Political communication in the context of cultures oriented toward spiritual activity

Political culture, through modeling, organizes relevant political communication. For this reason, political cultures are divided into two types: those oriented toward the transmission of information or those oriented toward the reception of a code. Cultures with a predominantly autocommunication model are dominated by “spiritual activity" and form closed semantic worlds. Since communicative messages are recoded, political myth is used as “code 2.” Political myth is a story of a heroic journey, and the constitutive element of mythmaking is the creation of an enemy image. This text possesses the quality of “asemantics,” meaning it conveys its structure rather than merely testifies to events. As a result, myth becomes a framework for interpreting political content. It aligns with traditional values and promotes the sacralization and legitimization of power. As a result, two autonomous political communications emerge within the communication space. The first is a global network communication based on specific “protocols.” The second is national-state political communication based on “traditional values.” It typically involves recoding messages in religious and cultural codes. A striking example of a culture oriented toward autocommunication is Shiite Iran. After the revolution, the country embarked on a course toward building an Islamic state, the political system of which is formed based on the principle of velayat-e-faqih. Essentially, this is a new interpretation of the old political myth narrating the rule of the twelve holy imams, the last of whom disappeared or went into hiding. Shiites believe in the return of Imam Mahdi. Ayatollah Khomeini substantiated the idea that during the period of awaiting the Mahdi, the country should be ruled by an authoritative faqih. Today, political myth serves as a legitimization of the Rahbar’s authority. The government creates a semantic world based on the Shiite political myth and characterized by duality. Everything internal, grounded in traditional values, is declared good. Externality, understood as foreign influence that destroys ideological monopoly and introduces an alien culture contrary to Islamic values, embodies evil. The political culture of modern Iran has established a specific character of political communication within the state, characterized by secrecy, the sacralization of political discourse, the reproduction of religious narratives legitimizing the authority of the Rahbar and the political system as a whole, and the creation of an enemy image opposed by the bearers of genuine Islamic culture. The authors declare no conflicts of interests.

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