Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey: The Paradox of Moderation

by Güneş Murat Tezcür

Moderation theory describes the process through which radical political actors develop commitments to electoral competition, political pluralism, human rights, and rule of law and come to prefer negotiation, reconciliation, and electoral politics over provocation, confrontation, and contentious action. Revisiting this theory through an examination of two of the most prominent moderate Islamic political forces in recent history, Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey analyzes the gains made and methods implemented by the Reform Front in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Justice and Development Party in Turkey. Both of these groups represent Muslim reformers who came into continual conflict with unelected adversaries who attempted to block their reformist agendas. Based on extensive field research in both locales, Muslim Reformers in Iran and Turkey argues that behavioral moderation as practiced by these groups may actually inhibit democratic progress. Political scientist Güneş Murat Tezcür observes that the ability to implement conciliatory tactics, organize electoral parties, and make political compromises impeded democracy when pursued by the Reform Front and the Justice and Development Party. Challenging conventional wisdom, Tezcür's findings have broad implications for the dynamics of democratic progress.

Genres: Academic

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2010

Reviews

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published in 2010, and compares the rise of what the author calls Muslim reformers in Iran and Turkey. In Iran, this took the form of a reformist faction in the government centered around Khatami, and later Mousavi. This faction was very successful electorally, and sought to transform the Iranian government system from within. However, it was ultimately not successful, and most prominent members of this faction ended up being marginalized. Interestingly, the faction remains popular among Iranians, and to this day, wins most fair elections in the country. However, the unelected branches of government in Iran have prevented it from making any real changes.

Turkey was much more democratic at the time, and the author traces the history of Islamic parties in the country, up to the rise of the AKP and Erdogan. The author's argument is that both Iran and Turkey show that Islamists will moderate if given the proper incentives. Often, their moderation comes from trying to expand their support, or from internal debates within the parties.

The author does an impressive job of tracing the history of both movements, and I learned a bit (particularly about the early leadership of the AKP) through this book. The main problem with the book is that it is dated. It was written just as the Green Movement was emerging in Iran, which the author discusses in the conclusion. This dramatically changed Iranian politics, and the book really doesn't address these changes. Also, in Turkey, Erdogan has become much more autocratic since the book published, so the observations about Turkey also largely no longer apply.

That said, the book is a good analysis of moderation theory, which looks at how political parties with extreme agendas often moderate over time. It is just that both cases have changed dramatically since the author wrote the book, so his insights aren't as valuable as time goes on, and moves further away from the situation he was studying. He also argues that Arab countries are not prone to mass protest, although the book was written shortly before the Arab Spring. Still, I think the author is a competent researcher and writer, so there is probably something useful to be gained from reading the book, despite so much of it being dated.