Definition
By most measures, countries with majority Muslim populations remain less democratic than countries in which Muslims are the minority. This observation has fueled a contentious debate on whether Islam is compatible with liberal democracy. Although the revolutionary protest movements known as the Arab Spring that began in 2010 have been seen by some to mark the beginning of a fourth wave of democratization, prospects for long-term democratic consolidation in the region remain unclear. Evidence about the supposed irreconcilability of Islam with democratic aspirations is generally offered by reference to the autocratic practice of “Islamist” states, to the writings of Islamist political thinkers who openly reject democracy, and to arguments that Islamic culture lacks a tolerance of political pluralism that is an...
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Kalin, M. (2023). Democracy and Islam in the Middle East. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_4109
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