Speaker Series: "Bounded Integration: Religion in politics and Democratic Performance in Turkey and Israel" by Aviad Rubin

Aviad Rubin, University of Haifa
*Co-sponsored by the Department of Political Studies

About the Lecture: Aviad Rubin will discuss the Bounded Integration Model (BIM), an analytical framework for explaining the impact of varying levels of religious recognition in the state on democratic performance, and demonstrate its relative advantages vis-à-vis other theories in the field.Utilizing the model for exploring the religion-state relationship in Turkey and Israel produces surprising insights. Specifically, it repudiates the commonly held Western-liberal assumption according to which the separation of religion from state affairs is a necessary condition for a functioning democracy. In fact, sometimes the opposite holds true - when popular preferences support the inclusion of religion in the regime, failing to do so may work against democratic performance. Conversely, the integration of religion in the state within certain bounds, when this policy accords with popular preferences, may produce positive influence on democratic governance.

About the Speaker: Aviad Rubin (PhD, McGill University) is the Israel Institute Visiting Faculty in the Department of Political Science at University of Toronto. He is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in the School of Political Science, University of Haifa, Israel, where he specializes in the intersection between the politics of identity and regime theory. His forthcoming book explores the influence of the state-religion relationship in Israel and Turkey on democratic performance in both states.