The Quran and the Sword

Abstract This paper elucidates the willingness of an autocrat to push through institutional reforms in a context where traditional authorities represented by religious clerics are averse them and military control means repression can potentially stage coup. We show that although always wants co-opt military, this is not necessarily true clerics. Exclusive co-option obtains loyalty autocrat’s army strong while organizational strength movements rather low. Radical then be implemented. Empirically, dominant regime contemporary Muslim countries double resorts double-edged tactic: pleasing official slowing pace ensuring so as put down clerics-led rebellions.