• Research
  • Politika
  • About
Carnegie Russia Eurasia center logoCarnegie lettermark logo
  • Donate
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

Additional Links

Full Text (PDF)
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 Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Why Has Tokyo’s Response to Kremlin Challenges Been So Muted?

    Japan’s long-term security policy is driven by concerns about China, and there is little appetite for (or interest in) pursuing a confrontation with Moscow.  

      James D.J. Brown

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    The Future of Russian-European Relations Is Bleak

    The truth of the strategic situation is that Europe and Russia are extremely unlikely to be able to “turn the page” on their confrontation within the next two decades.

      Arkady Moshes

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    How the Latest Election Changed the Role of Russia’s Parliament

    Putin’s conservative staffing policies and search for ever greater control have cemented parliament’s transformation into a bureaucratic appendage of the executive branch.

      Andrey Pertsev

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    In the Kremlin’s AI Propaganda Blitz, the Noise Is the Signal

    Russia’s AI-driven propaganda campaigns operate in a fragmented, chaotic, and often illogical manner. That’s not necessarily a problem for the Kremlin, though: It’s much easier to mimic genuine public debate that way.

      Ilya Klishin

  • Commentary
    Carnegie Politika
    Stalled at the Front, Russia Seeks to Undermine Ukraine’s Economic Capacity

    Russian strikes are weakening the economy sustaining Ukraine’s war effort. Closing the growing funding gap will require more European support and politically contentious reforms in Kyiv.

      Balázs Jarábik

Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
Carnegie Russia Eurasia logo, white
  • Research
  • Politika
  • About
  • Experts
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • For Media
Get more news and analysis from
Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center
© 2026 Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. All rights reserved.