Berkley Center

In this chapter of Islam, Gender, and Democracy in Comparative Perspective, José Casanova analyzes the patterns that distinguish democratization in majority-Catholic countries from those of Muslim-majority countries. Casanova centers his analysis on the so-called Catholic third wave of democratization that begin in 1974 and lasted until the mid-1990s, encompassing regions including Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Asia. In particular, it offers an interpretation as to why issues of secularism and gender, which have become so contested and entangled in processes of democratization in Muslim countries, did not play a significant role in transitions from authoritarian to democratic regimes in Catholic contexts.