Promoting the Middle Way, Governmental Systems and Religious Solidarity (Ukhuwah Islamiyah) in the Islamic Countries

Abstract

This paper seeks to broaden our understanding on (i) how the Islamic political paradigm shapes political expression and different systems of government in Islamic or Muslim-based countries in the context of foreign policy and (ii) opportunities and challenges related to the complexity of relations between Islamic countries or Muslim-based countries in realizing the concept of unity (ukhuwah Islamiyah) in international relations and the factors involved behind the complexity of the relationship. This paper also goes beyond the observation that religious actors are competitive and have interests to more novel findings that draw on empirical studies beyond East Asia and Middle East and that religion exists within a matrix of power relations, which is shaped by the modern state, and how state formation is generated in spaces of disorder.

Keywords: Islamic countries, constructivism, international relations and foreign policy.