«If it's not Love then it's the Bomb». A social drama: selfie and nuclear imaginary in contemporary Politics

Analyse de la structure sociale des Ndembu du nord-ouest de la Zambie et de la facon dont cette structure abstraite determine le type de relations concretes que nouent les individus et les conflits qui les opposent. La structure sociale Ndembu se caracterise par une opposition constante entre ligne paternelle et ligne maternelle, une residence virilocale inversee par les divorces frequents qui ramenent chez leurs peres les epouses et leurs enfants.

The study examines how the articulation of the values of tolerance and love is constructed linguistically, rhetorically, and politically in the speeches of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US President Donald Trump. By adopting a Political Discourse Analysis framework integrating both Critical Discourse Analysis and a textual-contextual approach, the study investigates both leaders' linguistic and rhetorical strategies to mold narratives and shape public perception. By addressing speeches selected for their socio-political importance and thematic orientation on love and tolerance, the data is subjected to the textual examination of linguistic elements including lexicon, metaphors, and narrative structures that carry the effect of inclusivity and emotive attractiveness. The study delves in revealing persuasive techniques by scrutinizing the rhetorical strategies incorporating attraction to ethos, pathos, and logos. The CDA shows how these speeches either mirror or debate ideologues, social norms, power dynamics, and discrepancies between leaders’ stated values and subliminal messages. The study's findings classify the speeches into national unity, cultural identity, and global diplomacy themes. Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s discourse focuses on economic reforms, modernity, and international adaptations, while Trump’s speeches engage in patriotism incorporated with nationalistic assertions mirroring two distinct socio-political contexts. The study contributes to understanding the discursive strategies of political speeches in shaping public opinion and how language interacts constructively with power image, aesthetic values, and leadership narrative in contemporary international politics.

US pollution policy up in the air

Cautious Optimism for Transplantation Under Trump Administration.

Many of the economic trends we have discussed in our previous chapters are also entwined with political change, of which Brexit and the election of US President Donald Trump are two of the most recent and most dramatic examples. This change is adding to the destabilisation of political orthodoxies in ways that have immediate implications for the mobility and security of many young people and that exacerbate the growing distance between young people and political representatives that we have explored in our previous book (Walsh and Black 2018b). The emergence of post-truth politics is further adding to this destabilisation, unsettling the very foundations of public discourse and the ability of governments (and citizens) to respond to pressing changes. It is also fostering a complex environment of hyperbole which brings into sharp focus the role of affect in contemporary politics and young people’s response to them.

Politics offers an introduction to political studies. It combines accessibility and an analytical approach, encouraging critical study and engaged debate. Alongside coverage of concepts, approaches, and ideologies, the text features chapters on all crucial elements of political studies, from institutions and states to security, political economy, civil society and the media, making it an ideal text for a broad range of modules. Current debates and key developments in contemporary politics are taken into account, with coverage of the rise of populism, Brexit, and the presidency of Donald Trump, as well as a broad range of international case studies and examples.

Ask a Political Scientist: A Conversation with Katherine J. Cramer about Listening as a Way of Democratic and Scholarly Life

The term 'fake news' became a buzzword during Donald Trump's presidency, yet it is a term that means very different things to different people. This pioneering book provides a comprehensive examination of what Americans mean when they talk about fake news in contemporary politics, mass media, and societal discourse, and explores the various factors that contribute to this, such as the power of language, political parties, ideology, media, and socialization. By analysing a range of case studies across war, political corruption, climate change, conspiracy theories, electoral politics, and the Covid-19 pandemic, it demonstrates how fake news is a fundamentally contested phenomenon, and how its meaning varies depending on the person using the term, and the political context. It provides readers with tools to identify, talk about, and resist fake news, and emphasizes a need for education reform with an eye toward promoting critical thinking and information literacy.

Background, Objective and Goals: From their auspicious meeting at the “Southern” White House, Mar-a-Lago, West Palm Beach, Florida on 5-6 April 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping seem to have struck up a friendship accord intended to maintain, hopefully augment, Western trade with China and in the process diffuse burgeoning tensions along the Western Pacific rim caused by aggressive rhetoric and belligerent behavior of Kim Jong-Un, leader of the “Democratic” People’s Republic of Korea [North Korea]. In the process, the United States appears to be recasting its foreign economic policy as a return to “Dollar Diplomacy,” the hallmark of American foreign policy during the William Howard Taft presidency (1909 – 1913), mostly out of favour since then until the present moment. An objective of this paper is to clarify and articulate characteristics of “Principled Dollar Diplomacy” in the 21st century compared with its 20th century counterpart, to identify what will be its objectives and goals, then to assess the viability and sustainability of the same globally but especially along Asia’s Western Pacific rim, connecting to South and West Asia then Europe along the ancient “Silk Road” of Eurasia as an integral part of President Trump’s “Principled Realism” in foreign policy. Methods: Literature reviewed include historiographical documents reflecting both the current state of, and recent changes to, United States foreign economic policy globally, termed “Principled Realism” by President Trump as it interfaces foreign economic policy with foreign security policy, focusing particularly on what appears to be a tottering Western Pacific rim of mainland Asia, fragmented by hostile rhetoric, nuclear threats, China’s unilateral South China Sea domination. Government reports by individual countries and trading partners plus journalistic accounts, together with diplomatic interviews have been reviewed. Attention is directed to changes in trade volume involving trading partners generally, together with trade values of both imports and exports across the first six months of the Donald Trump administration compared to similar periods in administrations of former American presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Barrack Obama. Presidential rhetoric will be analysed as communicated to three categories of recipients: foreign heads of state or heads of government, United States business leaders, the global general public. Some historical records are included, comparing Chinese maritime belligerence along the Western Pacific rim with similar activities engaged in by Imperial Germany during World War I then by Nazi Germany during World War II, each with disastrous consequences. Expected Results: Ever since the Florida summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi, an economic dialogue appears to have emerged that has expanded into diplomatic discussions involving the DPRK, Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) partners trading with both China and the United States, India, Japan, South Korea. Predicated upon President Trump’s self-assessment of his first 100 days in office, together with legitimate expectations of other nations, it should be possible to gauge the direction of “Dollar Diplomacy” across the first and second 100 days to predict the Strengths and Weaknesses of early changes in United States foreign economic policies over the first six months of the Trump Administration. Positive or negative results should be apparent in trade regimes, trade value, trade volume, as well as changes in rhetoric along the Western Pacific rim, and intensity of involvement if the state parties themselves. Stated succinctly, this is China’s chance to stand out and become a leader, potentially the leader, in Asia, and to work hand in hand with the United States and the Western Alliance to maintain continuity of “Pax Americana” for another 70 years or longer, an enduring peace from which, arguably, China has benefitted more than most countries, and stands to benefit much more across eight more decades of the 21st century. Amongst other factors, an expectation is to witness the United States and other Western Allies join with China in funding its “One Belt, One Road” or “OBOR” across Eurasia, because by partnering a rapprochement with DPRK, China and the United States should grow closer, greater and fairer trade should emerge between these two nations, that burgeoning friendship should draw in Japan and other huge trading partners of both. Possible as a successor to the ill-fated Trans-Pacific Partnership will be a sustainable “Pax Pacifica” reflecting core values of the West alongside China’s stated commitment to decreasing poverty in developing countries, providing an enormous opportunity for the Trump and Xi Administrations to cooperate harmoniously. In addition to the Pacific rim as a region, the DPRK could benefit from Sino-American investment inside of its borders, particularly if China and the West could construct international joint ventures (IJVs) in the region with each functioning as a check and a balance on the other.

Background, Objectives and Goals: From their auspicious meeting at the “Southern” White House, Mar-a-Lago, West Palm Beach, Florida on 5-6 April 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping seem to have struck up a friendship accord intended to maintain, hopefully augment, Western trade with China and in the process diffuse burgeoning tensions along the Western Pacific rim caused by aggressive rhetoric and belligerent behavior of Kim Jong-Un, leader of the “Democratic” People’s Republic of Korea [North Korea]. In the process, the United States appears to be recasting its foreign economic policy as a return to “Dollar Diplomacy,” the hallmark of American foreign policy during the William Howard Taft presidency (1909 – 1913), mostly out of favour since then until the present moment. An objective of this paper is to clarify and articulate characteristics of “Principled Dollar Diplomacy” in the 21st century compared with its 20th century counterpart, to identify what will be its objectives and goals, then to assess the viability and sustainability of the same globally but especially along Asia’s Western Pacific rim, connecting to South and West Asia then Europe along the ancient “Silk Road” of Eurasia as an integral part of President Trump’s “Principled Realism” in foreign policy. Methods: Literature reviewed include historiographical documents reflecting both the current state of, and recent changes to, United States foreign economic policy globally, termed “Principled Realism” by President Trump as it interfaces foreign economic policy with foreign security policy, focusing particularly on what appears to be a tottering Western Pacific rim of mainland Asia, fragmented by hostile rhetoric, nuclear threats, China’s unilateral South China Sea domination. Government reports by individual countries and trading partners plus journalistic accounts, together with diplomatic interviews have been reviewed. Attention is directed to changes in trade volume involving trading partners generally, together with trade values of both imports and exports across the first six months of the Donald Trump administration compared to similar periods in administrations of former American presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to Barrack Obama. Presidential rhetoric will be analysed as communicated to three categories of recipients: foreign heads of state or heads of government, United States business leaders, the global general public. Some historical records are included, comparing Chinese maritime belligerence along the Western Pacific rim with similar activities engaged in by Imperial Germany during World War I then by Nazi Germany during World War II, each with disastrous consequences. Expected Results: Ever since the Florida summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi, an economic dialogue appears to have emerged that has expanded into diplomatic discussions involving the DPRK, Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) partners trading with both China and the United States, India, Japan, South Korea. Predicated upon President Trump’s self-assessment of his first 100 days in office, together with legitimate expectations of other nations, it should be possible to gauge the direction of “Dollar Diplomacy” across the first and second 100 days to predict the Strengths and Weaknesses of early changes in United States foreign economic policies over the first six months of the Trump Administration. Positive or negative results should be apparent in trade regimes, trade value, trade volume, as well as changes in rhetoric along the Western Pacific rim, and intensity of involvement if the state parties themselves. Stated succinctly, this is China’s chance to stand out and become a leader, potentially the leader, in Asia, and to work hand in hand with the United States and the Western Alliance to maintain continuity of “Pax Americana” for another 70 years or longer, an enduring peace from which, arguably, China has benefitted more than most countries, and stands to benefit much more across eight more decades of the 21st century. Amongst other factors, an expectation is to witness the United States and other Western Allies join with China in funding its “One Belt, One Road” or “OBOR” across Eurasia, because by partnering a rapprochement with DPRK, China and the United States should grow closer, greater and fairer trade should emerge between these two nations, that burgeoning friendship should draw in Japan and other huge trading partners of both. Possible as a successor to the ill-fated Trans-Pacific Partnership will be a sustainable “Pax Pacifica” reflecting core values of the West alongside China’s stated commitment to decreasing poverty in developing countries, providing an enormous opportunity for the Trump and Xi Administrations to cooperate harmoniously. In addition to the Pacific rim as a region, the DPRK could benefit from Sino-American investment inside of its borders, particularly if China and the West could construct international joint ventures (IJVs) in the region with each functioning as a check and a balance on the other.

Skittles as Matterphor Patricia J. Williams1 (bio) Introduction My grandmother used to say that we live history from the inside out. By that, she was referring not only to the intergenerational transmission of memory, but also to the inextricable entanglements of bodies, minds, and the worlds through which we swim. What we see affects us in physical ways. We drink in our environments through complexly networked sensory apparatuses, and our brains strive to make orderly narrative meaning of even the greatest disorder. We proceed through time based on the composite of impressions we have formed; and we extrude our impressions by imprinting those understandings as actions in the world. It is thus we make-known: we craft knowledge by envisioning the world in palpably tactile fashion. My grandmother's most interesting aphorisms always grew from her meditations upon slavery. Her mother had been born "property" and it ate at her to think about the mobilizations of thought and law that shaped what she called "the undying pain of thinking things." "It burns me," she would say. Being burned by history was no mere metaphor to her. What my grandmother meant is captured precisely by the term "matterphor": a vividly energized power that is tangible yet ephemeral, regulatory yet shape-shifting, solidly normed but corrosively caustic. This essay will explore the matterphor of living history from the inside out in the context of contemporary American politics. Indeed, present debates about which lives "matter" are not merely discursive; they are consistently actualized as "inevitable" tragedies, sorrows destined-to-divide. I will offer an analysis of how our polity is repeatedly ignited by the live wire of race—a force field that flares, sizzles, and short circuits whole aspects of life in the United States. Consider the densely synesthetic messaging of just this one example: During the last weeks of the 2016 presidential campaign, Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted a photo of a bowlful of Skittles with the legend: "If I had a bowl of Skittles and I told you just three would kill, you would you take a handful? That's our Syrian refugee problem."2 [End Page 356] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Donald Trump Jr.'s skittles tweet (via Twitter) While the printed caption played upon anxieties about Muslim migrants stoked by Donald Sr., the image also invoked the death of Trayvon Martin, who was carrying a package of the candy when shot and killed by George Zimmerman.3 To certain audiences, that quiet visual reference undoubtedly signified danger even more efficiently than any thought of Syria; it operated perhaps like a Platonic pharmakon, layering a global sense of emergency atop domestic fears about race and crime and the vaguely juridical need to "stand your ground."4 This interpellation contained a coded reference to legal outcome: delivered as a public secret, it was made available to and through the senses, an insidiously sweet yet silent toxicity. It is an urgent matter of public interest to decode the signified rearrangements of legality that have been emerging during states of emergency occasioned by rapid political, cultural and technological change. While the ascendency of Donald Trump to the White House may have been a surprise to those who thought this race was only about-the-economy-stupid, there has been a rather uncharted background conversation, a twittered terrain of utter lawlessness, inspiring a certain schadenfreude about the necessity for extralegal, even anti-legal, resolution of interior, domestic ills. In her book Strange Encounters, philosopher Sara Ahmed describes the intriguing tension embodied in the sense of stranger danger; such fear is "not only projected onto the outside, but the inside is contained within a figure we imagine we have already faced."5 Trump plays a malleable "inside" against an increasingly ominous outside with [End Page 357] exceptional skill. His lurking, hulking, sniffing, sneering, threatening performances have scared up pictures of a ravaged America endlessly at risk from Mexican rapists, African American thugs, Chinese contagion, leftist agitators and Muslim terrorists.6 This American President has consistently referenced an imagined community where harsh punishments must be dealt, and gleeful retribution wreaked upon dark bodies. He has ventriloquized a narrative of warrior masculinity...

This article examines and compares three very different interpretations of populism and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election: Ian Bremmer’s Us vs. Them: The Failure of Globalism; Jonah Goldberg’s Suicide of the West; and Salena Zito and Brad Todd’s The Great Revolt. Bremmer contends populism resulted in the U.S. and other nations when ruling elites failed to respond effectively to globalization’s rapidly rising inequalities. Goldberg sees deep-rooted divides in classical political philosophy (Rousseau v. Hobbes) as sources for contemporary identity politics on the sex-and-gender obsessed left and on the nativist/nationalist right. Based on direct interviews and supplementary survey data, Zito and Todd construct varying typologies of voter groups who supported Trump. None of the authors recognize that populism’s future may be seen in California where the effects of globalization, immigration and inequality are most pronounced.

Donald Trump’s first year in office received unprecedented media coverage, with many wondering whether congressional Republicans were “adversaries” or “allies” of the president’s legislative positions. We explore this issue from two vantage points. First, we place Trump’s presidency in historical context by forecasting his Republican support with data from 1969 to 2016. We find that Republicans supported Trump’s legislative positions in 2017 at levels consistent with expectations, contrary to the views of some. Second, we explore the factors that explain why Republican lawmakers supported or opposed their party’s president. We find that conservative and establishment Republicans were more likely to support Trump, contrary to some claims, while female Republicans and those representing affluent, non-white districts were more likely to oppose Trump. We conclude by discussing the broader implications of these results, including the role of identity in contemporary American politics and the possible realignment of the GOP.

Through analysis of the UK government’s management of the COVID-19 outbreak, this paper offers an empirical demonstration of the principle of culture’s relative autonomy. It does so by showing how the outcome of meaning-making struggles had impacts on political legitimacy, public behaviour, and control over the spread of the virus. Ultimately, these impacts contributed to the avoidable deaths of tens of thousands of UK citizens. Dividing the crisis into phases within a secular ritual passage or ‘social drama’, it shows how each phase was defined by struggles between the government and other actors to code the unfolding events in an appropriate moral way, to cast actors in their proper roles, and to plot them together in a storied fashion under a suitable narrative genre. Taken together, these processes constituted a conflictual effort to define the meaning of what was occurring. The paper also offers more specific contributions to cultural sociology by showing why social performance theory needs to consider the effects of casting non-human actors in social dramas, how metaphor forms a powerful tool of political action through simplifying and shaping complex realities, and how casting can shift responsibility and redefine the meaning of emotionally charged events such as human death.

Analysis of the political history of Zambia through a study of Michael Sata. It shows the interaction between party politics and populism since the 1950s, the nature and competitiveness of electoral politics in single or dominant party regimes, and the importance of individual political leadership to the success of opposition parties in Africa. Javier Milei in Argentina, Donald Trump in the United States, Giorgia Meloni in Italy, Narendra Modi in India, Julius Malema in South Africa - populist leaders are thriving in party politics across the world. Structural changes like the globalisation of the economy, rising inequality, and increased voter detachment from traditional parties have given rise to distinct social grievances on which the populist leader feeds. But how does such a leader emerge? This book uses the study of Michael Sata, former president of Zambia and one of the most intriguing political figures of modern African history, to provide insight into the origins and personality of the populist. It argues that three factors - the structural, the economic and, importantly, the personal - are needed to understand when and how populism develops. Based on exclusive interviews with Sata, as well as with his friends, allies, opponents, and journalists, and on newspapers, archives, personal correspondence, and participant observation, Sata's election to the Zambian presidency in 2011 is explained as the culmination of a political journey spanning the late colonial period (1953-1964), the years of one-party rule (1973-1991), and the era of multiparty democracy (since 1991). The book explores the nature and style of his political strategy, the grievances that he articulated and played on, the constituencies he targeted and mobilised, the policy appeals around which he rallied support, and the language with which he expressed those appeals. At the same time, it uses the prism of Sata's political life to examine the growth of populism in Zambia and its practice in party politics since the 1950s. As well as providing new insights into the long shadow of late colonialism on the country's contemporary politics, this book illustrates the evolution of political ideas and populist strategies.