Aarhus Universitets segl

The Caliphate and the Rise of the 'Islamic State': Back to the Future?

Public lecture by Professor James Piscatori

Oplysninger om arrangementet

Tidspunkt

Mandag 30. november 2015,  kl. 14:15 - 16:00

Sted

1482-105

Arrangør

ICSRU

With the rise of ISIS, the emergence of a self-proclaimed caliphate in the Middle East both builds on and transforms Islamic political thought and is a consequence of unsettling trends in the region.  Many Islamists have responded to entrenched authoritarianism and a fragmentation of Islamic authority, but this distinctive totalitarian interpretation finds inspiration in a starkly idealised and confronting view of the past while embracing modern modalities. This lecture will explore the rise of ISIS and discuss its place in a 'broken' Middle East.


Professor Piscatori's is the author of Muslim Politics (Princeton, 2004). His  work has centred on Islam and international relations and on Islamic political thought, particularly as it relates to democratisation in Middle Eastern societies. His area focus has been principally on the Arab states of the Gulf. Recently, he has been working on pan-Islamism and Islamic transnationalism, and specifically investigating the contemporary meaning of the ummah. He has worked at several universities in Britain, Australia and the United States. In Britain, he was Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies and Fellow of Wadham College, Oxford; and Professor of International Politics in the University of Aberystwyth. In addition, he was Professor at the Australian National University and Associate Profesor in the School of Advanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins University.