The Islamic Polity And Political Leadership

This book is employed for the study of the Islamic polity and political leadership and examines the basic features of the Islamic polity. It provides a theoretical framework for the study of political authority in the Islamic world signifying individual leaders' characteristics.

This book argues that ever since Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979, which established a Shia Islamic government in Iran, that country’s religious and political leaders have used Shia Islam as a crucial way of expanding Iran’s objectives in the Middle East and beyond. Since 1979, Iran’s religious and political leaders have been concerned about Iran’s security in the face of the hostility and expansionism of the United States and other western countries, and the threats from powerful neighboring Sunni leaders and countries. While Iran’s government has attempted to align itself with Shia Muslims in various countries, such as Iraq and Lebanon, against American and Sunni expansionism, the Iranian government has attempted to religiously nourish and politically mobilize those Shias as a matter of principle, not only because of the Iranian government’s desires to protect Iran from external threats. The book analyzes Shia Islam and politics in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon which have among the largest proportional Shia populations in the Middle East and are vibrant centers of Shia intellectual life. The book's clear and jargon-free approach make it especially accessible for students and general readers who would like an introduction to the book's topics.

Do political leaders determine whether a polity will receive a democratic future or not? Research and advocates of democracy agree on the significance of political elites for democratization, yet there is a need for a more specific understanding of their role. This book develops a theory of political leadership at the point of nascent statehood to explain the emergence of resilient democracies. It employs four diverse case studies to examine the role of leadership and democratic consolidation. In doing so, the book identifies certain capacities of political leaders at the critical moment of nascent statehood as decisive to the future democratic quality of their state. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, democratization studies, state building, leadership, nationalism, Middle Eastern studies and South Asian studies.

Akbarzadeh and Saeed explore one of the most challenging issues facing the Muslim world: the Islamisation of political power. They present a comparative analysis of Muslim societies in West, South, Central and South East Asia and highlight the immediacy of the challenge for the political leadership in those societies. Islam and Political Legitimacy contends that the growing reliance on Islamic symbolism across the Muslim world, even in states that have had a strained relationship with Islam, has contributed to the evolution of Islam as a social and cultural factor to an entrenched political force. The geographic breadth of this book offers readers a nuanced appraisal of political Islam that transcends parochial eccentricities. Contributors to this volume examine the evolving relationship between Islam and political power in Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan. Researchers and students of political Islam and radicalism in the Muslim world will find Islam and Political Legitimacy of special interest. This is a welcome addition to the rich literature on the politics of the contemporary Muslim world.

In an important social change, female Muslim political leaders in Java have enjoyed considerable success in direct local elections following the fall of Suharto in Indonesia. Indonesian Women and Local Politics shows that Islam, gender, and social networks have been decisive in their political victories. Islamic ideas concerning female leadership provide a strong religious foundation for their political campaigns. However, their approach to women's issues shows that female leaders do not necessarily adopt a woman's perspectives when formulating policies. This new trend of Muslim women in politics will continue to shape the growth and direction of democratization in local politics in post-Suharto Indonesia and will color future discourse on gender, politics, and Islam in contemporary Southeast Asia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has dominated the country’s politics for more than two decades. To answer the question how one man was able to remain popular for such a long period of time, it is necessary to understand his leadership secrets. In Political Leadership and Erdoğan, former cabinet minister and long-time Erdoğan aide Yalçın Akdoğan provides valuable insights into the Turkish president’s leadership profile and explains how he relates to centuries-old theories of leadership in Turkish and Islamic thought. This book is appropriate for political scientists, international relations experts, practitioners and historians as well as scholars of Turkey, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. It is also intended to supplement courses in leadership development, political communication and public relations theory.

This book is an accessible and comprehensive account of political Islam in the twenty-first century. Drawing on insights from comparative politics and Islamic studies, it explains the complex interaction between Islam, society, the state, and processes of globalization. The book demonstrates that political Islam, far from being a monolithic phenomenon, varies considerably from country to country depending on its position in relation to society, the state, and the broader political environment. The book provides a portrait of Islam and politics through a combination of detailed case studies and country overviews that span the globe from the Middle East to Central and South Asia, Southeast Asia and Europe and North America—as well as a detailed account of the global jihadist movement. Engaging the debate on "post-Islamism" and the aftermath of Arab Uprisings, the book also provides a roadmap of possible futures for Islam and politics. Subjects covered include: • history of Islam and politics and an overview of key concepts • how political Islam interacts with the nation-state and the global economy • a wide variety of global case studies • profiles of key movements and individuals Fully illustrated throughout, featuring maps, a glossary and suggestions for further reading, this is the ideal introduction to the crucial role of political Islam in the contemporary world.