State-organised Religion and Muslims’ Commitment to Democracy in Albania

This article questions why, and indeed how, Muslims have committed to democratisation in post-communist Albania. The explanatory framework merges the theoretical insights of the moderation paradigm with the specific devices that characterise the post-communist religious field in investigating Muslims’ support for democracy. The empirical analysis draws on a within-case comparison of Muslims’ behaviour in three consequential stages of democratic transition—each marked by different configurations of institutional settings and ideological options, which we trace as potential explanations. The analysis suggests that institutional arrangements played the primary role. Yet, learning from the experience of dictatorship and from a ready pool of inherited Albanian-specific templates facilitated the consensual reclaiming of Islam in a local, pro-democratic, and pro-European manner.     

The politics of ethnic cleansing: The P.P.R., The P.Z.Z. and Wielkopolska's nationalist revolution, 1944‐1946

The Pussy Riot affair was a massive international cause célèbre that ignited a widespread movement of support for the jailed activists around the world. The case tells us a lot about Russian society, the Russian state, and Western perceptions of Russia. It also raises gender as a frame of analysis, something that has been largely overlooked in 20 years of work by mainstream political scientists analyzing Russia's transition to democracy. It has important implications for how Western feminist categories can be applied to the Russian context. This introduction summarizes the main events associated with the trail of the three group members who were accused of staging a “punk prayer” performance in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February 2012. It also introduces the findings of the six papers that make up this special section.     

Politically Engaged Muslims in Malaysia in the Era of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi (2003–2009)

Long regarded as an embodiment of tolerant Islam and peacefully co-existing with modernisation within a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society, Malaysia unexpectedly aroused much attention as a potential breeding ground for Muslim radicals in the aftermath of catalytic events which pitted the West against the Muslim world. Malaysian Muslims are said to be susceptible to Middle Eastern-originated radicalism, as exemplified in interlocking transnational contacts and agendas sowed between increasingly globalised Muslim networks adept in exploiting latest trappings of modernity. This article urges readers to engage in deeper reflection on the local dynamics of Malaysia's Islamisation process, in order to arrive at a more nuanced understanding of challenges posed by politically engaged Muslims in Malaysia. It is argued that, belying the regime's profession of a progressive Islam known as Islam Hadhari, Malaysia under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's Premiership witnessed an abrupt escalation of inter-religious tension which not only threatened to disrupt communal harmony and nation-building, but also posed a security risk. The origins of such instability could arguably be located to the peculiar manner in which politically-laden Islam is applied by the regime, in particular by its home-nurtured Islamic bureaucracy.     

Relative efficiencies of organized industries in India, 1949–58.

The study attempts to measure relative efficiencies (or inefficiencies) of manufacturing industries in India. Production analysis based on Cobb‐Douglas production function with explicit allowance for technological change is used for the study. Technological change is measured by alternative variables such as technological change embodied in new capital goods (measured by ‘Investment'). ‘Education’ is measured by the ratio of non‐workers to workers. ‘Experience’ is measured by output per worker cumulated over past seven years. Stepwise regression is used to estimate production functions. Consistent data for Indian industries is available for twenty‐eight industries over the ten year period (1949–58). To measure technological change over the ten year period, analysis of covariance is used. Empirical analysis shows that large differences do exist in the efficiency of input use in different industries.