Virtue and Vice: Morality Police and Social Control in Islamic Regimes - Comparative Study of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Taliban in Afghanistan, Projecting Power and Suppressing Dissent

This fascinating December 2017 report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction.

Certain states with religious systems of governance maintain and deploy morality police forces as a mechanism of social control. What role do morality police play in the social control programs of Islamic states? How are those forces employed, and what are the effects of those forces on society? These issues were explored through a comparative study of morality policing programs under three Islamic regimes: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan under the Taliban. This thesis argues that states with religious systems of government employ morality police as a formal method of social control to expand and stabilize their rule. Morality police forces enable the regime to project power into society and retain dominance by affirming religious legitimacy, suppressing dissent, and enforcing socio-religious and political uniformity. The examination of the selected cases further suggests that the tactics and operations of morality police have led to certain levels of domestic unrest. Despite some measures taken toward curbing the forces, regimes perceive them as too valuable for the preservation of society, religion, and political power to abolish completely.

I. INTRODUCTION * A. MAJOR RESEARCH QUESTION * B. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH QUESTION * C. LITERATURE REVIEW * 1. Hegemony and Informal Methods of Social Control * 2. Power and Formal Methods of Social Control * 3. Conclusion * D. POTENTIAL EXPLANATIONS AND HYPOTHESES * E. RESEARCH DESIGN * F. THESIS OVERVIEW * G. CONCLUSION * II. MORALITY POLICING IN THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA * A. BACKGROUND OF SAUDI ARABIA AND GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED MORALITY POLICING * B. STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS OF MORALITY POLICE FORCES * 1. Structure of the CPVPV * 2. Vigilante Morals Policing: Non-CPVPV Volunteers * 3. Morality Policing of Drugs and Alcohol * 4. Morality Policing of Gender, Clothing, and Sexuality * 5. Maintaining Islamic Culture: Music and Western Influences * 6. Policing Religion: Prayer, Suppression of the Shia, and Apostasy * 7. Policing Witchcraft * C. REFORMING THE MORALITY POLICE: THE CPVPV, MEDIA, AND CLERICAL POWER * 1. Abdullah's Reforms: 2006 to 2007 * 2. The Arab Spring: Dissent and Oppression Online * 3. 2016: Rise of Muhammad bin Salman, Vision 2030, and the CPVPV's Survival * 4. CPVPV Online: Reforming the Morality Brand * D. CONCLUSION * III. MORALITY POLICING IN THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN * A. BACKGROUND OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC AND GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED MORALITY POLICING * B. STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS OF MORALITY POLICE FORCES * 1. Structure of the Basij Militia * 2. Guidance Patrols * 3. Ansar-e Hezbollah and Vigilante Morality Policing * 4. Morality Policing of Drugs and Alcohol * 5. Morality Policing of Clothing, Gender Segregation, and Sexuality * 6. Maintaining Islamic Culture * 7. Policing Religion: Religious Minorities, Mysticism, and Witchcraft * C. REFORMING THE MORALITY POLICE AND CONSERVATIVE POWER * D. CONCLUSION * IV. MORALITY POLICING IN THE ISLAMIC EMIRATE OF AFGHANISTAN * A. BACKGROUND OF THE TALIBAN AND MORALITY POLICING * B. STRUCTURE AND OPERATIONS OF THE TALIBAN'S MPVPV * 1. Structure of the MPVPV * 2. Morality Policing of Drugs * 3. Morality Policing of Gender Segregation, Clothing, and Sexuality * C. THE SURVIVAL OF MORALITY POLICING AFTER 2001 * D. CONCLUSION * V. CONCLUSION * A. SUMMARY OF RESEARCH * B. FINDINGS * C. RE-EXAMINATION OF THE HYPOTHESES * D. IMPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH AND RECOMMENDATIONS