On January 24, 2014 Islam in a Changing Middle East convened its first annual conference “Rethinking Islamist Politics” with leading scholars of Islamist movements from Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Prior to the conference, many of the participants contributed brief memos outlining which, if any, of the major assumptions, arguments, or hypotheses from the rich literature on Islamist movements need to be rethought in light of the events since late 2010. The memos, available here, formed the agenda for the day and led to rich discussions on Islamist politics — from the experience of the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafi groups in Egypt to broader conversations on the nature of Islamist political constituencies and their organizational structures, and Islamist political thought and ideology — and the approaches scholars should be taking toward the study of them. These memos also appear as a free downloadable PDF in POMEPS Studies collection.
“Rethinking Islamist Politics,” Carrie Rosefsky Wickham.
“Progressive Problemshift or Paradigmatic Degeneration?” Stacey Philbrick Yadav.
“The Brotherhood Withdraws Into Itself,” Nathan Brown.
“Is the Post-Islamism Thesis Still Valid?” Peter Mandaville.
“Beyond Islamist Groups: Suggestions for a New Research Agenda on Islamist Politics,” Jillian Schwedler.
“Why Do Islamists Provide Social Services?” Steven Brooke.
“Jihadism: Seven Assumptions Shaken by the Arab Spring,” Thomas Hegghammer.
“Did We Get the Muslim Brotherhood Wrong?” Marc Lynch.
“Islamist Movements and the Political,” Roel Meijer.
“Rethinking Political Islam? Think Again,” Tarek Masoud.
“The Debacle of Orthodox Islamism,” Khalil al-Anani.
“The Shifting Legitimization of Democracy and Elections: the Muslim Brotherhood and Salafis,” Joas Wagemakers.
“Rethinking Post-Islamism and the Study of Changes in Islamist Ideology,” Michaelle Browers.
“Were the Islamists Wrong-Footed by the Arab Spring?” Francois Burgat.
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For more “Rethinking Islamist Politics” read:
“Interpreting Al Qaeda,” Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Middle East Channel
“When jihadists learn how to help,” Aaron Y. Zelin, The Monkey Cage
“Qatar, the Ikwhan, and transnational relations in the Gulf,” David Roberts for Visions of Gulf Security
“Saudi Arabia’s Muslim Brotherhood predicament,” Stéphane Lacroix for Visions of Gulf Security
“The Gulf states and the Muslim Brotherhood,” Guido Steinberg for Visions of Gulf Security