Being Tolerant and Nationalist Sufi: A Social Movement Study of JATMAN (Jam’iyyah Ahl al-Thariqot al-Mu’tabarah an-Nahdliyyah) and Habib Luthfi

<p class="06IsiAbstrak">Sufism has long been associated with tolerance because of its theological nature that focuses on inner peace. However, this view tends to overlook that Sufi movements are often involved in politics and nationalist discourse. This study explains the social movement logic of a tarekat movement in Indonesia in promoting tolerance and nationalism. JATMAN <em>(Jam’iyyah Ahl al-Thariqot al-Mu’tabarah an-Nahdliyyah)</em> is well-known as a Sufi group currently led by Habib Luthfi. This movement calls to <em>Bela Negara</em> (defending Indonesia) by the jargon <em>‘NKRI Harga Mati’</em> (the doctrine of love for the homeland) and <em>Handarbeni</em> (being proud to locality). This research employs multiple analysis methods to examine the factors that underpin the emergence of this movement. I analyzed Habib Luthfi bin Yahya’s lectures (Rais 'Amm JATMAN) from 2020-2021, scattered on several online media such as YouTube and Instagram. Besides, I conducted interviews with several kiai in <em>Idarah 'Aliyah</em> (the central administrator of JATMAN) and I analyzed dozens of events organized by JATMAN in online media. Drawing on social movement theory, I argue that various motivations are overshadowed by the emergence of JATMAN within nationalism. This movement may not only be driven by piety and theological doctrine (Sufism) but also by social movement logics such as political opportunity structure, resource mobilization, and cultural framing.</p>

Environmental Movements in North-East India: Political Opportunity Structure and Movement Success

Since the last two decades, the North-East region of India witnessed many environmental movements with similar goals and forms of mobilisation that challenged government policies and actions. Many of them achieved their goals or objectives whereas others failed. This study is an attempt to understand the factors that determined the success and failure of those movements and protests by employing rich details of four case studies from the North-East to make a systematic comparison. This study uses political opportunity structure as a theoretical construct to understand relative success and failure of environmental movements in the North-East.

The Politics of Eco-violence: Why Is Conflict Escalating in Nigeria’s Middle Belt?

Competition for natural resources has intensified in recent years between nomadic Fulani herders and sedentary farmers in Nigeria's Middle Belt. What were initially sporadic conflicts over cropland and water resources have transformed into daily occurrences of mass violence. While extant research centres on the root causes of such conflicts, the reasons for their escalation remain insufficiently understood. This article examines how political developments have contributed to the escalation of conflicts in the region. Using Homer-Dixon's model, the findings show that changes in Nigeria's 'political opportunity structure' since 2014 were catalysts for escalating the conflicts. The consequences were the unvarnished adoption of nepotistic domestic policies and alliances between elites and militia members, which escalated the violent conflicts. It advocates the devolution of natural resource and security governance to prevent leaders from leveraging shifts in political opportunity structures to favour a specific demographic group.

Money matters: The impact of gender quotas on campaign spending for women candidates

Despite concerns that women candidates are hampered by gender gaps in campaign financing, few scholars have examined how gender quotas impact women candidates’ access to campaign funds. We examine the effect of a party-based gender quota on women candidates’ financing and electoral success in Ireland. Under the gender quota, the number of women candidates increased and parties acted strategically to provide women challengers with increased financial support. However, women challengers spent less candidate funds than men challengers and were less likely to have prior officeholding experiences associated with fundraising. Women challengers’ disadvantage is concerning because candidate expenditures are associated with winning votes. Our findings show that the effectiveness of a gender quota is partly determined by how the quota interacts with the campaign finance system and the political opportunity structure.

The Politics of Eco-violence: Why Is Conflict Escalating in Nigeria’s Middle Belt?

Competition for natural resources has intensified in recent years between nomadic Fulani herders and sedentary farmers in Nigeria's Middle Belt. What were initially sporadic conflicts over cropland and water have transformed into daily occurrences of mass violence. While extant research focuses on the root causes of such conflicts, the reasons for their escalation remain insufficiently understood. Based on fieldwork conducted during 2018-2019, this article examines how political developments have contributed to the escalation of conflict in the region. Using Homer-Dixon's theory of civil strife as a conceptual framework, the findings show that changes in the 'political opportunity structure' in Nigeria since 2014 were a catalyst for escalating the conflicts. These changes resulted from the 2014 insecurity in Nigeria caused by terrorist acts committed by non-state actors and the outcomes of the 2015 election. The consequences were the unvarnished adoption of nepotistic domestic policies and alliances between elites and militia members.

The Theories of Transnational Terrorism, Relative Deprivation and Fundamentalism in Terrorism Act: The Case Study in Indonesia

This research aims to describe the concept of transnational terrorism, relative deprivation and fundamentalism in various terrorism acts that occurred in Indonesia. The research method is qualitative and the type of research is explanatory that explain the cause of terrorism acts that influence by the global actors, fundamentalist that reject the changes and also satisfy the expectation in many aspects in the country from economics to the politics. The results of this research indicate that most of the terrorism cases in Indonesia has various motives starting from their mission in bringing the country led by a caliphate to enforcing the regulations of the country based on the Islamic teachings. Viewed from the perspective of social movements, framing, and resource mobilization strategies seen in the rejection‟s movements of the Transnational Islamic Organization. In addition, the political opportunity structure in the reformation era makes the system and political structure existed became more open. It has provided an opportunity for Transnational Islamic Organization to conduct its movement in criticizing the government.

Seeking political inclusion : the case of South Asian political representation in Peel Region

Analyzes the patterns of racial minority political representation in the Greater Toronto Areas and sets out to answer three general questions: Why are the rates of racial minority political representation higher in the suburban centres of Mississauga and Brampton than in the City of Toronto? Why have South Asian politicians succeeded in achieving political office at greater rates than other racial minority politicians? And why are the city councils of Toronto's surrounding suburbs still suffering from greater rates of racial minority underrepresentation? This study concludes that a variety of variables have led to a more favourable suburban political opportunity structure: the faster growth rates and higher residential concentration of South Asian communities, higher rates of affluence among South Asian communities, lower incumbency rates, the 'colour coding' of Peel's federal electoral districts, high concentrations of ethnic civil organizations, and the fear of being labeled terrorists.

Seeking political inclusion : the case of South Asian political representation in Peel Region

Analyzes the patterns of racial minority political representation in the Greater Toronto Areas and sets out to answer three general questions: Why are the rates of racial minority political representation higher in the suburban centres of Mississauga and Brampton than in the City of Toronto? Why have South Asian politicians succeeded in achieving political office at greater rates than other racial minority politicians? And why are the city councils of Toronto's surrounding suburbs still suffering from greater rates of racial minority underrepresentation? This study concludes that a variety of variables have led to a more favourable suburban political opportunity structure: the faster growth rates and higher residential concentration of South Asian communities, higher rates of affluence among South Asian communities, lower incumbency rates, the 'colour coding' of Peel's federal electoral districts, high concentrations of ethnic civil organizations, and the fear of being labeled terrorists.

Rettspolitisk mobilisering og strategisk sakførsel mot isolasjon i norske fengsler

Solitary confinement in prison and police detention has been a widespread criminal policy and human rights problem in the Scandinavian countries for decades. However, in recent years, there has been a significant legal mobilization in Norway whereby lawyers individually and collectively have challenged solitary confinement in the courts. This use of strategic litigation has been directed towards solitary confinement in police custody, remand and during imprisonment. Based on qualitative interviews and documents, we analyze the organizational and legal strategy behind this legal mobilization, along with its effects and preconditions. We find that strategic litigation by lawyers has played an important role in the struggle against solitary confinement in Norway, but that it has benefited from – and played in tandem with – a legal and political opportunity structure consisting of national as well as international actors, processes, and legal frameworks. These findings raise the question of whether lawyers and civil society can contribute in similar ways in the other Scandinavian countries.