CMES Seminar: Bringing in the Other Islamists - Comparing Arab Shia and Sunni Islamism(s) in the Middle East.

Despite being rich and nuanced, the field of Islamism studies has traditionally been narrow, in that it has primarily drawn from a Sunni-centric case universe. In recent years, growing attention has been paid to this Sunni-centrism, reflected in calls to include “the other Islamists”—namely, Shia actors. However, there has been limited reflection on why and how this inclusion matters. In our talk, we argue that expanding the case universe is not merely about adding more data—it requires a deeper understanding of the rationale, methods, and implications of such expansion. Drawing on insights from fields such as democratization, social movement theory, and international studies, we introduce a typology outlining three ideal-typical ways in which the inclusion of Shia Islamists can enrich Islamism studies: theory-testing, theory-development, and meta-theorizing. These approaches demonstrate how Shia cases can help test existing hypotheses, generate new research puzzles, and prompt critical reflection on the field’s assumptions and boundaries. Ultimately, we invite scholars to reflect more on how knowledge is produced and how case selection shapes both the questions we ask and the answers we arrive at.

Jeroen Gunning is Professor of Middle Eastern Politics and Conflict Studies in the Department of Political Economy and at the Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London. He is Visiting Professor at the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, and at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics. He obtained his PhD from the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, Durham University, and was a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow at St Antony’s College, Oxford University. Before coming to King’s College London, he was Founding Director of the Durham Global Security Institute at Durham University. He is one of the founders of the field of critical terrorism studies and has taught and advised both policy-makers and civil society organisations. Read more about Jeroen Gunning here (link to King's College London)

Morten Valbjørn is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at Aarhus University. Together with Jeroen Gunning, he has been directing the international research project ‘TOI: Bringing in the Other Islamists’ (www.ps.au.dk/toi), and previously he was leading the project ‘SWAR: Sectarianism in the Wake of the Arab Revolts’ (www.ps.au.dk/swar). In addition to Shia/Sunni sectarianism and the transformations of Islamism, his research focuses on the International Relations Theory/Middle East studies nexus and (the study of) international relations in an (un)exceptional Middle East. His research has appeared in a range of IR, comparative politics and Middle East specific journals, see also www.ps.au.dk/valbjorn.