From Bullets to Ballots: ViolentMuslim Movementsdome_136 214..216

David L. Phillips

New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 2009. 239p. $49.95.ISBN: 1412807956.

Review byKristian Alexander, PhDZayed University

In From Bullets to Ballots, David Phillips parts with simplistic rhetoric aboutviolent Muslim movements and explains the logic behind their emergence. In

this interesting book, Phillips develops six case studies of a variety of violent nonstateorganizations that include the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hamas in Palestine,Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Kurdistan Workers Party, the Free Aceh Movement, andthe Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front. Over the course of each case study,Phillips evaluates and contextualizes each of the organizations’ history, ideology, andstructure and provides significant details about the groups’ finances and leadershipmakeup. Phillips then logically concludes each chapter with strategies and recom-mendations aimed at promoting a safe transition from “Bullets to Ballots” or fromviolence to some form of political participation. By creating these sections, the authorhas made it easy to compare and contrast the different Islamic movements andanalyzes where they each stand in their path to politicization. Phillips’s book pro-motes an understanding of these groups and the context in which they emerge,helping the reader gain better insight into the culture and beliefs that govern Islamicmovements and their evolution.

Phillips’s main argument throughout the book is that democracy is imperative tothe realization of U.S. foreign policy and international interests. A genuine commit-ment to democratic rule is essential because, as in the way of Democratic PeaceTheory, no two democracies fight wars against each other. Phillips contends thatdemocracies (whether secular or Islamic) tend to be more reliable allies as well astrading partners. In line with that argument, Phillips argues that although the UnitedStates should stand behind movements making the transition toward a democraticgovernment, it must also avoid “arrogance and tread softly” (p. 22). Phillips states thatby leaving a heavy footprint—as the Bush administration has done in Iraq—theUnited States alienates allies, provokes further violence, and undermines local initia-tives, thus resulting in an environment that may be only nominally democratic.

The basic premise of the book is to educate Western policymakers and govern-ments, namely the United States, on how to help push the political process forwardin Muslim countries. Phillips outlines his proposed strategy by recommending that

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Digest of Middle East Studies—Volume 21, Number 1—Pages 214–216© 2012 Policy Studies Organization. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

“[c]alibrating the right balance between confrontation, coercion, and cooperation isessential to convincing Muslim extremists that their goals are better served via thepolitical process than through sensationalist violence”and that in this vein, both “hardand soft power are needed” (p. 201). More specifically, he proposes five steps that theUnited States can take to “make an effective contribution . . . as a catalyst and sup-porter of change” (p. 11). A foreign power attempting to support democracy vis-á-visIslamic movements, Phillips contends, must be patient, maintain modesty, treadsoftly, localize leadership, and recognize the limits of military intervention. TheUnited States needs to realize that democracy is a process that cannot be forcefullyimplemented, but one that needs to occur from within.

Phillips mentions that all extremists’ organizations can be categorized in one ofthree ways: first, they can be groups with illegitimate goals that use illegitimatemeans; second, they can be legitimate in the goals they pursue but may use illegiti-mate means; and finally, they can display legitimate goals and pursue these goalsthrough legitimate means. The groups under review fit into one of these basiccategories, although some are further along the path toward peaceful means asopposed to violence to achieve their aims.

The methodology of using specific factors in From Bullets to Ballots is a delinea-tion of conflict resolution. Phillips argues persuasively that a conflict cannot beresolved without understanding underlying issues such as historical interactions’ideology and goals, organizational structure, participation in elections, idiosyncrasiesof respective leaders, causes of violence, and international actors.

One shortcoming of the book is the lack of a definition or at least an attempt atclarifying what constitutes terrorism. Instead of defining terrorism, Phillips onlystates that the term is hard to define and that the methods of terrorism are constantlyevolving. It is only in the last chapter that he establishes the criteria for what couldconstitute a terrorist group, but this comes too late and is somewhat misplacedbecause logic would demand that the criteria should have been set forth at thebeginning of the book.

Another weakness is Phillips’s reliance on the subjunctive verb form. In each“Way Forward” section and in the last chapter, Phillips consistently uses the verb“should.”While this clearly provides the reader with the author’s view on what oughtto be done, the normative focus does not offer pragmatic solutions on how to actuallyaccomplish these goals. For example, Phillips asserts that “multinational corporations(MNCs) should also commit a percentage of their gross income for reinvestment ineducation, health, and other social welfare services” (p. 224). However, getting themto actually do that is an entirely different process—although to be fair, some MNCsare already doing so. In his focus on the normative, on the whole, Phillips exhibits asomewhat naïve optimism instead of providing pragmatic ways to implement suchgoals.

The book’s straightforward language makes it accessible to both policymakersand lay people who desire to learn about Islamic movements. In addition, Phillips’s

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attention to detail, primary sources, and substantive analysis make this book beneficialto the readers, including U.S. diplomats, as well as nongovernmental agencies seekingto understand Islamic movements present in countries in which they might operate.

In sum, From Bullets to Ballots is not a book that should be ignored. Besides itsinformative style and his astute indictment of the Bush administration’s failed poli-cies, it allows policymakers to see the big picture. Phillips’s recommendations may betoo idealistic in nature, but his suggestions provide a starting point of how to pressureviolent movements into possible democratic transition.

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