Four worlds of morality politics: the impact of institutional venues and party cleavages

The most prominent theory accounting for variation of morality politics across Western Europe is the so-called Two Worlds framework. According to this approach, the presence or absence of a secular?religious cleavage in national party systems strongly affects the degree of conflict intensity and the framing of morality policy issues. This article shows that the explanatory power of the Two Worlds model could be enhanced significantly by introducing a second analytical dimension that captures the institutional venue (party politics vs. parliamentary politics), in which moral conflicts take place. This is useful because there are instances in which a religious cleavage is lacking, but moral conflicts are nonetheless highly intense and party-based (the traditionalist world), and there are cases in which the religious cleavage formally exists, but moral conflicts are nonetheless resolved in the parliamentary arena (the unsecular world).     

The civilian's visual security paradox: how open source intelligence practices create insecurity for civilians in warzones

ABSTRACT

Images taken by civilians and shared online have become an important source of conflict intelligence. This article explores issues around how states and non-state actors appropriate civilians’ images to produce intelligence about conflict, critically scrutinizing a practice often called open source or social media intelligence. It argues that image appropriation for open-source intelligence production creates a new kind of visual security paradox in which civilians can be endangered by their everyday visual practices because their digital images can be appropriated by outside actors as conflict intelligence. The transformation of everyday images into conflict evidence relies on what Barthes termed the photographic paradox, the paradox that while a photograph is clearly not the reality it depicts, the photograph is casually interpreted as a copy of that reality. When images are appropriated as conflict intelligence this photographic paradox translates into a security paradox. A visual security argument can be made without the intention or knowledge of the image producer, who then comes to perform the role on an intelligence agent. Yet civilians in warzones can hardly refrain from producing any images when they need to call attention to their plight, and to stay in contact with friends and relatives. The paradox, then, is that such vital visual signs of life can rapidly become sources of danger for the civilian. This civilian visual security paradox, it is argued, demands that intelligence actors respect the protected status of civilians in their online collection practices. So far, however, there is little sign of such respect.     

Shaping the Scope of Conflict in Scotland’s Fracking Debate: Conflict Management and the Narrative Policy Framework

This study applies a narrative lens to policy actors’ discursive strategies in the Scottish debate over fracking. Based on a sample of 226 newspaper articles (2011–2017) and drawing on key elements of the narrative policy framework (NPF), the research examines how policy coalitions have characterized their supporters, their opponents, and the main regulator (Scottish government). It also explores how actors have sought to expand or contain the scope of conflict to favor their policy objectives. Empirically, only the government strives for conflict containment, whereas both pro‐ and anti‐fracking groups prioritize conflict expansion through characterization contests and the diffusion and concentration of the costs/risks and benefits of fracking. In theoretical terms, the study proposes that Sarah Pralle’s conflict management model, which emphasizes symmetrical strategies of conflict expansion by both coalitions, is a potential tool to revise extant NPF expectations about the different narrative strategies of winning and losing coalitions. Moreover, the fact that policy actors mostly employ negatively rather than positively framed characters in their narratives may be a valid expectation for similar policy conflicts, particularly under conditions of regulatory uncertainty.     

The quest for regional legitimation: Analyzing the Arab League’s legitimizing role in the Arab spring

The topic of international legitimacy has returned to centre stage during the Arab Spring, in which the Arab League has apparently assumed a prominent legitimation role. Although some scholarship has studied how international organizations are decisive in legitimizing actors and their actions during conflicts, relatively scant attention has been focused at constructing a comprehensive analytical framework for this kind of assessment that could be also applied to regional organizations (ROs). This paper proposes that when actors are involved in battles over international legitimation, analysing their access to the socially identified brokers of three legitimation functions (appropriateness, consensus, and empathy) is key to assess their success. Particularly, we argue that relevant identity-based ROs may have a crucial legitimizing role by operating as brokers of regional consensus. For this purpose, two case studies – Bahrain and Libya – illustrate how the Arab League’s brokerage influenced the legitimation of the actors involved and their outcomes. The findings suggest novel implications about the decisive legitimizing impact of regionalism on conflict resolution.     

Religion,globalization and commodification in online world news slideshows: the dis/connection of images and texts

Lately, possibilities of producing and spreading news pictures have increased explosively through online media. Concurrently, religion has become increasingly salient in politics and news. Both processes are connected to globalization. This study encompasses globalization, religion and online images and aims to convey how online world news slideshows represent religion, and more particularly how linguistic and visual parts of picture paragraphs are interrelated, as well as related to representations of different religions. Methodologically multimodal analysis and discourse analysis are combined, focusing on composition of images and (dis-)connection of images and texts. Theories on globalization and possibilities and particularities of online news (pictures) and slideshows, frame the analysis. Tendencies to templates for different religions are found. Many religions appear as aesthetic commodities in images, whereas Islam in texts “sells” images of violence/destruction. Image–text relations are thus crucial both in the creation of meaning and of commodities in online news image culture. Two main image–text types are identified: “Religion in text, (potential) violence/destruction/despair in picture” (Islam) and “Spirituality/worshipping/aestheticism” (other religions). The world news slideshows have crucial roles as containers for these polarized image–text types, where they are related to and defined by each other in the genre's (cl)aim to cover the whole world.     

The Sacred Kingdom and the Royal Wedding of 2011

Despite secularisation and increased religious diversity the UK state and the monarchy are religiously legitimated institutions which have their origins in protestant/catholic divisions over three hundred years ago but which remain strong enough to survive in the current era. The Church of England acts not only as the established church of England but as a church for the UK with respect to events such as the coronation and the royal wedding of 2011. Ecumenical and interfaith initiatives have been attempted by the government and the monarchy and were evident in attendance at the wedding but it demonstrated the ritual supremacy of the state church and the inevitable difficulties of seeking to achieve formal representation for religious diversity in the state. Attempts at more formally inclusive religious involvement in state institutions conflict with other goals such as gender equity and suggest that secular state institutions might be fairer to all religions, denominations and those with no beliefs.     

An imaginary orthodoxy — a reply to Laurence Harris

The view that world religions contain inherent implications for economic and political action is examined and criticised. Some of the inherent implications attributed to Islam are reviewed. Various authors have attributed contradictory implications to Islamic doctrines. This is because they have referred to different parts and aspects of Islamic religion and society, which like all other complex religions and civilisations have manifested a great variety of forms. The historical development of Islam is divided into three stages and these are in turn related to the economic and political processes basic to all pre-capitalist empires. Patterns of economic and political activism are related to the conditions prevailing at the different stages and to the religious formations within Islam. In particular, it is argued that the failure of the bourgeoisie of Muslim cities to achieve political autonomy and dominance (in contrast to their Western European counterparts) is not a consequence of religious attitudes favouring passivity, but results from the position of these classes in relation to the State and the dominant military classes.     

Policy conflicts in shale development in China and the United States

Policy conflicts are ubiquitous in many countries. Yet research on policy conflict is typically based on cases in western, democratic countries. As a result, little is known about the characteristics of policy conflicts in non-western countries, such as China, or how these characteristics compare to western contexts. The Policy Conflict Framework (PCF) was recently developed to help scholars identify, diagnose, and compare policy conflict characteristics. This research uses the PCF to guide a comparative analysis of the nature of policy conflicts in China and the United States. With interview data on policy actors from Chongqing, China and Colorado, USA, we present the findings by comparing the differences and similarities of policy conflicts in the two countries around shale oil and gas development. We conclude with the strengths and limitations of this comparative study of policy conflicts in China and other national contexts, along with recommendations for conducting PCF research in China.     

How online insourcing might improve EU policy development—the view from inside the European Commission

Perhaps policy‐makers are not the most progressive of actors when it comes to incorporating online technologies in their everyday workflow, but they are certainly not dismissive of the Internet and its potential for policy‐making (e.g. European Commission, 2011 , 2012 ). Could online insourcing, for example, be a way to improve the quality of new legislation? This article presents the current view from the European Commission (‘EC’). We have found that many of its Directorates‐General (‘DG’) are actively investigating into the possibilities of insourcing more and better policy contributors at the pre‐legislative stage, by means of online technology. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Model of religious schism with application to Islam

This is a study of religious schism. The purpose of the research is to explore the nature and causes of religious segmentation and realignment. A model of religious schism is developed and illustrated with reference to many different religions. The model is then directly applied to Islamic history. Schism occurs because of innovations in dogma or practice. These innovations must appeal to demanders of the religious product. However, the innovations themselves may be driven by organizational conflicts within firms supplying religion. A special situation is created when schism occurs within a state-supported supplier of religion. Our study leads us to revisit the debate between Hume and Smith over the effect of state religion. We side with Smith.     

Secularism vs. Post-Secularism: A Critical Examination of Cooke’s Post-Secular Alternative

In recent work, Maeve Cooke has criticised Jürgen Habermas’s post-metaphysical model in order to motivate an alternative “post-secular” conception of the state, which involves the replacement of the “institutional translation proviso” with the “nonauthoritarian reasoning requirement”. I provide a qualified defence of the Habermasian model by arguing that it does not lead to the kind of negative consequences regarding legitimacy and solidarity Cooke attributes to it. This, in turn, means that Cooke’s proposal for the secular foundation of political authority on a post-secular basis is insufficiently motivated. In the process, I argue that the point of departure for the debate about religion in the public sphere shared by both Habermas and Cooke – the picture of the “total” religious citizen – should be rejected because it presupposes an overly simplistic view of religions and religious identities.     

Cyber-Extremism: Isis and the Power of Social Media

The current crises in Syria has led to a number of Britons travelling abroad to fight with groups such as Isis. Capitalising on this growth, Isis are now increasingly fighting an online cyber war, with the use of slick videos, online messages of hate and even an app that all aim to radicalise and create a new generation of cyber jihadists. These modern day tools are helping Isis spread their propaganda and ideology to thousands of online sympathisers across the world. Indeed, the group has actively been using social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to recruit new would be members. This is being done through images and the streaming of violent online viral videos filmed and professionally edited that are targeting young and impressionable people. Portraying a glamorised and ‘cool’ image, Isis fighters are beginning to act as the new rock stars of global cyber jihad. The Internet therefore is becoming the virtual playground for extremist views to be reinforced and act as an echo chamber. This study analysed 100 different Facebook pages and 50 Twitter user accounts which generated over 2050 results and helped the author create a typology of seven key behaviour characteristics and motivations. The findings in this study confirmed the author’s original hypothesis, i.e. online hate is being used by groups such as Isis for a variety of reasons such as recruitment and propaganda. Moreover, this material is coordinated and controlled by Isis as a means for publishing and sending out key messages.     

Understanding the effects of religious attendance on political participation among ethnic minorities of different religions

In the United States, active church membership among ethnic and racial minorities has been linked to higher political participation. In Europe, the influence of religious attendance on political mobilisation of ethnic minorities has so far been little explored, despite the heated public debate about the public role of religion and particularly Islam. This study uses the 2010 Ethnic Minority British Election Study to theorise the relationship between religious attendance and political participation of ethnic minorities in a European context and extend existing theories to non‐Christian minority religions. The article shows that despite a significantly different context in which religion's place in political life is more contentious, regular religious attendance increases political participation rates of ethnic minorities. Some possible explanatory mechanisms are tested and an important distinction is introduced between those mechanisms that mediate, and those that moderate the impact of religion. The study finds that British minority churches and places of worships vary in how willing and effective they are in politically motivating their worshippers, and concludes that this relates to the political salience of certain religions within the United Kingdom context.     

The Two Pluralisms in Norway

In most countries of Western Europe including Norway, the last decades have transformed the population as a whole to become both more secular and more religiously plural. This has had consequences on many levels, and is still being processed. For state institutions and for the civil society including faith communities, it has clearly entailed legal, political, and social changes. The growing plurality has also challenged alleged mono-cultural perceptions of religions, and established many new discourses on religion, values, and diversity as such. In this essay I will first briefly discuss the present situation in Norway regarding religious pluralism and relate it to interpretations of secularity particularly relevant to the Norwegian context. Then I will go more thoroughly into the concept of interreligious dialogue and ways to understand this phenomenon as one of faith communities’ responses to religious plurality. As a social practice that may provide insight in how religious plurality is negotiated in a dialogue – it may be described as a practical exploration of religious plurality from the inside - but also how it may project positions towards various understandings of secularity. Peter Berger’s concept of “The two pluralisms” and his request for theorizing on plurality rather than secularity opens up further exploration of interreligious relations such as interreligious dialogue, and it may provide researchers working empirically in this field with new insights in their studies. This contribution will not contest Berger’s suggestion of “the two pluralisms” but rather explore it further through empirical studies and suggested models of interreligious dialogue.     

Muslims in Space: Observing Religious Rites in a New Environment

The first men to fly into space precipitated comments about religion and God, but for most of the history of human spaceflight these comments related to Christianity. As International Space Station partners recruit spacefarers from Islamic countries, they face new religious challenges. Islam is distinct from other large monotheistic religions by virtue of the fact that Muslim worship practices require routine attention to Earth geography and astronomy. It is a vantage point that changes in low Earth orbit. Recent Muslim astronauts and cosmonauts have led the way in adapting religious practices to their position above the Earth.     

Mutual and Self Perceptions of Opposing Advocacy Coalitions: Devil Shift and Angel Shift in a German Policy Subsystem

In political conflicts, actors tend to assume that opponents behave maliciously. This phenomena is part of the “devil shift,” which was introduced in advocacy coalition framework research. We present a multivariate analysis of the perceptions of motives and actions of opposing coalitions in a political conflict and thereby analyze a major dimension of the “devil shift” and of its antonym “angel shift.” The conflict concerning the German infrastructure project Stuttgart 21 serves as a case study. We show that the radicalness of policy‐specific beliefs is the most important predictor for the intensity of mutual misperception in the researched conflict. The results further point to a more systematic inclusion of an actor's deep normative core beliefs in future analyses of distorted perception. Another central finding relates to the importance of the personal environment: actors in the subsystem share the same policy core beliefs with the majority of people in their personal environment.     

The role of civil society in peacebuilding in southern Thailand

The ‘Southern Fire’ is an ethno‐religious conflict in the southernmost region of Thailand that has claimed thousands of lives since a violent upsurge in 2004. According to a framework for conflict resolution, the state's policy alone could not resolve the conflict as it focused mainly on implementing a ‘peacekeeping’ strategy by increasing the number of security forces. Pursuing a ‘peacemaking’ strategy via peace talks by the government did not create any concrete outcome either. Therefore, to create lasting peace, civil society actors need to be involved in a ‘peacebuilding’ strategy in order to keep the balance of socioeconomic structures. A number of civil society groups have played significant roles that could reduce the tensions in this region. Based on the in‐depth interview data and documentary research, this article identifies the eight roles of civil society and its potential to grow in the deep south. This article helps to promote civil society as a tool of a non‐violent approach that could help create a sustained peace in these provinces. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal transformation in multistakeholder environmental partnerships

This paper examines some of the secondary or indirect consequences of multistakeholder collaborative processes in the environmental arena. Its thesis is that such collaborative processes constitute fertile ground for participating actors to experience change in their subjective understandings of and relationships to each other, themselves, and environmental action. This exposition draws upon ethnographic research performed with a U.S.-based multistakeholder environmental partnership over a two year period in 1997–1998 as well as a theoretical perspective conceptualizing these personal transformations in terms of social learning, cultural production, and identity formation. Three main findings are explored that support the proposed thesis. The first concerns contributions toward personal transformation made by typical partnership structures and operations. The second pertains to the existence of a commonly shared belief among partnership participants demonstrating an expectation for such changes. The third involves evidence that such transformations actually do take place. Examples from the case study include changes to participants understandings of other environmental stakeholders, the development of new relationships among participating actors, the adoption of new ways of approaching environmental problem solving and decision making, and the formation of altered identities. The paper explores some of the implications, both positive and negative, that this transformative quality of multistakeholder environmental partnerships has for both environmental problem solving and some of the enduring conflicts that have impeded satisfying environmental action in the past. Finally, recommendations are made for how practitioners may organize, manage, and evaluate multistakeholder partnerships to promote such changes.     

Less is more or the more the merrier? Analysing attitudes towards multiple-mandate holding among local officeholders

The practice of multiple-mandate holding is widespread across Europe. Critics argue that this practice contributes to a concentration of political power, a higher risk for conflicts of interest and damage to the public image of political actors. Advocates meanwhile claim that it provides clear benefits, such as local embeddedness of the national or regional political decision-making and a greater degree of professionalisation in politics. However, little is known about how political actors themselves look upon this practice. This especially in a context like Finland, where this practice is said to be embedded in the political culture and where another institutional level has recently been implemented, making it possible for political actors to simultaneously hold political mandates at the local-, regional- and national levels. This paper examines attitudes towards multiple-mandate holding among local political decision-makers using unique survey data gathered through a new online panel. The results suggest that councillors from a populist radical right party and those who perceive corruption and partial treatment as more common were the most negatively disposed towards this practice, while councillors from the traditionally strongest rural party were the most in favour.     

Finding Partisanship Where We Least Expect it: Evidence of Partisan Bias in a New African Democracy

Much of the literature on political behavior in Africa’s new semi-democracies has treated partisan affiliation as weak, purely pragmatic, or a proxy for other, more meaningful identities such as ethnicity. In this article, I dispute these conceptions by demonstrating that partisanship in an African context, like partisanship in established democracies, is a psychologically meaningful identity that can inspire voters to engage in motivated reasoning. By combining survey data with an original dataset of objective indicators of local public goods quality in Uganda, I show that supporters of the incumbent president systematically overestimate what they have received from government, while opposition supporters systematically underestimate. Partisan support precedes, rather than results from, this mis-estimation. I also show that partisans of the incumbent (opposition) are significantly more (less) likely to attribute any bad outcomes they observe to private actors rather than the government. I argue that these findings are consistent with the predictions of social identity theory: the conflict that marked many African political transitions, and the mapping of African parties onto existing social cleavages, are sufficient conditions for the creation of strong political-social identities like those that characterize partisanship in the West. My findings indicate that Africanists should take partisanship seriously as a predictor of political behavior and attitudes.