The “inclusion-moderation” illusion

Re-framing the Islamic movement inside Israel

Bibliographic Data

ID6252932
AuthorsCraig Larkin (0000-0002-6670-4209, War Studies, King’s College London, London, UK, corresponding author), Mansour Nasasra (0000-0001-9956-3660, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev)
Year2021
Volume28
Issue4
Pages742-761
Publication date2021-05-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueDemocratization (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1351-0347 • E-ISSN: 1743-890X
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/13510347.2020.1865315
OpenAlexW3120697317
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited40

The inclusion-moderation thesis posits that radical movements can be moderated through participation in democratic pluralist politics. Repeatedly applied to Islamist movements questions remain over its conceptual ambiguity and empirical veracity. Despite such weaknesses this thesis continues to be utilized to explain the diverging trajectories of the Islamic movement within Israel–its Southern accommodationist parliamentary branch (IMSB) and its separatist Northern branch (IMNB), now officially banned by Israel. This article examines this significant yet understudied movement, as a means of challenging the reductionist reading of Arab Islamist politics in Israel while at the same time rethinking the perimeters of inclusion-moderation theory. The case suggests that Islamist strategic moderation may be a result of both state repression and political inclusion but rarely does it lead to complete ideological transformation. This research suggests the IMSB’s pragmatic evolution, owes less to Knesset participation and more to internal organizational debate, a convergence of broader Arab-Israeli positions, and a response to the failings of post Arab Spring Islamist politics. Conversely, the IMNB’s perceived radicalism, is less to do with its extreme ideology but rather its own strategic framing and Israel’s ongoing fears of the mobilizing potential of Al-Aqsa mosque

Democracy · Framing (construction · Ideology · Islam · Lawlessness · Moderation · Political economy · Political radicalism · Political science · Politics · Sociology · History · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East Politics and Society · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Social Psychology