Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2008

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

PhD

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Political Science

Committee Chair

Scott Crichlow

Committee Co-Chair

Jeffrey Worsham

Abstract

Recent world events, ranging from international violence to elections, have propelled academics and policymakers to examine Islamic resistance movements more closely. Previous studies of such movements, in both the English and Arabic literature, has been limited to historical case studies. The lack of systematic cross-case comparisons has limited the development of generalizable propositions regarding movement mobilization. In a first effort to remedy this gap in the literature, this study examines the mobilization of Islamic resistance movements---the FIS, the PIJ, Hamas, the MNLF, the MILF and the ASG---in three different countries located in three different regions. Mobilization was examined utilizing the American and European paradigms within the social movement literature. The American paradigm emphasized the role of activists for mobilization, whereas the European paradigm emphasized identity. The central goal of the study is to answer the following: Do Islamic resistance movements share common mobilization characteristics?

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