Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Dynamics of Radicalization and De-radicalization in Egypt and Indonesia

这个项目试图了解伊斯兰运动激进化和去激进化的动态，并提供细微差别的分析，以回答为什么暴力在某些情况下是合法化的，在另一些情况下是被谴责或抛弃的。推动这项研究的核心问题是：为什么一些伊斯兰反对派团体保持非暴力，而其他团体在面临类似压力时采取暴力？将通过分析四个团体来回答这个问题：穆斯林兄弟会(埃及)、伊斯兰伽马组织(埃及)、伊斯兰复兴运动党(印度尼西亚)和伊斯兰圣战组织(印度尼西亚)。埃及穆斯林兄弟会和Nahdlatul Ulama都是深入审查其条款的关键案例，也是有组织地重点比较为什么伊斯兰团体在应对类似的国家和国际限制时做出不同反应的极佳案例。埃及的Gama‘a Islamic iyya和印度尼西亚的Jama’a提供了与国家同行和彼此之间的相关比较，有助于更好地理解为什么各团体在同一国家背景下采取不同的战略，以及为什么一些去激进化进程成功而另一些进程失败。在已开展的工作的基础上，该项目将在开罗和雅加达进行档案研究，并与伊斯兰团体的专家和成员进行个别访谈。这些来源可以提供有关组织决策过程和政府对伊斯兰团体的政策的基本信息，但在其他方面却无法获得。这些数据是必要的，以便准确跟踪组织变革的过程，并检查国内、国际和组织因素如何相互作用，以推动采用暴力或非暴力战略。该项目的智力优势与其通过对四个重要群体的直接调查对伊斯兰组织进行深入评估有关。这项研究将首次对伊斯兰组织的激进化和去激进化进行系统的跨区域分析。在方法上，这项研究将结合过程跟踪和结构化的重点比较，为伊斯兰运动的研究带来独特的贡献，不仅探索为什么采取特定的策略，而且为什么我们预期的结果并不总是发生。该项目还将在恐怖主义研究领域开辟新的调查路线，将重点从单纯审查暴力结果转移到提供新的方法来审查组织、战术和意识形态变化的原因。该项目的更广泛影响尤其与其对政策制定者的重要性有关。随着越来越多的伊斯兰组织在穆斯林世界争夺权力，了解哪些因素会影响他们的战略选择，以及为什么他们的信仰会改变，这对美国的总体外交政策，尤其是对制定促进非暴力的政策都至关重要。该项目将更深入地了解伊斯兰团体是宗教和战略行为者，并将有助于更好地了解政治伊斯兰教的各种表现形式。

This project seeks to understand the dynamics of radicalization and de-radicalization of Islamist movements, and to offer a nuanced analysis that can answer why violence is legitimized in some contexts and denounced or abandoned in others. The central question that drives this study is: why do some Islamist opposition groups remain non-violent, whereas others adopt violence when confronted with similar pressures? This question will be answered by analyzing four groups: the Muslim Brotherhood (Egypt), the Gama'a Islamiyya (Egypt), the Nahdlatul Ulama (Indonesia) and the Jama'a Islamiyya (Indonesia). The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and the Nahdlatul Ulama are both crucial cases to examine in-depth on their on terms, and excellent cases for a structured focused comparison of why Islamist groups react differently in response to similar state and international constraints. The Egyptian Gama'a Islamiyya and the Indonesian Jama'a offer relevant comparisons to their national counterparts and to each other, facilitating a better understanding of why groups adopt different strategies in the same national context, and why some processes of de-radicalization succeed whereas others fail.Building upon work already conducted, this project will pursue archival research in Cairo and Jakarta and individual interviews with experts and members of the Islamist groups. These sources can provide essential yet otherwise unavailable information about organizational decision-making processes and governmental policies towards Islamist groups. These pieces of data are necessary in order to accurately trace the process of organizational change and examine how domestic, international and organizational factors interact to spur the adoption of either violent or non-violent strategies.The intellectual merit of the project is connected with its deep assessment of Islamist groups through a direct investigation of four important groups. The research will provide the first systematic cross-regional analysis of both radicalization and de-radicalization of Islamist groups. Methodologically, this study will bring a unique contribution to the study of Islamist movements by combining process-tracing and structured focused comparisons to explore not only why particular tactics are adopted, but also why the outcomes we expect don't always occur. This project will also open new lines of inquiry in the field of terrorism studies, by shifting the focus away from solely examining violent outcomes and offering new ways to examine the causes of organizational, tactical, and ideological change. The project's broader impacts are especially connected to its importance for policy-makers. As an increasing number of Islamist groups are vying for power in the Muslim world, understanding what factors influence their choice of strategies and why their beliefs change is crucial for both American foreign policy in general and for devising policies that promote nonviolence in particular. The project will offer a more in-depth understanding of Islamist groups as both religious and strategic actors, and will contribute towards a better understanding of political Islam in its various manifestations.