Suchergebnisse

"Muslim Secular Democracy: Voices From Within" provides an expansive understanding of secularism in the Muslim World by exploring different trajectories and varieties of secularism, from the failed authoritarian secular state of Pahlavi Iran and the ambiguous secularism in Malaysia to democratizing passive secularism in Indonesia and shifts towards passive secularism under the AKP government in Turkey. Where the bulk of academic literature on democratization in the Muslim World focuses on the Arab World, this volume fills a gap by developing an integrated Muslim World perspective; together, the country case-studies provide multiple lenses through which to appreciate the socio-political shifts that have resulted in different democratic transitions, supported by varied discourses and propelled by diverse combinations of political, social, and religious actors. In the early twenty-first century, passive secularism increasingly aligns itself with mainstream Muslim aspirations for forms of" wasatiyyah" democracy and governance based on popular sovereignty and citizenship rights and for the incorporation of the sacred within the political framework of the inclusive secular state. The contributions to this volume examine the ways by which Muslim "wasatiyyah " democracy has been advanced by progressive Islamic Muslim discourses and movements grounded in the principles of equity and social justice

This new appraisal of their relationship offers groundbreaking new insights into the way in which the Malaysian and Singapore states see both themselves and each other.

AbstractSingapore's long-serving People's Action Party (PAP) government suffered from a major electoral setback in the 2011 general election and subsequent by-elections. The high-growth population policy, underpinned by the influx of migrants and foreign workers, has strongly fuelled the groundswell of public discontent and is commonly perceived to have contributed to widening income disparities, wage stagnation, and cost of living pressures. This article attempts to make sense of the PAP leadership's dogged commitment to the high-growth population policy despite the electoral backlashes and policy criticisms by prominent public intellectuals and others closely connected to the PAP establishment. It considers Singapore's high-growth population policy and widening income disparity within the context of the authoritarian developmental state's shift away from the 'growth with equity' social compact. The article also examines the impact of widening income inequality and other policy lapses on the legitimacy of the PAP government as the clamor for a renewed social compact based on 'growth with equity' gathers momentum in the repoliticized polity.

Asean's political elites appear to lack the will to pressure the SPDC regime into resolving the political crisis in Burma through democratic means. To better understand Asean's position, the factors that have underpinned Asean's commitment to preserve its principle of nonintervention and state sovereignty despite repeated human rights violations in Burma are analyzed. To what extent is Asean's commitment to the principle of nonintervention in keeping with the dominance of authoritarian states in the otherwise less than cohesive regional body? Is the recently unveiled Asean Charter an elite-driven initiative that is not intended to challenge the nonintervention principle? In addition to addressing these questions, this essay will conclude by analyzing the dynamics underpinning Singapore-Burma relations with a view to highlighting Asean's fragmented community that is dominated by authoritarian states not committed to promoting democracy and human rights, much less to resolving the political crisis in Burma. (Crit Asian Stud/GIGA)

The paper focuses on the impact of global Islamic revivalism and state Islamisation initiatives on the cultural practices, institutions and laws in Southeast Asia's Muslim majority states of Malaysia and Indonesia. To particular, the assault on adat and the reconfiguration of legal and political structures with the intrusion of Wahabi-inspired literal Islam from West Asia are considered. As the discursive contest between literal and liberal or progressive Islam' will have a major impact on the direction and outcome of the protracted War on Terror, it is imperative that the discursive advances of the former are countered by reinforcing democratic structures and institutions and addressing localised sociopolitical and economic grievances. In the long term, liberal Islam's inclusive and flexible worldview based on jihadist and universal humanism are likely to prove more effective than the reliance on draconian security-orientated measures in the protracted War on Terror. Adapted from the source document.