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Religious parties are increasingly common in all parts of the world. Their rise in Muslim-majority countries has been particularly prominent as they increasingly participate in elections, win legislative seats and join governments. Since they are often founded on orthodox principles that are inconsistent with liberal democracy, the consequences of their rise and success for the prospects of liberal democratic values and practices has inspired much heated debate and discussion. This book considers a question that has been central in these debates: will the rise and success of religious parties lead to declines in the civil liberties of their citizens?
List of contents
- Chapter 1: Introduction
- Chapter 2: Religious Parties and Religious Organizations: The Fruits of Partnership
- Chapter 3: Religious Parties, Religious Organizations and the Decline of Civil Liberties
- Chapter 4: The Institutionalization of Religious Organizations in MMCs: Statistical Evidence
- Chapter 5: Civil Liberties in Muslim-Majority Countries: Statistical Evidence
- Chapter 6: The Fall of an Icon: Institutionalization of Religious Organizations: Turkey
- Chapter 7: Resilience and Decline: Religious Parties, Religious Organizations and Institutionalization in Pakistan
- Chapter 8: The Fall of an Icon: The Decline in Civil Liberties in Turkey
- Chapter 9: Resilience and Decline: Civil Liberties in Pakistan
- Chapter 10: Conclusion: Summary and Implications for Future Research
- Appendices
- References
About the author
Vineeta Yadav is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Penn State University. She specializes in South Asian politics and has authored several books looking at the actions, political influence, and impact of lobbies in developing countries. Her book on business lobbies and their impact corruption, Political Parties, Business Groups, and Corruption in Developing Countries (Oxford) won two book awards and an honourable mention for a third award from the American Political Science Association.
Summary
A data-driven explanation of when successful religious parties reduce the civil liberties of their citizens in Muslim-majority countries and when they don't.
Religious parties are increasingly common across the world. More and more, they participate in elections, win legislative seats, and join governments, particularly in Muslim-majority countries. Since they are often founded on orthodox principles that are inconsistent with liberal democracy, their rise potentially holds consequences for the prospects of liberal democratic values and practices-and this risk has inspired much heated debate. In Religious Parties and the Politics of Civil Liberties, the award-winning political science scholar Vineeta Yadav considers a question that has been central to the discussion: Will the success of religious parties lead to declines in the civil liberties of their citizens?
Yadav summarizes the popular and academic sides of the conversation and addresses the weaknesses of both by presenting an original empirical analysis of religious parties' actual relationship to civil liberties. Many believe that if religious parties come to power, they will curb civil liberties in order to realize their religious visions. Academic research on religious parties, however, claims that the need to compete in elections incentivizes religious parties to moderate their behaviors and policies, including on civil liberties. Neither of these assertions has been systematically tested until now. With this book, Yadav adjudicates the debate using systematic data that covers all Muslim-majority countries for a period of almost forty years. She highlights the role that religious lobbies play in this issue and goes on to identify the specific conditions under which religious parties do or don't curb civil liberties. A sweeping comparative account that combines large-N analysis with focused studies of Turkey and Pakistan, this book will reshape our understanding of the relationship between religious party strength and the preservation of civil liberties.
Additional text
Religious Parties and the Politics of Civil Liberties is a much needed systematic, nuanced, and skillful examination of the relationship between Islamic religious parties and curtailment or expansion of civil liberties.Vineeta Yadav shows how concrete organizational and political needs and resources are deployed by religious leaders and politicians to expand the impact of religion on civil liberties. It is important reading for students and scholars of religion and politics, as well as policymakers, and anyone interested in understanding how and why religious parties and organizations affect civil rights and freedoms.
