1. POLS1270 Prof. M. Cammett March 6-8, 2012
Islamism
POLS1270
Prof. M. Cammett
March 6-8, 2012

2. What is Islamism (aka Political Islam)?
Definition: “An Islamist believes that Islam as a body of faith has something important to say about how politics and society should be ordered in the contemporary Muslim World and seeks to implement this idea in some fashion” (Graham Fuller, The Future of Political Islam, 2003).
Islamism ≠ Fundamentalism
NB: Not all Muslims are Islamists

3. Variants Variants of Islamist Movements 1) Political (= our focus)
2) Missionary (Da’wa)
3) “Jihadi”
Distinct methods and tactics for pursuing goals
Shi’a v. Sunni activism
National & transnational linkages

4. Case Study: Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Egypt
1928: MB founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna
1952: Free Officers Revolution
1954: Attempted assassination of Nasser  MB Banned
State socialism/populism & the fiscal crisis of the state
Sadat’s partial opening towards Islamists
1970s+: Rise of the “parallel Islamic sector” (Wickham 2002)
Mubarak’s tolerance of Islamist social activities
: Islamist violence and state crackdown
Hassan Al-Banna

5. Mubarak Campaign Poster (2005 Presidential Elections)
MB Gains in Parliament
1984: Alliance with Wafd
2000: 15 MPs
2005: 88 MPS (20%)
2006+: State crackdown
2008: Constitutional amendment – no “indepenents”
2010: Big MB losses
Mubarak Campaign Poster
(2005 Presidential Elections)

6. Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi or AKP) in Turkey
Kemalism and secularism in Turkey
Predecessors:
Refah Partisi (Welfare Party)
- Fazilet Partisi (Virtue Party)
2001: AKP estb.
Why did AKP accept constitutional secularism?
PM Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül

7. AKP Electoral Successes
The propitious Turkish political landscape
Economic boom
2002: >34%, single-party govt.
2007: >46%
2011: ~50%

8. Why the Rise of Islamism? Contending perspectives . . .

9. I. Islamic Doctrine and/or Culture
The dimensions of the argument
Islamic doctrine: The lack of separation between religion and politics
Culture/Religion: The appeal of the language of Islam
Critiques:
Variation in Islamist movements, strategies
Over-prediction of the rise and appeal of Islamists
Public opinion data?

10. II. Backlash against the West
The argument: Civilizational backlash:
Muslim expectations/memories of greatness v. supremacy of the West  dissonance  reactionary political movements
Critiques:
Essentialism?
Again, over-prediction
Subnational variation in support for Islamists?

11. III. Economic Grievances and State Failure
State-led development & the fiscal crisis of the state
Middle-class variant:
Modernization  Educated middle class  High expectations  Dashed expectations “Relative deprivation”/frustration 
Appeal of Islamist social justice
Poverty variant
The Strengths of this Approach
The context of wasta and corruption (The Yacoubian Building)
But, critiques:
Empirical critiques
Theoretical critiques
Grievances as incomplete explanations . . .

12. Towards an Understanding of the Rise and Appeal of Islamism
Commonalities:
Economic context
Geopolitical factors
Ideational appeal
But why cross-national and sub-national variation?
 Organizational resources
Unanswered questions