Research Interests for Abdeslam E. Maghraoui

Abdeslam Maghraoui is Associate Professor of the Practice of Political Science and Core Faculty in the Duke Islamic Studies Center. His research and teaching address key political questions facing contemporary states and societies in the Middle East: Why did the early liberal experiments fail? Why are current democratization attempts shaky? Are Islamic political parties good or bad for democracy? Are Islamic political principles compatible with modern political ethics? He approaches these questions through “political culture” theory to consider the possibilities of political emancipation and resistance to authoritarian relations within the framework of local cultural traditions and language. Instead of postulating a causal relation between particular cultural values and political outcomes, his research borrows from different disciplines to highlight the permanent, even if concealed, interplay between culture and politics in general. His work has been funded by grants from the Ford Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the U.S. Institute of Peace. His papers on North Africa’s problematic transition to democracy were published in the Journal of Democracy, The Middle East Policy Journal, The Journal of Mediterranean Studies, and Mediterranean Politics. His book, Liberalism without Democracy: Nationhood and Citizenship in Egypt, 1922-1939 (Duke University Press, 2006), reveals the inherent contradictions of colonial liberalism (the idea of occupying a people to liberate them). His book manuscript in progress studies competing Muslim conceptions of violence, morality, ethics, and authority in the context of Morocco.

Recent Publications

1. "American Foreign Policy and Islamic Renewal", Special Report no. 164 (2006), United States Institute of Peace
2. Liberalism without Democracy: Nationhood and Citizenship in Egypt, 1922-1936 (Duke University Press) (2006)
3. "Démocratisation de la corruption: Autorité politique et rèforme au Maroc,”, Naqd (Winter, 2004), pp. 105-126, ISSN 1111 : 4371
4. “Negotiating Political Identity: Clues from Psychoanalytic Theory”, Journal of Mediterranean Studies, vol. 14 no. 1 & 2 (2004)
5. Country Report - Morocco, Countries at the Crossroads (2004), Freedom House