My doctoral thesis analyses the political ideology of Islamism by taking the case study of a major Islamist organization, namely the Jamaat-e-Islami in contemporary India and Bangladesh. In doing so, I try to understand the similarities and differences of the ideological articulations of Islamism in a Muslim minority context of India and in a Muslim majority context of Bangladesh. The thesis is written from a political theory perspective in general and within the realm of ideology studies in particular. The study analyses how and why the Jamaat is responding to the economic and cultural issues of neoliberal India and Bangladesh. One cannot possibly ignore the neoliberal context within which Islamists are generating markedly new kinds of political articulations with an unprecedented set of political demands, never seen before in the history of Islamist movements. The ideological articulations of Jamaat have been studied by analyzing various primary sources—organisational literature, the party constitution, policy resolutions, press releases, election manifestos and political pamphlets of Jamaat-e-Islami. In addition, this dissertation has also relied on field interviews with the Jamaat leadership in India and Bangladesh. Magazines and internet sources have been also helpful for this study. My thesis analyses Islamist responses to neoliberalism by discussing the contrasting conditions of contemporary India and Bangladesh. In doing so, I conclude that in India, Jamaat is opposed to neoliberalism whereas in Bangladesh, it has a ambiguous character vis-à-vis neoliberalism. However, Islamists in both these countries are opposed to cultural issues like atheism, ‘blasphemous’ views, live-in relationships and homosexuality, which they construe as the products of ‘western cultural globalization’. In this respect, I try to analyse why the Islamists are opposed to ‘western cultural globalization’. Finally, I also explain how Islamism, as a politico-ideological project of populist mobilization is facing a crisis in contemporary India and Bangladesh.

Die Autonomen sind die wichtigste Kraft im militanten Linksextremismus. Seit den 1980er Jahren machen sie mit Anschlägen oder „Massenmilitanz“ auf sich aufmerksam. Dietze beschäftigt sich in seiner Studie mit einem über lange Zeit zentralen Periodikum der Szene. Die Zeitschrift „Interim“ untersucht er hinsichtlich der in ihr geführten Themen und Diskurse. Ziel seiner Untersuchung ist es, Einblicke in das Denken der Autonomen zu geben. Hierfür arbeitet er zentrale, identitätsstiftende Positionen heraus. / The autonomists are the most important force in militant left-wing extremism. Since the 1980s they have been putting themselves in the public eye with attacks and "mass militance". In his study, Dietze focuses on a periodical that has been a lynchpin of the scene for many years. He examines the magazine "Interim" in terms of the themes and discourses it presents. His investigation aims to bring some insight into the mindset of autonomists. To this end, he maps out central identity-forming positions.

Die Autonomen sind die wichtigste Kraft im militanten Linksextremismus. Seit den 1980er Jahren machen sie mit Anschlägen oder „Massenmilitanz“ auf sich aufmerksam. Dietze beschäftigt sich in seiner Studie mit einem über lange Zeit zentralen Periodikum der Szene. Die Zeitschrift „Interim“ untersucht er hinsichtlich der in ihr geführten Themen und Diskurse. Ziel seiner Untersuchung ist es, Einblicke in das Denken der Autonomen zu geben. Hierfür arbeitet er zentrale, identitätsstiftende Positionen heraus. / The autonomists are the most important force in militant left-wing extremism. Since the 1980s they have been putting themselves in the public eye with attacks and 'mass militance'. In his study, Dietze focuses on a periodical that has been a lynchpin of the scene for many years. He examines the magazine 'Interim' in terms of the themes and discourses it presents. His investigation aims to bring some insight into the mindset of autonomists. To this end, he maps out central identity-forming positions.