The Ismaili imamates in the 21st century is particularly characterized by a shift in authority and its style of leadership. This shift is specifically embodied in the institutionalization of the office of imamate, most visibly reflected in the activities of the Aga Khan Development Network, a bifocal leadership of the Imam, which focuses on both the faith and the world without abandoning or downplaying one for the sake of the other. The Ismaili imamate and Community have been decoupled from territorialnation-state and they are not defined or directed by nationalistic or narrow identity-centered ideologies. While retaining elements from traditional, charismatic and legal-bureaucratic ideal-types, the Ismaili imamate surpasses the barriers and restrictions of the Weberian ideal-types and represents a novel image of a Shia Muslim community which has successfully adapted to modernity without losing its essential values or ethical commitments. The intellectual and rational dimensions of Ismailism inheritedfrom their history have critically shaped the existing conditions of Ismailism, under the leadership of Aga Khan IV-- Examining the connection between the concept of authority and the transformation of the Ismaili imamate, Authority without Territory is the first study of the imamate in contemporary times. With a particular focus on Aga Khan, the 49th hereditary leader of Shi a Imami Ismaili Muslims, Daryoush Mohammad Poor shows how the Ismaili imamate surpasses the barriers and restrictions of the Weberian ideal-types and represents a novel image of a Shi i Muslim community that has successfully adapted to modernity without losing its essential values or ethical commitments. Including interviews with key figures in the intellectual and administrative arms of the Ismaili imamate, this book sheds light on how these institutions develop and the challenges they face.
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