Governing Islam and Religious Pluralism in New Democracies (Introduction)

Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19 (1): 1-3; DOI: full/10.1080/19448953.2016.1201983

5 Pages Posted: 19 Jan 2017

See all articles by Arolda Elbasani

Arolda Elbasani

European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS)

Olivier Roy

Ecole des Hautes Etudes; European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS)

Date Written: 2016

Abstract

Experiences of democratization, especially those outside core Western democracies, have seen the explosion of different forms of religious expressions in public and political life. After all, democratization is about opening the socio-political sphere, and creating an equal play field for participation of various contenders and alternatives of ‘good life’. At the same time, religious movements are usually among the best-organized contenders to articulate and pursue powerful visions of good life. That inherited legacies of nation-state formation, and the resulting ‘traditions’ of each specific country, are often at odds with the egalitarian-universal principles underlying democratic inclusion of different contenders, however, complicates the application of values of religious freedom and equality. That religious alternatives themselves consist of ‘comprehensive’ and often exclusionary narratives, moreover, makes them a difficult, even if unavoidable, companion of democratic openings. Hence, democratizing polities have to walk a very fine line between accommodation and restriction of religion in order for citizens from different walks of life to perceive the state as a shared home for everyone. Such dilemmas of inclusion and exclusion hinge on broader institutional choices, which concern fundamental questions about who is to be included and excluded, under what arrangements, and with what results.

Keywords: Religious Pluralism; Islam; State Policies; Democratization; Religious Freedom

Suggested Citation

Elbasani, Arolda and Roy, Olivier, Governing Islam and Religious Pluralism in New Democracies (Introduction) (2016). Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 19 (1): 1-3; DOI: full/10.1080/19448953.2016.1201983, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2898894

Arolda Elbasani (Contact Author)

European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) ( email )

Villa La Fonte, via delle Fontanelle 18
50016 San Domenico di Fiesole
Florence, Florence 50014
Italy

Olivier Roy

Ecole des Hautes Etudes

54, boulevard Raspail
Paris, 75006
France

European University Institute - Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies (RSCAS) ( email )

Villa La Fonte, via delle Fontanelle 18
50016 San Domenico di Fiesole
Florence, Florence 50014
Italy

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