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331. How to Judge the Palestinian Elections

Author:
Ben Fishman and Mohammed Yaghi
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On Wednesday, January 25, Palestinian voters will elect a new Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) for the first time since the initial PLC was elected ten years ago. The participation of Hamas in the elections marks a turning point in Palestinian politics; the group boycotted the original 1996 ballots as part of its rejection of the Oslo process. Ensuring a smooth transition from elections to the seating of the new PLC will require passing several hurdles, not the least of which is protecting balloting and vote-counting from violent disruptions. Assuming election day proceeds without incident—no small matter given the level of domestic lawlessness over the last several weeks—Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas will then face the challenge of selecting a prime minister to form the next government. What remains unknown is precisely how well Hamas will finish in relation to Abbas' own Fatah party, and whether a tight race will lead Abbas to include Hamas as an active partner in the next Palestinian government—or, indeed, whether a poor Fatah showing might prompt Abbas to resign.
Topic:
Development, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Palestine

332. Techno-Religious Imaginaries: On the Spiritual Telegraph and the Circum-Atlantic World of the 19th Century

Author:
Jeremy Stolow
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute on Globalization and the Human Condition, McMaster University
Abstract:
Whether looking at matters of invention and design, of distribution and ownership, or of reception and use, popular histories of technology are typically framed within one of two meta-narratives: the optimistic or the dystopian. In the former case, technologies are seen as benign instruments that fulfill the needs, intentions, and desires of their human users. An extreme form of such technophilia can be found in the pages of the American magazine Wired, and among techno-gurus such as Nicholas Negroponte, who wax poetic about an imminent world populated by therapeutic Barbie dolls, selfcleaning shirts, driverless cars, and a range of devices enabling immediate access to inexhaustible supplies of media and information. This optimism has a considerable progeny, one root of which might be traced back to early modern European conceptions of the mechanical order of nature, and its susceptibility to ever-advancing human powers of inspection and rational design. In this tradition, technology is a pliable handmaiden to the forward march of history, taking such forms as the Haussmannized city, the Macadamized countryside, the prosthetically enhanced body, or the digitized archive. On the other hand, there is a tradition of thinking about technology, such as one finds in the philosophical writings of Martin Heidegger or Jacques Ellul, which is both dystopian and technophobic. Here one is presented with a vision of technology as an autonomous, self-directed realm, indifferent and impervious to our feeble calls for restraint, democratic control, or humane purpose. In this scheme, modern technologies resemble juggernauts running loose in the world, devouring the natural environment, and even human bodies, and transforming them into raw materials for their own mechanical processes.
Topic:
Globalization, Religion, Science and Technology, and History
Political Geography:
America

333. What Do Islamists Really Want?

Author:
Abdeslam Maghraoui
Publication Date:
05-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Throughout the Muslim world, Islamist parties have emerged as major power brokers when allowed to compete in free elections. Yet their positions on many crucial governance issues remain unknown or ambiguous. Most debates on the potential to moderate and integrate Islamists in the democratic process have focused on Islam's compatibility with democracy or on debates over Islamists' normative commitment to democracy separately from the mechanics of achieving political power.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East

334. Responding to Crisis in Nigeria

Author:
Paul Wee
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Nigeria currently faces a three-pronged crisis involving Muslim-Christian relations, the Niger Delta region, and presidential term limits. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a public workshop in March 2006 for the purpose of assessing the situation in Nigeria and considering ways in which the international community might respond.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Nigeria

335. Iran and the New Geopolitics of Oil - an Annotated Bibliograhy

Author:
Luke Patey
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Since its revolutionary birth in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has had a turbulent existence in international relations. From the US hostage crisis to the Iran-Iraq War to the current provocative development of its nuclear program, the short history of the Islamic Republic of Iran has been characterized by its volatile foreign politics. In fact, this is a feature very much resemblant of the country's tumultuous past, born from both its immense energy resources and its geo-strategic location. Regardless if Iran was under the rule of a Shah or the ultimate power of an Ayatollah, since the discovery of oil in the early 1900s, Iran's generous natural endowments have created an intimate link between itself and geopolitical competition.
Topic:
Economics, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, and Iran

336. Political Islam in Kenya

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
08-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In the paper, commissioned by Hussein Solomon and Akeem Fadare for their forthcoming anthology on Political Islam and the State in Africa, the focus placed on the political role of Islam in Kenyan politics. Prevalent fears (e.g. in the United States) of the country becoming a hotbed of Islamist radicalism and terrorism are critically examined against the background of the various categories of Kenyan Muslims, their general position in Kenyan society, their grievances, organisation and occasional role in various conflicts. This is all set against a background of Kenyan history, where the role of other religions (Christianity and traditional religion) is also highlighted. The paper concludes with some tentative recommendations for how the (mainly latent) conflicts might be defused.
Topic:
Civil Society, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, and United States

337. Religion and conflict in Africa with a special focus on East Africa

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The report provides a brief overview of the religious landscape of Africa with a special focus on the role of religion in the continent's several conflicts. It then proceeds to look at East Africa, where the three religious “families” of traditional religion, Islam and Christianity are all present in large numbers. It does not find any significant correlation between conflict propensity or terrorism and religion, neither in the sense that religious diversity gives rise to any “clash of civilizations” nor in the sense that the predominance of any one religion (e.g. Islam) make a country more prone to conflict or terrorism. It then proceeds to country case studies of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, providing a brief overview of the history of religion and conflict and an assessment of the present situation and the prospects for the future.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Religion
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and East Africa

338. The Danish ugly duckling and the Mohammed cartoons

Author:
Ulla Holm
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Abroad, Denmark is for the time being considered an ugly duckling in international politics because of the publication of the cartoons on Mohammed. This perception of Denmark has shocked the political establishment and the population, because Denmark has had until now a very good reputation in international politics. This brief argues that the construction of Danish national identity as a homogeneous, harmonious ethnic entity makes it difficult for Danish governments to conduct foreign policy that takes into consideration other cultures. The Danish vision of being morally superior to other countries because of its welfare state and egalitarian politics enhances this attitude to other countries. The question is therefore how Denmark may become a swan again.
Topic:
International Relations, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Europe

339. DEMOCRACY, DIVERSITY, AND CONFLICT: Religious Zionism and Israeli Foreign Policy

Author:
Claudia Baumgart
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Abstract:
Israel's disengagement from the Gaza strip in 2005 marked a momentous turning point in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people. After 37 years of occupation, Israel has pulled out from this densely populated strip of land at the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, but it still keeps its military control over all access to the Gaza strip via land, sea, and air. The new government of Ehud Olmert is now debating the next step: to retreat from large parts of the West Bank. While presenting the concept of unilateral disengagement as a necessary step towards peace with the Palestinians, Ariel Sharon and his successor Ehud Olmert made it very clear that, on the other hand, Israel intends to keep and even expand the major Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Olmert's convergence plan reflects these intentions by openly announcing that the settlement blocs would remain a part of the State of Israel forever. But for a certain portion of the Israeli population, this is not enough. In the run-up to the Gaza disengagement, Israel was flooded with Orange – the colour that the disengagement opponents chose to mark their fierce protest against the evacuation of Jewish settlements. Settlers in orange T-Shirts gathered in mass demonstrations, waved Israeli flags with orange ribbons, blocked main roads in the midst of rush hour, quarrelled with security forces and tried to convince soldiers to refuse orders during evacuation. A small minority even threatened to violently resist the evacuation of their homes.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Ethnic Conflict, Post Colonialism, and Religion
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel

340. Chaplains as Liaisons with Religious Leaders: Lessons from Iraq and Afghanistan

Author:
George Adams
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
In Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as in countless other hotspots around the world, religion has been a major factor in matters of war and peace. Since religion often plays a significant role in conflicts, it also needs to be one of the factors addressed in mediating conflicts. Yet, because the United States separates religion from political matters to a greater degree than many other areas of the world, Americans frequently have difficulty understanding the crucial role religion can play in conflict transformation.
Topic:
Peace Studies and Religion
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Asia