Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to examine the uniqueness and generality of The Nature of Despotism, a work written and published in 1902 by the Syrian writer ‘Abdul al-Raḥmān al-Kawākibī (1855-1902), and to compare it with the views of some contemporary Arab thinkers. If we pay attention to his discussion of mutual fear between the rulers and the ruled, false honor given in exchange for loyalty, and the despotic unification of religion and military power, we might be tempted to say that The Nature of Despotism is influenced by Della tirannide, a work by the 18th century Italian writer Alfieri.
However, al-Kawākibī had in fact been in dialogue with a number of other Arab thinkers around the end of the 19th century. The ideas that he shared with them included an understanding that the real foundation of despotic power is not only the privileged class, but also le peuple; an attention to the similarity between the despotism of State and the autocratic rule of man over woman; and an analysis of despotism as a hierarchical system, able to transfer repression from the upper classes to the lower classes, via middle-class groups such as village headmen or local officials. In this sense, we can conclude that The Nature of Despotism is not only the result of the influence of modern European thought, but also that of a common intellectual effort by contemporary Arab thinkers.
