Confronting Political Islam

Six Lessons from the West's Past

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory, Social Science
Cover of the book Confronting Political Islam by John M. Owen, IV, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John M. Owen, IV ISBN: 9781400852154
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: December 1, 2014
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: John M. Owen, IV
ISBN: 9781400852154
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: December 1, 2014
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

Political Islam has often been compared to ideological movements of the past such as fascism or Christian theocracy. But are such analogies valid? How should the Western world today respond to the challenges of political Islam? Taking an original approach to answer this question, Confronting Political Islam compares Islamism's struggle with secularism to other prolonged ideological clashes in Western history. By examining the past conflicts that have torn Europe and the Americas—and how they have been supported by underground networks, fomented radicalism and revolution, and triggered foreign interventions and international conflicts—John Owen draws six major lessons to demonstrate that much of what we think about political Islam is wrong.

Owen focuses on the origins and dynamics of twentieth-century struggles among Communism, Fascism, and liberal democracy; the late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century contests between monarchism and republicanism; and the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century wars of religion between Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, and others. Owen then applies principles learned from the successes and mistakes of governments during these conflicts to the contemporary debates embroiling the Middle East. He concludes that ideological struggles last longer than most people presume; ideologies are not monolithic; foreign interventions are the norm; a state may be both rational and ideological; an ideology wins when states that exemplify it outperform other states across a range of measures; and the ideology that wins may be a surprise.

Looking at the history of the Western world itself and the fraught questions over how societies should be ordered, Confronting Political Islam upends some of the conventional wisdom about the current upheavals in the Muslim world.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Political Islam has often been compared to ideological movements of the past such as fascism or Christian theocracy. But are such analogies valid? How should the Western world today respond to the challenges of political Islam? Taking an original approach to answer this question, Confronting Political Islam compares Islamism's struggle with secularism to other prolonged ideological clashes in Western history. By examining the past conflicts that have torn Europe and the Americas—and how they have been supported by underground networks, fomented radicalism and revolution, and triggered foreign interventions and international conflicts—John Owen draws six major lessons to demonstrate that much of what we think about political Islam is wrong.

Owen focuses on the origins and dynamics of twentieth-century struggles among Communism, Fascism, and liberal democracy; the late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century contests between monarchism and republicanism; and the sixteenth- and seventeenth-century wars of religion between Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, and others. Owen then applies principles learned from the successes and mistakes of governments during these conflicts to the contemporary debates embroiling the Middle East. He concludes that ideological struggles last longer than most people presume; ideologies are not monolithic; foreign interventions are the norm; a state may be both rational and ideological; an ideology wins when states that exemplify it outperform other states across a range of measures; and the ideology that wins may be a surprise.

Looking at the history of the Western world itself and the fraught questions over how societies should be ordered, Confronting Political Islam upends some of the conventional wisdom about the current upheavals in the Muslim world.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Early Modern Jewry by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book The Imaginative Argument by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Praise and Blame by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Numerical Algorithms for Personalized Search in Self-organizing Information Networks by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Economic Gangsters by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Leaks, Hacks, and Scandals by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book The Secrets of Pirate Management by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book White Flight by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Thieves, Deceivers, and Killers by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Doing Global Science by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book #Republic by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book The Beginning of Politics by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book Kierkegaard's Writings, XI, Volume 11 by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book The Correspondence of Henry D. Thoreau by John M. Owen, IV
Cover of the book The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism by John M. Owen, IV
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy