Structural adjustment opened political space that Islamists filled with welfare services

Evidence

As a result of structural adjustment, state capacity to co-opt oppositional movements declined and services were increasingly restricted to urban middle class and elite areas. Income distributions polarized. Structural adjustment meant that states were unable to provide previously established levels of services or to ensure adequate supplies of commodities… . The political and moral vacuum opened up great opportunities that were seized by Islamists, who established a social base by offering services that the various states have failed to provide. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 339

Categorization

• XREF: The welfare-state-to-welfare-network dynamic parallels what Selod documents in American contexts — state withdrawal creates the vacuum that non-state actors fill. — connects to: American Cold War strategy cultivated Islamists against secular nationalism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 219; IMF liberalization policies created the educated but economically marginalized youth who fueled Islamism — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 340; Political Islam’s rise stems from modern politics, not seventh-century Islam — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 313 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Arab regimes in the 1970s deliberately backed Islamists against secular nationalists and the left #corroborates (0.60) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 372
• Political Islam’s rise depended on the collapse of secular nationalism #corroborates (0.55) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 312
• Political Islam’s rise stems from modern politics, not seventh-century Islam #expands (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 313