This article seeks to explain variations in the success of Islamist mobilization. It argues that Islamist groups do better where competition for religious authority is intense. These religious “markets” are conducive to Islamist success because they 1) lower the barriers of entry to new religious entrepreneurs, 2) incentivize established leaders to support Islamist mobilization, and 3) push moderate leaders into silence. The article develops this theory by examining sub-regional variations in Islamist mobilization on the Indonesian island of Java. Using newly collected data on Java’s 15,000 Islamic schools, it compares religious institutions across more than 100 regencies in Java. It also uses dozens of field interviews with Indonesian Islamists and Muslim leaders to show where market structures have facilitated the growth of Islamist groups.
This article endeavours to explain why English Canadians and Quebeckers differ in their opinions about private healthcare options. Data indicates that respondents in the nine predominantly English-speaking provinces are more likely to oppose private hospitals than Quebeckers. No one province or region in “English Canada” drives these results: aversion to private hospitals is consistent across the nine provinces. Research on welfare states slots Canada into the “liberal” category, which is indicative of a preference for market solutions to welfare problems, which makes this finding perplexing. The argument presented here is that universal healthcare has become bound up with the national identity of English Canada, resulting in a general aversion to private healthcare initiatives outside of Quebec.
Why do some episodes of violence escalate while others do not? While the micro-foundations of communal violence are well known, the micro-foundations of “peace mongering” are under-studied. This article studies attempts at de-escalating violence in Maluku, Indonesia. It finds that the actions of non-state elites are crucial for de-escalating conflict. However, the efficacy of peace-oriented action is largely determined by the presence or absence of “institutionalized de-escalation systems.” These institutions are directly geared towards conflict prevention and de-escalation and are distinct from inter-communal associational and business networks. While attitudes favourable to peace and stability are found in many post-conflict contexts, they do not always translate into the emergence of institutionalized de-escalation systems. This article argues that such systems emerge only where a specific political economy of peace exists. In such an economy, some non-state actors see an opportunity in peace mongering to fulfill their material and social interests.
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