Foreign policy experts have long had a blind spot regarding political Islam, failing to understand or appreciate the complex interplay between a deeply rooted vision of a purer society and the competing demands of democratic legitimacy and constitutional liberalism. Temptations of Power leaves us no excuse for continued ignorance. It is a nuanced, carefully researched, and engaging analysis that draws ... Read moreon history, culture, political theory, and theology to illuminate contemporary politics across the Middle East and North Africa.
Anne-Marie Slaughter, President and CEO, New America Foundation
Shadi Hamid has an almost oracular knowledge of the Middle East. His analysis of the rise and fall of the so-called 'Arab Spring,' which he distills in this excellent and eminently readable book, has been frighteningly accurate. This is mandatory reading for anyone interested in the past, present, and future of Islamism across the Middle East.
Reza Aslan, author of Zealot and No god but God
In this first draft of history, Shadi Hamid advances a bold, counterintuitive thesis about the Muslim Brotherhood's trajectory: that political repression before the Arab Spring forced moderation, and electoral victory in its aftermath brought on illiberalism and failure. Even those who disagree will have to take on Hamid's arguments about the centrality of ideology. Required reading for anyone who cares about the future of Islamism, liberal democracy, and the Arab world.
Noah Feldman, Bernis Professor of International Law, Harvard Law School
The best book I've ever read on political Islam and the Arab spring.
Peter Beinart, author of The Crisis of Zionism
Who are the Islamists? What are the boundaries of their politics? And what decides whether they moderate or grow extreme? These are questions of great importance, which Shadi Hamid addresses in Temptations of Power with clarity and erudition. Hamid relies on his intimate experience with Islamist politics to provide an expansive picture of religious and political issues that are shaping the future of the Middle East. This book is a welcome contribution to the debate on the future of Islamism, one that all those interested in Middle East politics should read.
Vali Nasr, author of The Dispensable Nation
The Islamists are a confounding political phenomenon, and Mr. Hamid is acute on the paradoxes they present... he is to be commended for delivering complicated news to no one's liking
not the Brothers, not their modestly hopeful fans in the West, and not their fire-breathing enemies either.
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