Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

The behavior of the West toward vulnerable societies has perpetually been grounded in a utilitarian, domineering, and colonial paradigm. This modality has been pursued through a multiplicity of instruments, including warmongering, economic sanctions, media propaganda, and international institutions. This confrontation applies even more to the Islamic Republic because of its paradigmatic conflict with liberal democracy, which has continued throughout the forty years of the Revolution and reached its peak in the Twelve-Day War. The objective of this study is to analyze the governing logic of this approach within the framework of the theory of istikhdām (instrumental subjugation). It is structured around the following inquiry: What is the governing logic underlying Western conduct in its confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and how can it be explicated through ‘Allameh Tabataba’i’s theory of istikhdām? The findings indicate that Western civilization rests upon the natural dimension of the human existential structure, thereby engendering a social character grounded in istikhdām (instrumental subjugation). Consequently, the exploitative paradigm of the West cannot be interpreted independently of its civilizational matrix, nor can it be reduced to the conduct of certain political and social leaders or restricted to particular historical epochs. According to the theory of istikhdām, this approach will persist unless confronted by a rival; it is solely the counterbalance of power and the imposition of reciprocal costs that can deter the West’s instrumentalizing approach. Otherwise, no software-based, rational, or sacred logic can halt it or compel the West to engage in cooperation and empathetic agency.