Universal Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and Their Modern Application: Towards Ensuring a Peaceful and Secured Environment

The maqāṣid theory is a popular trend in Islamic legal theories. Contemporary scholars view it as a valid method of interpreting the revealed text and as a valuable instrument for solving contemporary issues because it helps reform Islamic thought and civilization. Indeed, the idea of maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah has been widely studied and expanded by modern scholars of Islamic legal theory. Chiefly, Ibn ͑Ashur and contemporary MaqÉsid scholars renewed the scholarly discourse and ensured its proliferation and wide acceptance in legal studies. It has emerged as a new science that connects with all other legal disciplines. Thus, scholars firmly assert that the maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah constitute the most important intellectual means and methodologies for Islamic reform today. Consequently, the researchers aim to examine the modern discourse of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah and the latest developments beyond the universal MaqÉÎid. Mainly, the researchers scrutinize the two objectives namely the preservation of the environment via the protection of life and wealth. Accordingly, this article follows the qualitative method of data collection and analysis. Among the findings of the research is that the latest developments of Maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah, open the door of ijtihād widely to create ample areas for jurists to regulate the affairs of the Muslim ummah. Further, the maqāṣid al-Sharīʿah do not reflect only the objectives of Islamic law; their role goes beyond and is used to formulate basic principles and values related to global peace and human welfare. Hence, they have greatly contributed to the revival of Islamic thought and have opened a wider space for the application of Islamic law pertaining to peaceful environment.

Nations Quest for Peace and Alignment to the New Normal: Any Roles for the Marketing Profession?

Peace is one of the most desirable ingredients required for the existence of every human community, and the need for it has quadrupled as a result of the multiple challenges facing the world today. These challenges have further been exacerbated by the need to adjust to the new normal in our contemporary society which nexuses with business operations. The chances for peaceful societies have been fatally sacrificed at the altar of greed, selfish inclinations and the desires for self-aggrandizement of man; and these have made peace a scare commodity. The absence of peace has been linked with catastrophic effects, including business turbulence; which is the reason why deliberate efforts are constantly made by individuals, governments and religious institutions to foster peace. Sadly, the outcomes of these initiatives have not been much to be desired hence the need for a paradigm shift. This paper examined extant literature on the place of the marketing profession in nations’ quest for peace. Peace like every commodity can be marketed; hence the argument of this paper that the marketing mix variables of product, price, place, promotion, preach, propagate and patronize readily find application in marketing peace. This paper concluded on the note that the clamor for a paradigm shift in the quest for peace in nations is in the right direction. More so, such shift must include the involvement of marketing professionals into the army of global peace seekers. Therefore, this paper recommends that national governments should promote matters that foster unity, develop a common national value and deploy social marketing programs. Furthermore, corporate organisations should consider peace marketing as a worthy cause to embrace, and firms should be willing to finance peace building activities as well as form coalitions of mega corporations for the promotion and protection of global peace.

Conceptualization of Chinas Foreign Policy: A Product of Ambition or Circumstances?

Amid the escalating disagreements in US-China relations, which became the main theme of the global foreign policy agenda in 2010s, the contours of the new policy of Chinese Foreign Ministry have been showing more and more clearly. Traditionally, the narrative of Western analysts has described this policy as a well-thought-out scheme designed by Beijing to take over the global leadership, linked directly to the figure of the Communist Party of China Chairman, Xi Jinping. The purpose of this article is to examine the origins and milestones of the current Chinese foreign policy doctrine. Having analyzed them, the author came to the conclusion that the PRC’s behaviour in international politics is largely reactive. During the Republican administrations in the U.S. it was China that was the main advocate of the idea of «global peace» and was forced to undertake fundamentally new international commitments.

Indonesian Diplomacy to Become a Non-Permanent Member of the UN Security Council 2019-2020

The UN Security Council has 15 members divided into two types of membership, namely permanent members and non-permanent members. This research describes and analyzes phenomena, such as events, social activities, attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, thoughts of people individually or in groups. This study seeks to explore Indonesia's strategy and diplomacy to be elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2019-2020 period. Indonesia is actively contributing to peace, humanity, and prosperity in the region and globally. This variable is the primary consideration for UN member states to support Indonesia. Another reason besides that is inseparable from the maturing of democracy in Indonesia. UN member states view Indonesia as a tolerant country, where Islam and democracy go together. Indonesia will strengthen the global peace and stability ecosystem. For this reason, Indonesia will encourage a culture of dialogue so that conflict resolution can always exist peacefully. Indonesia will also seek to increase the synergy between regional organizations and the UN Security Council in maintaining peace and increasing the capacity of UN peacekeepers, including the role of women.

In Search of Moderation of Islam Againts Extremism: A Promoting “Islam Pribumi” By Gus Dur

<p class="06IsiAbstrak"><span lang="EN-US">Indonesian religious expressions are facing an extraordinary challenge with the emergence of fundamentalist movements affiliated with number of Islamic transnationalist from Middle East, which is rigidly establishing the ideology of "purification" or as so called Islam Kaffah even if to be forced to the all nation. In this Case, Gus Dur presented another alternative religious pattern by promoting the idea of Islam Pribumi or “Islam Pribumi” which mean to respon and againts this scripturalist-fundamentalist movement. Islam Pribumi is intended to provide opportunities for the diversity of interpretations in term of practicing religious life (Islam) in each different region. Thus, Islam is no longer seen as a single, but rather compound. So there is no longer an assumption that Islam in the Middle East is the best representative of Islam. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine Gus Dur's thoughts on Islam Pribumi which is definitly inclusive, tolerant and peaceful Islamic culture, relflecting Islam as rahmatal lil alamin. It is also to offer a model of Islamic Moderation provided a solution in realizing global peace against conflicts between religions and politics that has occurred most recently in a Muslim-majority country like Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen.</span></p>

The future of Peacebuilding: climate-related security risks and peacebuilding efforts in Africa.

The impacts of climate change are increasingly shaping global peace and security. Effective peacebuilding requires the incorporation of climate sensitivity into peacebuilding efforts so as to anticipate the challenges and respond to them in a timely way. Millions of people around the world are already experiencing its effects, both through slow onset changes such as temperature increase, desertification and sea level rise, and rapid onset events such as floods, heat waves and drought. The effects of climate and environmental changes extend beyond the domain of the environment and into the political and social realm. These effects do not automatically turn into security risks. However, through interactions with existing social, economic and demographic pressures, climate change can multiply risks, exacerbate drivers of insecurity and threaten efforts to prevent conflict and sustain peace. With this in mind, this paper looks into the future of peace building with regards to climate related security risks and peace building efforts in Africa drawing lessons from what is obtaining in some African Countries. Lastly, the paper also gives policy recommendations to African governments on the possible policy reforms that would strengthen institutions to ensure sustainable peace in the face of climate change and its associated risks.

European Strategic Autonomy: The Test Case of Iran

The ideal of the European Union (EU) as a global peace and security actor is increasingly clashing with the reality of a multipolar world defined by militarised conflict, and a loosening of the formerly close trans-Atlantic relationship with the United States. European policy-makers have identified strategic autonomy as a possible remedy in the face of a growing number of internal and external security threats. This paper adds to the conceptualisation of strategic autonomy by contextualising its current usage and political genealogy. Empirically, European strategic autonomy is examined concerning the efforts to preserve the Iranian nuclear deal after the Trump administration had ceased US participation in May 2018. In particular, the paper assesses the European response to counter the re-imposed unilateral United States (US) sanctions against European individuals and entities by updating the so-called blocking regulation, and setting up a special purpose vehicle (spv) for facilitating trade with Iran. The results show that the European struggle toward achieving strategic autonomy has largely failed, but that it holds valuable lessons to approximate this ideal in the future.

A Challenge to the Liberal Peace? European Union Peacebuilding faces China in Nepal

How does China’s rising presence in Nepal affect the European Union’s own peacebuilding efforts in the country? As a global peace and security actor, the EU has followed the liberal peacebuilding model that promotes peace by strengthening democratic institutions. China’s rise as a “pragmatic” peacebuilder is often called non-conducive to this approach, but how this dynamic plays out has rarely been studied with detailed case evidence. We narrow this gap using the case of Nepal. Drawing on interviews conducted between 2015 and 2020, we find that China’s rise has decreased the EU’s leverage in promoting peace in the areas of civil society, human rights, and constitution-building. But some setbacks in the peace process were unrelated to China. Instead, they were also linked to the EU’s own reform neglects and policy differences, and to local perceptions about peacebuilders, showing how external and internal challenges jointly affect the EU’s role as peacebuilder.

Introduction: Weathering the Storm?

Promoting peace and security in Europe, its neighbourhood, and in the world, is at the heart of how the European Union (EU) understands itself and its global political role. In recent years, however, both the tangible role of the EU in fostering peace beyond its borders and the Union’s famous image as a ‘normative power’ have met substantial challenges. The challenges, which fundamentally alter the context in which the EU supports peace and security, include EU-internal factors, such as democratic backsliding in some member states, electoral success of populist far right parties, or disagreements over migration. They also include external factors, notably the unravelling transatlantic relationship under President Trump or the rise of China in the peace and security domain. This article introduces the special issue ‘Weathering the Storm? The EU as a Global Peace and Security Actor in Turbulent Times’. It first discusses the numerous tests the EU faces in fostering peace beyond its borders, and how past research has evaluated and interpreted the effect of these challenges on EU foreign policy. It then outlines two interrelated shortcomings of past research: an ‘EU navel-gazing’ and focus on how EU policies come into being in Brussels, rather than studying how these policies are implemented ‘on the ground’ – coupled with a lack of interdisciplinary conceptual and empirical debate between peace and conflict research and European Studies. Finally, it discusses how the articles that make up this special issue help to address these shortcomings and how they contribute to the current trend in blurring the lines between domestic and international politics.