A unique focus on the relationship between religion and political culture in the Third World using a comparative and thematic approach. Specific issues of religion-politics interaction in the Third World in recent times include: the rise of Islamic fundamentalist groups throughout the Middle East and other parts of the Muslim world; the political effects of the decline of Catholicism and the rapid growth of Protestant evangelical sects in Latin America; communal conflict between Hindu nationalist groups, and the politicisation of Buddhism in South East Asia. The common effect of such developments is to challenge existing forms of relationship between states and societies with religion used as a political resource.

Introduction; J. Haynes PART ONE: RELIGION AND POLITICAL CULTURE IN THE THIRD WORLD: THE IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION Religion and International Society; S. Thomas The Media and Religion in Third World Politics; V. Randall PART ONE: ISLAM The Politics of Islam in the Middle East with Special Reference to Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia; N. Ayubi Transformations of Mass Religious Culture in the Islamic Republic of Iran; F. Adelkhah The Islamic Turn in Indonesia: A Political Explanation; R. William Liddle PART TWO: CHRISTIANITY Churches and Politics in Latin America: Catholicism Confronts Contemporary Challenges; J. Daudelin and W. E. Hewitt Pentecostalism, Gerontocratic Rule and Democratisation in Malawi; The Changing Position of the Young in Political Culture; R. Van Dijk PART THREE: HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM The Vishva Hindu Parishad: Structures and Strategies; C. Jaffrelot The Politics of Buddhism in Southeast Asia; D. McCargo Conclusion; J. Haynes Index

FARIBA ADELKHAH appointed Research Fellow at the Centre for International Studies and Research/National Foundation of Political Science, Paris
NAZIH N. AYUBI Formerly Reader in Politics and Director of the Middle East Politics Programme, died suddenly in 1995
JEAN DAUDELIN Senior Project Officer at the Canadian Foundation for the Americas in Ottawa, Canada
RIJK VAN DIJK Affiliated to the African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
W. W. HEWITT Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Western Ontario
CHRISTOPHE JAFFRELOT Research Fellow at the Centre for International Studies and Research/National Foundation of Political Science, Paris
R. WILLIAM LIDDLE Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University
DUNCAN MCCARGO Lecturer in Pacific Asian Politics, University of Leeds
VICKY RANDALL Reader in Government, Essex University
SCOTT THOMAS teaches in the Department of Economics and International Development, University of Bath