Repertoires and Violence in Contentious Politics Spath

Repertoires and Violence in Contentious Politics Spath – 385 Arab Politics & Society Spring 2010

A Typology of Religion? (Halim Barakat) Mechanism of Control Can legitimize the existing social order Can bring about unity if beliefs are open & accepting or society is homogenous Mechanism of Instigation Mobilizational Tool Institutions for coordination; beliefs as ‘call’ to action (da’wa) Mechanism of Reconciliation “opium of the people”? Deprived become passive and submissive in their oppressed state

A Typology of Religion – Eric Davis Piety and Devotion – non-political 5 pillars of Islam Shahada; Salat; Siyam; Zakat; Hajj Politicized Religion Ecumenical Hostile Critique? ? Communal Solidarity – rallying when facing threats Subterfuge for Criminal Activity – deceptive device

Distinct Categories of Islamists (Coffman-Wittes) Takfiri – radical fundamentalist (ex. Al-Qaeda) • Violence • Reject democratic governance as against God’s sovereignty Nationalist Militant – combine Islamist ideology with local political demands (ex. Hamas, Hizbullah, Mahdi Army) • Violence, with formal political presence • Weak states Institutionalist – seek political role through state institutions (ex. IAF in Jordan; MB in Egypt? ) IMPLICATIONS FOR DEMOCRACY? ?

Contentious Politics: a definition Contentious politics: episodic, public, collective interactions in which actors make claims that bear on someone else’s interests, leading to coordinating efforts, in which governments are targets, the objects of claims, or third parties. Social movements: sustained campaigns of claim making, using repeated performances that advertise that claim, based on organizations, networks, traditions, and solidarities that sustain these activities.

Defining a Repertoire of Contention Contentious repertoires: arrays of contentious performances that are currently known and available within some set of political actors. (Tilly & Tarrow, 2006) Set of tools available for use by political activists that the general public would recognize as a form of political protest. BRAINSTORMING repertoires in various settings

Islam as a Tool (cultural “tool kit”) Framing – “tools that lend order and sense to an otherwise confusing world by providing language that captures or constructs the meaning of problems. ” • Attempt to make a claim resonate with the public Framing in Saudi Arabia in the 1990 s What government activities were the movements challenging? • US Troops in Saudi Arabia (Gulf War); Corruption and decadent behavior of ruling family; Econ. Disparity; Dependence of Clergy New ‘popular’ clergy gained public legitimacy (official vs. unofficial clergy) Alternative frames – secular-liberal, nationalist, feminist, Islamic frame – only one that resonated with society-at-large • Led to Nasiha Petition (“memorandum of advice” from religious scholars demanding change in government behavior)

Technology in the Repertoire Avoiding Technological Determinism – technology does not automatically mean greater mobilization Innovations in communications technology must be analyzed dynamically – operates in two opposing ways: lowers the costs of coordination among activists who are already connected with each other; facilitates mobilization BUT – excludes those who lack access to the new means of communication, increasing communications inequality and prevents potential activists from joining Facilitate larger state coordination and the ability for states to use repression.

Violence in the Repertoire Differentating between ‘Conflict’ and ‘Violence’ Difference in degree and in kind (strategy); qualitative shift when one starts to behave violently Popular View – Islamic activists are radical fanatics engaged in irrational, deviant, unpredictable violence Does not explain why violence is used in certain places at certain times More social-scientific view – we can at least try to explain why we observe the use of violence when and where we do by examining human behavior and political context

Hafez & Wiktorowicz Violence in Egyptian Islamic Movement 2 Questions Specific – Why did Islamists turn to violence in EIM? General - Why do social movements utilize violence as contention given the presence of other tactics? What explains variation across countries and over time? 2 Forms of the ‘Popular View’ Ideational Factors - Political or Religious ideologies can completely explain the use of violence. Psychological Factors - Socioeconomic background tells us something about grievances and therefore participation violent groups (deprivation theories)

Why Contention? Deprivation Theory

Hafez & Wiktorowicz Violence in Egyptian Islamic Movement It is more effective to view violent activists as rational actors operating within a context of opportunities and constraints that inform decisions about appropriate tactics to use. Political Opportunity Structure – Focus on TWO Accessibility to institutionalized politics o Access versus Exclusion State Repression o Timing and Targeting What does this mean for political strategy?

Political Opportunity, Threat, & Contention Political Opportunity Structure: features of regimes and institutions (e. g. , splits in the ruling class) that facilitate or inhibit a political actor’s collective action Category Increasing Threat Increasing Opportunity openness of regime closing down regime increasingly open coherence of elite increasing solidarity of elite increasing elite divisions stability of pol. alignments increasing stability rising instability availability of allies potential allies disappear or lose power new allies in regime available to challengers repression/facilitation decreasing facilitation, rising repression increasing facilitation, declining repression

Timing and Targeting TIMING TARGETING Selective Indiscrim. Pre-Emptive Reactionary FACILITATE VIOLENCE DETER VIOLENCE

Hafez & Wiktorowicz 3 Important Changes in Pol. Opportunity Structure contributed to emergence of violence as a tactic First, Egypt witnessed the deliberalization of institutional politics in the 1990 s (esp. Ikhwan) Second, the authorities in Egypt began to dismantle the network of the Gama’a in Upper Egypt Finally, repression against the Gama’a was indiscriminate;

Hamas as Social Movement? From the work of Glenn E. Robinson, “Hamas as Social Movement” in Islamic Activism Hamas as Terrorist Group – Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades Problems: 1. Ignores much of what Hamas actually does 2. Terrorism as a tactic vs. fundamental attribute

Hamas and Political Opportunity Structure Post-1977 change in Israeli policy toward the Islamist movement in the Occupied Territories (election of Likud Party in Israel) Internationalization of Islamist demonstration Beginning of Palestinian Intifada (1987) 1993 Oslo Accords (Declaration of Principles)

Empirical Work - Event Analysis The fundamental unit of analysis in this study is the contentious event. Event analysis is widely recognized as a tool for studying waves of mobilization. It is essentially a way of tracking over time the rise and fall of particular types of events and the features associated with them (Beissinger 2002: 42).

Subject – Verb - Object

Example from Charles Tilly’s Study on Great Britain Source: Tilly. Contentious Performances Chapter 2. Unpublished draft 2007.

Empirical Work – Event Data Analysis

From Hector Forero’s Student Memorandum