"The more, the merrier": three ways of case universe extension-reflections on bringing Shia into Islamism studies

One of the fundamental questions of social science concerns the subject of scope conditions. A field of study can grow around a set of empirical puzzles, making generalized assertions without reflecting on whether the field covers all possible instances. This becomes particularly acute when sociopolitical changes have led to a diversification of cases. This paper takes the case of Islamism studies, which has suffered from a major blind spot: a (mostly) unacknowledged Sunni-centrism in the way broader claims about Islamism are often drawn from a (narrow) Sunni case universe. Although calls for bringing in the “other Islamists” have increased, so far there has been limited discussion of why and how an inclusion of Shia can enrich our overall understanding of Islamism and politico-religious actors more broadly. Drawing on experiences from other fields that have witnessed an expansion of their case universe, such as democratization, social movement, and international studies, the paper shows how an agreement in principle to expand the case universe does not necessarily translate into a consensus on why and how case expansion can strengthen and expand the field. Based on a novel typology for the rationales, methods, and outcomes for case extension, the paper proposes three different ideal-typical ways inclusion of Shia Islamists can enrich the field of Islamism studies, with important implications for how we think about case extension and knowledge production more broadly. In addition to case extension offering new case material to test classic hypotheses about Islamism (theory-testing), the paper shows that broadening the case universe and greater dialogue between the research communities—in this case around Sunni and Shia Islamism—can generate novel research puzzles (theory-development) or give rise to more fundamental (self-)reflections on the study of the subject—here Islamism—as such (meta-theorizing)

Playing the sectarian card in a sectarianized new Middle East

This article examines the interaction between authoritarianism and the instrumentalization of sectarianism in the Middle East. It begins with an overview of debates on authoritarianism in the region and how they has been affected by the Arab uprisings and by the subsequent debates about the sectarian surge in the region. A comparative case study of Bahrain and Kuwait exposes the considerable variation in how rulers do this. Second, it explores the impact of such insttrumentalization on the inclusiveness of institutions over time, using a case study of Ba’thist Syria.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Global Conversations:Relationality, Embodiment and Power in the move towards a Global IR

The ‘global turn’ in International Relations, like postcolonial and decolonizing approaches, moves away from the Eurocentric dominance of the discipline, and towards the inclusion of plural perspectives on global politics. The article investigates what such a call means in epistemological and ontological terms by focusing on the concept of ‘global conversations.’ In section one, we show that the concept of ‘global’ conversations necessarily shifts from an individual ontology to a relational ontology of intra-action within a global space. In section two we explore why ‘conversation,’ as distinct from dialogue fits more comfortably with this relational shift and has practical implications for how the engagement takes place. The third section engages in an exploration of some of the obstacles to global conversation, and not least the emotional obstacles, in light of historically embedded and embodied relations of power that shape who can speak and who is silenced or heard. The final section then engages in a discussion of the types of practical engagement and research that might flow from this analysis. In moving beyond ‘dialogue’, the article reveals the intersection of power, language, emotion and embodiment in the constitution of ‘global conversations’, and how these in turn come to constitute the global, its normative structuring, contestations and transformation. <br/

Beyond Arabism vs. Sovereignty:Relocating Ideas in the International Relations of the Middle East

This article critiques constructivist approaches to the international relations of the Middle East and sets out an alternative interpretation of the role of ideas based on political economy and the sociology of knowledge. It cautions against using constructivism as a way of ‘building bridges’ between IR and Middle East Studies and disputes the claim that the norms of ‘Arabism’ as a putative regional identity are in contradiction with those of sovereignty. The article shows that this assumption is based on the combined influences of modernisation theory and Orientalist assumptions about the power and continuity of regional culture that have persisted in Middle East IR. This is despite the fact that there is no reason to believe the Arabs constitute a more ‘natural’ nation than do the Syrians, Iraqis or Egyptians. The political role and resonance of ideas can be better established by viewing the modern history of the Middle East in terms of domestic structure and social change, and in particular emphasising the role of rising middle classes in revolutionary nationalist movements. The findings of this article raise questions for the utility of ‘moderate’ constructivist interpretations of International Relations as a whole

The boundaries of fintech : Data-driven classification and domain delimitation

Fintech is a phenomenon that spans the fields—and industry classifications used in company registration databases—of both Finance and Technology This has resulted in unclear definitions of fintech, where some definitions define fintech in terms of financial services and others define it in terms of technologies. Consequently, studies on fintech and their results may not be directly comparable, and fintech firms are hard to identify using company registration data. This has implications for understanding the phenomenon of fintech, as well as for policy-making and regulatory efforts reliant on these definitions and data. This chapter uses machine learning and Swedish companies’ registry data to identify and define fintech firms, and associated fintech domains. The methodology relies on free text firm description data. It also explores the usefulness and limits of industry classification (SIC) codes in identifying these field-spanning firms, and by extension the boundaries and domains of fintech in a data-driven rather than model-driven understanding of fintech

Åbent eller bare fragmenteret? Mobilisering gennem open source aktionsrepertoirer i den sociale blockchain-bevægelse

Den sociale blockchain-bevægelse var ikke kun modstand mod det økonomiske system efter finanskrisen i 2009, den gav et håndgribeligt teknologisk alternativ gennem computerkodning og anvendelse af Open Source (OS) principper. Den sociale bevægelse mobiliserede gennem velkendte OS-strukturer og aktiviteter som aktionsrepertoirer. Selvom denne åbenhed opmuntrede til mobilisering, løb den en risiko for at miste kontrollen, da enkeltindivider brugte OS-koden til deres egne formål udenfor den sociale bevægelses område. Anvendelsen af OSaktionsrepertoirer gav måder at koordinere, lufte frustrationer og opbygge konsensus. Den resulterende dissens, da den opstod, gjorde desuden bevægelsen mere relevant ved at udvide den og mobilisere individer på komplementære områder, drevet af økonomiske incitamenter. OS-repertoiret af åbent iværksætteri faciliterede også mobilisering, og gav bevægelsen større indflydelse. </p