Elite Origins of Democracy and Development in the Muslim World

The Department of International Relations cordially invites you to a discussion on democracy and its development in the Muslim world Soli Özel.

Join us for a talk on the book "Elite Origins of Democracy and Development in the Muslim World". Using an elite consensus/conflict analytical frame, this book examines why some majority Muslim countries perform so much better at democracy and/or development than others, questioning received wisdoms that Islam, authoritarianism, and underdevelopment go together. Identifying four distinct democracy and development outcomes in the Muslim world, four case studies are interrogated to show that there is more variability in democracy and development outcomes in Muslim majority countries than macro-historical studies and aggregate data have shown.

By demonstrating that democracy and development outcomes in Muslim countries are the consequence of elite conflict and elite consensus, rather than the precepts or institutions of Islam, the book places the competition for power among contending elites, and distinguishes the religion from its ideological version, Islamism.

The event will take place at AB3 347 on the 30th of April at 15:30.