Campaign-style enforcement has been increasingly adopted by local governments in China. In this article, we analyze 282 case cities in China using crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) to investigate which combinations of diverse conditions lead to the occurrence of local campaign-style enforcement. Our findings suggest that different combinations of eight conditions involving institutional, organizational, and individual factors could stimulate the occurrence of local campaign-style enforcement. We also find that local campaign-style enforcement significantly reduced PM2.5 and SO2. These findings increase our understanding of the mechanisms of local campaign-style enforcement and provide multiple paths through which local governments’ environmental policy implementations can be effectively improved.

This article explores the paradoxical dynamics of Confucian meritocracy and democratic legitimacy in contemporary South Korea. Despite democratic consolidation through the Candlelight Revolution (2016–2017), Korea's political landscape remains marked by hierarchical cultural norms rooted in Confucian traditions. Drawing on Jürgen Habermas's discourse ethics and Stephen Angle's Progressive Confucianism, this study examines how meritocratic discourses shape civic attitudes and institutional practices in ways that both support and undermine democratic legitimacy. The article demonstrates that contemporary Confucian meritocracy often produces systematically distorted communication, excluding citizens from participatory deliberation. The analysis interrogates Confucian values’ role in recent democratic crises, including President Yoon Suk-yeol's 2024 martial law declaration, showing how meritocratic rhetoric justified anti-democratic measures. However, the study reveals potential for Confucian ethical resources to reinforce democratic values when critically reconstructed through communicative action. The Korean case illustrates the struggle to reconcile inherited cultural traditions with democratic ideals, highlighting the importance of institutional frameworks balancing moral excellence with political equality. This contributes to debates on post-Confucian democracy by emphasizing that legitimacy hinges not on rejecting tradition but on subjecting all political claims to rational scrutiny through inclusive democratic discourse.

The transition of Bangladesh from an electoral democracy to an authoritarian state, while undergoing visible economic and social development, is a paradox. What factors, from home and abroad, are responsible for the emergence and persistence of Sheikh Hasina's authoritarian rule in Bangladesh? This article aims to answer the above question based on secondary data sources using several theoretical frameworks related to the rise of authoritarianism. It argues that several social, political, economic, and cultural factors are responsible for the emergence and persistence of authoritarianism under the Sheikh Hasina regime. These factors include fracturing political institutions, India's intervention, the culture of fear, and collective action problems. Besides, internal political culture, say confused democrats, is also a contributory cause of the emergence of Hasina's autocratic regime. This study contributes to comparative politics by offering insights into how authoritarianism emerged and persisted in developing countries. Its findings will enhance our understanding of the structural and contextual factors driving authoritarian trends, offering comparative perspectives relevant to comparativists.

This article investigates the complex contours of Bangladesh's bureaucracy, assessing its deviations from theoretical models of public administration and the issues it encounters in governing. Drawing on vast theoretical literature and scholarly studies on the Bangladesh bureaucracy, it investigates how historical legacies, cultural settings, and political dynamics have formed a bureaucratic structure that frequently favors self-interest over public benefit. The article emphasizes several major themes, including the iingrained politicization of administrative functions, the dominance of generalists in key posts, and ongoing power conflicts. It contends that, despite a 15-year period (2009–2024) of uninterrupted rule, effective reform has remained elusive due to entrenched interests and institutional inertia. It also discusses the contradictory relationship between bureaucratic stability and developmental stagnation, as well as how restrictions on media and civil society have eroded critical accountability systems. The article demonstrates the limitations of adopting Western bureaucratic models in Bangladesh's unique situation. Effective governance in Bangladesh involves more than structural replication; it necessitates a fundamental realignment of incentives, cultural transformations, and long-term political will. This study contributes to the broader discussion of public administration in developing countries and provides insights for politicians and researchers facing similar issues in bureaucratic reform and governance.

Affective polarization can have profound consequences for the quality of the democratic process as it becomes a force to mobilize people around parties or issues. Political affiliations and trust in government have been considered as driving forces for developing in-group and out-group sentiments. In addition, the current high-choice media environment provided by mass media and social media has also been blamed for exacerbating affective polarization. The current study explores media effects on affective polarization in South Korea, using surveys collected in 2018, 2020, and 2022, reflecting a period in which the government transitions from liberal to conservative. Regression analyses show that mass media and social media use were not significantly related to affective polarization, except for national newspapers’ mitigating effect in 2018. Political factors such as trust in government and support for political parties were more important and consistent in the widening affective gap in South Korea.

This study explores the intersection of porous borders, political mobility, and governance through an analysis of the India-Bangladesh border during the July–August 2024 uprising. Drawing on qualitative interviews with border officials, smugglers, affected families, and political figures, it examines how political elites exploited the porous border to evade accountability amidst the collapse of the Awami League government. The findings reveal the entrenched role of dalals (middlemen) in facilitating illegal border crossings through bribery, forged documents, and strategic coordination with local authorities on both sides. The study also highlights the complicity of state actors and the socio-political dynamics that sustain these networks, reinforcing corruption and undermining state sovereignty. Theoretical insights from border theory, state sovereignty, and political mobility emphasize how transnational networks blur the boundaries of state authority, allowing elites to evade justice and perpetuate authoritarian practices. By interrogating the dual role of borders as barriers and conduits, the research contributes to a broader understanding of governance, power asymmetries, and the socio-political impact of elite flight in contested borderlands.

The 2022 Philippine elections reaffirmed the popularity of the Duterte and Marcos clans. However, it also showed the strength of then-Vice President Leni Robredo, as seen in the big crowds she drew at her political rallies. Part of the strength of each of the three comes from their group of supporters—the Diehard Duterte Supporters, the “Loyalists” (of Marcos), and the “Kakampinks” of Robredo. Drawing from insights on relational sociology and Brubaker's works on identities and groups, I analyze the seeming trend of groupism emerging lately involving the said political groups. I specifically question two implicit assumptions seen with the trend: (1) that each group is monolithic, and (2) that each member is part of the group due to their strong belief of the candidates’ causes. In contrast, I highlight how complex the situation is, highlighting the relational nature of self-identification in groups, the categorization process, and the discursive and relational nature of the groups’ identities.

This study examines how partisan biases in economic evaluations persisted and intensified during South Korea's COVID-19 economic crisis. Using data from the 2020 legislative election, it challenges traditional retrospective voting theories that predict opinion convergence in response to severe economic downturns. The findings reveal that partisanship profoundly shaped economic perceptions and blame attribution: ruling party supporters maintained favorable economic views, attributing hardships to external factors like the global recession, whereas opposition supporters remained critical, irrespective of economic realities. By comparing perceptions during the crisis with those from more stable periods, this research demonstrates that crises can exacerbate political polarization, complicating democratic accountability. These results underscore the resilience of partisan loyalty and highlight its implications for governance and policy-making in polarized societies.

Using a constructivist and sociological lens, this study explores the constraints faced by the UNHCR in protecting the rights of refugees in countries that are not signatories to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and that treat foreigners and refugees alike. Taking the case of Rohingya refugees living in India, it is found that the UNHCR faces a challenging environment in India as the government labels Rohingya refugees as illegal immigrants. However, this does not dismiss the tendency in the UN refugee agency itself to have its own pathologies of insulation rooted in its bureaucratic nature that affects its efficiency.

This study examines the relationship between political stability and absence of violence (PSAV), control of corruption (COC), gross domestic product per capita, current account balance (CAB), general government gross debt (GGGD), unemployment, and the KOF Globalization Index within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries from 2000 to 2022. Through panel vector autoregression (PVAR) analysis, the study calculates the long-term correlation between variables using a vector error correction model (VECM). The PVAR approach addresses the endogeneity issue by including endogenous interactions between the variables in the model. Additionally, the impulse response functions and the influence of various variables on certain lags are evaluated. Cointegration between variables was assessed using dynamic ordinary least squares and fully modified ordinary least squares panel analysis to investigate the long-term link further. The results demonstrate a robust cointegration relationship, revealing a shared equilibrium across the SAARC countries’ economic variables. The VECM estimates results for a model with three lags. The coefficients of the cointegrating vector indicate the presence of at least one cointegrated vector between the series. Three of the velocity fit parameters show significance at least at the 5% level, specifically COC, CAB, and GGGD. These non-zero coefficients suggest a causal relationship among the variables in the long-run Granger causality. On the other hand, the matrix β denotes the cointegrate parameter matrix. It is observed that COC, CAB, and GGGD are significant at the 5% level. The equation reveals that COC, CAB, and GGGD variables have a positive, increasing effect on PSAV in the long-term cointegrated parameter values. This suggests that while these variables have a positive relationship with PSAV, their impact is not conclusively significant.