Democracy And Pluralism In Muslim Eurasia

This book is a collection of essays on the prospects for democracy in Muslim-majority countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which includes countries that have gained full independence and those that are still within the Russian Federation. The contributors view democracy in the context of a wide range of influences, including the Russian/Soviet political legacy, native ethnic political culture and tradition, the Islamic faith, and the growing polarity between Western civilization and the Muslim world.

This book is devoted to the study and analysis of the prospects for democracy among the Muslim ethnicities of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), both those that have acquired full independence and those remaining within the Russian Federation. The nineteen Western academics and scholars from the Muslim countries and regions of the CIS who contribute to this volume view the establishment of democratic institutions in this region in the context of a wide and complex range of influences, above all the Russian/Soviet political legacy; native ethnic political culture and tradition; the Islamic faith; and the growing polarity between Western civilization and the Muslim world.