Government 224 - COLQ: ISLAM AND DEVELOPMENT

This course delves into the development issues facing Muslim-majority countries through a political economic lens and considers the validity of "Muslim exceptionalism" in the context of Muslim countries' developmental trajectories. The aim is to introduce students to the diversity of challenges facing the Muslim world, exploring the roots of underdevelopment and tentative progress under a variety of conditions, and inquiring whether these same challenges and successes are unique to Muslim countries or shared by their non-Muslim counterparts. A range of contemporary issues are covered: from the legacies of chronic political instability, conflict and the "resource curse" to the effects of widespread demographic change, urbanization and the evolution of gender roles. The first part of the course reviews theoretical questions and debates surrounding the concept of political and economic development in the Muslim world with a view to considering whether a unique "Muslim template" exists to inform how these processes transpire. The second part of the course explores a number of cases ranging from countries in North Africa and the Middle East to states in Southeast and Central Asia in the interest of highlighting and applying, but also challenging the knowledge gained from our introductory theoretical discussions.