Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: Distinguishing Religious and Ethnic Politics in Africa

这个项目要解决的问题是，在非洲，宗教偏好与其他形式的政治偏好有何不同，尤其是种族语言或部落偏好。打个比方，当一个人摘下部落的帽子，戴上宗教的帽子，她的政治偏好会改变吗？为了解决这个问题，研究还探讨了社会政治环境是如何起作用的。在穆斯林和基督教占主导地位的地区，政治偏好不同吗？是稳定还是紧张的国家政治环境？在多数和少数宗教或部落群体的成员中？这项研究的重要性在于，它将宗教视为政治偏好的独特催化剂。在非洲的许多当代政治研究中，所有形式的归属身份群体——语言、民族语言、种族和宗教——都被置于“民族政治”的保护伞下。因此，在非洲研究中，宗教政治是一个理论化程度较低的领域。然而，推进我们对宗教政治偏好的理论理解在该地区正变得越来越重要。穆斯林和基督教之间的紧张关系已经蔓延到撒哈拉以南的一些非洲国家，非洲的政治领导人有时会发出明确的宗教呼吁，然后改变政策，唤起宗教信条。观察者和决策者预测这些变化的最好方法是了解以宗教名义的政治偏好与以部落或其他身份名义的政治偏好有何不同。为了解决这个问题，研究将集中在两个国家，加纳和Côte科特迪瓦。在加纳民主发展中心和Côte科特迪瓦阿比让大学众民中心的支持下，这位研究人员将进行一项实地实验，在穆斯林和基督教地区的个人样本中人为地唤起宗教或民族语言认同。随机挑选的个人将收听两种专业的、编造的广播报道中的一种，评论该国各群体之间的关系。这些报告完全相同，只是组的名称有所变化。一份报告涉及宗教团体，另一份报告涉及民族语言团体。然后将对受试者进行询问，以确定他们对偏好的政策类型、群体间关系和使用暴力的意愿的偏好。实地试验将辅以对具体宗教和部落群体的定性分析。该项目更广泛的社会价值在于它关注未被充分代表的群体，并努力建立更强大的跨国和跨宗教网络。该项目将为加纳和Côte科特迪瓦的研究生提供参与的机会，并将包括公开抱怨代表性不足的Al-Sunnah wal Jama-ah小组的观点。此外，该项目将加强美国和非洲研究人员之间以及不同宗教信仰的合作者之间的网络和关系。通过使用这些网络来克服对宗教政治的错误描述，该项目将在研究环境中产生切实的差异。

The question that this project addresses is how religious preferences differ from other forms of political preferences, notably ethno-linguistic or tribal ones, in Africa. To use a metaphor, when one takes off her tribal hat and puts on a religious hat, do her political preferences change? In addressing this question, the research also explores how the sociopolitical environment matters. Do political preferences differ in Muslim- and Christian-dominated regions? In stable versus tense national political environments? Among members of majority and minority religious or tribal groups?The importance of the research comes in its treatment of religion as a unique catalyst for political preferences. In many contemporary political studies in Africa, all forms of ascriptive identity groups -language, ethno-linguistic, racial, and religious- are treated under the umbrella of "ethnic politics." As a result, religious politics is an under-theorized area within the study of Africa. Advancing our theoretical understanding of religious political preferences, however, is becoming increasingly important in the region. Muslim-Christian tensions have spread to some sub-Saharan African countries, and African political leaders sometimes make explicit religious appeals followed by policy changes that evoke religious tenets. The best way for observers and decision makers to forecast these changes is to understand how political preferences in the name of religion differ from those in the name of tribe or other identities.To address the question, the research will focuses on two countries, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. With support from the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and the Multitudes Center at the University of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, the researcher will conduct a field experiment that artificially evokes either the religious or the ethno-linguistic identity among a sample of individuals in both Muslim and Christian areas. Randomly selected individuals will be exposed to one of two professional yet concocted radio reports commenting on relations between groups in the country. The reports are perfectly identical, only with changes in the names of groups. One report refers to religious groups and the other to ethno-linguistic groups. Subjects will then be questioned to ascertain their preferences regarding preferred types of policies, inter-group relations, and willingness to use violence. The field experiment will be complemented by a qualitative analysis of specific religious and tribal groups.The broader social value of the project comes in its focus on underrepresented groups and in its effort to build stronger cross-national and cross-religious networks. The project will provide opportunities for participation by graduate students in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire and will include the perspective of the Al-Sunnah wal Jama-ah sub-group, who have publicly complained of underrepresentation. Furthermore, the project will enhance networks and relationships, between American and African researchers and between collaborators of different religious faiths. In using these networks to overcome mischaracterizations of religious politics, the project will make tangible differences in the study environment.