Genealogies of Sovereignty in Islamic Political Theology

Social Research (Special Issue: Political Theology), Vol. 80 No. 1 (Spring 2013), pp. 293-320.

Yale Law School, Public Law Working Paper No. 268

23 Pages Posted: 26 Oct 2012 Last revised: 2 Aug 2015

See all articles by Andrew F. March

Andrew F. March

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

Date Written: October 25, 2012

Abstract

The events that hastily came to be called “The Arab Spring” have done much to reopen the question of what it means for a Muslim society to be ruled legitimately and to force Islamist parties to account for their visions of sovereignty and authority in the public sphere. This paper provides a historical and conceptual background to certain modern attempts to harmonize ideals of divine and popular sovereignty. I pay special attention to the pre-2011 doctrines of Tunisian Islamist leader, Rashid al-Ghannushi, particularly his attempt to reconcile visions of divine and popular sovereignty through the doctrine of a universal covenant of vicegerency (istikhlaf). I contrast this doctrine of a “caliphate of man” with other modern attempts to institutionalize divine sovereignty (Saudi Arabia and Iran), while suggesting a set of ambiguities this doctrine raises both for the idea of rule by divine law (shari‘a) and for post-revolutionary expectations of democracy within a “civil state” (dawla madaniyya).

Suggested Citation

March, Andrew F., Genealogies of Sovereignty in Islamic Political Theology (October 25, 2012). Social Research (Special Issue: Political Theology), Vol. 80 No. 1 (Spring 2013), pp. 293-320., Yale Law School, Public Law Working Paper No. 268, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2166953

Andrew F. March (Contact Author)

University of Massachusetts, Amherst ( email )

Thompson Hall
Amherst, MA 01003
United States

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