Faculty Fellow Jaimie Bleck (political science) was interviewed by Crux in an article titled, “Clergy seen as ‘fourth branch of government’ in coup-stressed Mali.” In the article, Bleck describes hes studies of Malians’ attitudes on war, peace and politics, and how Malians have come to see the African nation’s Islamic clergy as a “fourth branch of government.”
Bleck comments how on the one hand, the clerics can serve as “a moralizing check on government” and as “counselors to political leaders,” but on the other hand, “politics could make religious leaders tainted or corrupt, [and] their participation in politics could lead to social division.”