The moderation of Islamist movements

Research on Islamism tends to give precedence to the violent and militant movements. The argument developed in the recent literature is that Islamist rebellion and violence is a product of political exclusion accompanied by repression from the state. To o ur knowledge, there have not been systematic attempts at analyzing whether the opposite scenario, political inclusion into state institutions, moderates the political behaviour and ideology of Islamist movements. We assume that the state is central as the difference between conflict and peace may be related to the establishment of certain institutions such as democratic decision-making. By approaching the issue of moderation of Islamist movements, this research will not only be academically important, but carry significant policy implications for reducing the level of political violence in the Middle East. The principal aim of this project is to conduct a multidisciplinary comparative analysis of the impact of political inclusion on Islamist movements in Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Sudan. Our research question is whether political inclusion moderates Islamist movements. More specifically, we will investigate: (1) whether political inclusion has moderated or radicalized the Islamic Action Front in Jord an, Hizbollah in Lebanon and the National Islamic Front in Sudan in terms of both political behaviour and ideology. (2) the political transition and parliamentary accommodation of Palestinian Hamas. (3) how political inclusion of the Islamic Action Front and the National Islamic Front has impacted on women's rights in Jordan and Sudan.