The Idea
The text suggests that modern Arab and Islamic states borrowed the European national model after independence. The meaning here is not merely cultural influence, but the adoption of a conception of the state based on strict national centralization. This adoption is linked, as the text implies, to a weak capacity to accommodate cultural and ethnic plurality, and to the emergence of an institutional vacuum that was not adequately addressed.
Concise Formulation
Modern Arab and Islamic states: borrowed: the European national model
Its Place in the Book’s Argument
This claim appears in the context of criticizing state-building in the Arab and Islamic world, not as a formal description of political history. The argument aims to show that transferring the model was not neutral, but carried with it problems of representation, administration, and recognition of diversity. The claim therefore helps reveal the limits of the nation-state when it is transferred from one context to another.
Why It Matters
Its importance lies in linking the question of the state to the question of plurality, a link that is essential for understanding Arkoun in political matters. A state is measured not only by its strength, but by its ability to represent society without exclusion. From this perspective, his critique does not target independence itself, but the manner in which institutions were built afterward.
Brief Evidence
The text suggests that modern Arab and Islamic states borrowed the European national model after independence. This was not simply cultural influence, but an adoption of a conception of the state based on strict national centralization. This adoption is associated with a weak capacity to accommodate cultural and ethnic plurality, and with the emergence of an institutional vacuum.
Reading Questions
- What does it mean for a modern state to have borrowed a European national model?
- How is this adoption connected to weak recognition of plurality within society?
Degree of Documentation
High: the claim appears in a clear location in the book’s material.