The Politics of Shari'a Law
Islamist Activists and the State in Democratizing Indonesia

An original and timely exploration of the continuing Islamization of Indonesian politics despite the electoral decline of Islamist parties.

Michael Buehler (Author)

9781107571167, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 8 March 2018

284 pages, 2 tables
23 x 15 x 1.5 cm, 0.5 kg

'Who is pushing most for new shari'a regulations in Indonesia? To address this question Buehler has created a pioneering data set on 443 shari'a regulations which he adroitly analyses with a rich range of concepts. Buehler counterfactually shows that almost all of these shari'a regulations have been passed by secular bureaucrats who were looking to get some political, and often financial, gain. He also illustrates that one of the reasons for the decline of total vote of Islamic political parties is that they are ideologically multi-vocal and join many different competing party coalitions, often with secularist allies. Buehler's book, based on over fifty months of theoretically sensitive field research, has resulted in a wonderful conceptual and empirical enrichment to the literature on democracy and Islam.' Alfred C. Stepan, Wallace S. Sayre Professor of Government, Founding Director of the Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration and Religion, and Co-Director of the Institute for Religion, Culture and Public Life, Columbia University, New York

The Islamization of politics in Indonesia after 1998 presents an underexplored puzzle: why has there been a rise in the number of shari'a laws despite the electoral decline of Islamist parties? Michael Buehler presents an analysis of the conditions under which Islamist activists situated outside formal party politics may capture and exert influence in Muslim-majority countries facing democratization. His analysis shows that introducing competitive elections creates new pressures for entrenched elites to mobilize and structure the electorate, thereby opening up new opportunities for Islamist activists to influence politics. Buehler's analysis of changing state-religion relations in formerly authoritarian Islamic countries illuminates broader theoretical debates on Islamization in the context of democratization. This timely text is essential reading for students, scholars, and government analysts.

List of abbreviations
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. How state elites mediate the influence of Islamist activists in Indonesia
2. Islamist activism, the state and shari'a policymaking between 1945 and 1998
3. State elites and institutional change
4. The accumulation and exercise of power in local politics after 1998
5. Islamist parties after 1998: mobilization without influence
6. The mobilization and lobbying efforts of Islamist movements after 1998
7. Providing political resources in exchange for the adoption of shari'a regulations
8. Conclusion: summary of findings and avenues for future research
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
Appendix 3
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Revolutionary groups & movements [JPWQ], Political activism [JPW], Political structures: democracy [JPHV], Political structure & processes [JPH], Political science & theory [JPA], Politics & government [JP], Islam [HRH], Religion & beliefs [HR]