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SUMMARY:CMES Seminar: Bringing in the Other Islamists - Comparing Arab Shia
  and Sunni Islamism(s) in the Middle East.
DESCRIPTION:Contact: info@cme.lu.se\n\nDespite 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\, grow
 ing 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 addi
 ng more data—it requires a deeper understanding of the rationale\, metho
 ds\, and implications of such expansion. Drawing on insights from fields s
 uch as democratization\, social movement theory\, and international studie
 s\, we introduce a typology outlining three ideal-typical ways in which th
 e inclusion of Shia Islamists can enrich Islamism studies: theory-testing\
 , theory-development\, and meta-theorizing. These approaches demonstrate h
 ow Shia cases can help test existing hypotheses\, generate new research pu
 zzles\, and prompt critical reflection on the field’s assumptions and bo
 undaries. Ultimately\, we invite scholars to reflect more on how knowledge
  is produced and how case selection shapes both the questions we ask and t
 he answers we arrive at.Jeroen Gunning is Professor of Middle Eastern Poli
 tics and Conflict Studies in the Department of Political Economy and at th
 e Institute of Middle Eastern Studies at King's College London. He is Visi
 ting Professor at the Department of Political Science\, Aarhus University\
 , and at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics. He obta
 ined his PhD from the Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies\, Durh
 am University\, and was a British Academy Post-Doctoral Fellow at St Anton
 y’s College\, Oxford University. Before coming to King’s College Londo
 n\, he was Founding Director of the Durham Global Security Institute at Du
 rham University. He is one of the founders of the field of critical terror
 ism studies and has taught and advised both policy-makers and civil societ
 y organisations. Read more about Jeroen Gunning here (link to King's Colle
 ge 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 transformat
 ions of Islamism\, his research focuses on the International Relations The
 ory/Middle East studies nexus and (the study of) international relations i
 n 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.\n\nMore information about the event: https://www.cmes.
 lu.se/calendar/cmes-seminar-bringing-other-islamists-comparing-arab-shia-a
 nd-sunni-islamisms-middle-east
DTSTART;TZID=GMT:20251002T111500
DTEND;TZID=GMT:20251002T130000
LOCATION:CMES seminar room\, Finngatan 16.
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