State building, modernization and political islam: the search for political community(s) in the Middle East

The experience of Middle Eastern societies with state and political community building implies a great deal of variation. Writing about this experience in one chapter is likely to suffer from a great deal of simplification. However, such a risk is acceptable since a certain degree of generalization is necessary to provide a perspective through which the variant experiences of Middle Eastern countries can be explained. The title of this chapter suggests that the process of state building in the Middle East is influenced by, or that it is a function of, both modernization and political Islam. The relationship between these variables is rather indirect, however. Modernization is the deep-seated process which underlies all kinds of changes in the region. Political Islam, on the other hand, is an endeavor to redesign Middle Eastern states and societies in conformity with Islamic law, known as shariaa. Political Islam is dealt with here as only the tip of the iceberg of a much deeper problem – the identity crisis in the region. The dynamics of identity formation is the variable that underlies changes and developments regarding state and political community building, and for a political community, identity is the concept that provides for cohesion. When the identity of a society is questioned by its members, other means are likely to be needed to compensate for the questioned identity, means which might include different forms of violence. Cohesion imposed through the use of violent means, though, is not as efficient as Afers Internacionals, num. 37, pp. 29-38