This study aims to explicate a youth-centered governance model in the thought of Ayatollah Khamenei. Its central problem is to identify the capacities, mechanisms, and requirements of young people’s role-playing in public affairs and to explain the relationships among them. Employing a descriptive-analytical approach and thematic analysis through thematic networks, the study examines relevant statements made between 1989 and 2025. Extracts were selected based on their explicit or contextual connection to youth and their inferable relevance to governance processes.



The analysis yielded 21 basic themes, 18 organizing themes, and 5 global themes. The global themes include: (1) transcendent and epistemic foundations, comprising the strengthening of spirituality and the deepening of knowledge; (2) strategic elements of public movement, including situational awareness, social and civilizational orientation, action-oriented hope, and programmatic thinking; (3) intermediary institutions and capacity organization, encompassing leadership, planning, and sustained follow-up; (4) competency requirements for role-playing, including reflective thinking, the use of specialized knowledge, an interpretive understanding of foundational principles, and historical awareness; and (5) practical steps for problem-solving and public participation, including spontaneous action, initiative within the scope of the relevant discourse, organization-building, and specialized and field-based activities.



The findings indicate that youth-centeredness in this framework is not limited to age-based preference in appointments. Rather, it rests on the integration of individual preparedness, strategic orientation, and the possibility of organized action. The model’s principal analytical contribution lies in explaining the compatibility of youthful initiative with collective guidance and coordination. The relationships among the themes are complementary and conceptual; they do not, by themselves, establish a temporal sequence or causal effects on governance effectiveness or civilizational development.



Keywords: Ayatollah Khamenei; youth-centered governance; Islamic governance; thematic analysis; thematic networks