State and Arab State in Bashara's Project of Democracy: Political-Philosophical Approaches

Volume 13|Issue 52| Spring 2025 |Articles

Abstract

​This research deals with the question of state in Azmi Bishara's intellectual project of democracy, through philosophical and political approaches in utopia, Rawlsianism, citizenship, civil society and justice, especially within the Arab context. This research deals with the following questions: what is the position of Bishara’s state-related theses in the context of his project? What is the relationship of state, as it is citizenship in an important part of its definition, to civil society and justice? Is it be possible to compare that with the Rawls' approaches and political utopia? This paper seeks to confirm the following hypothesis: Rawls was not concerned with theory of state, but with questions raised within the framework of the established liberal democratic state (justice as fairness as a realistic political utopia), while Bishara’s effort is focused on developing theory of state and forming its concept (his theses on state as also a realistic political utopia). Bishara’s main goal is to confirm the conditions for achieving democracy in the Arab countries, and for him the issue logically begins with the state, and what is related to its emergence and development (secularism, nation, nationalism, sectarianism, etc.), and ends with democracy and what is related to it (citizenship, civil society, justice, democratic transition, etc.). To confirm its hypothesis and answer its questions, this research uses dialectical analytical comparative methodology.

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Muhammad Othman Mahmoud

Academic currently working on the project “Establishing a Democratic State Model in Syria.” He holds a doctorate in political philosophy, his research interests focus on contemporary political theory and philosophy regarding the state, justice, liberalism, democracy, and the social contract. He is a member of the editorial board of Qalamoun: The Syrian Journal of Human Sciences Magazine where he has served as an editor and reviewer, and a member of the General Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists. He published the book Constitutional Social Justice in Contemporary Liberal Theory: A Critique of John Rawls (Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies, 2014) and is a co-author of the book Contemporary Philosophical Thought in Syria (Center for Arab Unity Studies, 2020). He is an accredited peer-reviewer for several academic journals. He has published peer-reviewed research and critical reviews, and participated in numerous conferences.

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