Muslim Politics Review

Foreword

Philips J. Vermonte — 2024-12-29

To maintain our identity as an international journal, we strive to publish articles that are from a diversity of authors. We have fulfilled this endeavour in the previous editions of this journal, and this sixth edition of Muslim Politics Review (MPR) is no different. We are pleased that we are able to maintain this tradition. This edition of MPR consists of articles that cover topics across multiple countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Libya, Turkey, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia as a region. The writers, nationality-wise, are diverse as well: one Pakistani, two Bangladeshis, two Indonesians, one Westerner (a Caucasian), and one Cambodian.

Whose city is it anyway? – Contested Citizenship in Karachi

Hassan Nasir Mirbahar — 2024-12-29

Karachi, a city of migrants, is a socially and politically polarized metropolis. Thus, it is mired with inter-ethnic conflicts. Each group claims their right to the city is superior to others’. Muhajirs claim that they made sacrifices for the creation of Pakistan and make up the majority; hence, they have more rights over the city than others. Sindhis see themselves as the Indigenous population, as they founded the port city, while Pashtuns and Punjabis suggest they brought much of the capital that fuels the city’s economy. These diverging claims result in the contestation over both city and citizenship in the city. This contested citizenship intersects with power politics in Karachi, marked by extreme violence and ethnic hatred. This paper evaluates the nature of contested citizenship against historical developments in Karachi. It argues that the divergent paths of each ethnic group, leading to same city, have created multiple competing claims on the city, resulting in one group cancelling the claims of the others. Ultimately, citizenship itself has become contested.

Democracy in Flux: Political Alliances and the Role of Religion in Indonesia and Turkey

Mutmainna Syam — 2024-12-29

Home to approximately one-fifth of the global Muslim population, Indonesia and Turkey underwent democratization efforts in the early 2000s. However, two decades later, both countries are facing growing tendencies of neo-autocratization. Both countries also face challenges typical of liberal democracies, such as the rise of populist leaders, concentration of power, elite-driven politics, resource exploitation, and growing inequality. This paper analyzes how political alliances influence the reconfiguration of political parties in the two countries. Contributing to the literature on change and adaptation in democracies, as well as addressing the scarcity of comparative studies between Indonesia and Turkey, this paper poses the following questions: How are political alliances formed and structured in Indonesia and Turkey? What role does religion play in shaping these alliances? What are the implications of political alliances on democracy in both countries? In this paper, I show how, during political rivalry—especially in electoral competition—political alliances in Indonesia are formed suddenly within a messy landscape, while in Turkey, it is a gradual and slow process in which rigid ideological boundaries lead to alliances across ideologies. Both conditions contribute to autocratization tendencies, creating no real opposition in Indonesia and a relatively weak opposition in Turkey. In this process, religion is central in both countries and is intertwined with nationalism in different ways.

Talukder Maniruzzaman’s Contribution to Political Studies in Bangladesh

Md Nazrul Islam — 2024-12-29

Professor Talukder Maniruzzaman (1938-2019) was a noted Bangladeshi Muslim political scientist who breathed his last at a Dhaka hospital on December 29, 2019. Maniruzzaman was one of the few early Bangladeshi academics whose research in political science has significantly contributed to the discourse on political theory, governance, and state-society relations, especially within South Asia. This article aims to present and review his contribution to political science research in Bangladesh. Maniruzzaman’s studies largely investigated the interconnections of colonialism, nationalism, and post-colonial state frameworks in Bangladesh and adjacent areas. His thesis critically examined the influence of colonial legacies on the contemporary political scene, highlighting the enduring nature of authoritarian governance and socio-economic disparities originating from colonial control. Maniruzzaman was particularly recognized for his examination of political instability and state repression in post-independence South Asia, contending that the inadequacy of political institutions in newly-established governments frequently arises from the absence of inclusive state-building processes. In his key work, he critiqued the political structures in Bangladesh, highlighting the shortcomings of its political class and their inability to democratize the nation. Maniruzzaman’s work explored the interplay between political movements, national identity, and democratic ambitions. He contended that a genuinely democratic state must be established on the principles of social justice and equitable development. His comprehensive research substantially advanced the knowledge of the difficulties of political systems in post-colonial states and their pursuit of democratic consolidation.

A case of failed ‘rehabilitation’? The biopolitics and geopolitics of military intervention in Libya

Matthew Robson — 2024-12-29

This paper interrogates the biopolitics and geopolitics of the Western-led military intervention in Libya of 2011. The Foucauldian concept ‘dispositif’ is deployed to grasp how a network of different international actors, practices, discourses, and technologies of power were oriented towards biopolitically securing the Libyan population prior to the intervention. The paper takes as an example the development practices of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), which sought to secure the Libyan population through biopolitical technologies of governance like ‘human security’ and ‘human development’. The paper argues that it is the apparent failure of these efforts, as shown through stagnated democratization and liberalization under Muammar Gaddafi’s rule, which foregrounded the spectacular display of sovereign/biopower by Western governments during the military intervention. It is thus a failed ‘rehabilitation’ of the Libyan government, which led powerful Western governments to pursue their biopolitical and geopolitical objectives in Libya through more violent means.

Power, Norms, and Trust: Interrelated Factors Impacting ASEAN Management of South China Sea Disputes

Rithiya Serey — 2024-12-29

In 1992, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) officially recognized and called for a peaceful resolution to the South China Sea disputes. It has now been more than 30 years since it did so, but ASEAN has not resolved the disputes, resulting in economic and security problems in the region. This paper explores ASEAN’s ineffectiveness by showing the interrelationship between otherwise siloed sets of explanatory factors, such as material interests and the practice of ASEAN norms. In addition, it highlights the importance of the dynamics of trust, a rarely examined and understudied element in ASEAN diplomacy, based on documentary analysis and interviews with regional experts and officials. The paper offers a detailed empirical account of ASEAN diplomacy, and contributes to international relations literature more generally by theorizing the interrelationship between dependency, trust, and the practice of diplomatic norms. Most importantly, it provides the operationalization and application of the concept of trust in the South China Sea disputes, for the first time, to explain ASEAN's ineffectiveness. It demonstrates that social trust is an essential component of the background knowledge that constitutes ASEAN diplomats’ reflexive behaviors and practices toward conflict resolution.

Nahdlatul Ulama’s Strategic Role in Shaping Indonesian Foreign Policy

Virdika Rizky Utama — 2024-12-29

This article analyses the strategic influence of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) on Indonesian foreign policy using constructivist theory and social identity theory as frameworks. It contends that NU's contributions are motivated by its intrinsic identity and principles, including the promotion of moderate Islam, rather than by external influences. This research utilizes the G20 Religion Forum (R20) and the ASEAN Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue Conference (IIDC) as case studies to illustrate how NU capitalizes on its religious identity and principles to support Indonesia's diplomatic objectives of promoting peace, tolerance, and international collaboration. This study emphasizes the relationship between identity formation and policy results, illustrating NU as a crucial non-state participant in Indonesia's religious diplomacy.

On the Promise of Piety

Farah Adeed — 2024-12-29

Khan, A. (2024). The Promise of Piety: Islam and the Politics of Moral Order in Pakistan. Cornell University Press.

In an era when the dominant normative view is to confine religion to the private sphere, and when public displays of religious devotion are often perceived as an overabundance of emotion, indicating an absence of rational thought and potentially undermining social stability, an anthropologist's nuanced exploration of Islamic piety deserves social scientists’ careful attention.

Young Indonesian Muslim Women (Not) Only Pursue Piety

Karunia Haganta — 2024-12-29

Pious Girls: Young Muslim Women in Indonesia by Annisa R. Beta (London: Routledge, 2024)

This book is a comprehensive initial study of the ideal construction of young Muslim women in Indonesia. In the Introduction, Annisa positions the ideal of young Muslim women in Indonesia not as something singular, but rather in contestation. This contestation has implications for at least two perspectives, which are seen further in the following chapters of this book. First, there are many ideals and constructions of young Muslim women, all of which are related to the socio-political conditions of society from at least three aspects: religious practice, market logic, and political life. Second, apart from through the contestation between existing constructions, young Muslim women themselves show their agency by defining these constructions and ideals themselves.