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How should the Western world today respond to the challenges of political Islam? Taking an original approach to answer this question, Confronting Political Islam compares Islamism's struggle with secularism to other prolonged ideological clashes in Western history. By examining the past conflicts that have torn Europe and the Americas--and been supported by underground networks, fomented radicalism and revolution, and triggered foreign interventions and international conflicts--John Owen draws six major lessons to demonstrate that much of what we think about political Islam is wrong. Looking at the history of the Western world itself and the fraught questions over how societies should be ordered, Confronting Political Islam upends some of the conventional wisdom about the current upheavals in the Muslim world.
List of contents
List of Illustrations ix List of Tables ix Preface xi Introduction It Did Happen Here 1 Lesson 1 Don't Sell Islamism Short 26 Lesson 2 Ideologies Are (Usually) Not Monolithic 46 Lesson 3 Foreign Interventions Are Normal 67 Lesson 4 A State May Be Rational and Ideological at the Same Time 86 Lesson 5 The Winner May Be "None of the Above" 110 Lesson 6 Watch Turkey and Iran 130 Conclusion What to Do and What Not to Do 156 Notes 165 Bibliography 193 Index 211
About the author
John M. Owen IV is professor of politics and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. His books include The Clash of Ideas in World Politics (Princeton) and Liberal Peace, Liberal War.
Summary
Political Islam has often been compared to ideological movements of the past such as fascism or Christian theocracy. But are such analogies valid? How should the Western world today respond to the challenges of political Islam? Taking an original approach to answer this question, Confronting Political Islam compares Islamism's struggle with secular
Additional text
"[Confronting Political Islam] is very timely and offers significant food for thought for both scholars and policy makers alike, irrespective of whether the reader necessarily agrees with the intellectual framing or generalized approach."---Joshua M. Roose, Journal of Global Analysis
Report
"With an innovative approach, Owen provocatively argues that previous episodes and ideological battles in Western history can shed light on the questions and likely political developments in the Muslim world today. The topic is very important and will spark many reactions and discussions."--Jeremy Pressman, University of Connecticut
