Political Theory (II)

Ibn Khaldun’s art of political theorization

Summer Course Sep. 2020

Prof. Mohamed Soffar

*Introduction:
“Know that the art of history is a noble art, full of benefits, and of honorable purpose,
for it exposes us to the conditions of past generation of nations in terms of their morals;
of Prophets in terms of their lives; of Kings in terms of their states and policies, so as
we receive the full benefit of following their guidance”. Thus spoke the great Ibn
Khaldun in his famous Introduction on the science of history and its benefits. It is
vividly clear in his words that the history and political science cross each other’s way.
Therefore, it is a must for every political researcher to learn from such prominent
historian his art of political theorization, in order to fathom the depths of the political
phenomenon. This is the main subject of our course.

* Elements:

1) The definition of political theory and its position in political science.

Leo Strauss, What can we learn from political theory?

2) Political Science in Egypt: State of the Art

‫ "فشل علم السياسة في مصر‬،‫"محمد صفار‬

‫ التاريخ والتوجهات‬:‫ "علم السياسة في مصر‬،‫"محمد صفار‬

Hamdy Abdel Rahman, "The Arab Spring of Political Science in North Africa: An Alternative".

3) Ibn Khaldun’s Context and Thought

  The era and life of Ibn Khaldun
‫ الفصالن األول والثاني‬،"‫ "فكر ابن خلدون‬،‫الجابري‬
 Ibn Khaldun and mysticism
 Ibn Khaldun and Sultanistic Literature
o 14-10 ‫ ص ص‬،‫ اآلداب السلطانية‬،‫عز الدين العالم‬
o 38-31 ،27-17 ‫ ص ص‬،‫مقدمة سامي النشار فى الشهب الالمعة‬

4) Ibn Khaldun and the problem of politics and civilization.

In this part, selected chapters will be analyzed from Ibn Khaldun’s famous work
the Introduction. Course participants will choose these chapters that they will
present and discuss in the online sessions.

*Schedule:
Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays
12:00-14:00.

*Assignments:
1) Write four pages on chapter you select from the Introduction of Ibn Khaldun,
summarizing its ideas, applying it to deal with any problem of reality, then evaluate the
relevance of these ideas.
2) Write a paper of no more than 8 pages in order to deal with any concept of political
science that you choose.
Deadline for the submission of the assignment: Sep 20th