Overview

Political Islam: Movements, Ideologies, and Governance in Comparative Perspective is a textbook that offers a comprehensive and accessible exploration of Islamist movements and the diverse political models they have pursued across the modern Muslim world. Bridging theology, political theory, and case-based analysis, this book examines how religion, nationalism, and armed resistance have intersected to shape contemporary Muslim-majority states. The book begins with foundational chapters that compare the historical relationship between religion and politics in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam and then outlines key differences between Western democratic theory and Islamic governance models. It proceeds to examine seminal Islamist movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the ideological legacy of Sayyid Qutb, Iran’s Shi‘i theocracy, and resistance movements such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Taliban. Each chapter integrates ideological analysis with political history, institutional development, and regional context. Unique among books in the field, Political Islam: Movements, Ideologies, and Governance in Comparative Perspective combines intellectual genealogy with detailed case studies and comparative frameworks, enabling students to grasp both the diversity and coherence of Islamist thought. The book also engages current events – including the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault and its geopolitical aftermath – while highlighting broader debates over Islamic law, militancy, democratization, and international humanitarian law. This book will appeal to students and scholars of Middle East politics, Islamic studies, political theory, and global affairs, offering a nuanced and critical understanding of one of the most complex and consequential forces in modern world politics.

Full Product Details

9781041166054

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Seldom has there been a book with such remarkable depth and breadth. Laremont provides a deep yet succinct analytical framework for understanding the roots of political Islam, and then explores some of the most relevant concepts, theories, and cases that continue to shape Islam at both the global and local levels. For anyone interested in a thorough treatment of political Islam and its many manifestations in the contemporary era, this book is essential reading."" Mehran Kamrava, Professor of Government, Georgetown University in Qatar ""With authoritative depth and analytical clarity, Ricardo Laremont presents in Political Islam: Movements, Ideologies, and Governance in Comparative Perspective a nuanced examination of political Islam, skillfully combining conceptual rigor with pertinent case studies. The author's indispensable comparative framework and vast expertise effectively contest unpolished accounts, offering an invaluable and a masterful contribution to a complex and contested field. Highly recommended to anyone who seeks to understand the complexities of political Islam."" Emad El-Din Shahin, Professor of Islamic Studies, Hamad Bin Khalifa University ""In Political Islam: Movements, Ideologies, and Governance in Comparative Perspective, Ricardo Laremont has provided a timely pedagogic text on political Islam written with clarity of language that draws from his decades of engagement with and deep scholarly expertise on the diversity of Islamic political thought that animate pluralistic Muslim societies around the world. In each chapter of the book, Laremont introduces a conceptual idea within a given school of thoughts of political Islam and examines its strength, challenges and limitations within and outside its own cultural settings. Without prejudice, Laremont brings an ethical eye to the examination of political Islam within the context of the geopolitics that underlines Israel-Palestinian conflicts for decades and the quest for sustainable just peace for all in the Middle East. Laremont’s Political Islam is an essential book that is a must-read by scholars, students and layperson interested in advancing just peace for all in the Middle East and around the world."" Ousseina Alidou, Distinguished Professor of Humane Letters, Rutgers University ""Professor Ricardo R. Laremont’s Political Islam offers an astute, and up to date textbook on the one the most important phenomenon of our time. As it promised, the book delivers a great synthesis of the current scholarship on political Islam, in addition to the author’s insightful remarks on its status, prospects, and future viability. In the process, Laremont delivers a sophisticated piece of scholarship, which has proven beyond any doubt that the future and viability of political Islam as dynamic, plural, and multi-faceted movements depend on the adaptability of their leaders and theorists to the demands of evolving concepts of social and religious diversities, democracy, and the realities of our times. The book offers a brilliant guidance to scholars and students of these diverse movements– ranging from the reformist-electoral groups, theocratic-statist regimes, militant-jihadist groups, and hybrid-pragmatic actors. Most important, it helps its reader understands the plurality and trajectories of these political Islamist movements."" Salah M. Hassan, Chancellor of Global Studies University, and Dean of The Africa Institute, Sharjah, UAE. Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Arts and Sciences, Cornell University

Author Information

Ricardo René Larémont is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Binghamton University (State University of New York). A political scientist and sociologist, he specializes in Islamic politics, Islamic law, conflict resolution, and democratization, with a regional focus on North Africa and the Sahel. Larémont earned a B.A. in political science from New York University, a J.D. from NYU School of Law, and a Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. He is the author of Islam and the Politics of Resistance in Algeria and Islamic Law and Politics in Northern Nigeria, and editor of Revolution, Revolt, and Reform in North Africa: The Arab Spring and Beyond. His articles have appeared in African Security, The Journal of the Middle East and Africa, and Stability: International Journal of Security & Development.

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