Browsing by Subject "Democratization"

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    Between movement and party: Islamic political party formation in Jordan, Morocco and Turkey
    (2011-07) Kirdis, Esen
    The main question I explore in my dissertation is, "Why are some Islamic movements forming political parties while others are staying as movements?" Although many observers assume that Islamist movements tend to be radical, numerous movements across the Muslim world have deliberately chosen to attempt to work within the existing political system by formally becoming political parties. Cases of such transformation have occurred in democracies (e.g. Indonesia) and in authoritarian regimes (e.g. Yemen), and in countries using Islamic law (e.g. Jordan) as well as in those with secular legal systems (e.g. Turkey). Hence, it cannot be explained as a function of political liberalization. My findings also challenge the argument that a rising Muslim middle class is driving the creation of new Islamic political parties (IPPs): sometimes IPPs form in the absence of a middle class, and sometimes they do not form even despite considerable middle-class pressure. Thus, IPP formation presents a widespread and important yet unexplored political puzzle in the Muslim world vis-à-vis the question of Muslim democracy--a discussion my dissertation takes head-on. I argue that factors internal to Islamist movements matter for understanding why some movements become parties and others do not. I have found that movements with a vanguard mobilization strategy, in which a small group of leaders frame the cause and mobilize masses around an Islamic identity, tend to establish parties. In contrast, movements with a grassroots mobilization strategy in which the aim is to construct mass consciousness through grassroots activities tend to remain outside of formal politics, eschewing party formation. I develop my argument based on in-depth qualitative fieldwork in three countries on five Islamist movements: Turkey and Morocco each host one movement that became a party (National View Movement/Turkey, Unity and Reform Movement/Morocco); and one that rejects party formation (Gűlen Movement/Turkey, Justice and Spirituality Movement/Morocco). Jordan, meanwhile, hosts the Muslim Brotherhood, which spawned the Islamic Action Front Party, and provides an interesting case of movement-party co-existence. These five cases vary on the question of whether and when a party was formed, thereby controlling for the influence of external factors and focusing on internal dynamics.
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    Democracy in Ukraine after the Orange Revolution : youth activists' insights on past events, present efficacy, and future prospects
    (2008-09) Shyyan, Vitaliy
    This study investigates the democratic developments in Ukraine beginning with the 2004 Orange Revolution. After its break-off from the Soviet empire, Ukraine began democratizing its systems but continues to struggle with remnants of its communist past. The non-violent Orange Revolution was a democratic breakthrough in the recent history of the country, and youth activists were key agents in the revolution. Their perceptions of the revolutionary events, political self-efficacy as one of the identifiers of civil society, and futures of democracy in Ukraine will help to depict the socio-political climate inside the country and in Europe. The dissertation employs three research methods: content analysis of extensive testimonials written by 19 youth activists (to generate information about youth activists' socio-political experiences during and after the revolution), a survey of 76 youth activists (to collect demographic and political efficacy data), and Ethnographic Futures Research interviews with nine youth leaders (to extrapolate futures of democracy). Study findings on post-revolutionary developments are composed into 14 semantic themes that summarize youth activists' perceptions. Political self-efficacy results indicate high levels of internal and task-oriented efficacy among youth activists. This study also provides extrapolations of optimistic, pessimistic, and most probable futures of the Ukrainian democracy as projected by youth leaders.