The present study, adopting an analytical–critical approach, examines the philosophical foundations of bureaucratic governance in the thought of Max Weber. The main objective of the research is to analyze the ontological, epistemological, axiological, and methodological foundations of this model of governance and to critique them in relation to effectiveness, legitimacy, and indigenous contexts. The research method is based on philosophical content analysis, which, relying on the works of Weber and other classical and contemporary theorists, identifies and evaluates the various philosophical dimensions of this model. The findings of the study indicate that, at the ontological level, bureaucratic governance is grounded in legal domination, a rational–legal order, and the process of socialization. At the anthropological level, the emphasis on Protestant ethics and the ethic of individual responsibility paves the way for the emergence of instrumental rationality and the “iron cage” of bureaucracy. At the epistemological aspect, this form of governance relies on an objectivist approach, with a methodology grounded in positivism and causal explanation. Finally, at the axiological level, it emphasizes procedural justice and the primacy of public interests. Critiques of these foundations emerge on two levels: first, intra-paradigmatic critiques, which point to the consequences of instrumental rationality, depersonalization, institutional rigidity, and neglect of substantive justice; second, trans-paradigmatic critiques, particularly from the perspective of Islamic governance, which regard the secular, anthropocentric, and value-neutral nature of these foundations as incompatible with the ethical, spiritual, and transcendent ends of religious societies. The research conclusion indicates that although bureaucracy, as a rational mode of governing modern societies, has ensured administrative efficiency and institutional order, but by reducing humans and society to calculable and controllable units, it fails to achieve ultimate justice, social responsibility, and human dignity. On this basis, the study suggests that designing alternative governance models that integrate bureaucratic efficiency with indigenous ethical, cultural, and spiritual values is an indispensable necessity to overcome the limitations of this paradigm and respond to the needs of contemporary societies.