its compatibility with Islam. In practice, since the death of the first
revolutionary leader, the Ayatollah Khomeini, considerable tensions
have been evident between the more pragmatic and modernising
tendencies often centred on the president and the more conservative
forces centred on the Leadership Council. This model of Islamic
government may well be less acceptable in areas where the Sunni
tradition is stronger and there is less of an established hierarchy of
Islamic scholars.
In countries such as Egypt (and formerly in Iran) where Islamic
forces are in opposition to a more secular government, they frequently
benefit from popular support derived not only from the powerful
indigenous traders of the bazaar, but also from the beneficiaries of the
informal welfare system based upon the zakatpaid to the mosques
and distributed by their leaders. In opposition, intellectuals can
produce more or less convincing schemes for non-capitalist economic
arrangements eschewing the payment of interest. In opposition, the
Islamic forces may achieve a formidable reputation for discipline and
puritanism which assisted the Taliban faction in Afghanistan toward
its initial victory.
So far, however, Islam has proved a useful weapon of opposition to
Western influences, but has been much less effective in constructing
an alternative model of political and economic management, or in
uniting the faithful politically.
Multi-level government
So far in this chapter we have discussed forms of government in
terms of national governments. However, it is clear that the assump-
tion that there is only one state and one government in a given
territorial area is a large and probably unjustified one. In the United
States, for instance, many people live in a city with a municipal
government, which may well be part of a larger county, they all
reside in a state, as well as being subject to the government of the
United States. Similarly in England many people are subject to three
different layers of government: local, UK and European. In the
rest of the UK, an additional layer of government at national or
provincial level is in operation for Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland. We have already discussed (Chapter 2) the trend for
international governmental organisations to play an increasing role
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