About the Book
Although the popular uprisings of 2011 were not driven by Islamist forces, it is the Islamist movements, and the Muslim Brotherhood in particular, that have filled the power vacuums that opened up with the collapse of the regimes of the region. How did they do it and how will they manage their new political role?
In this authoritative analysis, Alison Pargeter follows the twists and turns of the Muslim Brotherhood as it battled through the years of oppression under authoritarian regimes to finally become a key and legitimate political actor.
From Egypt and Syria to Tunisia and Libya, the Brotherhood and its affiliates are now faced with the complex task of transforming themselves from semiclandestine opposition movements into legitimate political actors and, in some cases, into ruling powers.
Including new chapters on the Brotherhood in the wake of the Arab Spring, this updated edition is the essential guide to understanding the forces shaping the Arab world today.
About the Author
Alison Pargeter is an analyst specialising in the Middle East and North Africa, with a focus on political Islamist movements. She has held academic positions at the University of Cambridge and Kings College, London, and is a Senior Research Associate at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI). Pargeter is regularly called on to brief policymakers in the UK and internationally, and has addressed a wide range of audiences on her areas of expertise, including the US State Department, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Her publications include Return to the Shadows: The Muslim Brotherhood and An-Nahda Since the Arab Spring, The Muslim Brotherhood: From Opposition to Power, The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe and Libya: The Rise and Fall of Qaddafi.
Reviews
‘Detailed, authoritative, sober, perceptive and meticulously researched ... A must read for scholars, students and anyone interested in the Middle East.’ Jason Burke, author of Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam
‘A tour de force … Admirably traces the origins and development, internal debates and frictions, geographical spread – and abiding contradictions – of a movement that, despite its ambiguities and shortcomings, remains very much a force to be reckoned with.’ Alan George, University of Oxford
‘Engaging and intelligent ... A significant contribution to the existing literature on the Muslim Brotherhood.' Karin von Hippel, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington
‘Alison Pargeter’s book on the Brotherhood was published to critical acclaim in 2010 … Using both interviews and written sources, it provided a level-headed survey of an elusive Pan-Islamic organization that has been part of the Arab political landscape since Hassan al-Banna founded it 80 years ago. Now a well-timed paperback edition with a new final chapter offers some penetrating insights on the two dramatic years in which the Brotherhood moved from opposition to power.’ Ian Black, Guardian
'Pargeter is a brilliant and clear-eyed analyst of Islamic radicalism' Ian Pindar, Guardian
