The State Between the Determinism of History and the Freedom of Civilizational Action: A Read-ing of the Political Project according to Ibn Khaldun

Abstract

Civilization and the state are inseparable Siamese twins; one cannot exist without the other. When the state flourishes, so does its civilization, and the state becomes stronger, prevailing. Conversely, if one declines, the other will inevitably wither. An unstable state does not produce civilization, and a declining civilization leads to the decline of the state until they both dissolve together like grains of sand between the jaws of history. This dialectic is ancient, accompanying the expansion of society and its transition from primitive forms to more complex stages, as elucidated in the concept of "civilization science" by Ibn Khaldun. This concept necessarily entails the establishment of the state to develop its civilization, allowing it to gather its scattered elements resulting from the migration of humans from nomadic life to urbanization.