Abstract
This chapter offers a decolonial historical sociology of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), one focused on the historical as well as contemporary colonialities of power as a core discourse of governance across the region. After critiquing research grounded on subaltern and postcolonial studies for failing to capture the colonial dynamics operating in post-independence political systems across the MENA, the author explores how Timothy Mitchell’s seminal analysis of the state as an discursive effect of power relations, as well as the present-day relevance of the idea of ahl al-hall wa-l-‘aqd (“those who have binding authority”) in traditional Islamic jurisprudence, can together promote a more perceptive and illuminating discussion of the dynamics of political power across the region.
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