Belying assertions of the incompatibility of Islam and democracy, many Muslim-majority countries are now or have been democratic. Paul Kubicek draws on the experiences of those countries to explore the relationship between political manifestations of Islam and democratic politics.

Kubicek's comparative analysis allows him to highlight the common features that create conditions amenable to democratic development in Muslim-majority countries-and to show how actors in Muslim democracies in fact draw on concepts within Islam to contribute to democratization.