مطالب

This research conducts a comparative study of the foundations of legitimacy and the nature of the state in the political thought of Ayatollah Seyyed Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, focusing on his key works such as al-Islam Yaqud al-Hayah (Islam Guides Life). It contrasts his thought with the teleological political philosophy of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel—who views the state as the manifestation of "Absolute Spirit"—and the deconstructive genealogy of Michel Foucault, who understands the state as a mechanism of "Power/Knowledge." The main challenge addressed here is comparing Sadr's conception of appointive and divine legitimacy, which operates through "the Ummah's caliphate" and "the supervision of religious authority," with Hegel's rational and historical legitimacy. Additionally, the research examines Foucault's critical analysis of how religious and jurisprudential institutions such as the Zone of Silence are transformed into instruments of governmentality and biopolitics in the modern Islamic state. The findings reveal that Sadr's effort to reconcile popular acceptance with divine legitimacy i.e., the theory of "Atmosphere of Infallibility" faces fundamental challenges when confronted with Hegel's logic of rational despotism which claims itself to be the very truth and Foucault's instrumental logic which subordinates all knowledge to power.

nationalism as a school of thought was one of the most important and influential intellectual currents affecting the political and social sphere of Arab societies in the twentieth century. By influencing contemporary Arab political thought, this movement prompted a rethinking and reorganisation of the fundamental policies and orientations of certain Arab states, as well as the adoption of specific policies with defined objectives, the most important of which were Arab unity and liberation from colonialism. Nasser and Gaddafi, the leaders of Egypt and Libya, were among the most prominent leaders who embraced the ideology of Arab nationalism in the twentieth century and sought to operationalise it within the actual context of Arab society. In order to realise the goals of Arab nationalism, these two Arab leaders, while modifying their countries' domestic and foreign policies, provided the necessary grounds for its popular acceptance. Recognising the necessity and importance of examining the issue of Arab nationalism and the possibility of reviving this intellectual and political current in the future, the author has investigated its roots. In this regard, while elucidating the concept of Arab nationalism, the study examines its intellectual and political origins as well as the foundations and principles of this school of thought. Subsequently, adopting an analytical-comparative approach, the study examines and compares the experiences of the two Arab leaders who were standard-bearers of Arab nationalism in the twentieth century—namely Nasser and Gaddafi—and discusses the successes and failures of their nationalist policies.