Authority without Territory

Daryoush Mohammad Poor is a Research Associate at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London. He has an MA in International Relations and Contemporary Political Theory and a PhD in Political and Social Studies from the University of Westminster.

• Introduction 1. Max Weber, Authority and Leadership 2. Imamate and the Question of Authority in Muslim and Shi?i Contexts 3. The Aga Khan: A Visionary Leader 4. The AKDN: An overview of the Ismaili imamate's Institutional Endeavors 5. Hybrid Leadership and the Case of the Ismaili Imamate Conclusion

"This original study reveals in a scholarly manner, and within an interesting theoretical framework, how the present Nizari Ismaili Imam has succeeded in bestowing aspects of the authority of the Imam to the office of the Imamate, transcending the Weberian boundaries of ideal types of authority. This has resulted in the institutionalisation of what the author calls 'authority without territory.' The author also meticulously examines the network of the institutions created and legitimised by the present Imam, known as the Aga Khan Development Network." - Dr. Farhad Daftary, Co-Director of The Institute of Ismaili Studies, UK