Activism Research Articles

Religious references in political campaigning: a comparative analysis of Latin America and Western Europe on social media

The relationship between religion and politics is receiving increasing attention in political science, although the focus is often on voter attitudes. Despite secularization trends, scholars expect a resurgence of religion in Western European party politics, where Christianity as a native identity is opposed to non-native Islam by populist radical right parties. In this context, it is primarily hostility toward other religious groups that structures religious elements in political communication. In most Latin American societies, religiosity plays a much greater role for individuals, which is reflected in the discourses of political elites who use genuine religious references to appeal to religious voters (“sacralization of politics”). Using data from my own recent research on content analysis of parties’ and candidates’ Facebook profiles, this article compares how political actors in Latin America and Western Europe use religious references in electoral campaigns and how salient these discourses are. The results help to explain the different prominence of religious discourses in different democratic regions and religious markets. The article contributes to the ongoing debate on the role of religion in 21st century politics.

Presentation of national identity on social media in times of crises: The case of a Palestinian anti-violence movement in Israel

This case study offers an understanding of the perception and use of social media among social activists as means of collective identity formation. It focuses on the case of a Palestinian anti-violence movement in Israel. To learn about the identity presented by the United Fahmawi movement, interviews with two of the movement’s leaders and its Facebook posts were analyzed. The findings show a multi-layered, complex identity. The identity is presented as Palestinian, mainly centered around the city of Umm al-Fahm. Otherness is a crucial aspect of this identity, as Palestinian identity stands in opposition to the Israeli one. Furthermore, the police are presented as the source of the crime crisis, while also seen as responsible for reducing it. This study shows how indigenous social activists use the intersectionality between the social, the political, and the national to present an identity.

Group relative deprivation and different forms of political actions: The role of the target outgroup

AbstractMany contemporary researchers agree that group relative deprivation is a driver of political actions against outgroups. However, both relative deprivation and political actions are complex phenomena, making it important to further study this relationship in the context of other relevant variables. One such variable could be the specific outgroup. The purpose of our study was to evaluate differences in the contribution of group relative deprivation to the prediction of activist and radicalised intentions against two outgroups – Muslims and senior citizens. The multi‐group structural equation modelling was applied separately on nationally representative samples of youth from Germany (N = 1,056), Norway (N = 376) and the United Kingdom (UK) (N = 1053). Group relative deprivation exhibited a robust relationship with activist intentions after controlling for general aggression, social desirability bias, age and gender, except in the UK, where the relationship between activist intentions and relative deprivation was stronger with Muslims as the target outgroup. The relationship between relative deprivation and radicalised intentions depended on the target outgroup across countries – it was related to radicalised intentions only against Muslims. The meaning and implications of these results are briefly discussed.

The Revolution That Did Not Happen. Labor Insurgency in Late Russian Poland

Abstract Russian Poland was among the most militant tsarist borderlands during the 1905–1907 Revolution in the Russian Empire. However, only a decade later, when revolutionary movements again loomed large and shook the whole region after 1917, Poland remained relatively calm. Forging a new statehood after 1918 rivaled the earlier popular drive toward social revolution. Revolution was aborted in Poland; in other rim regions of the Russian Empire, however, the situation evolved differently, and this scenario should not be taken as self-explanatory. The dynamic of political contention on the ground in the inter-revolutionary decade is the key to understand the pathways of the new state and its society. But the existing accounts deliver only a fragmentary picture, concentrating on the teleology of nation, nation state and its elites or party politics. Meanwhile, the dynamics of labor contention can be hardly squared with unanimous class or national mobilizations. This article addresses this gap drawing from an extensive collection of courses on social unrest and conflict in the Kingdom of Poland based on administrative sources from local Polish and central Russian archives (more than 3300 entries on contentious events). Covering broad available sources, it offers a picture of labor unrest spanning from tinier township workshops, insular, dispersed industrialization of smaller cities harboring quite large mills, to fully-fledged industrial power hubs. The findings show the large heterogeneity of conflict among urban workers. The initial enthusiasm of the 1905 upheaval did not hold sway for long. Workers were tired with the revolutionary mobilization, derailed by the state repression and reluctant to embark on political action again. The lore of 1905 was not an important point of reference for the forthcoming mobilizations. Instead, protests had their own rhythms and spatial patterns, resembling the pre-industrial calendar of festivities turning into insurgencies but also followed pan-imperial causes. Inter-ethnic tensions kicked in: within crews (mostly Polish-Jewish) but above all between rank-and-file workers and foremen, often of German origin. This plurality resulted in various possibilities to build a working class imagined community ranging from a single factory, through branch-wide solidarities, national filiation up to pan-imperial class alliance. Also the tsarist administration, interested in maintaining the basic stability of supply and keep the state going was an important factor. These heterogenous field of tensions did not form any cleavage conductive to singular mobilization. However, it was susceptible to broader political projects binding various claims. Such a project was a new Poland, supported by major parties and perceived by many as nothing less as a revolutionary state for a while promising anti-imperial self-assertion, national rights, political freedom, and social emancipation.

The role of personality traits and emotional intelligence in the evaluation of the benefits and costs of social distancing during a pandemic outbreak

The analysis of the benefits and costs of social distancing is a crucial aspect for understanding how individual and community actions can mitigate and manage the costs of a pandemic. In this study, we aimed to investigate the extent to which personality factors and emotional intelligence (EI) contributed to the subjective assessment of the benefits and costs of social distancing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also aimed at determining whether EI served as a mediator in the relationship between personality traits and the evaluation of social distancing consequences. Data was collected via online surveys from a sample of 223 Italian-speaking participants (age: 30.78 ± 9.97; 86.1% females) between March and April 2021. Findings indicate that the tendency to prioritize the benefits of social distancing over personal costs was positively associated with emotional stability and emotion regulation, but negatively associated with extroversion. The following mediational analyses revealed that the emotion regulation facet of EI mediated the associations between personality dimensions (emotional stability and extroversion) and the evaluation of the costs and benefits of social distancing. These findings provide useful indications and implications for developing appropriate communication strategies aimed at reaching the general population and suggest that, during health-related crises, emphasis should be placed on offering courses and programs to improve and develop individuals’ EI.

Fact-Checking Role Performances and Problematic Covid-19 Vaccine Content in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa

The move from political fact-checking to a “public health” or debunking model of fact-checking, sustained by policies and funding from platforms, highlights important tensions in the case of Covid-19. Building on findings from studies focused on journalistic role performance, we investigated how professional fact-checkers in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa conceived of and performed their professional roles when addressing Covid-19 vaccination topics. Interviews with fact-checkers from six well-established, Meta-affiliated, International Fact-Checking Network-accredited organizations operating in these regions indicated that fact-checkers recognized the diversification of tasks and new roles associated with addressing problematic content from social media users. However, fact-checkers expressed unanimous commitment to prioritizing political and media watchdog activities in response to problematic Covid-19 vaccine information spreading from elite sources. To compare these role conceptions with role performance, we conducted a content analysis of Covid-19 vaccine content posted in 2021 to these fact-checkers’ Facebook accounts. We found that content was mostly associated with explainers or debunking content (addressing hoaxes or rumors about Covid-19 vaccines from non-elite social media users). In particular, the abundance of explainers, compared with other genres of fact-checking content, aligns fact-checkers with professional roles as civic service providers, educators, and “interpreters” of health information. Only a small proportion of the Covid-19 vaccine-related posts from each fact-checker contained verifications of claims from authoritative (elite “top-down”) sources (i.e., politicians, media, and health/science professionals). This study offers insights into a particularly tumultuous time of political activity in these regions and considers implications for practice innovation.

A cross-regional examination of camelid herding practices in Peru from 900 BCE to 1450 CE: Insights from stable isotopes in camelid bone collagen and fiber.

The economic, socio-political, and cultural significance of camelids in the Andean region is well-recognized, yet an understanding of their management evolution over pre-historical periods remains limited. This study aims to fill this gap by conducting the first cross-regional assessment of camelid pastoralism in Peru from 900 BCE to 1470 CE, using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions from the bone collagen and fibers of 577archaeological camelids across 21 sites. This research investigates the spatio-temporal shifts in camelid dietary habits, focusing on how the rise of intensive agriculture may have influenced change and led to the evolution of distinct roles for camelids in coastal versus non-coastal Andean economies. Our analysis indicates an increase in δ13C values over time on the coast, suggesting a shift towards maize-based camelid diets. Conversely, δ13C values decrease over time in highland environments, suggesting camelids consumed relatively more wild C3 forage and/or cultivated crops such as tubers. The study also reveals a significant positive relationship between latitude and δ15N values, suggesting increasing environmental aridity enriches δ15N in bone collagen. After controlling for this latitudinal effect, we observe a rise in δ15N values in both coastal and non-coastal camelids, suggesting that in later periods camelids may have been foddered in agricultural fields that were enriched with guano or dung fertilizer used to intensify production. Importantly, this research uncovers a distinct dietary divergence between coastal and inland camelids. The observed divergence in diets suggests contrasting socio-economic uses of camelids, where coastal camelids were predominantly involved in ceremonial and political activities, while those in non-coastal areas were crucial to the subsistence economy.

The Cost of Dancing with the Government: A Conservation of Resources Theory of Political Networking and CEO Burnout

AbstractAlthough prior research on the dark side of corporate political activity (CPA) has examined the negative impact of CPA on firms from the perspective of the macro cost of CPA (i.e., organizational loss) and the self‐interested motives of executives (i.e., personal gain), it has largely overlooked the negative repercussions of CPA for individuals intimately engaged in that process (i.e., personal loss). Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory and focusing on Chief Executives Officers (CEOs) who engage in political networking (PN), we investigate how PN affects CEO burnout. We conceptualize PN as a form of relational exchanges between firms and political entities, positing that PN entails substantial resource depletion for those deeply involved, primarily due to significant ethical and moral challenges (i.e., identity threat). As PN intensifies, CEOs are compelled to allocate more time, effort and energy to navigate these escalating challenges, consequently exacerbating CEO burnout. Through the analysis of a 2‐year matched survey of CEOs and comprehensive archive data, we find robust support for our hypothesis. Furthermore, our findings suggest that CEO altruism and institutional knowledge weaken the relationship between PN and CEO burnout, indicating that individual intentions to benefit the collective and the ability to navigate such networking practices alter CEOs' perceived identity challenges. Our study contributes an individual‐level resource‐depletion perspective of CPA and cautions against the propensity of CEOs to engage in CPA driven by Machiavellian logic.

Barbarism and modernity in S.N. Eisenstadt’s theory: Towards a cultural sociology of radicalism

The emergence of ‘radical’ social and political actors, ideologies and identities seems to be a hallmark of the crisis of liberal democracy that is spreading throughout global society. Despite its growing uneasiness about these facts, social science has not produced much theoretical innovation about them. This article aims to contribute to this task, by bringing to bear a conceptual framework elaborated by Shmuel N. Eisenstadt through his reflections on modern barbarism. I argue that the author’s understanding of barbarism has a significant interpretive potential for the sociological analysis of contemporary radical identities, and suggest some ways to reconsider ‘populism’, thereby redefining the very concept of radicalism. The article starts by introducing the pivotal notions which constitute the conceptual framework of our author. The following section outlines the main argument of Eisenstadt’s theory of barbarism, unpacking the way in which those concepts interweave to conjure a cultural theory of exclusionary, violent identities and institutional regimes. The final section highlights the significance of such approach for a cultural sociology of radicalism, by exploring the relations between the author’s views and some selected trends in contemporary social theory.

Factors associated with political participation among university students in Peru

In Peru, the political participation of university students is low, influenced by legal, cultural, and personal factors that limit them to voting only out of obligation. This work analyzed the factors associated with political participation in university students, considering their socio-academic variables. A sample of 310 students was used, where low levels of political participation were found, with significant associations to factors such as apoliticism, mobilization, and activism, but without relation to sociodemographic variables such as sex, occupation, or economic dependence. The lack of participation is attributed to distrust in political actors due to corruption and personal disinterest, with a greater focus on one's academic activities.

Using Political Connections to Raise Rivals’ Costs: Evidence from an Emerging Market

AbstractIn this paper, we leverage resource dependency theory to examine the impact of political connections on rivals’ costs and how this impact is affected by rival‐side and politician‐side contingencies. Using a panel dataset of Pakistani firms, our system generalized method of moments estimates show that politically connected firms can increase their rivals’ costs by influencing their rivals’ dependency relationship with the government. This impact is attenuated by the rivals’ strategic flexibility and social legitimacy, which provide some protection or insulation from political attacks in resource markets. Together, our findings extend the contingent dynamics of resource dependency in political markets from focal firms to competitors and offer significant contributions to the corporate political activity literature and resource dependency theory.

The “Sense of Place” and Spatial Consciousness

The article considers two issues: the “sense of place” (G. Rose) as a way of self-identification of the citizen within urban space, and spatial consciousness, which is a three-part structure (includes phenomenological, representative and intentional levels of organization) in accordance with which urban planning strategies are embodied. It is shown that there is a close relationship between the political ontology of the city, the symbolic systems of the city and the struggle for the territorialization of cities. The article also analyses the connection between the scientific method and the ways of western self-identification. Moreover, it indicates the role of utopian cities, language and urban mythologies in the political activity of urban space.

Singing songs for a secular society? The elusive politics of cultural activism in contemporary Bangladesh

Abstract In Bangladesh, many secularists pursue their political goals through cultural activism. While committed to achieving a secular, progressive, and non-communal society, they often refrain from explicitly articulating their politics due to the sensitivity of their goals. Instead, cultural performances allow them to instantiate and embody a secular ethos with transformative potential, expressed through distinct cultural genres that become recognized as secular aesthetics. While activists consider culture to be a morally superior and ‘purer’ way to promote their political aims than party politics, which they perceive as ‘dirty’ and corrupt, cultural traditions are hardly neutral ground from which to enact secular aspirations. This article explores the ethical struggles that emerge from this position to illuminate what it means to act politically while trying to avoid politics, and why people might choose comparatively elusive forms of political engagement despite their strong commitment to a cause. Attending to less tangible forms of politics encourages us to rethink the role of political messages and visibility in social movements by highlighting the significant role, as well as contradictory implications, of aesthetics, embodiment, and gestures in political action. Conversely, the elusive politics of cultural activism underlines the need to go beyond analysing national discourses to understand the contested nature of secularism in Bangladesh.

Kim Bok-jin - the founder of national sculpture in Korea during the Japanese colonial period

This study analyzes the biography and work of Kim Bok-jin (pseudonym: Chongwan), the first Korean to graduate from the sculpture department of Tokyo University of the Arts in Japan during the Japanese colonial period (in 1925) and the first sculptor to introduce Western realist techniques to Korea. The study will also examine the national motifs in the works of Kim Bok-jin against the backdrop of a difficult historical period, and analyze a number of his little-known works through the prism of Korean studies. The main content of the study is the sculptures of Kim Bok-jin “standing woman”, “statue of Maitreya Buddha” “Baek Hwa”, “Youth (Boy)”, “Old man”. He is a significant figure in Korean sculpture: from 1925 until his death in 1940, Kim Bok-jin regularly exhibited his works at the Joseon Art Exhibition, and in addition to his artistic activities, he also ran the Art Research Institute, nurturing young artists. He also engaged in journalism, criticism, and political activity as a member of the Joseon Communist Party. The purpose of this study is to rethink the work of Kim Bok-jin, the founder of Korean sculpture, who was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit of the National Foundation in 1993.

Theorizing Far-Right Foreign Policy: Insights From Germany

What is the far-right’s foreign policy outlook? Although International Relations scholarship has provided important insights into the foreign policy preferences of far-right actors, it has predominantly analysed these political actors under the label of populism and focused on the effects of populism on foreign policy positions. Consequently, we lack a clear understanding of the impact of far-right ideology on foreign policy beliefs and preferences. This article provides a theorization of far-right foreign policy by deriving its key characteristics from far-right ideology. It tests this theoretical framework through a comparative analysis of the foreign policy preferences of the populist radical-right Alternative for Germany and the extreme-right, Neo-Nazi National Democratic Party of Germany. The comparative analysis of primary textual data reveals a shared far-right foreign policy outlook characterized by (1) ultra-nationalism, (2) group-based enmity, (3) authoritarianism, (4) revisionism and reactionism and (5) producerist-nationalistic economic positions, but also some important variations in the pursuit of these positions.

Application Of Counterterrorism In Eradicating Criminal Acts Of Terrorism Into Indonesian Positive Legislation

Through counterterrorism policies, the government can mobilize various public work sectors which ultimately improve the quality of security and welfare provisions by the state. Improving the handling of terrorism convicts in prison to prevent recidivism, for example, will improve the detention system, immigration system and civil registration. This is of course with an important note that the policy of responding to terrorism is carried out in a coordinated manner. So, not only certain institutions within the country, but all state institutions must have a clear role in responding to terrorism. The formulation of the problem discussed is: How can counterterrorism efforts prevent and overcome terrorism? and How is counter-terrorism implemented in eradicating criminal acts of terrorism into Indonesian positive law legislation? The research method used in this research is normative juridical research with a statutory approach and a conceptual approach. Discussion: The application of counter-terrorism in eradicating criminal acts of terrorism in Indonesia has been integrated into positive legal legislation through Law no. 5 of 2018. This law strengthens the legal framework by expanding the definition of terrorism, tightening supervision, and giving greater authority to security forces, as well as introducing preventive measures such as preventive detention and deradicalization. The role of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has also been strengthened to coordinate counter-terrorism strategies. The legislative process in Indonesia which follows the civil law tradition requires regulations to be written in writing. Establishment of Law no. 5 of 2018 was also influenced by the phenomenon of acts of terrorism which prompted the acceleration of the revision of Law no. 15 of 2003. Encouragement from society (bottom-up) and responses from political actors accelerated the ratification of this law, even though there were various challenges related to expanding authority and human rights. In dealing with terrorism, Indonesia applies two main approaches, namely the criminal justice model and the war model. The criminal justice model views terrorism as a legal violation that is handled through law enforcement, while the war model views it as an existential threat that requires a military response.

Psychological mechanisms of group influence on individual behavior

The paper analyzes psychological mechanisms of group influence on individual behavior, including conformity, social suggestion, authority pressure, and imitation, which have a decisive influence on individual behavior formation in social groups. Special attention has been paid to these mechanisms’ transformation under the influence of digital media and new communication technologies in the context of globalization. Digital platforms influence on the political activity of young people has been studied, which emphasizes the increasing role of online communications in shaping group behavior. Group norms and expectations, often imposed through digital platforms, actively shape social identity and individuals’ behavior, increasing their susceptibility to group pressure and conformity. Leadership styles have also been found to significantly influence group dynamics by altering group members’ behavioral responses. Cross-cultural studies show the importance of contextualization, as responses to social pressure vary across cultures. There is a need for further research on the long-term effects of social influence and the development of methods to minimize its negative effects on individual behavior. The study results contribute to a deeper understanding of the social influence mechanisms in the context of globalization, noting the importance of an interdisciplinary approach.

It’s not just about jobs: The significance of employment quality for participation in political violence and protests in selected Arab Mediterranean countries

It is often proposed that the young unemployed are more likely to engage in political violence, conflicts, and protests. One problem in studying the unemployed – especially in the Global South – are the blurred lines between the unemployed, the employed, and those working in the informal sector. Further, the employed are a heterogeneous group so employment quality might also play an important role. To tackle these issues, this study uses a new quantitative dataset, which covers youth in five Middle Eastern and North African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia. These data provide considerably more fine-grained information about the employment situations of the respondents than the datasets previously used. The study investigates separately two forms of political participation: in political violence and in demonstrations. The regression analyses show that there is no clear difference between the young unemployed and the young employed in their likelihood to participate in the studied political activities. However, some features related to employment matter. Those whose employment status is ambiguous are substantially more likely to participate in demonstrations and political violence than the employed. Among those who work, those who are dissatisfied with their work and those who work fewer hours participate more often in these activities. Income on its own does not seem to have an effect; however, those who have more assets are more likely to participate, and compared to those who feel themselves middle income, those feeling rich or poor are more likely to engage in political violence and demonstrations. The results suggest that instead of thinking in terms of a dichotomy of the employed and unemployed, more emphasis should be placed on understanding the variety of employment situations and employment quality and their impact on political instability.

Why and when employees ostracize their leaders: the effect of leader political act and integrity trustworthiness of the leader

ABSTRACT Every organizational member can be ostracized, including those at the very top. Yet why and when a leader is ostracized by the employees is unknown. Based on the victim precipitation theory and the model of ethical ideology, we investigated the factors that precipitated a leader into workplace ostracism. We found that leader political acts (a leader’s self-serving behaviour aimed at promoting self-interest by influencing another person’s thinking and behaviours) predicted employees’ ostracism of the leader. We further predicted that employees’ principled versus expedient ideologies, indicated by employee integrity and employee political acts would affect an employee’s evaluation of leader political acts. Based on a daily dairy study (Study 1) and a three-wave time-lagged field survey study (Study 2), we found leader political acts were negatively related to integrity trustworthiness of the leader. This negative relationship was stronger for employees high in integrity and weaker for employees who also engaged in political acts. Both studies supported the moderated mediation model in which the mediational relationship among leader political acts, integrity trustworthiness of the leader, and ostracism of the leader were moderated by 1) employee integrity, and 2) employee political acts.

Pancasila sebagai Sistem Etika Politik dan Etika Pemerintahan di Indonesia

The study aims to examine Pancasila as an ethical system in politics and government in Indonesia. Pancasila, which consists of five principles, is not only the foundation of the state but also a moral guideline that directs political and governmental behavior. This study uses a qualitative type of library research with a descriptive approach, which is a type of research that focuses on a phenomenon with data obtained in the form of literature that is naturally described in the form of words or writing. The results of the study obtained are in the context of political ethics, Pancasila functions as a moral identity that guides citizens and the government to act in accordance with ethical principles that are fair, wise, and in accordance with the values ​​of humanity, unity, and people's sovereignty. The implementation of political ethics based on Pancasila ensures that political actions are not only focused on power, but also morally and socially responsible to society. In government, Pancasila is the main guideline that ensures that the government acts for the welfare of all Indonesian people, by respecting the values ​​of humanity, justice, and unity. Every decision and policy taken by a leader must reflect the values ​​contained in Pancasila, such as divinity, humanity, democracy, and social justice. Pancasila is not only the basis of the country's constitution, but also an ethical system that guides the government in carrying out its duties with integrity, morality, and commitment to the interests of the people and the state.