This thesis discusses a paper about a natural historical experiment in Indonesia looking at the long-run effects of Islamic institutions on political Islamism. The authors use the definition of Islamism as a political movement which relies on fundamentalist Islamic values that it tries to implement into modern social and political life. The paper adds to the current research about the economics of religion which considers religion as an independent variable and looks at the influence of religion and its cultural implications on society, in this case the question how political outcomes are related to religion and religious institutions.
The foundation of the natural experiment is the Basic Agrarian Law (BAL) from 1960 during the era of president Sukarno. The goal of this reform was to reduce land inequality through expropriations of private landholdings. Nonetheless, religious properties were excluded, which had the effect that more people endowed Islamic lands called awqaf (singular: waqf). These properties are inalienable and used as sites for mosques and Islamic schools. The reform failed and was later reversed, but the newly created awqaf and the institutions located on them remained due to their religious status. Bazzi et al. argue that this has had a long-run effect on the support for political Islamism, since especially the Islamic schools influence local political views.
To test their hypotheses empirically, the authors apply an ”RDiD” design, which combines a Difference-in-Differences approach with a Regression Discontinuity design. The results show that the number of lands under waqf and the Islamic institutions situated on them indeed increased as a reaction to the land reform. Apart from the positive long-run effect on the support for political Islamism in districts which were targeted more intensely by the BAL, measured by looking at the voting results of elections in 1999 and 2009, the empirical analysis reveals a higher importance of candidates’ religion and religiosity as well as an increase in sharia (Islamic law) regulations in these regions.
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Summary of the Paper
2.1 Conceptual Framework
2.1.1 Historical Background
2.1.2 Theoretical Argument
2.2 Empirical Framework
2.2.1 Data
2.2.2 Model
2.2.3 Illustration
2.2.4 Results
2.2.5 Alternative Explanations
3 Critical Discussion
3.1 Pareto Estimator
3.2 RDiD Design
4 Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This thesis examines the long-term historical impact of the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law (BAL) in Indonesia on the development of Islamic institutions and the subsequent rise of political Islamism. By analyzing how religious land endowments (waqf) served as a mechanism to protect properties from expropriation, the research investigates the causal link between these institutional legacies and modern political outcomes.
- The historical role of the Basic Agrarian Law in unintendedly fostering Islamic land endowments (waqf).
- The influence of Islamic institutions, particularly pesantren (Islamic boarding schools), on local political mobilization.
- Econometric application of a Regression Discontinuity in Differences (RDiD) design to isolate causal effects.
- Evaluation of alternative explanations such as local development patterns and demographic shifts post-1965.
Excerpt from the Book
2.1.2 Theoretical Argument
The argumentation of Bazzi et al. consists of three elements: they explain why today more awqaf, more Islamic institutions and more support for political Islamism should be observable in districts where the land reform was likely to be binding, i.e. districts with high population density and many large landholdings.
The first argumentative step is that if more awqaf were founded in these districts (which should be the case due to the strong incentives) and awqaf are inalienable, then more of these religious landholdings should exist today in targeted districts (Bazzi et al., 2018, p.10).
For the second step Bazzi et al. argue that those districts should feature more Islamic institutions that are commonly built on waqf land such as mosques and pesantren (Islamic schools). Other types of Islamic practice that do not require a waqf to function, e.g. zakat (Islamic alms-giving) should show no change in popularity (Bazzi et al., 2018, pp.11-12).
In order to argue for the third step, it is necessary to explain pesantren in more detail. These boarding schools play a role in influencing political Islamism in Indonesia. Their curricula are often based on the fundamentalist Islamic ideology of Salafism with a strong focus on Islamic studies, while not under governmental control. The schools often support Islamist parties and keep a close relationship to them, which gives the Islamists more local influence (Sukmajati, 2011, pp.85-87).
Summary of Chapters
1 Introduction: Provides an overview of Indonesia’s religious context and introduces the study's focus on the long-term impact of Islamic institutions on political Islamism.
2 Summary of the Paper: Outlines the historical background of the 1960 land reform, the theoretical mechanisms connecting waqf to political Islam, and the empirical strategy used to test these claims.
3 Critical Discussion: Critically evaluates the mathematical and econometric methods, specifically the Pareto estimator and the RDiD framework, employed in the original study.
4 Conclusion: Synthesizes the main findings and reaffirms that the models used by the authors effectively demonstrate the causal link between historical reforms and contemporary religious-political dynamics.
Keywords
Indonesia, Basic Agrarian Law, waqf, political Islamism, pesantren, land reform, RDiD, Regression Discontinuity, Difference-in-Differences, Pareto distribution, Islamic institutions, Sukarno, economic history, voting behavior, sharia.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research?
The research examines how a historical land reform in 1960 Indonesia unintentionally facilitated the creation of Islamic land endowments, which in turn fostered the growth of Islamic institutions and supported political Islamism in the long run.
What are the primary themes discussed in the paper?
Key themes include the political economy of religious land ownership, the role of Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in political mobilization, and the empirical measurement of historical institutional effects on modern political behavior.
What is the main research objective?
The goal is to determine whether regional variations in exposure to the 1960 Basic Agrarian Law led to a persistent increase in Islamic institutions and whether this shift correlates with modern support for Islamist political parties.
Which scientific method is utilized in the study?
The authors apply a Regression Discontinuity in Differences (RDiD) design, which combines a standard Difference-in-Differences approach with a Regression Discontinuity design to account for the specific population density cutoffs in the land reform.
What does the main body of the text cover?
The body summarizes the theoretical argument, details the empirical data sources and the specific model specifications, and provides a critical assessment of the mathematical methods like the Pareto estimator used to estimate land inequality.
Which terms best characterize this work?
The work is characterized by terms such as institutional persistence, political Islamism, causal inference, and historical natural experiments in political economy.
How did the land reform create an incentive for the endowment of awqaf?
Because the reform aimed to expropriate large private landholdings, but explicitly exempted religious properties, landowners had a strong incentive to declare their land as waqf to protect it from redistribution while retaining control through religious management.
What evidence do the authors provide to support the long-run effects?
The authors use election results from 1999 and 2009, as well as data on the proliferation of Islamic schools and sharia-based regulations, to show that districts targeted by the reform show higher sustained support for Islamist political entities.
- Citar trabajo
- Mark Toth (Autor), 2019, A Discussion of ”The Institutional Foundations of Religious Politics: Evidence from Indonesia” by Bazzi, Koehler-Derrick and Marx, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/491312
