What were the reasons behind the terrorist attacks of September 11th and the many others perpetrated by radical Islamist groups? Does the cause of Islamist terrorism relate to the lack of democracy in the Middle East? The assumption that there is a causal link between the two phenomena was widely accepted in the post-2001 period and appeared to inform Western foreign policies in the region, but does the premise really stand up to scrutiny? Through detailed research into the activities of both radical and moderate organizations across the Middle East, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hizbullah, and the GIA, and via interviews with key personnel, Katerina Dalacoura investigates whether repression and political exclusion pushed Islamist entities to adopt terrorist tactics. She explores whether inclusion in the political process has had the opposite effect of encouraging Islamist groups toward moderation and ideological pragmatism. In a challenge to the conventional wisdom, she concludes that Islamist terrorism is not a direct consequence of authoritarianism in the Middle East, and that there are many other political and social factors that generate radicalism or inspire moderation. “Dalacoura’s informed discussion of the trajectories of groups like the Armed Islamic Group and Gama’a Islamiyya that led bloody insurrections in Algeria and Egypt, and those like Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood and Turkey’s Justice and Development Party that contest power non-violently, makes the case for counter-terrorism policies that appreciate the dynamic range of Islamist movements and promote democracy without claiming that political pluralism is the decisive antidote to armed violence that targets civilians. – Joe Stork, Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa division, Human Rights Watch “In this challenging book, Katerina Dalacoura situates her analysis of Islamist terrorism within the theoretical discussion of terrorism in general, in opposition to the thesis of ‘Middle Eastern exceptionalism’…Well researched and admirably argued, her book is a considerable achievement and a most important contribution to the debate; it will be read with profit by all specialists on the region as well as those working in terrorism studies.” – Hugh Roberts, Director, North Africa Project, International Crisis Group “Drawing on her deep knowledge of Middle East politics, Dalacoura powerfully challenges pat assumptions about a simple link between democratic deficits and the spread of Islamist terrorism and about possible moderating effects of political inclusion. Conceptually-rigorous, empirically-rich, incisive, and searching, this is a major study on a topic of fundamental, continuing importance.” – Thomas Carothers, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace “Islamist Terrorism and Democracy in the Middle East is well-written, thoroughly researched, and provides interesting details about many of the Islamist movements included, such as details about their internal debates over strategies and tactics. In it, Dalacoura raises serious and thought-provoking questions about policies and theoretical debates of tremendous consequence.” – Middle East Journal This text analyzes the supposed link between Islamist terrorism and the lack of democracy in the Middle East. Katerina Dalacoura is Lecturer in International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science. She is author of Islam, Liberalism and Human Rights, Third Edition (2003) and Engagement or Coercion: Weighing Western Human Rights Policies Towards Turkey, Iran and Egypt (2004). She has published in numerous journals, including the Review of International Studies, Millennium, International Affairs, Democratization and International Studies Notes and International Relations. Used Book in Good Condition