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4 - Cultural Dimensions of Political Contestation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2009

Jillian Schwedler
Affiliation:
University of Maryland, College Park
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Summary

In the preceding chapters, I have explored in detail two dimensions of change in Jordan and Yemen that resulted from regime-led political openings: political opportunity structure and internal group practices (organization, decision-making processes, and willingness to forge alliances with rival political actors). Changes in each of these dimensions of public political space have significantly impacted the other. The comparison between the IAF in Jordan and the Islah party in Yemen thus far has highlighted structural dimensions, such as the role and position of the regime in the transition process, whether the regime competes as a party or sits above the field of pluralist political contestation, and the structure of competing factions and level of cohesion within each party. In this chapter, I begin to explore a third component of change, the cultural dimensions of political contestation, focusing on three dominant narratives central to public political debate in both countries: Islam, democracy, and national unity. I examine the ways in which these narratives have created opportunities and constraints for all political actors, but I focus my attention on regimes and Islamist parties. This chapter is devoted to identifying these cultural dimensions of political contestation in Jordan and Yemen and examining how insights from these cases can contribute to a theory that might explain precisely how moderation can take place. Chapter 5 identifies one mechanism for ideological moderation and then examines whether this mechanism was at work within the IAF and the Islah party to explain varying degrees of moderation between the parties.

Type
Chapter
Information
Faith in Moderation
Islamist Parties in Jordan and Yemen
, pp. 117 - 148
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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