Islamic Democracy and Its Limits

"What is the difference between a democracy imposed by foreign powers and one developed locally, albeit within a political system dominated by religion." "Tawfiq Alsaif explores Iran's every-bumpy road to democracy, by analysing the political ideologies of both the conservative and reformist trends in Iranian politics and their distance from the traditional model of liberal democracy." "The religion versus democracy debate has been remarkably enriched in Iran by reformist thinkers' new approaches to questions of rationality, secularism, constitutional rights and state - religion relations. Iran's experiences provide readers with a better understanding of the potential, as well as the difficulties, motives and limitations relating to the process of democratisation in the modern Middle East."--Jacket.