Caliphate and the “dream-memory” of the Islamic state-civilization

The article is devoted to the study of the concept of caliphate in Arab-Muslim political and intellectual history in the context of the theory of state-civilization. Within the framework of the article, this problem is studied through a symbiotic political-historical approach. The political science part of the study is theoretical in nature. It discusses the content, strengths and weaknesses of the theory of state-civilization, criteria for identifying state-civilizations, the links between this concept and the concepts of nation-state and empire. This part is based mainly theoretical works by Zhang Weiwei, Martin Jacques, James Dorsey, Dominic Lieven, Enrique D Dussel. The second, historical, part of the study examines the evolution of the caliphate as an idea and as a form of political organization with a focus on the Middle Ages and Modern history. In the third part we analyze the concept of caliphate at the beginning of the twentieth century and the problem of the future of the Islamic world, discussed at all-Muslim congresses. This part is based on Soviet diplomatic sources, including those related to the participation of Soviet representatives at the All-Muslim Congress in Mecca. The final part of the article shows how this idea of caliphate is perceived today, noting that it can be considered as a “dream-memory” of an Islamic state-civilization, opposed to the idea of a nation-state.