Indonesia’s counter-terrorism policy, 2001 –2009

Consecutive terror attacks and the suicide bombings at the J.W. Marriott Hotel and Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Jakarta on July 17th, 2009, indicate that terrorism remains a serious security threat to the world’s biggest Muslim country, Indonesia. This study attempts to analyze the politics of the Indonesian government’s response to terrorism during the period 2001—2009. It asks three interrelated questions. Firstly, according to the government’s perspective, who was responsible for the major bomb attacks in Indonesia? Secondly, what sort of counterterrorism policies did the government make? Finally, what are the main factors that shaped the government’s counterterrorism policy during that period? To explain the Indonesian government’s counterterrorism policy, this study adopts “the logic of two-level games” (Putnam, 1988) as the theoretical framework. The “two-level games” perspective suggests that government policy is a function of incentives and constraints both at the international and the domestic level. As gatekeepers between the two levels, governments simultaneously process these interdependent incentives and constraints in their policy decision-making. They balance between potentially conflicting international and domestic pressures and attempt to formulate and implement policies that satisfy both. The data used in this research are mostly derived from official documents, direct interviews with government officials and the secondary sources (books and journals) on terrorism and counterterrorism. This study shows that, although it never banned Al-Jamaah Al-Islamiyah (AJAI) because of domestic considerations, the government believes that the AJAI is a terrorist network mostly responsible for the consecutive bombings in Indonesia. Secondly, different from policy of the previous regime, the government has mostly relied on a “law-enforcement approach” in denting the terrorist network which has been incrementally complemented with an “ideological approach” to fight religious extremism. Finally, the pathway of Indonesia’s counterterrorism policy was shaped by contradictory pressures originating from the Muslim community and human rights groups in the domestic political environment, on one hand, as well as international pressures originating from the United States and its allies, on the other hand. Societal pressures constrain the government’s freedom to manoeuvre in adopting policy, whereas international pressures bolster the government’s determination and capability to fight terrorism. The government seeks to achieve a balance between the two conflicting pressures and attempts to adopt and implement policies that satisfy both conflicting forces. This study attempts to fill the gap in the existing works on terrorism and counterterrorism in Indonesia. It analyzes the core elements of the government’s counterterrorism policy and locates them within the context of contradictory pressures originating from societal/domestic political forces and international forces

Glossary of political science terms: Islamic and western

This book provides a clear and lively introduction to selected Islamic and Western political science terms. It is the first of its kind, combining Political Science terms from the two streams and presents succinct definitions and explanations of around 2,000 key concepts in an engaging style

تسليم المتهمين بين الدول في الفقه الإسلامي والقانون الد ولي دراسة تحليلية مقارنة

الفقه الإسلامي مصدره الأول كتاب الله الخالد –القرآن- الذي هو المصدر الأول للشريعة المنظمة لحياة الناس على هذه الأرض، ومنهج حياة كامل، ودستور الأمة الإسلامية، فهو لم يدع جانباً من جوانب الإنسانية إلا وتناوله بما يصلحه ويصلح له، علاقة الفرد بربه، وعلاقة الفرد بالمجتمع، وعلاقة الحاكم بالمحكومين، وعلاقة المسلمين بالفئات غير المسلمة داخل المجتمع الإسلامي وعلاقة الدولة الإسلامية بغيرها من الدول، وكل شيء في حياة البشر تضمنه هذا القرآن بالتفصيل أو الإجمال، وما أجمله القرآن فصلته السنة النبوية ووضحته. وهناك أمور متغيرة في حياة الناس يجتهد فيها الفقهاء، ولكنهم لا يخرجون في اجتهادهم عن أصول الشريعة المبينة في القرآن والسنة، ولقد جاء القرآن الكريم محذراً من الجريمة بجميع أنواعها، ووضع لها عقوبة رادعة بحسب نوع كل جريمة على ماهو مفصل في كتب الفقه الإسلامي المطولة، وما دام أن القرآن الكريم حذر من الجريمة والمجرمين والإجرام في مواضع كثيرة منه، فإنه على وجه العموم لا يمانع في ملاحقة المج رمين والقبض عليهم وتسليمهم ومحاكمتهم على ما اقترفوه من أعمال منعا للفساد والفوضى، وللحد من انتشار الجريمة تماشياً مع مصلحة الفرد والجماعة، وتطهيراَ للمجتمع الإنساني من أضرارها

State-building under foreign occupation: the case of Iraq, 2003-2008

The aim of this book is to analyze the political system of Iraq (2003-2008) which emerged under the foreign occupation. Power-sharing (consociational) model which emphasizes the role of the political elites is used as the most appropriate approach in order to book post-Saddam Iraq. The book identifies factors that are conducive to cooperative behavior of domestic elite. These factors are: nature of social cleavages, size of various ethnic groups and segmental isolation. Elite behavior is examined in terms of a grand coalition, segmental autonomy, proportional representation and mutual veto. The book shows that Iraq’s political elites have been confrontational and non-cooperative which normally leads to political instability. However, during this period the country has achieved some kind of power sharing arrangement and moderate economic development. This has been possible due to external factors, such as the presence of United States and United Kingdom forces which has made unilateral decisions and passed laws that domestic political elites have not been able to agree upon. This has enabled the country to function rather smoothly in the post-Saddam Iraq. The book is based upon data collected through personal interviews with political elites, documents published by the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, books, local newspapers, journals, and magazines