Religious Authority, Religiosity, and Political Competition in the Middle East

Session Submission Type: Full Paper Panel

Session Description

Until recently, the nexus of politics and religion scholarship in the Middle East has largely been characterized either by ignorance of religion—i.e. religion has little causal effect or us purely instrumental—or by essentialism—i.e. religious doctrine is the primary causal factor capable of account for a wide range of social and political outcomes. This panel strikes a balance between the two literatures and brings religion front and center. By placing competition and changing natures of religion and religious discourse in focus, the panel underscores the variable forms religion takes and the ways such variation in religion affects political outcomes. Panelists examine the dynamics of support for ISIS throughout the Middle East; the mechanisms through which religious authority is established, drawing heavily from political competition; how different forms of Wahhabism affect political outcomes in rentier political economies; and, natural disasters’ direct effect on religiosity and indirect effect on political preferences via religiosity. The panel draws from original sources of quantitative data. More specifically, panelists use data from conjoint experiments, endorsement experiments, a regionwide survey on religious authority, and geodata. The panel makes an important contribution to the religion-politics subfield with its political economic perspective, use of original data, and novel methodologies.

Sub Unit

• DIVISION 33: Religion and Politics

Cosponsor

• DIVISION 57: Middle East and North Africa Politics

Individual Presentations

• The Political Effects of Wahhabi Religious Authorities in the Gulf - Courtney Freer, London School of Economics

• From Disaster to Risk: Exploring Impact of Earthquakes on Religiosity in Turkey - Avital Livny, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

• Measuring Support for ISIS through Endorsement Experiments - Sharan Grewal, College of William & Mary; A.Kadir Yildirim, Rice University; Scott Williamson, Stanford; Yusuf Sarfati, Illinois State University

• Preaching Politics: Political Contestation & Religious Authority in Middle East - Scott Williamson, Stanford University; A.Kadir Yildirim, Rice University; Sharan Grewal, College of William & Mary; Yusuf Sarfati, Illinois State University

Chair

• Amaney Jamal Princeton University

Discussants

• Richard Nielsen MIT

• A.Kadir Yildirim Rice University