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Muslim countries experience wide variation in levels of Islamist political mobilization, including such political activities as protest, voting, and violence. Institutional Origins of Islamist Political Mobilization provides a theory of the institutional origins of Islamist politics, focusing on the development of religious common knowledge, religious entrepreneurship, and coordinating focal points as critical to the success of Islamist activism. Examining Islamist politics in more than 50 countries over four decades, the book illustrates that Islamist political activism varies a great deal, appearing in specific types of institutional contexts. Detailed case studies of Turkey, Algeria, and Senegal demonstrate how diverse contexts yield different types of Islamist politics across the Muslim world.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Islam and political mobilization; 2. From the sacred to the state: a theory of Islamist mobilization; 3. A political geography of the sacred: variation in Islamist political mobilization across space and time; 4. Explaining low Islamist mobilization: Muslims and politics in Senegal; 5. Voting for welfare and virtue: Islamist electoral mobilization in Turkey; 6. When Islam defines politics: from voting to violence in Algeria; 7. Conclusion; Epilogue; References.
About the author
Quinn Mecham is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University, Utah. His research focuses on political Islam, identity politics, civil conflict, electoral behavior, and democratic development. He is co-editor (with Julie Chernov Hwang) of Islamist Parties and the Normalization of Muslim Politics (2014) and is the author of numerous scholarly articles focusing on topics including opposition in authoritarian regimes, Islamist electoral behaviour, and protest movements. He has taught at Middlebury College, Vermont and George Washington University, Washington DC. He was an Academy Scholar at Harvard University, Massachusetts and served as Franklin Fellow on the policy planning staff of the US Department of State.
Summary
This book is a comprehensive overview of why Islam becomes politicized in some places and not in others. It is designed for all students and scholars of political Islam, especially those focusing on the Middle East and Africa. It examines cases of protest, voting, and violence from 1970 to the present.
