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.     

Bangladesh Politics: Confrontation,Monopoly and Crisis in Governance

Despite the restoration of parliamentary democracy in Bangladesh since 1991, political governance of the country is still mired by innumerable ills. It broadly features a wide array of confrontation, competition, monopolization of state institutions and resources by the party in power. This trend of politics has tremendously weakened the formal accountability mechanisms and put governance in crisis. This article depicts the nature of confrontational politics in Bangladesh, its causes and impacts on governance with supportive evidence from both primary and secondary sources. As case examples, it shows how bureaucracy and local government institutions are grossly politicized as a result of confrontational politics and their impact on governance.     

The Politics of Local Policy-Making in Urban Bangladesh: The Case of Rajshahi City Corporation

Some of the contemporary writings provide a different outlook in adopting institutional analysis by claiming that society-rooted politics is foremost in shaping the third world's political institutions. This paper, drawing on an empirical study, puts special emphasis on understanding the nature of society rooted politics in designing the local government system in Bangladesh and how it has shaped local policy-making. By focusing on the policy-making of a municipal corporation, this paper identifies the actors and factors and their roles in the urban local governance process in Bangladesh.     

Particular Rights and Absolute Wrongs: Giorgio Agamben on Life and Politics

Over the past decade, as human rights discourses have increasingly served to legitimize state militarism, a growing number of thinkers have sought to engage critically with the human rights project and its anthropological foundations. Amongst these thinkers, Giorgio Agamben’s account of rights is possibly the most damning: human rights declarations, he argues, are biopolitical mechanisms that serve to inscribe life within the order of the nation state, and provide an earthly foundation for a sovereign power that is taking on a form redolent of the concentration camp. In this paper, I will examine Agamben’s account of human rights declarations, which he sees as central to the modern collapse of the distinction between life and politics that had typified classical politics. I will then turn to the critique of Agamben offered by Jacques Ranciere, who suggests that Agamben’s rejection of rights discourses is consequent to his adoption of Hannah Arendt’s belief that, in order to establish a realm of freedom, the political realm must be premised on the expulsion of natural life. In contrast to Ranciere, I will argue that far from sharing the position of those thinkers, like Arendt, who seek to respond to the modern erosion of the borders between politics and life by resurrecting earlier forms of separation, Agamben sees the collapse of this border as the condition of possibility of a new, non-juridical politics.

国家政治与泉州回民的穆斯林认同

泉州回民在中国回民的社会史上占有特殊的地位.与全国其他地方的回族不同,泉州回民的西亚穆斯林先入主要通过海路而来,其穆斯林认同在历史上的起伏与泉州作为中古时期的重要国际贸易口岸密切相关,同时也与理学在福建的高度发展有一定的关系;随着泉州港的式微,泉州回民渐渐地失去了原有的穆斯林认同.新中国成立之后的国家政治需要有少数民族的参与,泉州的地方历史文化资源引起了地方政府的重视,泉州的回民也因此进入了国家的认同政治过程.对泉州回族的历史过程和他们近年来的穆斯林认同建构运动的分析与讨论支持了这样的一个假设:如果没有政府的民族政策,中国的民族形貌将与人们今日之所见全然不同.     

Charities and Political Campaigning: The Impact of Risk-Based Regulation

This article examines the effects of the Charity Commission’s implementation of risk-based regulation on the political campaigning activities of charities. In doing so, it draws on the findings of a recent empirical study which explored charity representatives’ awareness of relevant law and regulation and their perceptions of the obstacles they faced in their campaigning work. The article begins with a brief exploration of the emergence of risk-based approaches to regulation, followed by consideration of the legal and regulatory requirements for risk management by charities. Moving to its main focus of political campaigning, the article notes the unique legal issues faced by charities in campaigning work. It provides a comparative evaluation of the 2004 and 2008 versions of Charity Commission guidance CC9 on campaigning and political activity by charities (CC9) in terms of their approach to legal compliance, their formulation of the specific risks of campaigning and their approach to the process of risk management itself. In addition, the article considers the relevance to campaigning activity of the Commission’s current plans for an ‘enhanced approach’ to risk in its compliance work. The article concludes by considering the potential impacts on charitable campaigning of both the Commission’s overall approach to campaigning and its perceived risks, and of further entrenchment of risk principles in charity regulation.

日本战略走向与中日关系前景

进入新世纪,伴随日本政治的右倾化,日本对外战略也发生着深刻的变化。2005年以来小泉内阁加紧推行“右倾化大国路线”,造成日本同中国等亚洲邻国关系更趋恶化。中日关系的改善还需两国付出长期不懈的共同努力。     

从国内、国际政治的角度解析东南亚环境的困境与机遇

本文旨在从国内政治和国际政治的角度探析东南亚环境困境的根源与出路。东南亚曾被认为是全球环境的模范区,但如今的东南亚也是全球环境恶化浪潮下的重灾区。区域内国家重发展、轻环保的决策思路,以及普遍存在的腐败与行政低效率是导致环境恶化的国内原因。而国际市场对源自东南亚的、以消耗资源为主的产品的高度需求,以及需求国政府有意、无意地忽视过度消费资源类产品对东南亚环境的负面影响,则是导致东南亚环境恶化的国际原因。因此,解决东南亚环境困境仍需要内、外两方面的努力——发达国家为东南亚发展中国家提供必要的资金与技术援助,区域内国家在决策中注意环保,并遏制腐败、提高行政效率,这些都有助于改善东南亚的环境困境。     

Budgetary Politics and Veto Players

In this article we examine whether and how the policy‐oriented coalition building and the gridlock model of legislative choice explain changes in the allocation of German budgetary items between 1961 and 1994. The policy‐oriented coalition‐building approach suggests that only policy‐connected budgetary actors can make changes in the budgetary composition, while the location of the status quo is essential for budgetary modifications according to the gridlock model. We also draw the attention to the identification of the set of relevant budgetary veto players and their preferences by distinguishing between models of the government, the political parties of the Bundestag, and the two of them. We test the predictive power of these approaches and conceptions in a competitive manner and control for macroeconomic and other political factors that might influence changes in the budgetary allocation. Our findings show that the gridlock model better explains budgetary changes, and that the government is responsible for decreasing, but the political parties of the Bundestag majority are decisive for increasing the size of budgetary items. We conclude that identifying the relevant veto players and using these more sophisticated approaches on budgetary decision making provide significant insights into the political reasons for changing the allocation of the German budget.     

试论探究式教学法在高校政治理论课中的探索

探究式教学模式是一种以“启发引导、问题探究”为主要特征的教学模式。探究武的教学法很适合对于在教学内容和教学方法上都要求不断求新的政治理论课。本文以高校政治理论课《思想品德修养与法律基础》的教学实践为例,讨论了探究式教学法在高校政治理论课中的理性思考与实际操作。