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1212. Political Islam in Morocco
- Author:
- Samir Amghar
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Islamist parties in Morocco have seen an ideological transformation from a radical – even violent – political doctrine to a more pragmatic and progressive strategy in recent years. This paper seeks to understand how the internal ideological evolution of Moroccan Islam and the international context have made collaboration with Europe and the US possible. The key Islamist players on the Moroccan political stage are the Party of Justice and Development and the Association for Justice and Charity, both of which have shown a desire to increase cooperation with Europe but this, they claim, has not been reciprocated by the EU.
- Topic:
- Islam and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Morocco
1213. Political Islam in Syria
- Author:
- Salam Kawakibi
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Syria is almost unique among Arab states in that the only variant of political Islam to be found here is state–sanctioned. This paper observes how the trends, tendencies and central figures of political Islam in Syria have positioned themselves with regard to relations with Europe, the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership and European Neighbourhood Policy. Based on a series of (anonymous) interviews with both 'independent' and more government-linked sources, Salam Kawakibi traces the evolution of political Islam in Syria, the growth of civil society agitation and the revival of practices of faith in this country. No party, no organisation and no individual within the country can claim to be both a representative of political Islam and independent, states this author in exile.
- Topic:
- Islam and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Middle East, and Syria
1214. Political Islam in Egypt
- Author:
- Emad El-Din Shahin
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Drawing on results from a survey among members of the Muslim Brothers and the Wasat Party, Emad El- Din Shahin, Professor at the American University in Cairo and Harvard University, looks at changes in Egyptian political Islam and examines the views of mainstream Islamists of the European Union polices and initiatives in the Mediterranean. The discussion focuses on the Muslim Brothers, the country's main opposition force, and the Wasat Party, as purporting to represent an evolving Islamic centrist orientation. Despite their seemingly different orientations, the commonalities between the two groups regarding their views of the EU far outweigh their differences. Their shared Islamic frame of reference and a perceived inconsistency of EU policies in the region largely explain this similarity.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Islam, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- America, Middle East, Egypt, and Cairo
1215. Political Islam in Algeria
- Author:
- Emad El-Din Shahin
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- The recent legislative elections of May 2007 in Algeria have shown how complex the evolution of Islamist parties is in this country and how crucial an understanding of these mechanisms has become for Europe. Since the civil war of the 1990s, Islamist parties have experienced increased political participation. Drawing on interviews with various Algerian Islamist actors, this paper analyses how Islamist parties are building a new relationship with democratic mechanisms in Europe. In light of these recent changes, a reconsideration of EU democracy promotion policies is now necessary.
- Topic:
- Islam and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Middle East, and Algeria
1216. The Armenian road to democracy – Dimensions of a tortuous process
- Author:
- Maria Raquel Freire and Licínia Simão
- Publication Date:
- 05-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- This paper looks at the Armenian transition towards democracy, focusing on the internal and external dimensions of the process. Internally, we consider the decision-making structure, with particular emphasis on the role of leadership, the development of political parties and changes in civil society. Externally, our attention is focused on neighbourly relations and external actors, including international organisations, particularly the European Union (EU), and its specific instrument, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP). The paper aims to shed light on the democratisation process in Armenia and the role of the EU in this process, by looking at the relationship between Brussels and Yerevan, at the instruments and strategies in operation, and at the international context in which these changes are taking place.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Brussels
1217. Political Islam and Europe – Views from the Arab Mediterranean states and Turkey
- Author:
- Robert Springborg
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- The social, political and economic power of moderate Middle East and North African Islamist movements has been growing for a generation or so. The question of how to deal with Islamists who reject violence, embrace democracy and outperform their competitors at the polls has therefore become a central concern not only of incumbent Middle East elites, but also of interested foreign actors such as the EU and US. Robert Springborg sees the need for the EU to clarify its policies towards the MENA region and Muslim democrats within it. The present lack of EU policies on engaging with moderate Islamists leads them to be at best curious about the EU and at worse to be suspicious of it. Engagement might itself help to contribute to policy formation in this important area, and serve as a vehicle to disseminate information about relevant EU policies.
- Topic:
- Politics and Religion
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, Arab Countries, and North Africa
1218. Political Islam in Turkey
- Author:
- Senem Aydin and Rusen Çakir
- Publication Date:
- 04-2007
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Turkey differs from the Arab states studied in the CEPS–FRIDE Political Islam project in not only in having a European Union membership prospect, but also in the fact that a broadly Islamist-oriented party has been in office since 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) still enjoys the primary support of pro-Islamic constituencies in Turkish society and its orientation towards the EU has not changed since its assumption of power. An overwhelming majority in the party still sees the EU as the primary anchor of Turkish democracy and modernisation despite the inferred limitations of cooperation on issues relating to the reform of Turkish secularism. Yet the growing mistrust towards the EU as a result of perceived discrimination and EU double standards is beginning to cloud positive views within the party. Decreasing levels of support for EU membership in Turkish society and the fact that explicitly Euro-sceptic positions are now coming from both the left and the right of the political spectrum suggest that the sustainability of the pro-European discourse within the party could be difficult to maintain in the longer run.
- Topic:
- Development, Politics, and Religion
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Arabia
1219. Book Review: Law, Politics, and Morality in Judaism by Michael Walzer
- Author:
- Stuart A. Cohen
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Carnegie Council
- Abstract:
- This volume of collected essays, most of which have been published in earlier volumes in the Ethikon Series in Comparative Ethics, seeks to bring a more concentrated focus on specifically Jewish outlooks regarding three key themes: "Political Order and Civil Society"; "Territory, Sovereignty, and International Society"; and "War and Peace." According to Michael Walzer, "The point is to display a range of Jewish responses to some of the hardest questions posed by modern democratic politics"
- Topic:
- Politics, Sovereignty, War, and Law
1220. The politics of national security: an unabashed liberal view
- Author:
- Todd Gitlin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- Is there any question about whether the United States must protect itself against mass murderers who devoutly believe that brutality is their ticket to paradise? The question is silly, or worse. When addressed strictly to progressives, it amounts to a calumny. Why should such a question be asked of liberals alone, and not of the conservatives who ignored warnings when the al-Qaeda plot to massacre thousands was well underway and the country's defenses were down?
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States