Cultural Independence at the Age of Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities in the Eyes of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Founder

Abstract

Globalization has made the world so interwoven and interlocked that all social institutions have to be inevitably open to the global networks and flows of wealth, power, and information. Moreover, since the values and lifestyles of the developing countries are the focus of the globalization waves, these waves pound the cultures of these countries in the first place. In fact, globalization has posed numerous challenges to the autonomy of the developing countries. Hence, cultural independence can function as a strong barrier to globalization. Moreover, globalization provides all countries with proper opportunities, and various cultures can grow through mutual interactions and cultural synergies when time and space are downscaled and geographical boundaries are overstepped. Therefore, analyzing the globalization-induced challenges and opportunities of cultural independence with regard to the remarks of the Islamic Republic of Iran's founder was the aim of this research. The descriptive-analytical approach was adopted to answer the question about the globalization-driven opportunities and challenges of cultural independence on Parsons’ structural functionalism. The research findings suggested that culture is a dominant system according to Parsons, while the Islamic Republic's founder believed in the determining role of culture. Globalization targets a country's cultural independence as a challenge and sets the scene for cultural interactions and synergies as an opportunity.