Democratization and the Diffusion of Shari'a Law: Comparative Insights from Indonesia

The democratization of politics has been accompanied by a rise of Islamic laws in many Muslim-majority countries. Despite a growing interest in the phenomenon, the Islamization of politics in democratizing Muslim-majority countries is rarely understood as a process that unfolds across space and time. Based on an original dataset established during years of field research in Indonesia, this article analyzes the spread of shari’a regulations across the world’s largest Muslim-majority democracy since 1998. The article shows that shari’a regulations in Indonesia diffused unevenly across space and time. Explanations put forward in the literature on the diffusion of morality policies in other countries such as geographic proximity, institutions, intergovernmental relations and economic conditions did not explain the patterns in the diffusion of shari’a regulations in Indonesia well. Instead, shari’a regulations in Indonesia were most likely to spread across jurisdictions where local Islamist groups situated outside the party system had an established presence. In short, the Islamization of politics was highly contingent on local conditions. Future research will need to pay more attention to local Islamist activists and networks situated outside formal politics as potential causes for the diffusion of shari’a law in democratizing Muslim-majority countries

The synergy model of village development based on environmental education (biotic approach) in Indonesia perspective of Law Number 6 of 2014

Abstract This research is driven from the ineffectiveness of village empowerment in the North Coast of Central Java (Pemalang, Tegal Regency, Tegal City, Pekalongan, and Batang), especially in environmental issues. In fact, the environment is an important part of village development and has the most important contribution to a prosperous independent community according to Law No. 6 of 2014 concerning Villages (Village Law). Environmental development (biotic and abiotic) has a very significant role, and humans as one of the biotic components place a strategic position in the development of the environment in the village. This study aims to produce a synergistic model that combines legal instruments, implementation, and environmental education in rural development. Chamblis and Seidman’s theories (about Law and Society) are used in this study and this study emphasizes that: (1) laws and regulations should be used to achieve social welfare and justice, including in environmental terms, but in fact this is not maximally done, (2) village development as a mandate of the Village Law on the North Coast has not been oriented towards environmental development, so that the use of village funds is ineffective, and (3) the synergy model of village development emphasizes progressive legal principles as one of the tools to encourage law enforcement which is more effective.</jats:p