Muslims’ Support for Democracy in Post-Communist Albania: The Role of Sources, Threats and Ideas
Thursday, February 23, 2 – 4 pm
International Affairs Building, Room 1215, Columbia University, New York, USA
Speaker: Arolda Elbassani, CDTR Visiting Researcher, PHD in Social and Political Sciences from the European University Institute, Florence
Discussant: Karen Barkey, Co-Director of CDTR, Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
The fall of communism provided space for the rebirth of Islam in Albania. Their particular strands of belief and practice are both liberal, tolerant, pro-democratic and pro-European. Elbassani will explore the factors in Albania that induce Muslim actors to articulate and practice moderate forms of Islam, and will explain Albanian Muslims’ broad support for democracy. Although small, the Albanian Muslim case adds important comparative dimensions to the study of Islam and democracy in the world.