Journal of Interdisciplinary Civilizational Studies of the Islamic Revolution

Journal of Interdisciplinary Civilizational Studies of the Islamic Revolution

From Machiavelli to Allameh Misbah Yazdi: The Confrontation Between Two Interpretations of the Relationship Between Ethics and Politics Within a Civilizational Framework

Document Type : Original Article

Author
PhD Candidate in Culture and Communications, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran
Abstract
The question of the relationship between ethics and politics is one of the most fundamental issues in political philosophy, as the way it is answered directly influences governance models and civilizational formations. This study aims to elucidate the civilizational implications of this relationship through a comparative analysis of the views of Niccolò Machiavelli and 'Allamah Misbah Yazdi as two prominent representatives of the secular and political Islam paradigms, respectively. The research adopts a descriptive-analytical method with a comparative approach, drawing on the works of both thinkers. The analytical framework is based on five axes: anthropology, the place of religion, the definition of politics, the relationship between ethics and politics, and the concept of public interest. The findings indicate that in Machiavelli's thought, grounded in an excessively realist and pessimistic anthropology, politics is defined as an arena independent of ethics, oriented toward survival and the preservation of power, with ethics reduced to a merely instrumental role subordinate to political expediency. In contrast, within the intellectual system of 'Allamah Misbah Yazdi, relying on the divine fitrat of man and the purposiveness of life, politics is defined within the broader framework of religion and specifically under its moral system, serving as a means to realize justice and true human felicity. Accordingly, not only the ends but also the means of politics are bound by ethical and religious values. The comparative analysis reveals that these two approaches lead to two distinct civilizational logics: one is the logic of survival and power, which produces a security-oriented, functionalist civilization based on material expediency; the other is the logic of guidance and perfection, which leads to the formation of a justice-oriented, ethical, and teleological civilization.
Keywords
Subjects

  • Receive Date 05 January 2026
  • Revise Date 06 April 2026
  • Accept Date 09 August 2026
  • Publish Date 23 September 2026