“The explosive combination of religious decentralisation and autocracy: The case of Islam”

Somebody — I’m really embarrassed, but I no longer remember who it was, cannot find the note, and, so, cannot thank my benefactor — called this article to my attention two or three days ago and has asked my opinion on it:

http://voxeu.org/article/religious-decentralisation-and-autocracy-case-islam

I’m very grateful for the alert.  The proposed suggestion is a rich one, and I’ll need to reflect on it for a while.  If there are any historians, political scientists, sociologists, or other such types out there, it would be interesting to get their reactions.