Title
Determining Democracy in the Organization of the Islamic Conference
Abstract
Objectives: We determine the conditions that account for change in the realized level of political rights and civil liberties within the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Methods: We use ordered logit to assess the impact of religious pluralism and fragmentation and related controls on changes in Freedom House Political Rights and Civil Liberties scores at five‐year intervals between 1976 and 2004. Results: Findings suggest that the presence of non‐Islamic religious groups within OIC states leads to an increase in political rights, while the presence of Islamic groups practicing a version of the faith not officially recognized by the state reduced political rights and civil liberties. Conclusions: Islam's influence on democratization does not fall neatly into either the “pro” or “con” categories that have so strongly defined the relevant literature. Islam's influence is, instead, variable and contingent on the wider degree of religious characteristics within each state.
Department(s)
Political Science
Document Type
Article
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00558.x
Publication Date
2008
Recommended Citation
Calfano, Brian Robert, and Emile Sahliyeh. "Determining democracy in the organization of the Islamic conference." Social science quarterly 89, no. 3 (2008): 751-764.
Journal Title
Social science quarterly
