Déjà-Vu: Medieval Motifs in Contemporary Arab Political Life

 
Title (other)Средневековые мотивы современной арабской политической жизни
PIIS207987840013383-0-1
DOI10.18254/S207987840013383-0
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Affiliation: State Academic University for the Humanities
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Affiliation: State Academic University for the Humanities
Address: Russian Federation, Moscow
Journal nameISTORIYA
Edition
Abstract

In the present article  the authors analyze those specific elements of political life in Arab societies that distinguish it from models of political relations in Western nation-states. While realizing that a large number of such elements exists, the authors have chosen to focus only on three of them, in particular those related to the issue of sources of power and its distribution. While emphasizing that these elements are deeply rooted in Arab Muslim political traditions, so much so that they have exerted a powerful influence throughout the entire Islamic period of the region, the authors draw the conclusion that each element has its own medieval countertype. Thus, the article addresses the dichotomy of the supreme power of Caliphs and Sultans that were formed in the 9th — 11th centuries, which continue to manifest itself today both in the actions of terrorist organizations (i.e. IS/DAISH, Al-Qaeda) and in the political strategies of moderate Islamist movements, such as the Tunisian party Al-Nahda. The latter example refers to the urban militias that are correlated with the medieval phenomenon of “young hero” or “chivalrous” communities — Fityan. The Fityan communities possess seven specific traits, which are not only characteristic of the militias but at the same time expose a fundamental difference between the militias and urban criminal groups. The authors devote much attention to Libyan militias, who are viewed through the prism of materials gathered during field research conducted by one of the authors. Finally, a third element discussed herein is the particular role of the Army and other power-wielding agencies in Arab political systems. 

 

The authors provide three possible interpretations of all the coincidences their research detected. According to the first one, these coincidences can be presented as simply aberrations of the researcher’s scientific consciousness, urging him to look for historical equivalents of contemporary issues. A second interpretation suggests the emergence of a tradition of “New Medievalism”. According to this tradition, the described phenomenon is in fact a revival of some medieval practices belonging to the end of the Modernity era. The last interpretation views these analyzed elements as distinctive civilizational traits of the Arab World.

KeywordsArab World, Fityan, militias, Sultan, Caliph, armies, medievalism, civilizationalism
Received26.10.2020
Publication date31.12.2020
Number of characters42735
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