Mirror, mirror

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between political forms and cultural identity. It sets out to explore the way in which notions of ‘democracy’ and despotism are associated with distinct cultural formations. The identity of a political regime is less a matter of its political practices and procedures and more a function of the extent to which it can be considered ‘western’ or ‘oriental’. Given this intimate relationship between democracy and western identity, the paper examines some of the conceptual difficulties with the articulation of Islam and democracy in the context of the contemporary Islamicate world.