Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T17:35:13.223Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ethno-political Organizations in the Middle East: When Do They Opt for Violence?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 March 2016

Süveyda Karakaya
Süveyda Karakaya*
Affiliation:
Meliksah University, Turkey
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Süveyda Karakaya, Department of Political Science and International Relations, Meliksah University, Mevlana Mahallesi, Talas, Kayseri, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Why do some ethno-political organizations resort to violence while others abstain? Are ethno-political organizations with a religious/Islamist ideology more violence-prone compared to non-religious ones? In addition to commonly cited factors such as grievances, political opportunities/constraints, resources, and organizational characteristics, I argue that the existence of youth bulges in a society also increases the probability of adopting violent strategies by ethno-political organizations. Frustrated young males under repressive and authoritarian regimes tend to be likely recruits for violent organizations. I use the Minorities at Risk Organizational Behavior dataset, which includes 118 organizations in 16 countries of the Middle East and North Africa to test my hypotheses. The findings suggest that youth bulges, economic grievances, group fractionalization, external support, and state repression increase the probability of use of violent strategies by ethno-political organizations whereas religious ideology is insignificant. Youth bulges foster violence especially in autocratic countries.

Type
Articles
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , June 2016 , pp. 332 - 363
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Al-Momani, Mohammad. 2011. “The Arab “Youth Quake”: Implications on Democratization and Stability.” Middle East Law and Governance 3:159–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appleby, R. Scott. 2000. The Ambivalence of the Sacred: Religion, Violence, and Reconciliation. New York, NY: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
Asal, Victor, Conrad, Justin, and White, Peter. 2014a. “Going Abroad: Transnational Solicitation and Contention by Ethnopolitical Organizations.” International Organization 68:945–978.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Asal, Victor, Schulzke, Marcus, and Pate, Amy. 2014b. “Why Do Some Organizations Kill While Others Do Not: An Examination of Middle Eastern Organizations.” Foreign Policy Analysis 1–20.Google Scholar
Asal, Victor, Pate, Amy, and Wilkenfeld, Jonathan. 2008. Minorities at Risk Organizational Behavior Data And Codebook Version 9/2008. http://www.cidcm.umd.edu/mar/data.asp (Accessed on Feb 26, 2016).Google Scholar
Ayoob, Mohammed. 2005. “The Future of Political Islam: The Importance of External Variables.” International Affairs 81:951–961.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basedau, Matthias, Fox, Jonathan, Pierskalla, Jan H., Strüver, Georg, and Vüllers, Johannes. 2015. “Does Discrimination Breed Grievances—and Do Grievances Breed Violence? New Evidence From an Analysis of Religious Minorities in Developing Countries.” Conflict Management and Peace Science.Google Scholar
Basedau, Matthias, Pfeiffer, Birte, and Vüllers, Johannes. 2014. “Bad Religion? Religion, Collective Action, and the Onset of Armed Conflict in Developing Countries.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 60:226–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Basedau, Matthias, Strüvera, Georg, Vüllersa, Johannes, and Wegenastab, Tim. 2011. “Do Religious Factors Impact Armed Conflict? Empirical Evidence From Sub-Saharan Africa.” Terrorism and Political Violence 23:752–779.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, Mia. 2004. “Palestinian Suicide Bombing: Public Support, Market Share, and Outbidding.” Political Science Quarterly 119:61–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Borum, Randy. 2011. “Radicalization into Violent Extremism: A Review of Social Science Theories.” Journal of Strategic Security. 4:7–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brush, Stephen G. 1996. “Dynamics of Theory Change in The Social Sciences: Relative Deprivation and Collective Violence.” The Journal of Conflict Resolution, 40:523–545.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Canetti, Daphna, Hobfoll, Stevan E., Pedahzur, Ami, and Zaidise, Eran. 2010. “Much Ado About Religion: Religiosity, Resource Loss, and Support for Political Violence.” Journal of Peace Research 47:575–587.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collier, Paul. 2000. Doing Well out of War: An Economic Perspective. In Greed and Grievance: Economic Agendas in Civil Wars, eds. Mats, Berdal, and Malone, David M.. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 91–111.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cederman, Lars-Erik, Weidmann, Nils B., and Gleditsch, Kristian Skrede. 2011. “Horizontal Inequalities and Ethnonationalist Civil War: A Global Comparison.” American Political Science Review, 105:478–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalacoura, Katerina. 2011. Islamist Terrorism and Democracy in the Middle East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dalton, Russell, Van Sickle, Alix, and Weldon, Steven. 2010. “The Individual–Institutional Nexus of Protest Behaviour.” British Journal of Political Science 40:51–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davenport, Christian. 2007. “State Repression and Political Order.” Annual Review of Political Science 10:1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davenport, Christian, and Inman, Moly. 2012. “The State of State Repression Research since the 1990s.” Terrorism and Political Violence 24:619–634.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
El-Said, Hamed, and Barrett, Richard. 2011. Radicalization and Extremism That Lead to Violent Extremism in the Arab world. In Globalisation, democratisation and radicalisation in the Arab world, eds. Harrigan, Jane, and El-Said, Hamed. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Fish, Steven M., Jensenius, Francesca R., and Michel, Katherine E.. 2010. “Islam and Large-Scale Political Violence: Is There a Connection?” Comparative Political Studies 43:1327–1362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, Jonathan. 2007. “The Rise of Religion and the Fall of the Civilization Paradigm as Explanations for Intra-State Conflict.” Cambridge Review of International Affairs 20:361–382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fox, Jonathan and Akbaba, Yasemin. 2015. “Securitization of Islam and Religious Discrimination: Religious Minorities in Western Democracies, 1990–2008.” Comparative European Politics 13:175–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuller, Graham E. 2003. The Youth Factor: The New Demographics of the Middle East and the Implications for US Policy. http://www.brookings.edu/fp/projects/islam/fuller2003.pdf (Accessed on Feb 26, 2016).Google Scholar
Ghadbian, Najib. 2000. “Political Islam and Violence.” New Political Science 22:77–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldstone, Jack A. 2001. “Demography, Environment, and Security.” In Environmental Conflict. eds. Diehl, Paul F., and Gleditsch, Nils Petter. Boulder,CO: Westview, 84–108.Google Scholar
Goodwin, Jeff. 2001. No Other Way Out: States And Revolutionary Movements, 1945–1991. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gupta, Dipak K., Singh, Harinder, and Sprague, Tom. 1993. “Government Coercion of Dissidents: Deterrence or Provocation?” Journal of Conflict Resolution 37:301–339.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurr, Ted Robert. 1970. Why Men Rebel. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Gurr, Ted Robert. 1993. “Why Minorities Rebel: A Global Analysis of Communal Mobilization And Conflict since 1945.” International Political Science Review 14:161–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurr, Ted Robert, and Moore, Will H. 1997. “Ethnopolitical Rebellion: A Crosssectional Analysis of the 1980s with Risk Assessments for the 1990s.” American Journal of Political Science 41:1079–1103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hafez, Mohammed M. 2003. Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the Islamic World. Boulder, CO: Rienner Publishers Inc.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrigan, Jane, and el-Said, Hamed. 2011. Globalization, Democratization, and Radicalization in the Arab world. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Henne, Peter S. 2012. “The Two Swords Religion–State Connections and İnterstate Disputes.” Journal of Peace Research, 49:753–768.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heston, Alan, Summers, Robert, and Aten, Bettina. 2011. Penn World Table Version 7.0. Philadelphia, PA: Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income and Prices at the University of Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Hoffman, Michael, and Jamal, Amaney. 2012. “The Youth and the Arab Spring: Cohort Differences and Similarities.” Middle East Law and Governance 4:168–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horowitz, Michael C. 2009. “Long Time Going: Religion and the Duration of Crusading.” International Security 34:162–193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huntington, Samuel. 1996. The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster.Google Scholar
Jakobsen, Tor G., and De Soysa, Indra. 2009. “Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Death! State Repression, Ethnic Grievance and Civil War, 1981–2004.” Civil Wars 11:135–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Juergensmeyer, Mark. 2003. Global Religions: An Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Karakaya, Süveyda. 2015. “Religion and Conflict: Explaining the Puzzling Case of ‘Islamic Violence’”. International Interactions 41:509–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krueger, Alan B., and Malečková, Jitka. 2003. “Education, Poverty and Terrorism: Is There a Causal Connection?” Journal of Economic Perspectives 17:119–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawrence, Adria. 2010. “Triggering Nationalist Violence: Competition and Conflict in Uprisings against Colonial Rule.” International Security 35:88–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lichbach, Mark Irving. 1987. “Deterrence or Escalation? The Puzzle of Aggregate Studies of Repression and Dissent.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 31:266–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marshall, Monty G., Jaggers, Keith, and Gurr, Ted Robert. 2011. “Polity IV Project: Political Regime Characteristics and Transitions, 1800–2010.” http://www.systemicpeace.org/polity/polity4.htm (Accessed on February 26, 2016).Google Scholar
McCarthy, John D., and Zald, Mayer N.. 1977. “Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory.” American Journal of Sociology 82:1212–1241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McAdam, Doug. 1982. Political Process and the Development of Black Insurgency. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Moghadam, Valentine M. 2009. Globalization and Social Movements: Islamism, Feminism, and the Global Justice Movement. London: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers.Google Scholar
Moller, Herbert. 1968. “Youth as a Force in the Modern World.” Comparative Studies in Society and History 10:238–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, Will H. 2000. “The Repression of Dissent: A Substitution Model of Government Coercion.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 44:107–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muchlinski, David. 2014. “Grievances and Opportunities: Religious Violence Across Regimes.” Politics and Religion 7:1–22 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muller, Edward N. 1985. “Income Inequality, Regime Repressiveness, and Political Violence.” American Sociological Review 50:47–61.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philpott, Daniel. 2007. “Explaining the Political Ambivalence of Religion.” American Political Science Review 101:505–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regan, Patrick, and Norton, Daniel. 2005. “Greed, Grievance, and Mobilization in Civil Wars.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 49:319–336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Regan, Patrick M. 2009. Sixteen Million One: Understanding Civil War, Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers.Google Scholar
Russell, Charles and Miller, Bowman. 1983. “Profile of a Terrorist,” Perspectives on Terrorism. Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Inc., 45–60.Google Scholar
Stephan, Maria J. and Chenoweth, Erica. 2008. “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict.” International Security 33:7–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svensson, Isak. 2007. “Fighting with Faith: Religion and Conflict Resolution in Civil Wars.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 51:930–949.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Svensson, Isak, and Harding, Emily. 2011. “How Holy Wars End: Exploring the Termination Patterns of Conflicts With Religious Dimensions in Asia.” Terrorism and Political Violence 23:133–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tarrow, Sydney. 1998. Power in Movements. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tilly, Charles and Tarrow, Sidney. 2007. Contentious Politics. London: Paradigm Publishers.Google Scholar
Tilly, Charles. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution. New York, NY: Random House Google Scholar
Toft, Monica Duffy. 2007. “Getting Religion? The Puzzling Case of Islam and Civil War.” International Security 31:97–131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toft, Monica D., Philpott, Daniel, and Shah, Timothy S.. 2011. God's Century: Resurgent Religion and Global Politics, New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.Google Scholar
Trotsky, Leon. 1961. Terrorism and Communism: A Reply to Karl Kautsky. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
The United Nations. 2010. World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. Retrieved from: http://esa.un.org/wpp/Excel-Data/population.htm.Google Scholar
Urdal, Henrik. 2004. “The Devil in Demographics: The Effect of Youth Bulges on Domestic Armed Conflict, 1950–2000.” Social Development Papers, The World Bank. No: 14.Google Scholar
Urdal, Henrik. 2006. “A Clash of Generations? Youth Bulges and Political Violence.” International Studies Quarterly 50:607–629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinstein, Jeremy. 2006. Inside Rebellion: The Politics of Insurgent Violence. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiktorowicz, Quintan. 2004. Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Wiktorowicz, Quintan, and Kaltenthaler, Karl. 2006. “The Rationality of Radical Islam.” Political Science Quarterly 121:295–319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, Joseph K. 2012. “Repression, Dissent, and the Onset of Civil War.” Political Research Quarterly August:1–17.Google Scholar
Zaidise, Eran, Canetti-Nisim, Daphna, and Pedahzur, Ami. 2007. “Politics of God or Politics of Man? The Role of Religion and Deprivation in Predicting Support for Political Violence in Israel.” Political Studies 55:499–521.CrossRefGoogle Scholar