the west and the political islam

The West and the political Islam

A history of misunderstanding and false conclusions

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

The power of False Analogies: Misunderstanding Political Islam in a Post-

Totalitarian World

• “They’re the heirs of all murderous ideologies of the 20th century. By sacrificing human life to serve their radical visions, by abandoning every value except the will to power, they follow in the path of fascism, Nazism and totalitarianism. And they will follow that path all the way to where it ends in history’s unmarked grave of discarded lies.” (George W. Bush)

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

The power of False Analogies

• Bush borrows language of past to talk about challenges of future

• Widely shared school of thought that promotes the „Islamofascism“

• Belief that islamism can only be met with resolute force• In the west is governing misunderstanding, view that muslim

states are governed by Nazi-like strongmen „Islamofascism“• Wolfe: Nazi regime and others only possible because of many

factors going together• World War I the „Great War“ first truly industrial

confrontation „European states were made for and by war“ (James Sheehan)

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

Why totalitarism will never happen again

• Today all advanced capitalist democracies have fiscal and monetary tools unavailable to political leaders in the 1920s

• Crisis in Eurozone still not possible because totalitarian systems are highly interdependent „Each system requires terror because the other system had terror“ (p. 178) Collapse of one prepared collapse ot others

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

The lessons of the Arab spring

• Germans in Nazi Germany never rose up significantly but Tunisians and Egyptians did thave also more control over their fate than the victims of totalitarism

• Still: American leaders have shown fatal attraction to idea that America‘s enemies are the incarnation of Satan

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

Societal Change and Political Responses in Euro-Mediterranean relations

• North Africa relevant strategic, commercial and economic partner of EU

• Belief that cooperation would allow change in the 90s • 9/11 lead to growing support for authoriatarian regimes,

interstate security- oriented cooperation• 2011 Arab Spring, Failure in Eu‘s policy becomes visible

preaching democracy but supporting authritarean regimes

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

EU‘s policies toward Mediterranean

• Objectiive of EU‘s foreign policy is expansion of democracy• Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP), 2008 Union for the

Mediterranean (UfM)• Civil Society: perceived as essential condition for democracy

small part of EU‘s fundings supports non-EU civil society actors and non-EU NGO‘s

• Arab governments limited access of NGO‘s to EU funding• Islamist theorists argue for alternative concept of citizenship

or civil society (family, clans, religious institutions)

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

EU‘s policies toward Mediterranean

• Islam-based feminism• IT leads to: cosmoplitan and westernization trends as well as

globalization of Islam• Religion: evolving both conservative/radical trends as reform-

oriented, moderate or more individualistic IslamEU‘s notion and policies are inadequate and unable to

capture those trendsTherefore EU is missing opportunities for dialogue

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

Europe‘s response to Islamism

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

Europe‘s response to Islamism

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

Europe‘s response to Islamism

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

• Support of authoritarean regimes, „stability“ • Fear of Islamism as excuse, „bastions against

Islamists“• EU governments fail to see democratic substance of

Islamist trends

After the crisis of the old Arab order

Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

• European‘s view undifferentiated perception of Islam• EU-mediterranean polica supports only concept of

democracy tailored to Western values• UfM practically nonexistent political and

multilateral dimension of Euro-Mediterranean relations has disappeared