When victory is not an option : Islamist movements in Arab politics / Nathan J. Brown.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brown, Nathan J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Islam and politics--Arab countries.

Islam and politics.

Political parties--Arab countries.

Political parties.

Islamic fundamentalism--Arab countries.

Islamic fundamentalism.

Arab countries--Politics and government--1945-.

Arab countries.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (273 p.)

Place of Publication:

Ithaca : Cornell University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Throughout the Arab world, Islamist political movements are joining the electoral process. This change alarms some observers and excites other. In recent years, electoral opportunities have opened, and Islamist movements have seized them. But those opportunities, while real, have also been sharply circumscribed. Elections may be freer, but they are not fair. The opposition can run but it generally cannot win. Semiauthoritarian conditions prevail in much of the Arab world, even in the wake of the Arab Spring. How do Islamist movements change when they plunge into freer but unfair elections? How do their organizations (such as the Muslim Brotherhood) and structures evolve? What happens to their core ideological principles? And how might their increased involvement affect the political system?In When Victory Is Not an Option, Nathan J. Brown addresses these questions by focusing on Islamist movements in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, and Palestine. He shows that uncertain benefits lead to uncertain changes. Islamists do adapt their organizations and their ideologies do bend-some. But leaders almost always preserve a line of retreat in case the political opening fizzles or fails to deliver what they wish. The result is a cat-and-mouse game between dominant regimes and wily movements. There are possibilities for more significant changes, but to date they remain only possibilities.

Contents:

Partially political movements in semiauthoritarian systems

Running to lose? : elections, authoritarianism, and Islamist movements

Beyond analogy mongering : ideological movements and the debate over the primacy of politics

The model and the mother movement

The model in practice in four semiauthoritarian settings

Can Islamists party? : political participation and organizational change

Ideological change : flirtation and commitment

Arab politics and societies as they might be

Islamist parties and Arab political systems as they are.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780801477720

0801477727

9780801464362

0801464366

9780801463891

0801463890

OCLC:

785782377