Analysis of the Social Functions of the Guardian Council in the Sphere of Imam Khomeini and Ayatullah Khamenei’s Thoughts Based on the Theme Analysis Method

The social efficiency of each institution in a political structure, in regard to its distance from the center of gravity of the system, is closely related to the high level of strength and durability of the political government. Therefore, it is necessary, in the first place, to pay attention to and hold on to the functions that chart the path to achieving efficiency. From the beginning of the establishment of the religious government in Iran, both Grand Ayatullah Imam Khumeini and Supreme Leader of the Revolution, have attached significant importance to the position of the Guardian Council, placed a special emphasis on the efforts of the Council in the field of social action in addition to its legally mandated missions. Considering the multitude and variety of statements put forward by the two Grand Leaders, it was considered essential to formulate an analysis of the social functions of the Guardian Council to smooth the path for the social behavior to interact with other institution in order to promote public support and supervision. For this reason, the review and analysis of the statements of the two Imams (Grand Leaders) of the Revolution from the beginning of the establishment of the council until July 1402 was studied drawing upon content analysis method and this resulted in the extraction of four elements as the social missions  of the Guardian Council, which are as follows: the institutionalization of the position of the Guardian Council, the protection of the republicanism and Islamization of the Islamic government, consolidation of the social authority of the Guardian Council and consolidation of political-social trust in the Guardian Council. Accordingly, the fulfilment of these duties as the central indexes of the social duties of the Guardian Council is marked by the duty of the council itself, whose mechanisms must be established and social missions should be carried out in parallel with the jurisprudential-legal missions.