Ibn Khaldūn's Notion of 'Umrān: An Alternative Unit of Analysis for Contemporary Politics?

Ibn Khaldun's conception of 'umrān can be imagined as an organic whole, the continuous metamorphosis of which provides a general framework for the nature and quality of collective action. By limiting social and political existence to a specific time and space, the 'umrānic conception off ers a way of analysis that can serve as an alternative to the individual-based universalism of the mainstream imagination of contemporary politics.