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The West and the political Islam

The West and the political Islam. A history of m isunderstanding and false conclusions. The power of False Analogies: Misunderstanding Political Islam in a Post-Totalitarian World.

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The West and the political Islam

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  1. The West and the political Islam A historyofmisunderstandingandfalseconclusions Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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 Islam • EU‘s notion and policies are inadequate and unable to capture those trends • Therefore EU is missing opportunities for dialogue Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

  9. Europe‘s response to Islamism Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

  10. Europe‘s response to Islamism Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

  11. Europe‘s response to Islamism • Support of authoritarean regimes, „stability“ • Fear of Islamism as excuse, „bastions against Islamists“ • EU governments fail to see democratic substance of Islamist trends Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

  12. After the crisis of the old Arab order • 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 Chapter 8 & 9 Arab Society and Revolts; Anne Kruse

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