
Master and Disciple
The Cultural Foundations of Moroccan Authoritarianism
Abdellah Hammoudi(Author)
University of Chicago Press
Will be published approx. on 1. October 1997
Book
Hardback
222 pages
978-0-226-31527-0 (ISBN)
Description
In the postcolonial era, Arab societies have been ruled by a variety of authoritarian regimes. Focusing on his native Morocco and building on the work of Foucault, the author of this text explores the ideological and cultural foundations of this persistent authoritarianism. Hammoudi argues that at the heart of Moroccan culture lies a paradigm of authority which juxtaposes absolute authority against absolute submission. Rooted in Islamic mysticism, this paradigm can be observed in the drama of mystic initiation, with its fundamental dialectic between "master" and "disciple"; in conflict with other cultural forms, and re-elaborated in colonial and and postcolonial circumstances, it informs all major aspects of Moroccan personal, political and gender relations. According to Hammoudi, its influence is so pervasive and so firmly embedded that it ultimately legitimizes the authoritarian structure of power. Hammoudi contends that, as long as the "master-disciple" dialectic remains the dominant paradigm of power relations, male authoritarianism will prevail as the dominant political form.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Publishing group
The University of Chicago Press
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 22 mm
Width: 15 mm
Thickness: 2 mm
Weight
425 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-226-31527-0 (9780226315270)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1: Foundations of Monarchical Authority and Forms of Exercise of Power: Toward a Redefinition of the Moroccan Political System 2: Dar-al-Mulk as Discourse and Practice of Power: The Cultural Schemata of Domination and Submission before the Colonial Conquest 3: Master and Disciple: Identifying a Historical Diagram and the Sources of Its Sanctification 4: The Colonial Elaboration of Authoritarianism 5: The Cultural Schema, Its Salience, and the Structural Tension It Mediates 6: On the Comparative Potential of the Paradigm Notes Index