Shifting Reputations for “Moderation

Evidence from Qatar, Jordan, and Morocco

Bibliographic Data

ID6160855
AuthorsAnnelle Sheline (0000-0003-3821-1607, Rice University, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume12
Issue1
Pages109-129
Publication date2020-04-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMiddle East Law and Governance (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1876-3367 • E-ISSN: 1876-3375
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/18763375-01201002
OpenAlexW3021732583
LanguageEN
Citations received6

The article examines the monarchies of Qatar, Jordan, and Morocco to demonstrate how specific policies and ideologies do not necessarily correspond with the label of “moderate,” which instead primarily reflects a reputational strategy. Prior to 2011, Qatar had cultivated an image as a relatively “liberal” Gulf monarchy, but although few policy changes occurred, after 2011 the emirate was seen as sponsoring terrorism. The government of Morocco developed a reputation for promoting “moderate Islam,” yet religious intolerance persists, while the Jordanian regime has focused less on cultivating a moderate image than previously. Government efforts to develop a specific reputation reflect strategic maneuvering for both international religious soft power as well as consolidation of domestic control. Combining nine months of ethnographic fieldwork involving interviews with government officials, religious bureaucrats, and embassy personnel, the paper offers insights into how the strategic use of reputation has shifted in the post-2011 context

Consolidation (business · Context (archaeology · Development economics · Economics · Geography · Government (linguistics · Ideology · Islam · Middle East · Moderation · Monarchy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Reputation · Sociology · Terrorism · Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies · Law · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Psychology · Social Psychology · Socioeconomic Development in MENA · Accounting

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