• Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
Carnegie Middle East logoCarnegie lettermark logo
LebanonIran
REQUIRED IMAGE

REQUIRED IMAGE

Paper

Islamists in the Arab World: The Dance Around Democracy

Link Copied
By Graham E. Fuller
Published on Aug 31, 2004

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)

Source: publisher

Summary
Are Islam and democracy compatible? And are Islamists willing to accept a democratic order and work within it? Debate has swirled around these two grand questions for decades and has produced a broad variety of responses, often quite polarized. Whatever we may think about Islamists, the topic matters vitally because in the Middle East today they have few serious ideological rivals in leading opposition movements against a failing status quo. This paper argues that democracy and political Islam are potentially quite compatible in principle, and the record indicates as much.

Click on link above for the full text of this Carnegie Paper.

About the Author
Graham E. Fuller
is a former vice-chair of the National Intelligence Council at the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, a former senior political scientist at RAND, and currently an independent writer and analyst. He is the author of many books and
articles on the Muslim world. His latest book is The Future of Political Islam (2003).

About the Author

Graham E. Fuller

Graham E. Fuller
Middle EastPolitical ReformDemocracySecurity

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

  • people watching smoke rising at sunrise from rooftops
    Commentary
    Emissary
    Bombing Campaigns Do Not Bring About Democracy. Nor Does Regime Change Without a Plan.

    Just look at Iraq in 1991.

      Marwan Muasher

  • Commentary
    Diwan
    Axis of Resistance or Suicide?

    As Iran defends its interests in the region and its regime’s survival, it may push Hezbollah into the abyss.

      Michael Young

  • GCC foreign minister meeting in Kuwait City on June 2, 2025
    Article
    Can the Gulf Cooperation Council Transcend Its Divisions?

    Without structural reform, the organization, which is racked by internal rivalries, risks sliding into irrelevance.

      Hesham Alghannam

  • Commentary
    The Middle East’s Promising Gen Z

    Fifteen years after the Arab uprisings, a new generation is mobilizing behind an inclusive growth model, and has the technical savvy to lead an economic transformation that works for all.

      Jihad Azour

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Baku Proceeds With Caution as Ethnic Azeris Join Protests in Neighboring Iran

    Baku may allow radical nationalists to publicly discuss “reunification” with Azeri Iranians, but the president and key officials prefer not to comment publicly on the protests in Iran.

      Bashir Kitachaev

Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
Carnegie Middle East logo, white
  • Research
  • Diwan
  • About
  • Experts
  • Projects
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Careers
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.