Actors In Political Process Research Articles

French Model of Integration of Immigrants Facing the Modern Challenges

Article examines specifics of French model of integration of immigrants, as well as the evolution of integration practices. It is shown that integration model was based initially on principles of assimilation, and ethnic and religious identity of the migrants was not taken into account. It is established that current model of integration does not require cultural unification, but does not allow institutionalization of immigrant communities as representatives of interests of migrants. Author concludes that the reasons for re-Islamization, which mainly affected second and third generation of migrants, were structural transformations in economy, as well as an increase in the number and geography of migration flows. Article analyzes factors that contributed to formation and spread of ethno-religious communities in the country, as well as driving forces that led to the rise of Islamist radicalism and surge of terrorist acts. Special attention is given to the problem of interaction of a secular, democratic state and society with Islam, a significant part of whose adherents belong to different socio-cultural paradigm than the indigenous population. Author focuses on current political initiatives of President Macron, to demarginalize urban suburbs, as well as measures taken to structure Islam in France and counter Islamist radicalism. In this research, author uses a political and cultural approach that integrates methods of sociology, socioculturology, psychology, which makes it possible to study socio-cultural dimension of politics, symbolic aspect of public life, as well as restores the role and significance of human person as the main actor in political process.

Теоретические аспекты и дискурсивная практика праворадикальной идеологии в политических процессах современной Европы

Introduction. The article discusses the main approaches to the concept “right radicalism” in modern Russian and foreign political science. In addition, the author shows how actors in political processes use ideology in the framework of political struggle as exemplified by the ideological discourse of the far-right British National Party. The aim of the study is to trace the specifics of constructing the nationalist discourse of the rightwing political forces in modern Europe (using the example of the British National Party) and formulate the author’s definition of the term “right-wing radicalism”. Methods. The author uses comparative and historical-retrospective methods to comprehensively consider the phenomenon of the right-wing radicalism, as well as discourse analysis of a political party’s text, which contributes to a better understanding of the features constructing the discourse of these actors in political processes. Scientific novelty of the study. The work provides comprehensive analysis of the concept “right radicalism” in the context of political processes of modern Europe, the author suggests his own definition of the phenomenon considered. Results. From the vast scientific heritage devoted to issues of the right-wing radicalism, ideology, and functioning of right-wing political parties, the author choses several approaches presented in both domestic and foreign political science, which makes it possible to disclose essential ideas of the “right-wing radicalism”. In addition, as a result of the discourse analysis of the British National Party program document, the author identifies the main points that are key to the nationalist discourse of the modern European right-wing radical party. Conclusions. As a result of the study, we can conclude that the concept “right radicalism” is one of the most debatable in modern political science and the relevance of its study is not in doubt. The analysis of the program document of one of the oldest extreme right-wing parties in Europe shows that ideological discourse is formed from various components and, using various methods, the researcher can analyze its structure in detail, understanding how political forces form this discourse within the framework of the political struggle.

Роль громадянського суспільства у проєктуванні публічної політики в Україні

The process of institutionalization of civil society in Ukraine as one of the main actors in the public field of politics has its own specific features that affect the quality of public capital and the state of the political system. The crises in the political system of Ukraine, which led to a change of government, a surge in civic activity and the emergence of new forms of interaction between public actors, raised the issue of analysis and monitoring of the civil sector in the country and determining its role in public policy. The process of institutionalization of civil society in the Ukrainian public sphere takes place in close cooperation with state institutions, which are also structurally and functionally changing, losing traditional functions and succumbing to innovations. Institutional transformations trigger mechanisms of change in the system of actor relations and form new practices of cooperation. Complex and fragmented interactions of state and non-state institutions (new and reforming) of public policy create a multitude of network practices of cooperation and form the public capital of the modern political system of Ukraine. The formation of a new model of public policy in Ukraine on the trajectory of bottom – up (civil society institutions) is in line with global trends of change of institutions and practices of interaction of actors in political processes, but has significant features and difficulties. The uniqueness of the Ukrainian version is that civil society is faster and more effectively institutionalized as a public actor than a state that does not have time to institutionally adapt to change and due to the limited tradition of the previous governance model inhibits public sector participation in political life.

Public and Private Partnership and Business Actors in Political Processes Concerning Military Issues

Purpose: The article researches the actual issues of developing partnership and cooperation between the state and private business in matters of production and modernization the military-industrial complex of Russia. The main object of the research is the Russian NAVY. The subject of the research is the comparison of the Russian and US NAVY modernization in the context of public and private partnership. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors used a wide range of methodological tools in the course of the study. The method of economic analysis, the method of structural analysis, the statistical method and the method of mathematical comparison were used. Findings. Studying the role of business actors in the national rearmament programmes in Russia the authors revealed such key indicators as economic viability and financial efficiency of programme implementation. A comparative analysis of budget and private funding of the similar US programme was conducted and statistical data supporting the main findings of the study were introduced. Practical Implications: The development of cooperation between business and the MIC at the state level should go along the path of creating conditions for public-private partnerships (PPPs) - a set of organizational, legal, financial and economic relations and joint actions of the state and private business aimed at achieving the goals of the state economic policy in order to address socially significant tasks on mutually beneficial conditions. Originality/Value: The authors’ conclusion that state’s financial and economic policy in the field of defense and modernization of the domestic defense industry has all chances to become the locomotive of the country’s industrial, scientific and technological development gives new horizons for discussing the most appropriate rearmament strategy.

The EU Observer Mission to the Zambian Elections 2001: The Politics of Election Monitoring as the Construction of Narratives

There is consensus amongst election monitors and official observers that the 2001 Zambian general elections were flawed and did not express the preferences of Zambian voters. This article argues on the basis of participant observation in the EU Observer Mission that this consensus was more a socially constructed narrative than a reasoned judgement based on observation. Central in this story is how the EU Observer Mission behaved as a rival source of authority and information to the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Analysis of African elections should view those who are vested with authority to judge about democracy as actors in political processes rather than as impartial arbiters of justice.

A política florestal européia: um sonho ou uma realidade?

Mudanças nas políticas florestais na Europa servem como ponto de partida para refletir sobre conceitos e tendências práticas da política florestal em geral. A política florestal é definida como abrangendo os processos e as estruturas que produzem as relações entre sociedades e florestas. O artigo aponta que mudanças nas estruturas sociais e nos processos políticos afetam a percepção e as funções atribuídas às florestas na Europa. Argumenta que a conformação de redes políticas (policy-networks) integra mais agentes nos processos políticos e, também, transforma as relações entre as sociedades e florestas. Neste sentido, identifica algumas tendências gerais (1) com respeito aos agentes participantes, uma transnacionalização das relações; (2) uma globalização com respeito aos referenciais de interpretação de problemas e busca de soluções; e (3) uma "ambientalização", no sentido de que a importância das florestas é, cada vez mais, percebida como parte integrante do conjunto dos esforços para evitar riscos de catástrofes ambientais. Assim, argumenta que as mudanças ligadas à chamada europeização permitem reconhecer a existência de uma "política florestal da Europa".

Political ecology in political geography

The environment remains a central concern for political geographers. Whether in macro-theorization of state conflict centering on resource demand, production, and scarcity, or in micro-case studies focusing on environmental disputes, political geographers have come to increasingly consider non-human actors in political process. Simultaneously, traditional areas of environmental research in Geography— Cultural Ecology, Hazards, Energy, Coastal and Marine Studies, and Medical Geography, among others—have increasingly taken the political elements of human/environment systems far more seriously. It would seem therefore, that there is an increasing convergence of political ecology and political geography. On closer inspection, however, it is clear that environmental researchers with an interest in politics and political geographers with an interest in the environment are on parallel, but distinctly separate tracks. The possibilities for cross-fertilization of concepts, theoretical tools, and methods remain strong, but under-realized therefore This brief essay seeks to summarize the use of “the environment” in political geography and “the political” in political ecology such that possible areas of overlap and mutual exchange are possible. It concludes that political geographers might benefit from the development of better accounts of the role of non-human agents in producing political outcomes and from a richer engagement with the political ecologies of everyday life, while political ecologists must work to better understand state institutions that are too often treated as “black boxes” in their accounts.