بازخوانی ایدئولوژیک کلیله‌ودمنه: از مشروعیت‌بخشی به سلطنت تا سیاستِ زیستن در میدان قدرت (باتکیه‌‌بر دیدگاه‌های میشل فوکو)

Informed by Michel Foucault’s conceptualisations of power, this study re-reads Kelileh-o-Demneh to move beyond readings that confine this work solely to the consolidation of the ideology of kingship. The central research question of this article is whether Kelileh-o-Demneh merely represents a discourse of obedience to power, or whether—on another level—it also articulates the logic of action and survival within the power structure. Adopting an analytical-interpretive approach and drawing upon Foucault’s concepts, such as “power relations,” “microphysics of power,” “power/knowledge nexus,” and “the production of the subject,” this research demonstrates that Kelileh-o-Demneh operates on two distinct yet simultaneous levels: Firstly, at the level of explicit and implicit discourse, it legitimizes the royal order and consolidates the hierarchy of power. Secondly, at the narrative and processual level, it represents patterns of action within a network of power relations, where decisions are shaped not merely by the king, but through discourse, interpretation, suspicion, and mediation. This study argues that truth, ethics, and loyalty are not absolute concepts but derive their meaning in relation to the position and status of the actors involved. In this light, Kelileh-o-Demneh becomes a “narrative laboratory of the field of power,” wherein strategies for survival, decision-making, and influence in unstable power dynamics are represented and implicitly taught. The research findings indicate that while this work reproduces the ideology of kingship, it also exposes the internal and precarious mechanisms of power. Through the repetition of narrative situations, it leads to the production of a strategic subject.
 
Extended Abstract
1. Introduction
Kelileh-o-Demneh is one of the most significant didactical-political texts in Persian literature, consistently occupying a central place in research concerning political thought, the ethics of governance, and didactic literature. A substantial body of scholarship views the work as a text serving to consolidate royal order, legitimise the monarch, and reproduce social hierarchies. These readings—whether examining the book’s overt teachings or analysing its hidden ideological layers—emphasise that Kelileh-o-Demneh calls upon the reader to accept the existing order and submit to political authority. However, focusing solely on this aspect fails to account for the full range of the work’s narrative and intellectual potential. The central question of the present study is whether Kelileh-o-Demneh merely represents a discourse of obedience to power and the legitimacy of kingship, or whether—on another level—it also articulates the logic of action and survival within the power structure. The article is premised on the idea that this work, alongside reproducing the ideology of kingship, portrays a network of power relations in which the survival and success of actors depend on their ability to grasp the situation, manage their speech, and influence the perceptions of others.
2. Methodology
Informed by Foucault’s theorisation, this study employs a descriptive-analytical method and discourse analysis to analyse Kelileh-o-Demneh. In this article, the main narratives and embedded tales are examined in terms of the representation of power relations, decision-making mechanisms, the production of truth, and patterns of action. This study aims to employ theoretical concepts not as a framework imposed upon the text, but as a tool to reveal mechanisms observable within the narratives themselves. Accordingly, the analysis is grounded in recurring patterns of action, narrative consequences, and the fates of the characters.
3. Theoretical Framework
The theoretical basis of the research echoes some of the most significant concepts of power conceptualised by Michel Foucault. Foucault views power not as something centralised or belonging to a specific individual or institution, but rather as a network of relations that permeates society and operates through everyday actions. Accordingly, power is not merely repressive but also productive; it generates truth, creates knowledge, and shapes subjects. Within this framework, four key concepts are employed in the textual analysis: “power relations,” “the nexus of power and knowledge,” “the micro-physics of power,” and “the production of the subject.”
4. Discussion and Analysis
Textual analysis reveals that Kelileh-o-Demneh operates on two distinct yet simultaneous levels. At the first level, the text addresses the representation and consolidation of royal legitimacy; here, the king is portrayed as possessing a sacred, pre-existing legitimacy, and the political order is presented as an integral part of the cosmic order. Many of the book’s precepts, narratives, and value structures serve to reinforce this discourse. Yet, on another level, the narratives present a more complex picture of power. At this level, power is not vested solely in the king but is distributed across the decision-making process. Figures such as Demneh—despite lacking formal authority—alter the course of political decision-making through storytelling, the interpretation of signs, the sowing of suspicion, and the management of perception. Furthermore, an analysis of the tales reveals that truth in this work is not an absolute or independent entity; rather, it is shaped by the situation, the speaker’s position, and power dynamics. In many instances, the success of a statement depends not on its veracity, but on its capacity to influence others. Consequently, these narratives highlight practical efficacy in managing situations more than they reward moral virtue. The outcome of these processes is the production of a model of subjectivity which this study terms “courtly subject.” This subject is a cautious, situationally astute, and calculating individual, keenly aware of power dynamics, who views their survival as contingent upon accurately assessing conditions and adjusting their behaviour accordingly.
5. Conclusion
This study concludes that reducing Kelileh-o-Demneh to a purely ideological text serving to legitimise the monarchy fails to account for all dimensions of the work. While the text, on a manifest level, addresses the consolidation of monarchical order and the reproduction of power hierarchies, it simultaneously reveals—at the narrative level—a network of fluid and multilayered power relations. In the light of Foucault’s thought, it becomes evident that power in Kelileh-o-Demneh operates not so much through the persona of the king as through discursive processes, mediations, acts of storytelling, and interactions between characters. Furthermore, by repeatedly depicting critical situations and the consequences of actions, the work imparts a form of practical rationality for navigating the realm of power. In this light, Kelileh-o-Demneh becomes a “narrative laboratory of the field of power,” wherein strategies for survival, decision-making, and influence in unstable power dynamics are represented and implicitly taught.
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