Teije Hidde Donker

University of Cambridge | Cam

In the article I explore how, at the individual level, participation in multiple networks opens up questions regarding the classification of social activism. The central contention is that as mobilization networks increasingly intersect, explicit discursive designations of activism (being ‘political’ or ‘nonpolitical, social’) by individual activis...

How are the characteristics of state–religion relations defined? The following paper provides a critical response to the competition perspective in studies on secularization, secularism, and mobilized religion. It argues that actors differ in how religion and state should relate to public life, not the extent that they should be integral or separat...

The main aim of this volume is to develop a theoretical explanation on the conditions under which and the mechanisms through which social movements’ struggles for democracy ends up into civil war. While the empirical evidence suggest that this is not a rare phenomenon, literature on social movements, democratizations and civil wars have grown quite...

The chapter traces the emergence of the Syrian uprising for democratic change in March 2011 and its subsequent descent into a civil war. It shows how activists were aware of the context in which they mobilized, but were still taken over by the escalation of the ensuing conflict. As with the other case studies, this chapter seeks to understand the ‘...

How has the Tunisian revolution and subsequent political transition influenced the relationship between state power and Islam? The following article aims to provide an in-depth and historically informed analysis of these relations through an exploration of one specific case: The attempts by successive minister of religious affairs to reform state’s...

In this article a widening divergence is observed between Islamist activism aimed at societal change and Islamist activism aimed at political influence in post-revolutionary Tunisia. Both forms of activism remain closely linked through an enduring common Islamist ideology that renders convergence in daily practice inescapable; a convergence that is...

This chapter addresses the scope and limits of Islamist activism in a secular authoritarian context, arguing that multiple Islamic movements exist within Syria. It also contends that the concept of brokerage can describe how the regime and religious movements are bound together, offers a short outline of insights gained using social movement studie...

The developments of early 2011 have left the political landscape of the Middle East changed but recognizable. Even as urgent struggles continue, it remains clear that authoritarianism will survive this transformational moment. The study of authoritarian governance, therefore, remains essential for our understanding of the political dynamics and inn...

The paper's central thesis is that authoritarian regimes can benefit from the presence of domestic (Sunni) civil activism; through a social dynamic that creates an incentive for Sunni activists to actively approach regime actors. The article poses that they thereby imply a subservience to the regime and ascribe authority to it. This dynamic is a re...

De bestrijding van de financiering van terrorisme kreeg wereldwijd sinds '11 september' bijzonder veel aandacht van politici en beleidsmakers. Met name in de maanden na de aanslagen in New York en Washington D.C. werd onderzoek naar, en het blokkeren van de geldstromen naar terroristische organisaties gezien als een van de belangrijkste maatregelen...