Ibn Khaldun's Thoughts in the Legacy of Social Science

There are many social science scholars who have significantly contributed to our own understanding of the world. Figures like Karl Marx and Adam Smith are well-known for their contributions to sociology and economic theory, respectively. However, long before Marx and Smith, there was a remarkable scholar who pioneered many of these ideas. 

His name was Abu Zaid 'Abdurrahman bin Muhammad bin Khaldun al-Hadhrami, commonly known as Ibn Khaldun. Ibn Khaldun excelled in developing theories in sociology, economics, history, demography, and politics. He was not only a leading thinker but also a skilled diplomat, serving and negotiating for states in the 14th  century. 

One of his outstanding work, the Muqaddimah (Introduction), has successfully flourished the Islamic Golden Age with his profound insights. This article would explore more of his ideas in civilization referring to his own book and chaining it to the relevance in the modern political systems.

There is one of the theory he define in his book which is Asabiyyah, this theory was quite relevant on human civilizations. Asabiyyah was backed by the Badui tribes that Khaldun discussed preeminently in his book. He said that being in a tribe or a solidarity group has been an essence of human as a social being to interact and help one another. 

With the same feeling, occasion, condition or what you may acknowledge it. Khaldun divide these into two forms while he was sightseeing the dynamics of the society of Moslem, it was Hadharah which is the people who lived in city and Badawah who lived in village and desert. He said that their dynamics on how they interact and live their life were different and has it own uniqueness. However, even there are groups, Khaldun stated that Asabiyyah is essential for the rise of a civilization. In it, Khaldun saw an establishment of the society to adapt with some of political situation.

Ibnu Khaldun itself also emphasize some of economic growth points in his book. It implied that a strong economy can support a stable state, while economic decline can lead to political instability. Economy and politic in his thoughts should be maintained in togetherness especially in groups or nation even states like nowadays. 

We can see how economy influence the political stability which his argument has proven to be right. Therefore, many of his thoughts can be turned into a valuable study to govern and develop a state. In the past, Ottoman Empire has exhibit his idea which Asabiyyah which allow them on considering influence in international affairs and even produce foreign policy. 

Thus in today's globalized world, understanding the value and applying strategies of political power can help in anticipating and mitigating potential declines. Additionally, his insights can help explain shifts in global power dynamics and inform foreign policy strategies.

To conclude this article, Ibnu Khaldun's theory in social science, particularly in his concepts of Asabiyyah and the cyclical nature of civilizations, offers much valuable insights into the dynamics of political power. His ideas remain relevant today, providing lessons for maintaining stable and prosperous nation states. Reflecting on Ibn Khaldun's work which is Muqadimmah and many more of his work and theories which highlights the enduring value of his contributions to political thought.