Authority without Territory: The Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili Imamate

by Daryoush Mohammad Poor

Introduction 1. Max Weber, Authority and Leadership 2. Imamate and the Question of Authority in Muslim and Shi?i Contexts 3. The Aga A Visionary Leader 4. The An overview of the Ismaili imamate's Institutional Endeavors 5. Hybrid Leadership and the Case of the Ismaili Imamate Conclusion

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Rickey McKown · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this study, based on his PhD dissertation, Dr. Daryoush Mohammad Poor provides an interesting look at how the traditional authority and personal leadership of the current Isma'ili Imam, Aga Khan IV, has, over fifty years, been transformed into an institutionalised "office of the Imamate", especially seeing this displayed in the agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network, which Poor sees as an expressing the Imam's own cosmopolitan ethic as well as the broader social conscience of the Islamic tradition. Poor examines the Imam's leadership style within the framework of Weber's model of three "ideal" leadership types (charismatic, traditional, bureaucratic-rational), a model which he considers to be inadequate to express what he calls the Imam's "hybrid" leadership, encompassing elements of all three. Although, as another reviewer noted, the book is somewhat repetitious, this is, I believe, just part of a broader shortcoming - the lack of adequate editing, evidenced by such things as definite articles or commas used where not appropriate or, alternatively, omitted where needed. An sad trend in academic publishing. Still, this study provides a worthwhile examination of its subject and is therefore recommended.

[Anis A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book has some really interesting ideas, but being a PhD thesis at its core, you can tell that the author was struggling to achieve the length required to get this into book form. Lots of repetition of ideas are found between the pages, and this could easily have been half the length if the author so wishes to make it so. Still has some good insights. Would recommend for someone looking for insights with the caveat that they supplement their reading with other material.

[Zara Muhammad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the structure and flow of the book