Imam Sadiq University Religion, Management, & Governance 3115-7718 4 1 2025 12 01 Designing a Model of Strategic Resilience: The Case of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the 12-Day War 179 200 77930 10.30497/rmg.2025.249017.1040 EN Asadollah Kordnaeij Professor , Department of Business Management, Faculty of Management and Economics, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran 0000-0003-0540-6141 Journal Article 2025 08 27 Purpose:<br />This study develops an operational and empirically grounded model of strategic resilience for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the context of a short-term, high-intensity military crisis. Focusing on the 12-day war, it examines how resilience was constructed and exercised at the nation-state level and seeks to clarify whether resilience functioned merely as a capacity for endurance or as a proactive, leadership-driven strategic capability.<br /><br />Design/Methodology/Approach:<br />The research adopts a qualitative approach based on Thematic Analysis. A total of 37 official statements and documents issued by senior political, military, and cultural-social actors during the crisis were systematically analyzed. Using an inductive, multi-stage coding process—including open coding, thematic categorization, and synthesis—382 semantic units were identified and organized into 17 basic themes, 6 organizing themes, and 3 overarching dimensions of strategic resilience.<br /><br />Findings:<br />The analysis reveals that strategic resilience in this case is neither static nor reactive, but dynamic, hierarchical, and centered on strategic agency. The resulting model comprises three interrelated dimensions: Socio-Political Resilience (25.9%), which provides the enabling foundation through integrated leadership, unity of command, and national cohesion; Resilience in Strategic Agency (54.7%), identified as the core dimension, highlighting active deterrence, demonstration of response capability, strategic justification, and narrative management through public diplomacy; and Resilience in Foundational Dimensions (19.4%), which supports resilience through continuity of critical governmental and economic functions, support for affected populations, and the mobilization of semantic and psychological capital. Overall, resilience emerges as a capability activated by a central strategic actor that aligns leadership, hard power, soft power, and social capital into a coherent crisis response.<br /><br />Practical Implications:<br />The findings suggest that effective national resilience in military crises depends on leadership-centered coordination, credible deterrence signaling, narrative control, and the maintenance of public trust and service continuity.<br /><br />Originality/Value:<br />By deriving a strategic resilience model directly from real-time crisis discourse, this study offers a context-sensitive and empirically grounded contribution to resilience research, advancing analysis beyond abstract frameworks and organization-level perspectives.Keywords: Strategic Resilience, National Security, Strategic Leadership, Military Crisis Management, Strategic Agency, Discourse Analysis, Deterrence. https://rmg.isu.ac.ir/article_77930_b08a1c1ec0e165edc58a7d62a7f7b5cd.pdf