Ibn Khaldun: A Proto-modern Islamic Political Theory

Tribal politics and inter-tribal power-relations are two key areas through which this chapter studies Ibn Khaldun’s opinions on politics. In Ibn Khaldun’s work, these areas determine politics, considerably more than does religion. The chapter demonstrates that political rationalism in Ibn Khaldun has its roots in sociological dynamics, unlike in the several other cases studied in this book, like al-Mawardi, for whom it is mostly the state and political-power that determine political rationalism. In this regard, Ibn Khaldun is similar to Ibn Tufayl, whose political rationalism was also determined by tribal power politics. The case of Ibn Khaldun is critical, for it demonstrates how social dynamics like ‘asabiyya, which is other than political power, also enforce the autonomy of politics vis-à-vis religious and philosophical idealism.