More documents from Platteau, Jean-Philippe
More documents from Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization
Export to your Reference Manger
Please Copy & Paste
Bibtex-Export
Endnote-Export
Religion, politics, and development : lessons from the lands of Islam
[journal article]
Platteau, Jean-Philippe
Download full text
(528 KByte)
Citation Suggestion
Please use the following Persistent Identifier (PID) to cite this document:http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-268261
Further Details
| Abstract | "The question as to whether religion can block economic development and institutional change, or is a purely endogenous factor, assumes particular importance today because of the rise of Islamist movements and the disappointing economic performances in the lands of Islam. This paper starts from a critical examination of the thesis of Bernard Lewis according to which the lack of separation between religion and politics creates particular difficulties on the way to modern economic growth in these lands. It will be argued that (1) Lewis’ thesis conceals the critical fact that, even when political and religious functions appear to be merged, religion is the handmaiden rather than the master of politics; (2) the influence of religion increases when the state falls into crisis, owing to its impotence or excessive absolutism; (3) because the Islamic frame of reference provides political rulers with a cheap default option when they are contested, they rarely undertake the much-needed reforms of the country's institutions; (4) this way of escape is all the more attractive to contested rulers as Islamist movements, born of the internal situation as well as of the international environment, accuse them of un-Islamic behaviour; (5) as argued by Timur Kuran, by creating an “institutional trap”, the legacy of the Islamic classical system also makes institutional reforms more difficult to achieve." [author's abstract] |
| Classification | Sociology of Economics; Sociology of Religion; National Economy |
| Document language | English |
| Publication Year | 2008 |
| Page/Pages | p. 329-351 |
| Journal | Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 68 (2008) 2 |
| DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2008.06.003 |
| Status | Postprint; reviewed |
| Licence | PEER Licence Agreement (applicable only to documents from PEER project) |
| Document Type | journal article |
