Ideology and Political System in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran (A comparative study)

Abstract

All political regimes in the countries of the world do not operate randomly. Rather, they must have a clear and explicit ideological framework of political beliefs and directives that they explicitly disclose, or leave implicitly to reveal in the form of social action issued by the state. This statement applies to all political regimes. Regardless of its simplicity and complexity, ideology has an important role in the movement of political regimes, their effectiveness, and their ability to influence.

Thus, the founders of the political regime in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran were keen to employ religious ideology in political life in order to sanctify political authority and give the character of legitimacy to political authority. Religion would be pivotal to the issue of legitimacy because it provides a moral and cultural basis through the use of simple, and relevant language of religious character with the aim of building ideological legitimacy. However, this employment in both regimes meets at certain points, and intersects at others, due to the difference in the ideological starting point of the two regimes resulting from the sectarian difference.