Journal of Iranian Social Studies

Abstract In this article, Michel Foucault's views on the Islamic Revolution of Iran are reviewed read and then the challenges of state-building in post-revolutionary Iranian society based on Foucault's analysis of the modern state are reviewed by conceptual analysis.
According to Foucault, the Islamic Revolution of Iran was the manifestation of the collective will of Iranians to resist domination and achieve liberation. Foucault believed that Iranians were trying to open a new path in history and to change their life experience and identity with the help of Shiite Islam. On the other hand, the modern state is based on the principle of state expediency which is related to the concept of governance and politics. According to this principle, consolidation and development of state power is preferred to all other things. state expediency requires that the state monitor, control, regulate and punish people through legal orders, security and disciplinary technologies. Thus the relationship between the revolution and the modern state is problematic. State-building in a post-revolutionary society will not necessarily be based on the ideals of the revolution, and there is always a tension between the interests of the state and the freedom and justice promised in the revolution