Ideology, Religion and Culture in Modern Politics

Ideology

-Alternative to traditional sets of values such as religion whose basis are on rational thoughts rather than spiritual conceptions that pits good vs. evil.

or…

-Systematically coordinated and cognitively salient set of beliefs and values focused on politics

Ways to Conceptualize Ideology

-Highly organized systems of ideas about politics that are universalistic, not specific to one country or time

-Articulates particular views on human nature (peaceful, loving, egotistical)

-Competing world view in which the world could be seen and interpreted

Leninism

-Lenin’s major work, imperalism, explains the asymmetrical power relations inherent in capitalism

-Called it “Super Exploitation”, global condition that enables the wealthy nation-states to exert control of the capital market, marginalizing and suppressing global proletariats

Modernity

Modernity - refers to a type of society, typically one having experienced economy growth and a relatively strong state

• Used to justify colonial projects, growth orientation/capitalist economies

Modernization

-Process through which a society becomes “more modern”

-”Watchwords” include education, literacy, civilization and secularism

-European powers and westernized classes in the subjugated, colonized populations agreed such societies needed modernization

Multiple Modernities

-Multiple modernization processes beyond the European way

-They follow a pattern, but are distinct and influenced by cultures, traditions and historical experiences

-First introduced by Eisenstadt, goes against classic theories of modernization

Fukuyama and the “End of History”

-With the greatest rivals to Liberal Capitalism being defeated, he believed ideological evolution had come to an end

-Western liberal democracy justified itself as the ultimate form of governance

-Universalization of western liberal democracy

-Non-westerns will ultimately acknowledge the ‘saliency’ of the western-way and will abandon their respective ways

-Secularization is an expected outcome

-Western path to development will save the third world, and emancipate them from their traditional values that stood as barriers to liberalism/capitalism

Islamism

-Complex phenomenon with multiple dimensions and various ramifications

-Refer to perspective or ideology that seeks to implement Islamic beliefs, values in all spheres of life - including politics

-Variations (Sunni, Wahabi, Shi’a)

-Has been a powerful instrument for the mobilization of the masses, as well as providing legitimacy to governments

Post-Islamism

-Emerged as a counter-discourse of Islamism

-Emphasizes human rights instead of religious duties

-Strives to marry islam with individual choice, freedom, democracy and modernity (Asef Bayat)

-Associated with the value of democracy, re-secularizes religion

-The movement towards post-islamism represents an exhaustion of militant and indeological Islam

Samuel Huntington

-Believes that Islam has the inability to evolve from a theocracy to a secular state/modernite

-Based on two premises;

• Aftermath of the coldwar (Iron curtain) has been replaced by a “curtain of culture” (Islam)

• Universe is divided into various civilizations that compete with one another, thus cultures inevitably collide with one another since they provide unity/order in civilizations

-Believes in 7 or 8 civilizations (Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American, African)

-The conflict between these civilizations will be exacerbated by efforts of the West to promote its values of democracy (Liberalism) and maintain its military/economic dominance

-Greatest conflict will be between the West and Confucian/Islamic civilization

Critiquing Huntington

-Edward Said points out the unnatural categories of Huntington’s civilizations

-Most of his work are based on third-hand accounts, not scholarly works or theories

-Labelling groups as “islamic” or “west” overlooks the specific cultures, religions and peoples in that civilization

-Large scale demagogy and ignorance in presuming to speak for a civilization

(Demagogy - practice of gaining power by arousing emotions/prejudices of people)