The significant of the State in contemporary Arab thought, 'Azmi Bishara as a model

This article examines the meaning of the State, as a sign, in contemporary Arab thought, taking the works of the Arab thinker 'Azmi Bishara as a model for the study. The study analyzes this thinker's most relevant titles in which the reality of the contemporary Arab state was represented. To explain this concept, the researcher classifies the State, as it appears in Bishara's works, into two opposing types: State/Democracy and State/Sectarianism. Within these two types, other binary oppositions derived from the first are examined, such as: State/Religion, State/Society, State/Citizen. Likewise, throughout this study, the researcher compares, using an analytical method, Bishara's vision to that of other Arab thinkers, with a view to showing the importance of this "vision" to explain the "case" that the Arab State is experiencing in the current circumstances. Finally, the researcher concludes that the meaning of the State in thought is a deductive meaning that represents the "case" of the Arab State and expresses its crisis; but in the manner of a thinker whose speech combines politics, philosophy, and history.