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Module Specifications

Archived Version 2009 - 2010

Module Title Political Islam
Module Code LG574
School School of Law & Government

Online Module Resources

Level 1 Credit Rating 10
Pre-requisite None
Co-requisite None
Module Aims
  • To develop an understanding of the role of Islam as a tool for political and social mobilisation.
  • To understand the political processes of the Arab Middle East and to analyse the complex relationship between political structures (both domestic and international) and Islamism.


Learning Outcomes

Students should acquire an insight into the complexity of Islam as a religion and as a political ideology.  Also, they should become more familiar with the politics of authoritarian regimes and the politics of 'religious' opposition.  Finally they should acquire an insight on the relationships between the West and the Middle East and North Africa.



Indicative Time Allowances
Hours
Lectures 24
Tutorials
Laboratories
Seminars
Independent Learning Time 126

Total 150
Placements
Assignments
NOTE
Assume that a 10 credit module load represents approximately 150 hours' work, which includes all teaching, in-course assignments, laboratory work or other specialised training and an estimated private learning time associated with the module.

Indicative Syllabus
  • Introduction: Overview of the course.  Islam in a westerne dominated world.
  • Political regimes in the Arab world.
  • Islamic Response to the Modern World.
  • Islam and Liberal Democracy.
  • Democratisation processes in the Middle East and North Africa.
  • Political Islam and radicalism - Part I - History and Beliefs.
  • Political Islam and radicalism - Part II - Actors
  • Political Islam and radicalism - Part III - Relations with the West.
  • Political Islam and radicalims - Part IV - Prospects for the future.
  • September 11th - Causes and Consequences.
  • Islam and the West: democracy by imposition or democracy by contagion?
Assessment
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Indicative Reading List

Required Textbooks:

  • Karen Armstrong, Islam.  A Short History, London: Phoenix Press, 2000.  This should be read during the first week of the course.
  • Beverley Milton-Edwards, Islamic Fundamentalism since 1945, London, Routledge, 2005.
  • Beverley Milton-Edwards, Islam and Politics in the Contemporary World, Cambridge, Polity Press, 2004.
  • Gilles Kepel, Jihad. The Trail of Political Islam, London, I.B. Tauris, 2004.
  • Pascal Menorett, The Saudi Enigma:  History, London, Zed Books, 2005.

Other Mandatory Readings:

  • Fawaz Gerges, America and Political Islam, Cambridge University Press, 1999.
  • Roger Owen, State, Power and Politics in the Making of the Modern Middle East, London, Routledge, 2000.
  • Reinhard Schulze, A Modern History of the Islamic World, New York University Press, 2000.
  • Fred Halliday, Islam and the myth of confrontation: religion and politics in the Middle East, London, I.B. Tauris, 2003.
  • Mir Zohair Husain, Global Islamic Politics, Longman, 2003.
  • Amin Saikal, Islam and the West. Conflict or cooperation?, Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
  • Graham Fuller, The Future of Political Islam, New York, Palgrave, 2004.
  • Anthony Shadid, Legacy of the Prophet, Boulder, Westview Press, 2002.
  • John Esposito, Unholy War. Terror in the Name of Islam, Oxford University Press, 2002.
  • Gilles Kepel, The war for Muslim minds: Islam and the West, Belknap Press, 2004.
  • Francois Burgat, L'Islamisme a l'heure d'Al-Qaida, Paris, La Decouverte, 2005. (the book is only in French at the moment).
  • Gerd Nonneman, 'Rentiers and autocrats, monarchs and democrats, state and society: the Middle East between globalisation, human 'agency', and Europe', International Affairs, 77, 1, 2001.
  • Adrian Karatnycky, 'Muslim countries and the democracy gap', Journal of Democracy, 13, 1, 2002.
  • Kazem Alamdari, 'The power structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran: transition from populism to clientelism, and militarization of government', Third World Quarterly, vol. 26, no. 8, 2005.
  • Sanford Lakoff, 'The reality of muslim exceptionalism', Journal of Democracy, vol. 15, no. 4, October 2004.
  • Fareed Zakaria, 'Islam, democracy and constitutional liberalism', Political Science Quarterly, vol. 119, no. 1, 2004.
  • Robbert Woltering, 'The roots of Islamist popularity', Third Worl Quarterly, 23, 6, 2002.
  • John Waterbury, 'Hate your policies, love your institutions', Foreign Affairs, 82, 1, 2003.
  • James Toth, 'Islamism in Southern Egypt: A case study of a radical religious movement', International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 35, 2003.
  • Sheri Berman, 'Islamism, revolution and civil society', Perspectives on Politics, 1, 2, 2003.
  • Mona El-Ghobashy, 'The metamorphosis of the Egyptian Muslim Brothers', International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 37, 2005.
  • Lisa Anderson, 'Shock and awe.  Interpretations of September 11', World Politics, 56, 4, 2004.
  • Michael Willis, 'Containing radicalism through the political process in North Africa', Mediterranean Politics, vol. 11, no. 2, 2006.
  • Katerina Dalacoura, 'US democracy promotion in the Arab Middle East since 11 September 2001: a critique', International Affairs, vol. 81, no. 5, 2005.
Programme or List of Programmes
MAIOMA in International Organisations
MAISMA in Intercultural Studies
MDEVMA in Development
MIRMA in International Relations
MISCMA in International Security & Conflict
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