Ma`rifat Adyan

The construction of power in the House of Justice, the highest Baha'i governmental institution that claims to provide a model for achieving world peace, can be criticized from the perspective of Michel Foucault's thought, with the concepts of "power-knowledge", "discourse", "discipline" and "biopower". This research argues that the structure of the House of Justice cannot be explained solely by traditional models of sovereign power, but rather it should be analyzed as a complex network of power relations that are exercised through religious discourse, disciplinary mechanisms and the management of social life. The findings show that the House of Justice, by employing discursive mechanisms, by exercising power through monitoring actions such as discipline and exclusion and inclusion, control in the name of management, by ignoring cultural and social diversity in society, not accepting criticism and opposing opinions, structural limitations and its structural dependence on world powers, seeks to create a submissive "Baha'i subject" and cultural assimilation under the banner of world peace, faces numerous structural challenges. The method of this research is qualitative-analytical, which seeks to answer the question of whether the House of Justice, in light of Foucault's power-knowledge discourse, can advance sustainable peace as a reliable institution, despite its challenges and limitations, in light of Foucault's criticisms?