Realizing Government Transparency from Imam Ali (PBUH)’s Point of View in Nahj al-Balagha

A lever to combat corruption in the governmental system is transparency, which is seen as a category fundamental to improvement of policy-making aimed at enhancing ties between the government and populace. Emphasizing the greatness of heavenly thoughts of Imam Ali (PBUH) and their superiority over human thoughts and views, an effort has been made in this article to pay attention, in Imam Ali’s political thought, to obstacles to realizing transparency. To this aim, using the analytic-descriptive and documentary research methods, the answer is sought to the question of what in Imam Ali’s political behavior are treated as obstacles to the realization of transparency. The research findings show that secrecy and refusing to provide news and information, lack of supervision and control, lack of accountability and responsibility, and despotism and arbitrary rule are among the obstacles disrupting work flow in government. These lead to underdevelopment and social injustice on the one side, and rent-seeking and diverting public resources towards privileged individuals and groups on the other side.