The national state and the concept of Sub-national groups: (Study in Ibn Khaldun's Al-Assaibya idea Chauvinism)

Abstract

Ibn Khaldun is considered one of the first who addressed the role of ‘’AL-ASSAIBYA’’ in the cohesion and stability of the society, followed by studies in the fields of sociology and political sociology by linking the social environment with its political engines internally and externally. The purpose of this paper is to link the variables of the local environment of the state with its sociological and socio-cultural components in the fields of comparative policy analysis, especially those that deal with the understanding of the subjects of democracy and political and social development. On the other hand, these socio-cultural dimensions are linked to the subjects of international relations and external environmental issues of the state. Therefore the region of the Middle East –by its political, social, cultural and even historical dimensions- is considered a fertile environment for studying the status of the sub-national group for understanding the interactions among political units , whether at the level of countries or societies or even among members of a single group, whose loyalties are divided according into intellectual or political data, especially in the light of two basic ideas in the approach of Ibn Khaldun:
1- The idea of ‘’AL-ASSAIBYA’’ and its social and political roles in creating a league with a common ‘’Band’’ linked by a kind of social solidarity to face other social entities.
2- the idea of ‘’EL-Wazii’’: which Ibn Khaldun says that he is the ruler according the human nature or the reigning king dominates (here we discuss the idea of the fragility of the national state in the Middle East), in the sense of the existence of an authority that preserves society cohesion and works to strengthen cooperation between its members and curb the aggression of some on Some, Ibn Khaldun says, "….and they needed to do that to the ruler who ruled over them, which is by virtue of the human nature of the omnipotent king domineering."
Particular emphasis will be placed on the role played by these groups, both as tools in the hands of the regional powers, or as an important task that has a functional role to form new models in the form and functions of the State in the Middle East. In more detail, sectarianism and ethnicity - or religious fanaticism and ‘’AL-ASSAIBYA’’ in the region - have had a profound impact on the demarcation of the Middle East's political and strategic landscape. For example, after the victory of the Khomeini revolution in 1979 in Iran and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran by theocratic and populist bases, which triggered a series of reactions adopted by Iran's regional neighborhood. As gathering under a bloc by Gulf states in a single entity to confront the Iranian tide and the danger of exporting the revolution to it, On the other hand, the reactions to Iranian policies have become more violent following the collapse of Saddam Hussein’s regime, deepening Iranian penetration in the region and fueling sectarianism by provoking war and sectarian strife in Iraq and Yemen and reaching Syria, and the role of forging new relations between Iran and the Middle East. Arab and non-Arab countries, especially Turkey. In the midst of this mess, the loyalties to the national state have transcended their traditional frameworks to extend beyond their borders to the benefit of the regional powers.
In addition, The concept of a state in the Middle East has been threatened. Today, however, the issue of the State of the community or the state of the group or what Ibn Khaldun has called "the League"’’EL-OUSBAH’’ has become a fact. For example In Syria, one of the solutions was the establishment of the Alawite state in western Syria and the Kurdish state in the north. It is the same approach that has been proposed to settle the Iraqi situation ,since 2003 by dividing it into Shiite, Kurdish and Sunni entities. To Libya by dividing it into three regions according to ethnicities.