Routledge handbook of political Islam

The Routledge Handbook of Political Islam provides a multidisciplinary overview of the phenomenon of political Islam, one of the key political movements of our time. Drawing on the expertise from some of the top scholars in the world it examines the main issues surrounding political Islam across the world, from aspects of Muslim integration in the West to questions of political legitimacy in the Muslim world.

Rebuilding regimes or rebuilding community? Teachers' agency for social reconstruction

Non-government organisations (NGOs) are playing an increasingly significant role in post-conflict situations as donor funding pours into rebuilding programs. Donor funding supports the development of a range of humanitarian and civic programs such as peace restoration, civic reconstruction and peace-keeping. This article is a case study of the rebuilding of the education system in post-conflict Iraq that contextualises the activities sanctioned by new regime and aid agencies in post-conflict Iraq. While the war and crisis in Iraq continues to fuel great debate, a full political discussion falls outside the scope of this paper. Instead, the intention is to unpack the way that the dominant regime rehabilitates the education system in a seemingly apolitical way. Attempts to rebuild the Iraqi education system appear to be a case of the separation of political rehabilitation and social reconstruction. As the need for the new regime to assert political legitimacy grows, an institution such as education experiences vast changes as local educational practices are restructured to complement the new regime. In this process, the local teachers and their cultural and educational expertise are overshadowed by the ‘neutral’ politics of reconstruction. However, the rebuilding of education systems is a political process, the politics of which are evident in the way that critical agents, such as teachers, are being reshaped in the image of the new regime. Teachers have the capacity to contribute to the long-term social and cultural rebuilding of post-conflict nations through their broad social and educational agency. However, the educational policy and plans of regime-sponsored funding effectively marginalise the important role of local educators in the civic rebuilding. Teachers’ agency in Iraq is being overlooked as a means of using educators as peace-keepers who can build long-term educational capacity and stability in the post-conflict situation.

Giving a state a bad name? Kyrgyzstan and the risk of state failure

The article discusses the possible state failure of Kyrgyzstan and the implications of the label of a failed sate. A brief history of the events that have led to failed state status include the Tulip Revolution in 2005, political protests, presidential election protests, and ethnic violence. The response of the U.S., the European Union, and Russia to the events and the national interests of labeling the state as failed are discussed. It is suggested that instead of establishing security other countries have labeled Kyrgyzstan as a failed state which has led to a lack of political legitimacy, an expansion of neoliberalism, and has dangerous implications for the success of the country.

The organizational legitimacy of the Bauhaus

Gaining and maintaining organizational legitimacy can be a major issue
for social and political structures such as cultural organizations. Legitimacy, sometimes called credibility, brings with it access to resources needed for survival and development. Organizations without legitimacy tend not to be successful in attracting grants, subsidies, and sponsorships. Research suggests that legitimate organizations may be seen as valuable social structures (Hybels 1995; Suchman 1995) and come to be “taken for granted” as part of the social fabric. In this article, I explore organizational legitimacy using the framework of institutional theory. I first define legitimacy and then discuss the key concepts of organizational legitimacy. Next, I present a case study based on an art/craft/design school. The school, known as the Bauhaus, existed between 1919 and 1933 in three German cities—Weimar, Dessau, and Berlin. Deterministic views of the pre–World War II environment suggest that the Nazi party was responsible for the closure of the Bauhaus. I argue that other factors were apparent. The Nazi regime was becoming a significant force in the late 1920s, but the story of the Bauhaus becomes more complex when viewed under the rubric of arts management and organizational legitimacy. In this article, I discuss how the Bauhaus sought and managed legitimacy and the role that the state and other actors played in granting that legitimacy. In conclusion, I offer a summary of the relevance of legitimacy to contemporary arts organizations.

Power, politics and legitimacy in information systems implementation : an ethnographic study

Systems implementation is inherently a political process. However, the majority of the literature in the area of systems implementation takes a simplistic look at factors attributed to success. These studies provide empirical evidence that “human factors” such as “top management support” contribute to a successful implementation. Rather than accept this, we challenge this view and explore two “human” issues – power and legitimacy inside systems implementation. By exploring the implementation of a learning management system at the University of New Zealand, issues such as power and legitimacy affect the way an implementation team collaborates. Systems implementation is a complex and messy process and we need to understand the implementation process, acknowledging that top management support is not always necessary to “successfully” implement a system.

Tribes and political representation: the case of post-war Iraq

 Ten years have passed since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, and the political scene in Iraq is still blurry. Iraq was promoted to be the democratic example in the Middle East. The US came to Iraq to “create” a democratic system that can be a model for other countries in the region. A major factor in creating such environment is by changing the radical centralised totalitarian regime with a weak state that can give more space to building the civil society in new Iraq (Looney, 2003). Nonetheless, the socio-economic and political indicators of the newly installed political “democratic” system point to notable failures. Apart from poor socio-economic factors, the new political elite has either misused democracy for personal, ethno-sectarian or partisan gains or abused the system to ensure their long lasting presence in the decision making arena. Corruption, disconnection from electorate, poor performance and carelessness of politicians and failing state service provisions have all made citizens question the feasibility of political participation in elections. The electorate seem to have lesser faith in the political parties and blocs whose legitimacy of representation  is at stake. Noticeably, tribes have stepped forward to mobilise people as a non-partisan and independent powerful social structure. They have been active in lobbying the state as well as encouraging their members for active participation. This paper discusses the extent to which Iraqi tribes are involved in political participation. It explores their roles in active citizenship and the way they represent and mobilise their  members. It also probes whether tribes have the influence on shaping the political trajectory in Iraq.

The prospects of deliberative global governance in the G20: legitimacy, accountability, and public contestation

This article contends that the ‘G’ system struggles to play a legitimate and effective role in global governance and argues that the G20 could play a important role if the forum was more publically accountable. This article argues that because of increasing forms of public contestation, the broadening agenda of the G8 and G20 and the uncertain status of global cooperation, that the legitimacy of the ‘G’ system is being questioned. As such, it is appropriate to consider deliberative avenues whereby public views could be considered by the G20 in a systematic way to foster forms of accountability. This consideration is animated by deliberative democracy theory and republican theory which advance a normative agenda which seeks to transform governance structures by enhancing the role of deliberation and public reasoning in political life. The article outlines the development of the ‘G’ system's legitimacy, considers possible modes of accountability and public involvement with respect to the G20 and examines the implications of more formalised public deliberation with respect to the G20.

Policing in cool and hot climates: legitimacy, power and the rise and fall of mass stop and search in Scotland

Prior to the amalgamation of Scotland’s eight police forces into Police Scotland in 2013 by the Scottish National Party government, Scottish policing generally enjoyed a ‘cool’ political climate, with low scrutiny and minimal political engagement. This paper argues these conditions hindered the critical interrogation of Scottish policing, allowing a policy of unregulated and unfettered stop and search to flourish unchallenged for two decades. We then show how this policy was swiftly dismantled in the ‘heated’ environment that followed centralization, a move that gave rise to the unprecedented scrutiny of Scottish policing by media and political commentators. The analysis suggests that the legitimacy and reputation of the police may owe a debt to political environments that encourage either ‘soft’ or ‘hard’ analysis. Also, that more heated political environments, often disparaged by academics and criminal justice practitioners, can drive accountability and contribute to more progressive outcomes.