Reformist Islam and the rise of a political third model in the Maldives: Elite discourses and societal viewpoints

Research output: ThesisDoctoral Thesis

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Abstract

This thesis examines Islam's relationship to democracy in the Maldives. In 2009, the country made a transition to an 'electoral democracy,' which institutionalised Islam and denied certain individual rights, including religious freedom. Using a discursive institutionalist approach, the thesis argues that the liberal and illiberal strains internal to modern nation-building projects since the 1930s by political actors with reformist Islamic (as opposed to Islamist) orientations were more decisive for this political 'third model'. Nevertheless, a Q study that maps societal viewpoints on Islam's relationship to democracy shows there is neither one fixed political model nor one fixed political language among ordinary people.
Original languageEnglish
QualificationDoctor of Philosophy
Awarding Institution
  • The University of Western Australia
Supervisors/Advisors
  • Yasmeen, Samina, Supervisor
  • McDougall, Debra, Supervisor
  • Brown, Graham, Supervisor
Thesis sponsors
Award date6 Dec 2018
DOIs
Publication statusUnpublished - 2018

Embargo information

  • Embargoed from 03/04/2019 to 13/12/2021. Made publicly available 28/10/2023.

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