Political Alliances Research Articles

A Just Transition for Labour: The Challenges of Moves to a Circular Economy

Proposals for a just transition for labour have been largely restricted to debates about transitions from the coal and oil industries. However, the transitions under way, especially in the context of the climate crisis, are more widespread. Hence the debates about a just transition from carbon-intensive industries should be refined and extended; otherwise, there is a prospect of rhetorical gesturing and little substantive change. Alongside these debates, planning guidelines are in place to encourage the adoption of circular economy practices to address questions relating to material sustainability, especially in the context of the encroaching climate crisis. Relatively little attention has been given to the implications for work and employment relationships of realizing the increasingly popular ambition to reuse, recycle and re-manufacture material inputs, waste and end-of-life products. To address these themes, the focus here is on the importance of a developed worker-focused just transition in Australian housing construction, and by implication other industries. The argument is twofold. First, an effective worker-based approach means participative and engaged labour unions pursuing transition objectives. Second, moves toward a circular economy require a just transition for the workforce. Such a transition must be planned and inclusive, with workers and their organizations as active subjects in the process. Hence, different strategies are required when unions are not in a position to speak for the whole workforce. We propose that alliances based on unions and other bodies that support workers and their households (such as environmental and other advocacy groups) become critical to the creation of a sustainable and just circular economy. Alliance politics, supported by appropriate government regulation, can become the basis to overcome the partiality and fragmentation of union representation. Abstract Proposals for a just transition for labour have been largely restricted to debates about transitions in coal regions. Yet a just transition for labour should apply to all industries. Alongside these debates, planning guidelines are in place to encourage the adoption of circular economy practices to address questions relating to material sustainability, especially in the context of the encroaching climate crisis. Surprisingly, few people have considered the implications of such changes for work and employment relationships. Unless a just transition is pursued, current inequalities in the housing construction industry are likely to intensify and remain embedded. The argument is that moves toward a circular economy in Australian housing construction require a just transition for the workforce. Such a transition must be planned and inclusive.

Discussion on Political Geography through the Book Review

This is an essay dealing with the contribution of Tim Marshall’s “The Power of Geography”. Purpose of this essay is to highlight the significant role of geography in shaping political landscapes, alliances and global affairs through the book review. What is new about this essay is its accessible presentation of complex geopolitical concepts, making it a valuable resource for students of geography and readers interested in global politics. By analysing case studies and historical backgrounds, the book illuminates the interplay between physical landscapes, territoriality and power dynamics. The findings highlight the continuing influence of geography on nations, regional identities and the evolving global order.

DISPARITY IN QUALITY ASSURANCE - A CATALOGUE OF CHOICES OR IMBALANCE OF TRADE

‘Big or Small, Consumer Rights is for All!’With time immemorial, cross-border trade is something which nations have always relied upon for strengthening economic, political and cultural alliances and for the expansion of their territory in the quest of becoming global power. India was at the receiving end of this ambition of nations, which led to it being ruled by foreign powers who invaded India under the garb of trading with it. Post-independence, has India actually managed to free itself from the clutches of these dominating trans-national business powers, is still a question. When India opened its economy for foreign trade and became a signatory to WTO, it amended many of its restrictive frameworks and converted them into regulatory ones. But what India failed to do was to increase its quality assurance norms as per the western standards. This made it easy for the western countries to dump their products in India, but the same was not reciprocated. This was because the standard of quality of the products (with respect to both perishable and non-perishable goods) demanded by the western countries were much higher than what we accepted here in India. This led us to accept even the sub-standard products from these countries. But when it came to us exporting our products to them, they were extremely vigilant about the quality of the products that they accepted. This led to the imbalance of trade resulting in hardships being caused to Indian economy hereby leading to the weakening of Indian currency. The changes in consumer law were adopted to bring the consumer protection standards at par with the internationally recognized standards. The intention of doing so is to achieve the major goals of universally applicable minimum standard of consumer protection and to abolish the obstacles in cross-border trade, but the imbalance created has ultimately burdened the consumer. This has defeated the very objective of consumer protection laws. The authors in this paper wish to elaborate upon the reasons for the negative balance of payments and wish to suggest the changes in the trade policies which will ultimately prove to be beneficial for the consumers of our country.

Diplomatic Activities of Councillors to the German Princes During the Thirty Years' War, 1618–1648

. In this article the author examines the development of the European diplomatic service during the Thirty Years' War, 1618–1648. There was no diplomatic post on the payroll of German princes in the seventeenth century, so it was left to court counsellors to represent the monarch on the foreign policy stage and gather relevant information from outside their dominions, which would influence the choice of international policies. A diplomatic career required a number of factors, among them ancestry, education, and breadth of vision. Practically all of the councillors who represented their patron on the international stage were noblemen, with a few exceptions where a burgher was entrusted with diplomatic functions. All of them were university educated, knew foreign languages and had spent several years abroad travelling. The core responsibilities of counsellors-diplomats included gathering information, which was constantly shifting during the war, and negotiating potential political alliances. Among the duties of diplomatic counsellors, foreign policy activities relating to dynastic marriages occupied a special place. One of the most important qualities of the councillors-diplomats, as repeatedly emphasised in their eulogies, was a pronounced patriotism. The councillors-diplomats themselves saw their diplomatic service as an integral part of their service to the Fatherland. Their patriotism played an important role in shaping German national ideas during the Thirty Years' War, and gradually became an integral part of service in the diplomatic corps.

Идеологические и философские аспекты концепции нового мышления в массовой политической литературе в 1988-1991 гг.

The article analyses ideological and philosophical development of M. S. Gorbachev's “New Thinking” policy, which came into conflict with the late Soviet ideology. The following methods have been used in its study: narrative and historical-genetic. The source base includes materials of mass political literature printed in the publishing houses Znanie and Lenizdat. The chronological framework covers the period from 1988 to 1991. Emphasis is placed on the formation of four ideological and philosophical theses of the new thinking postulated by Gorbachev in his book “Perestroika and New Thinking for Our Country and the World.” The first thesis represented philosophical aspect of the new thinking policy and postulated the use of dialectical laws as its main method. Subsequent theses contained an ideological component. The second thesis described relationship between class, national-state, and universal interests. The third thesis proposed an idea of freedom of choice of socio-economic development for all states, excluding pressure from the USSR and the USA. The fourth thesis put forward the concept of a “pan-European home,” which hypothetically was to put an end to political division in Europe. All four theses received some interpretation in the mainstream political literature with creative addition of specific provisions. Thus, the first thesis used the principle of the “union of opposites,” which implied union of capitalist and socialist elements in the basis and superstructure of society. The idea itself was quite controversial, as it contradicted the dogma of Marxism-Leninism. The second thesis favoured universal values over class and nation-state ones, excluding all previous Soviet foreign policy line. The third thesis applied to developing countries and did not contradict official Soviet ideology, developing the doctrine of internationalism in a changed environment. The fourth thesis promoted the idea of a common European home, prompting close integration with economic and political alliances of Western Europe. However, it ignored the plight of the OIA and the Soviet Union, which were losing political power and becoming increasingly irrelevant actors in international relations. Thus, most provisions of the new thinking were at odds with official Soviet ideology, leaving out fundamental interests of the state. The basis of the study is mass political literature published in the USSR in 1988–91. The methods of historical analysis have been applied in its study: narrative and historical-genetic. The relevance of the topic is conditioned by study of the evolution of main ideas of the new thinking doctrine in a philosophical-ideological key. The novelty is related to the fact that the study expands historical knowledge on dynamics of the new thinking policy formation on the basis of mass sources. The main purpose of the article is to consider the ideological development of the new thinking policy, challenging significance of the former conservative ideology.

Punishing Protesters on the “Other Side”: Partisan Bias in Public Support for Repressive and Punitive Responses to Protest Violence

The authors investigated public support for government repression of protests (police repression, legal repression, and punishment of protesters) following incidents of violence and harm. Using two factorial vignette experiments embedded in a national Qualtrics survey ( n = 1,229), the authors examined whether partisan bias (i.e., polarized responses to actions by ideological opponents or allies) characterized public preferences for repressive government responses to intentional violence (i.e., rock throwing) or incidental harm (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019 transmission) occurring at protests. The authors also examined whether violence or harm severity, or violence against or harm to police, influenced the degree of partisan bias in public responses. The results indicated partisan bias in support of police repression and punishment preferences and, to a lesser extent, legal repression. Members of the public preferred more repressive responses to political opponents and less repressive responses to political allies. Partisan bias in preferences for punishment was also heightened when a police officer was the target of intentional violence.

Massenrempulu Ethnicity from South Sulawesi in the Transformation of Political Identity and the Production of Cultural Differences

In the context of the political history of the kingdoms of South Sulawesi up to the end of the Dutch colonial period, Maspul was interpreted as a political alliance of small kingdoms in the mountainous region of South Sulawesi. the term Maspul is interpreted as an ethnic group among several more populous ethnic groups such as the Bugis, Makassar, Luwu, Toraja (South Sulawesi), and Mandar (West Sulawesi). This paper examines the phenomenon of identity crisis experienced by the Massenrempulu ethnicity in South Sulawesi. The Massenrempulu have long internally considered themselves an ethnicity, although outsiders do not widely recognize them as an ethnic group. This article is based on research on the topic of “The Emergence of the Massenrempulu Ethnicity in South Sulawesi,” which was an ethnographic study conducted in 2015. The research also included diverse sources such as the colonial notes by government employees of the Dutch East Indies held by the Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies (KITLV) Jakarta. Through the application of a constructivist perspective, the socio-cultural complexity of Massenrempulu society can be explained in the historical context and understood as an ethnic group. Maspul people are an ethnicity in South Sulawesi in the same manner as the Bugis, Makassar, Luwuk, and Toraja. The Maspul ethnic group has consisted of three different subcultures, with their local histories, mythologies, and languages, which is understandable given the historical characteristics of the Maspul Federation.

TRANS FEMINISTIČKE KOALICIJE NA POSTJUGOSLOVENSKOM PROSTORU: KA FEMINISTIČKOJ RADIKALNOJ SOLIDARNOSTI

The conflict between trans-inclusive and trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) has recently erupted in the post-Yugoslav space, adding to the urgency of embracing trans-feminism. In order to forge the ground for such feminist orientation, this paper interweaves two theoretical reflections: the subject of feminism, and the historical lesbian experience of becoming ‘included’ with/in it. Beginning with the idea that, similarly to trans, it also took time and effort for lesbianity (see discussion on this concept in the article) to be recognised as a ‘legitimate’ subject of feminist emancipation, I extend Wittig’s negation of lesbian womanhood to trans women. With this in mind, I argue that feminist radical solidarity requires an open-ended, liminal conception of gender. I then draw upon nine interviews with seven cis-gender, one non-binary, and one genderqueer lesbian activist from the post-Yugoslav space to explore the ways in which they endeavoured to bring about feminist radical solidarity in their activist engagement. I conclude that solidarity, rather than normative inclusion that we, lesbians, fought for as feminists, should eventually be put at the service of trans-feminism. In this manner, trans-feminism can become an integral part of women studies, trans women can be recognised as subjects of feminism, and trans persons embraced as our political and personal allies. Keywords: feminism, lesbian activism, solidarity, TERF, post-Yugoslav space

The Gordian Knot of Ethno-Religious Nationalism: Unsettled National Questions and Contested Visions

The early twenty-first century has witnessed a rising number of global crises. These include climate change, widening income inequality, military and nuclear tensions between the major powers, repeated outbreaks of global pandemics, and an ongoing democratic recession. In particular, the deepening democratic recession has afflicted ostensibly both mature and newer democracies – contradicting theories of political development. In many countries, the political alliance between ethno- and religious nationalists has reignited assaults against democratic institutions, processes, and norms. This comparative country-case study, principally of Malaysia and the United States of America (US), explores the alliance between ethno- and religious nationalists by examining the forces and factors that have contributed to this combustible dynamic within the context of unsettled national questions, contested constitutional orders, and foundational national visions. Also examined are the narratives of fear, victimhood and privilege that have galvanised religious and ‘sons of the soil’ ethno-nationalists in resisting the building of inclusive multiracial democracies.

Cooperative Game Analysis based on Country Size and Market Position

This paper studies the cooperative game theory, and analyzes the cooperative game with international scale and market position. From the perspective of evolutionary game theory, this paper discusses the preconditions for big and small countries to participate in regional economic cooperation and the stability conditions of economic cooperation. This paper combines cooperative game theory with regional economic integration, and the economic and political alliance among countries can be regarded as a cooperative game. In order to analyze the cooperation of member countries, the countries are divided into small countries and big countries according to their size and market position, and the replication dynamic equation is calculated, then the basic conditions of the strategy of big countries and small countries participating in regional economic alliance are obtained, and the strategy selection probability of participants under the conditions of equilibrium strategy and non-equilibrium strategy is analyzed. In addition, using evolutionary game theory and Jacobian matrix to analyze the stability of local equilibrium point, a reciprocal game model of regional economic cooperation between big and small countries is established. Through the research, it is found that the necessary condition for the formation of regional economic integration is the economic complementarity among the cooperative parties, and the sufficient condition is that the cooperative parties can coordinate the distribution of interests among themselves through effective consultation and finally reach a binding agreement on the distribution of interests, thus restricting each other's economic behavior.

Mobilidade humana em tempos de pandemia

The coronavirus pandemic has placed greater emphasis on the binomials of human mobility; therefore, the article aims to analyze human mobility in times of pandemic, due to its devastating impact on the world. The analysis defines the number of migrants who have plummeted before this event, disrupting their dreams and future plans. It is concluded that migration passes through the contexts of political alliances between peoples and States, creating rights and obligations, but at the same time, conceptualizing the classic power over freedom, nationality and their basic rights in the face of clandestinely. Thus, determining the formation of possible constitutional reforms.

THE FUNDING UNDER IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC ALLIANCE

In this article, I set out to present the importance of allocating financial resources within the North Atlantic Alliance, as well as the costs of operating and implementing Alliance policies, which are funded by direct and indirect contributions from Member States. Thus, direct financial contributions to NATO are common funding and joint funding and indirect financial contributions come in different forms. Indirect financial contributions are by far the largest type of contribution and include Allied participation in NATO-led operations and missions. The North Atlantic Alliance regularly collects data on Allied defense spending and presents aggregates and subsets of this information. The Ministry of Defense of each Ally reports the estimated current and future defense expenditures according to an agreed definition of defense expenditures. Allocated amounts are payments currently made by allied nations or to be made during the fiscal year. The essence of the article consists that NATO funding is found in the defense budgets of Alliance member countries. Of these, the majority are national expenditures, which are practically a form of indirect contribution to NATO funding. At the same time, it can be seen that NATO is an intergovernmental organization. The Member States allocate the necessary financial resources for day-to-day operations. The Member States shall provide the necessary and available facilities for consultation, decision-making, and implementation of policies established by consensus. NATO is a political alliance backed by a military structure. It provides for the common defense of member countries, cooperation with partner countries, and the implementation of Alliance policies, mainly for peacekeeping. Therefore, the novelty of this approach lies in the fact that it highlights the problems facing NATO funding today, the funding mechanism, and the construction of the common budgets of the Alliance.

Scaling up? From urban movements to citizen's platforms in Serbia

ABSTRACT This paper brings the “scale question” into the discussion of urban movements in Southeast Europe and offers a multispatial framework for their analysis. It focuses on the shifting scale of urban movements in Serbia, which was recently united in a wider citizen's platform. The paper reveals that scaling up from the single-issue initiative to a national political alliance is a challenging process that takes place on multiple scales. The main challenges are co-optation and tension between urban issues and issues in other spaces beyond the (capital) city. My explanation considers the centralised semi-authoritarian national government and the urban-rural divide in Serbia.

Cartographic Propaganda in the Age of Social Media: Empirical Evidence from Ethiopia

Cartographic propaganda is a conscious manipulation of a map to influence the reader’s belief. Countries often use it to claim disputed territories or project fear over opposing nations or political alliances, but little is known about the manipulations of maps along internal sociolinguistic and political fault lines on social media platforms. The author investigated the nature and intent of propaganda maps in Ethiopia before and after the 2018 government reform based on six purposely sampled maps prominently circulated on social media. While falling short of the acceptable cartographic qualities, the analysis of sample propaganda maps revealed two fundamental characteristics during the pre- and post-government reform. First, their role shifted from a centripetal force in the political coalition to a centrifugal force in the coalition’s disintegration. Second, their mode of dissemination transitioned from cartographic misinformation to disinformation. The findings of this study contribute empirical evidence to the ongoing cartographic information discourse that lags behind the rapidly changing map-making and map-sharing platforms in the age of geospatial and social media revolutions.

The Limits of Right-Wing Populism in Power and the Israeli Political Crisis of 2018–2021

Between 2018 and 2021, Israel experienced an unprecedented political crisis that saw four rounds of elections, as the country's parties failed to form a stable coalition government. This article contends that this crisis was the result of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's shift away from neoliberalism and toward a populist "anti-system" agenda. While Netanyahu's intensification of institutional subversion played a role in his success in the mid–late 2010s, it complicated relations within his party and among his political allies. The end result was years of political deadlock.

The Japanese–American Military–Political Alliance: Secrets of Longevity

The Japanese–American Military–Political Alliance: Secrets of Longevity

문화적 단절과 정치적 연대 -『독립신문』의 중국관 재검토 -

This paper affords a renewed understanding of Tongnip sinmun’s (1896-1899) view of China. Current scholarly works have agreed that an extremely negative view of China was predominant in Tongnip sinmun. In contrast, this paper approaches Tongnip sinmun’s perception of China from a different angle and demonstrates that a relatively positive view of China co-existed with the extremely negative view. That is, this paper divides Tongnip sinmun’s view of China into two dimensions―the cultural dimension and the political dimension―and argues that, whereas anti-Chinese sentiments were strong in the cultural dimension, a positive view was seen in the political dimension. In particular, Tongnip sinmun was very critical of Chinese cultural remnants deeply rooted in Chosŏn Korea, as the newspaper’s editors thought that complete severance from Chinese culture was crucial in building up Korean national identity. At the same time, however, Tongnip sinmun paid keen and positive attention to the political reform movement in the Qing court and government and firmly supported the movement in China, hoping that the success of the Chinese political reform would lead to a political alliance between Qing China, Meiji Japan, and Chosŏn Korea. Tongnip sinmun editors thought that the alliance would be important in protecting not only Chosŏn Korea but also all of East Asia from Western imperialism.

Rethinking the legacy of Tunisian pact-making in the post-July 2021 order

ABSTRACT Amid widespread anti-government protests, on July 25, 2021, the Tunisian President, Kais Saied, dismissed the Prime Minister and suspended parliamentary activities. Thereafter, political parties’ leaders and key civil actors assumed shifting and, lately, conflating positions in reaction to Saied’s move. Although they often called for the formation of a united front against Saied’s unilateral takeover of state institutions, their actions remained largely uncoordinated in avoiding the risks of authoritarian backsliding. Drawing on a political party perspective, this article seeks to understand why the Tunisian political forces failed to coordinate their actions against Saied’s presidential coup. The article contends that in post-July 2021, the Tunisian opposition failed to unite effectively because political forces were primarily driven by opportunism and their past ideological stance towards Ennahda. As a result, political parties opposing Saied’s move preferred to unite selectively. The article invites us to rethink the historical legacy of Tunisian pact-making and alliance politics by concluding that Saied’s actions set distinct rules from the dynamics of opposition coordination that distinguished the Collectif du 18 Octobre (2005) and the post-Uprisings period. Yet, these rules re-echo some old pact-making patterns that characterised the Tunisian opposition under Ben Ali’s One Party state.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence, and Domestic Conflict

ABSTRACT An emerging field of scholarship in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and computing posits that AI has the potential to significantly alter political and economic landscapes within states by reconfiguring labor markets, economies, and political alliances, leading to possible societal disruptions. Thus, this study examines the potential destabilizing economic and political effects AI technology can have on societies and the resulting implications for domestic conflict based on research within the fields of political science, sociology, economics, and artificial intelligence. In addition, we conduct interviews with 10 international AI experts from think tanks, academia, multinational technology companies, the military, and cyber to assess the possible disruptive effects of AI and how they can affect domestic conflict. Lastly, the study offers steps governments can take to mitigate the potentially destabilizing effects of AI technology to reduce the likelihood of civil conflict and domestic terrorism within states.

Incivility Diminishes Interest in What Politicians Have to Say.

Incivility is prevalent in society suggesting a potential benefit. Within politics, theorists and strategists often claim incivility grabs attention and stokes interest in what a politician has to say. In contrast, we propose incivility diminishes overall interest in what a politician has to say because people find the incivility morally distasteful. Studies 1a and 1b examined the relationship between uncivil language and followership in the Twitter feeds of Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden, finding incivility reduced their following on the platform. In Studies 2-3, we manipulated how uncivil a number of politicians were and found that incivility consistently depressed interest in what they had to say. These effects of incivility are generalized to both political allies and opponents. Observers' moral disapproval of the incivility mediated the diminished interest, suppressing the attention-grabbing nature of incivility. Altogether, our findings indicate that the public reacts more negatively to political incivility than previously thought.