Imam Khomeini's method of leadership and Weber's control

An important aspect of Imam Khomeini’s method of government is the type of his control and authority. Most sociologists and political science researchers use Max Weber’s sociological model to analyze the subject. According to the model, political control or authority is divided into the three type of traditional, legal-rational, and charismatic. Many researchers have assumed Imam Khomeini’s political authority to be of the charismatic control type. The main concern of this paper is the criticism and evaluation of this conception of Imam Khomeini’s method of government. Having accepted Weber’s model, the writer of this paper follows up the issue with respect to two problems. Firstly, assuming that such a conception is correct, why was the process of naturalization and routinalization of charismatic control in Iran after Imam Khomeini so slow? Secondly, assuming that such a conception is incorrect, the fact is that Imam Khomeini, being aware of his intrinsic capabilities and his influence on the Iranian people, did not attempt to base his method of government on charismatic control. This basic point is our reason why the process of routinalization in Iran was very slow.