Contributions and Scope

Including contributions from leading scholars from Algeria, France, Germany, India and the United States, this book traces the rise and turn to moderation of the New Cultural Identitarian Political Movements, often labelled in the West as fundamentalists.

Argument and Analysis

Arguing that culturally based ideologies are often the instruments, rather than the motivating force through which segments of a rising middle strata challenge entrenched elites, the expert contributors trace the rise of these movements to changes in their respective countries’ political economy and class structures.

Explanation of Movement Moderation

This approach explains why, as a result of an ongoing contestation and recreation of bourgeois values, the more powerful of these movements then tend towards moderation.

Relevance and Audience

As Western countries realise the need to engage with the more moderate wings of fundamentalist political groups, their rationale and aims become of increasing importance. Therefore, academics, decision-makers, and business people interested in South Asia and the Muslim world will find this an invaluable account.