Theories of nationalism and Ibn Khaldun

Ibn Khaldun, with his work "Muqaddimah" written six centuries ago, introduced a new branch of science he called the Science of Human Social Organization. This work, embedded with profound concepts that address all eras, was developed within the context of its time. Central to the text, and perhaps its most significant concept, is "Asabiyyah." According to Ibn Khaldun, Asabiyyah, though lacking a strict definition, refers to the social bonds and solidarity that penetrate every stratum of society and keep it united. Despite his aristocratic background, Ibn Khaldun's complex personality and curiosity led him to live among tribes in the desert at times. During these periods, he noted that Asabiyyah was particularly strong within desert communities. According to Ibn Khaldun, this robust Asabiyyah enabled the desert tribes to invade the northern, verdant settlements known as hadari umran. This study demonstrates that the foundations of modern nation-states are built on ethnicities and the ideology of nationalism, which bear similarities to the solidarity and communal feelings observed in tribal communities. The politicization of ethnicities into nations and the subsequent weakening of these bonds mirror the process where the weakening of Asabiyyah followed the Bedouins' invasion of the settled states. This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the formation process and dynamics of nation-states in 19th-century Western Europe with the formations of bedouin (desert communities) and hadarat (settled states) that Ibn Khaldun analyzed in the 14th century. This comparison will help us understand how the dynamics of Asabiyyah among communities have evolved throughout history and the building blocks of modern nation-states. A critical literature review was conducted in the creation of the Nationalism and Theories of Nationalism section, which constitutes the first part of this study. In the second and third chapters, where the connection with Ibn Khaldun and his Theories of Nationalism is established, the analysis method, one of the qualitative research techniques, was made based on the secondary data research technique. Thus, within the framework of relevant techniques, Haldun's theses will be emphasized, and on the one hand, the claim that similar subjects have been studied outside the western literature and may have influenced the West will be discussed, and on the other hand, the similarities between Khaldun's Asabiyyah Theory and Nationalism Theories will be tried to be revealed.