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As Europe's Muslim communities continue to grow, so does their impact on electoral politics and the potential for inclusion dilemmas. In vote-rich enclaves, Muslim views on religion, tradition, and gender roles can deviate sharply from those of the majority electorate, generating severe trade-offs for parties seeking to broaden their coalitions. Dilemmas of Inclusion explains when and why European political parties include Muslim candidates and voters, revealing that the ways in which parties recruit this new electorate can have lasting consequences. Drawing on original evidence from thoUSnds of electoral contests in Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Great Britain, Rafaela Dancygier sheds new light on when minority recruitment will match up with existing party positions and uphold electoral alignments and when it will undermine party brands and shake up party systems. She demonstrates that when parties are seduced by the quick delivery of ethno-religious bloc votes, they undercut their ideological coherence, fail to establish programmatic linkages with Muslim voters, and miss their opportunity to build cross-ethnic, class-based coalitions. Dancygier highlights how the politics of minority inclusion can become a testing ground for parties, showing just how far their commitments to equality and diversity will take them when push comes to electoral shove.
About the author
Rafaela M. Dancygier
Summary
"This is a book about contemporary European politics and the demographics of Muslim political candidacies."--Provided by publisher.
Additional text
"This book is a most welcome addition to the social science literature on contemporary European politics specifically, and minority political representationin electoral politics generally. In terms of political responsibility, it aptly shifts the blame away from European Muslims."---Fatma Muge Gocek, Social Forces
Report
"Dancygier offers a compelling account of the dilemmas European parties face as they struggle to incorporate Muslim minorities that challenge their ideology. Combining rigorous empirical investigations with theoretical insight, she eloquently shows how electoral concerns dominate party strategies of inclusion, with implications for electoral coalitions and volatility and the political representation of women."--Claire L. Adida, coauthor of Why Muslim Integration Fails in Christian-Heritage Societies
