Democratization And The Islamist Challenge In The Arab World
Democratization And The Islamist Challenge In The Arab World

Author: Najib Ghadbian

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-03-13

Total Pages: 153

ISBN-13: 0429720955

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The rise of Islamic movements in the Arab world over the last decade coincided with a move toward democratization throughout the region, yet after hopeful early signs, progress toward democratization has stalled or has even been reversed in all but a few countries. This book explores the linkages between the move to democratize and the Islamist challenge, focusing on the struggle among ruling elites, secularists, and the Islamists to define collective identity—that is, to define what common orientations unite the polity and how disagreements can be addressed, particularly regarding the place of Islam in politics. The author surveys democratization measures since 1980 and analyzes the nature of the Islamist challenge, exploring the factors behind the rise of fundamentalism, the agendas of various Islamic movements, and Islamist concepts of democracy. In a final section the author offers in-depth case studies of Egypt and Jordan.

Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World
Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World

Author: Nathan J. Brown

Publisher:

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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"In a new Carnegie Paper, Carnegie Endowment experts Brown, Hamzawy, and Ottaway discuss the continuing ambiguity amongst Islamists on fundamental democracy and human rights issues. Islamist Movements and the Democratic Process in the Arab World: Exploring Gray Zones seeks to move beyond stark views of the Islamist challenge as either a democratizing force or an extreme threat to democracy and to present a nuanced view of the position of Islamist parties. The authors consider mainstream movements in Morocco, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Bahrain, analyzing not only where the movements stand but also where they have yet to develop clear positions. In view of the recent victory by Hamas in Palestine and the electoral success of the Muslim Brotherhood in the Egyptian elections, understanding the thinking of Islamist movements is more important than ever."--Carnegie Endowment web site.

Islam and Democracy in the Middle East
Islam and Democracy in the Middle East

Author: Larry Diamond

Publisher:

Published: 2003-08-07

Total Pages: 360

ISBN-13:

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A comprehensive assessment of the origins and staying power of Middle East autocracies, as well as a sober account of the struggles of state reformers and opposition forces to promote civil liberties, competitive elections and a pluralistic vision of Islam. Drawing on the insights of some 25 leading Western and Middle Eastern scholars, the book highlights the dualistic and often contradictory nature of political liberalization. Yemen suggest, political liberalization - as managed by the state - not only opens new spaces for debate and criticism, but is also used as a deliberate tactic to avoid genuine democratization. In several chapters on Iran, the authors analyze the benefits and costs of limited reform. There, the electoral successes of President Mohammad Khatami and his reformist allies inspired a new generation but have not as yet undermined the clerical establishment's power. By contrast, in Turkey a party with Islamist roots is moving a discredited system beyond decades of conflict and paralysis, following a stunning election victory in 2002. force for change. While acknowledging the enduring attraction of radical Islam throughout the Arab world, the concluding chapters carefully assess the recent efforts of Muslim civil society activists and intellectuals to promote a liberal Islamic alternative. Their struggles to affirm the compatibility of Islam and pluralistic democracy face daunting challenges, not least of which is the persistent efforts of many Arab rulers to limit the influence of all advocates of democracy, secular or religious.

The Search for Arab Democracy
The Search for Arab Democracy

Author: Larbi Sadiki

Publisher: Columbia University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 510

ISBN-13: 9780231125802

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How to be a "democrat" and a "Muslim" at the same time is the subject of ongoing contests. This book maps out the variety of voices contesting "Islam" and "democracy" in the Arab world, insisting that neither category can be taken as unitary or fixed. In the Arab Middle East, the contest is over "which", "whose", and "how much" democracy takes place within an existing contest over "which", "whose", and "how much" Islam must be given pre-eminence in the political and cultural sphere. There is a "Democracy" and there are "democracies." There is an "Islam" and there are "islams." Larbi Sadiki deploys the conceptual tools of contemporary Western political philosophy and theory to articulate and defend some provocative theses. The book challenges Eurocentric conceptions of democracy that all-too-frequently display a lack of concern for specificity and context; analyzes and interrogates Orientalist and Occidentalist discourses on democracy; and considers some of the justifications for democracy in the global arena, giving space for self-representation by women and Islamists, among others. Using interviews with Muslims from every social and economic stratum, the book shows how Arabs themselves understand, imagine, and view democracy.

Political Islam in the Age of Democratization
Political Islam in the Age of Democratization

Author: K. Bokhari

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Published: 2013-12-18

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781137008480

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The continued prominence of Islam in the struggle for democracy in the Muslim world has confounded Western democracy theorists who largely consider secularism a prerequisite for democratic transitions. Kamran Bokhari and Farid Senzai offer a comprehensive view of the complex nature of contemporary political Islam and its relationship to democracy.

Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World
Civil Society and Democratization in the Arab World

Author: Francesco Cavatorta

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-10-04

Total Pages: 187

ISBN-13: 1136963383

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This book examines civil society in the Arab world and how authoritarian constraints impact on democratization. It includes case studies from across the region and analyses the divisions between Islamist organizations and secular/liberal ones.

Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World
Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World

Author: Masatoshi Kisaichi

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2007-01-24

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 1134150601

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Ever since the terrorist incident of September 11th a general understanding seems to have arisen among people that the challenges posed by Islam have now acquired human and global dimensions. Popular Movements and Democratization in the Islamic World contains case studies of people’s movements in diverse areas and periods, and it seeks to develop a comparative view of Islam and democracy that goes beyond the usual stereotype of Islam being incompatible with democracy. Unravelling the complexities that have arisen between Islam and democracy is the principal task of Islamic scholars, and this book will undoubtedly prove a starting point for all such endeavours. While primarily intended for students and scholars, this timely and important text will prove of interest even to general readers with interests in Islamic studies.

Democratic Transition in the Muslim World
Democratic Transition in the Muslim World

Author: Alfred Stepan

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 9780231184311

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Contributors to this book are particularly interested in expanding our understanding of what helps, or hurts, successful democratic transition attempts in countries with large Muslim populations. Crafting pro-democratic coalitions among secularists and Islamists presents a special obstacle that must be addressed by theorists and practitioners. The argument throughout the book is that such coalitions will not happen if potentially democratic secularists are part of what Al Stepan terms the authoritarian regime's "constituency of coercion" because they (the secularists) are afraid that free elections will be won by Islamists who threaten them even more than the existing secular authoritarian regime. Tunisia allows us to do analysis on this topic by comparing two "least similar" recent case outcomes: democratic success in Tunisia and democratic failure in Egypt. Tunisia also allows us to do an analysis of four "most similar" case outcomes by comparing the successful democratic transitions in Tunisia, Indonesia, Senegal, and the country with the second or third largest Muslim population in the world, India. Did these countries face some common challenges concerning democratization? Did all four of these successful cases in fact use some common policies that while democratic, had not normally been used in transitions in countries without significant numbers of Muslims? If so, did these policies help the transitions in Tunisia, Indonesia, Senegal and India? If they did, we should incorporate them in some way into our comparative theories about successful democratic transitions.

Democratization in the Arab World
Democratization in the Arab World

Author: Laurel E. Miller

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2012-07-18

Total Pages: 435

ISBN-13: 0833072102

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Daunting challenges lie ahead for Arab countries where revolutions have upended longstanding authoritarian regimes. This monograph aims to help policymakers understand the challenges ahead, form well-founded expectations, shape diplomatic approaches, and take practical steps to foster positive change.