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The Nature of Tyranny: and the Devastating Results of Oppression
The Nature of Tyranny was written and published at the dawn of the twentieth century by Abdul Rahman Al-Kawakibi, one of the pioneering thinkers of the Arab world. More than a century later, another Arab awakening exploded, led by a new generation of youth who chanted Al-Kawakibi's words in revolutionary cries from Aleppo, his hometown, to Cairo's Tahrir Square.
Today this seminal text appears in English for the first time, with a foreword from Leon T. Goldsmith offering an overview of Al-Kawakibi's intellectual contributions. The first chapter of the text provides a definition of tyranny, presenting it as akin to a sickness or malaise that seeps into all classes of society, leaving behind decay. The following seven chapters apply this conception of tyranny to what Al-Kawakibi sees as society's crucial religion, knowledge, honor, economy, ethics and progress. Having laid a theoretical framework for understanding the centrality of tyranny, its characteristics and its devastating effects, Al-Kawakibi concludes by setting forth a brief program for remedying the 'disease' of tyranny. The final chapter outlines another book in which he had planned to elaborate upon his ideas-but, ultimately, his fate arrived too soon.
Today this seminal text appears in English for the first time, with a foreword from Leon T. Goldsmith offering an overview of Al-Kawakibi's intellectual contributions. The first chapter of the text provides a definition of tyranny, presenting it as akin to a sickness or malaise that seeps into all classes of society, leaving behind decay. The following seven chapters apply this conception of tyranny to what Al-Kawakibi sees as society's crucial religion, knowledge, honor, economy, ethics and progress. Having laid a theoretical framework for understanding the centrality of tyranny, its characteristics and its devastating effects, Al-Kawakibi concludes by setting forth a brief program for remedying the 'disease' of tyranny. The final chapter outlines another book in which he had planned to elaborate upon his ideas-but, ultimately, his fate arrived too soon.
- GenresPoliticsNonfiction
152 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2022
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
June 5, 2025
The book was too much about god and religion. Even in chapters that were not related to these topics, the author found a way to include some quote from the quran. I expected something else reading the title of the book and the prefaces.
Many of his statements are written like being common knowledge. The auhor does not really reason in these cases and uses phrases like "after reviewing XY we can see that Z." How did we review it though? What's the causal link between XY and Z?
I don't think that this book aged well. I can imagine that back in the day this was revelating, but i wouldn't really recommend anyone to read this book today, except maybe to get a feel for the historical context it was written in.
Many of his statements are written like being common knowledge. The auhor does not really reason in these cases and uses phrases like "after reviewing XY we can see that Z." How did we review it though? What's the causal link between XY and Z?
I don't think that this book aged well. I can imagine that back in the day this was revelating, but i wouldn't really recommend anyone to read this book today, except maybe to get a feel for the historical context it was written in.
Displaying 1 of 1 review