Political Community Research Articles

China-Canada Economic Relations in the Early 21st Century

In Canada's corporate and political communities, it is now commonly acknowledged that China is becoming a global economic superpower. For instance, it is now accepted knowledge that all companies, and even all government agencies, must create a "China Strategy," whether or not they conduct any business with China directly. Since the conclusion of the Cold War, China has assumed a larger role in world geopolitics and gained the attention of the most influential political figures. Canada is a prime example of a selective or specialized power today and looks to have established its steady place in international affairs. In order to assess the position of the modern People's Republic of China (PRC) in Canadian foreign policy, this paper explores Canada-China relations from the most current angle. This study examines several facets of bilateral ties, including human rights and democracy, economics and commerce, the ability of Chinese Canadians to advocate and their impact on Ottawa's PRC policies. An overview of the development of ties between Canada and China is also included in the article.

Community Political Participation in an Islamic Perspective

This study delves into the intricacies of community political participation from an Islamic viewpoint. The purpose of this research is to explore the theoretical foundations, methods, and implications of political engagement within Islamic communities. Employing a qualitative approach, the study examines Islamic scriptures, historical precedents, and contemporary practices to understand the role of political participation in fostering societal welfare and justice. The methodological framework incorporates textual analysis, case studies, and interviews with community leaders and scholars versed in Islamic jurisprudence. The findings highlight the multifaceted nature of political engagement in Islamic societies. Firstly, the research elucidates that political participation is not only permissible but encouraged within Islamic teachings, provided it aligns with ethical principles and serves the common good. Secondly, it underscores the importance of shura (consultation) as a fundamental Islamic principle, emphasizing the inclusion of diverse voices in decision-making processes. Thirdly, the study reveals the dynamic relationship between religious authority and political governance, advocating for a balance between spiritual guidance and democratic principles. Moreover, the research identifies several challenges hindering effective political participation in Islamic communities, including authoritarian regimes, socio-economic disparities, and ideological extremism. It suggests strategies such as grassroots mobilization, civic education, and interfaith dialogue to overcome these obstacles and enhance community engagement in the political sphere. In conclusion, the study affirms that political participation in Islam is not only compatible with democratic values but essential for upholding justice, equity, and accountability in society. By promoting active citizenship and ethical leadership grounded in Islamic principles, communities can contribute positively to governance processes and collectively address socio-political challenges.

Redescribing the Machiavellian prince. The idea of monarchy in Giovanni Botero’s Della Ragion di Stato (1589)

ABSTRACT Botero’s Della Ragion di Stato has a monarchical character that has been overlooked or taken for granted. This is due to the successful reception of the reason of state formula, which justifies any kind of political regime, including principalities, republics, and monarchies, regardless of the author’s preferences. However, there is a clear distinction between monarchy and reason of state that requires further discussion. Botero not only uses Machiavellian language when referring to a political community (as res publica) or the prince (as a metaphor for centralized monarchies), but also reappropriates it. In addition, he goes beyond this to explain a non-legal path to absolute sovereignty, which differs from Jean Bodin’s (1530–96) idea of the king as being above the law and Thomas Hobbes’ (1588–1679) theory of authorization and the social contract. This paper argues that Botero’s concept of reason of state can be understood as a complex process of reduction to unity, similar to God’s creation and the functioning of the natural world. Despite its contradictions and limitations, it grants the prince an unusual supremacy and control over society.

FERTILTY CARE IN LOW AND MIDDLE INCOME COUNTRIES: Fertility care in low- and middle-income countries.

Infertility affects millions worldwide, with significant medical, financial, and emotional challenges, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Cultural, religious, financial, and gender-related barriers hinder access to treatment, exacerbating social and economic consequences, especially for women. Despite its prevalence, infertility often remains overlooked due to competing health priorities. However, global initiatives recognise infertility as a reproductive health concern, advocating for universal access to high-quality fertility care. In LMICs, limited resources and infrastructure impede access to treatment, prompting people to turn to alternative, often ineffective, non-biomedical solutions. Addressing these challenges requires implementing affordable fertility care services tailored to local contexts, supported by political commitment and community engagement. Emerging technologies offer promising solutions, but comprehensive education and training programs are essential for their effective implementation. By integrating fertility care into broader health policies and fostering partnerships, we can ensure equitable access to infertility treatment and support reproductive health worldwide.

Art, Politics, and the Complexity of homo faber in Hannah Arendt’s Philosophy

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to articulate and analyse the complexity of the concept of work in Hannah Arendt’s philosophy. Work is usually interpreted as antithetical to political action. This claim merits specification: only the instrumental, utilitarian strand of homo faber poses real danger to authentic politics. By contrast, the artistic or cultural mode of homo faber is not only compatible with Arendt’s understanding of politics, but in fact indispensable for any form of political longevity. Enduring political existence is impossible without the constant support of artists, poets, historiographers and monument-builders who reify and memorialize the key meanings of political communities. This claim is substantiated by applying the phenomenological concept of sedimentation and drawing the political implications of this application. However, similarly to Edmund Husserl, Arendt identified a dual, problematic nature of sedimentation that underscores the importance of natality and thinking in artistic practice.

Preparatory study for carbon sequestration modelling of agroforestry systems in Hungary: The assessment of the yield class distribution of windbreaks

The escalating carbon dioxide emissions leading to global climate change are acknowledged as a paramount environmental challenge in the twenty-first century. The significance of land use systems in stabilising carbon dioxide levels and enhancing carbon sink potential has gained noteworthy attention from both the scientific and political communities. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasises that agroforestry systems present vital prospects for synergising climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts, offering substantial technical mitigation potential. Windbreaks are well-known agroforestry systems in Hungary and form an important part of agricultural landscapes. The improved agroforestry subsidy system in our country makes it relevant to model the carbon sequestration potential of windbreaks. In the framework of the ForestLab project we plan to develop a carbon sequestration model specific for Hungarian agroforestry systems. In this study, as a preparatory step of the model development, we assessed the yield class distribution of Hungarian windbreaks by tree species group and identified variables that had significant effect on yield class based on the data of the National Forestry Database. Our results show that among the examined effects the most important predictor of the yield class of windbreaks was the tree species group, followed by the thickness of the productive soil layer and the hydrology of the site.

How to Get Away with Treachery, or: Actor-Centered Perspectives on Entangled Conflicts and their Urban Protagonists in the Austrian Duchy, 1462/63

Abstract This article examines the involvement and interactions of Vienna's urban elites in the conflict of the early 1460s that marked the climax of the power struggle between the Habsburg brothers Emperor Frederick III and Duke Albert VI over rule in the Duchy of Austria. Vienna's role is addressed in two aspects: first, as a central stage for the conflict, and second, as an active participant as a political community that became increasingly integrated into the broader political networks of the duchy during the fifteenth century. Following an actor-centered approach and based on prosopographical groundwork, the study focuses on the actions of individual protagonists and various factions within Vienna's political elites. During the violent events, the urban representatives did not form a cohesive entity but interacted and allied in changing constellations with leading noble, courtly, and clerical actors in the duchy. Factors and conditions contributing to the formation of diverse interest groups among urban actors are closely examined, aiming to give a deeper insight into the dynamics and patterns of the entangled conflict.

The fight against smallpox during the Savoy kingdom in Genoa between 1815 and 1859.

The article aims to outline the features of the efforts for smallpox eradication within the pre-unitary context of the Kingdom of Sardinia, characterized by a long tradition in medical-health prevention. This tradition is partly inherited from the health magistracies of the Italian states during the ancient regime and partly adopted from policies initially outlined by Napoleon and later by other European states. In addition to prevention activities, authorities also engage in a vigorous information and awareness campaign aimed at eliminating common prejudices and doubts about vaccination among the population. In analyzing the authorities' achievements in combating smallpox, this study examines the two epidemic waves (1829-30 and 1852-54), along with the legislative developments before, during, and after these periods. It also compares these regulatory changes with those in other European contexts. The epidemiological situation turned out to be more complex to manage than the authorities had anticipated, as evidenced by the increasing controls imposed. Scientific and political communities, both in the Kingdom of Sardinia and in other European nations, found themselves divided on the legitimacy of proposing restrictive measures by the state. Some advocated for restricted access to public places and imposed mandatory vaccination for vulnerable individuals. The comparison with smallpox resulted in a gradual improvement in of health security levels, although vaccination coverage did not reach the desired targets. Several factors contributed to this failure, including the limited expertise and reluctance of medical personnel, who were burdened with much of the operation's costs. Additionally, particularly in rural areas, there was widespread mistrust among the population towards doctors. Despite these challenges, the fight against smallpox enabled authorities to develop population control tools in the name of public health protection. However, it was not until 1888 that mandatory vaccination was introduced.

Declaration on the Common Language (Deklaracija o zajedničkom jeziku, 2017): Anti-nationalist Provocation, or a Reflection of Objective Reality?

The language policy of the states in which Serbo-Croatian was the official language at the time has not always been the same either in the historical plan or in the present. From the first half of the 19th century until the establishment of the Yugoslav state (1918), a part of the Serbian and Croatian elites was characterized by a search for ways to find a mutually acceptable standard for their common written language. This process then continued under changed political conditions after 1918, but without romantic notions, especially on the part of the Croatian political and professional community. The rejection of the sociolinguistic project of a common written language with the Serbs manifested itself first during the Second World War (1941–45), then in the period 1967–71, and finally in the new Croatian Constitution of 1990. Linguistic issues related to the specifics of the language of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina began to emerge in the late 1960s, but only came into full force after the break-up of the SFR Yugoslavia (1992). The four national communities using Serbo-Croatian (and then in a separate form Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin) during the Yugoslav era generated a total of seven declaratory texts with different scope, content, accents and conclusions between 1967 and 2007. All of them, however, were united by their linguistic nationalism – from moderate and rather defensive to radical and offensive. The eighth was the Declaration on a Common Language (2017), another decade later, the nature of which contradicts many of the postulates proclaimed in previous declaratory texts. This approach has been described by many critics as a marginal effort to return to Serbo-Croatian or even as a provocation that contradicts the relevant constitutional articles and that threatens national independence. The authors of the Declaration, however, point out that their declaration does not mandate anything, does not oblige anyone, does not discriminate against anyone, but tries to point out the obvious shortcomings of the existing language policy in the post-Serbo-Croatian space, which lead to linguistic segregation in schools and other unusual and even defective manifestations caused by the alleged otherness of the four written languages mentioned above. At the same time, they offer a relatively simple and appropriate model of how to understand and interpret the linguistic situation in the territory of the former Serbo-Croatian language, e.g. in the university teaching of Slavic studies.

Russia Weaponization of Canada's Far Right and Far Left to Undermine Support for Ukraine.

This article details the Russian government's efforts to influence Canadians' perceptions of the war in Ukraine. Specifically, we examined Russian information campaigns tailored to Canadian audiences on X (formerly known as Twitter) and the supportive ecosystems of accounts that amplify those campaigns. By 2023, this ecosystem included at least 200,000 X accounts that have shared content with millions of Canadians. We identified ninety accounts with an outsized influence. The vast majority of the influential Canadian accounts were far right or far left in orientation. These networks were among Canada's most prolific and influential political communities online. We determined this by comparing these networks' potential influence to the online community engaging with Canada's 338 members of Parliament on X and a sample of twenty influential X accounts in Canada. The sophistication and proliferation of Canada-tailored narratives suggest a highly organized and well-funded effort to target Canadian support for Ukraine.

A qualitative analysis of religious coping and participation in patients with head and neck cancer.

e24093 Background: Head and neck cancer (HNC) and its treatment sequelae result in substantial disfigurement, depression, and isolation. Though up to 7 out of 10 cancer patients lean on prayer or other forms of spirituality for support, little is known about the significance of prayer and religious communities for patients with HNC. There is also a dearth of literature on the role of clergy as spiritual support for patients with HNC. In this qualitative study, we explore religious coping and barriers to community engagement both from a patient and clergy perspective. Methods: We purposively sampled ten patients with HNC from a single, comprehensive cancer center and twelve clergy for interviews. Patients were selected from a larger study of religious engagement and symptomatic distress. Clergy were recruited from a network of churches near the cancer center. Both patients and clergy completed semi-structured interviews, which were then transcribed and analyzed by descriptive content analysis. Results: Four main themes emerged from patient interviews: 1) HNC-related physical symptoms (dysphagia, stoma, impaired speech) hindered relationship-building with others and structured religious groups. 2) Most patients used positive religious coping, citing frequent prayer to God for strength during treatment and peace regardless of disease outcome. Few patients used negative religious coping, describing feelings of doubt and abandonment by God. 3) Patients predominantly found spiritual (prayer) and practical comfort (encouragement, phone calls) outside of religious communities through family, physicians, and support groups. 4) Barriers to religious community involvement included physical disability, satisfaction with individual spirituality, and religious community politics. Among clergy, barriers to patient engagement in religious communities included: lack of health literacy to understand patient needs, resource limitations, insufficient hospital emphasis on holistic health, and little awareness of opportunities for aid apart from psychosocial support. Overall, most clergy and patients believed faith to be an integral part of coping with head and neck cancer. Conclusions: Though patients with HNC experienced some isolation due to physical symptoms, many found spiritual support through private practices of prayer or individual relationships. Patient and clergy views on barriers to religious community involvement diverged; many patients felt satisfied with personal practices, and clergy felt distanced from patients. While future research should focus on clinical elicitation of religious coping strategies, our patients suggest the successful adaptation of such strategies to private contexts when faced with physically debilitating cancer diagnoses.

ENGAGEMENT IN BRIEFEN: FANNY TARNOWS TEILHABE AN DEN EREIGNISSEN VON 1848/49 ANHAND IHRER KORRESPONDENZ AUS DEN 1830ER UND 1840ER JAHREN

AbstractIn the time preceding, during, and following the revolution in France, Germany, and other European nations in 1848/49, numerous women writers actively participated in the fight for freedom and democracy. However, their involvement manifested in diverse forms. Besides the women categorised as ‘activist’ writers, there were others whose ‘engagement’ was less overt and public. Nevertheless, they too contributed through their writing and ideological alignment with the progressive political movements of their era. This article describes such subversive forms of engagement, using Fanny Tarnow and her correspondence with Karl August Varnhagen von Ense from 1833 to 1849 as a focal point for analysis. Central to this analytical framework is the notion of a dialogical exchange through letters, which served as a cornerstone for both Tarnow and Varnhagen in comprehending their socio‐political roles as mature writers navigating a new era's political landscape and community.

Introduction This Is Not an Introduction against the Monarchy

This collection of essays explores the ways in which Iberian cultural production has constructed kings and queens since 1975. Our focus is the royal figure who inherits their status and power through ‘blood’ and justifies their power invoking the transcendental mystique of monarchic sovereignty. In one way or another, the figures of Juan Carlos I and his son Felipe VI permeate all cultural representations of monarchical rule produced during the democratic period; and these representations shape our political understanding of the two kings and become a site to contest hegemonic understandings of Spanishness, post-Francoist Spain and Iberian political communities.

Political Choices of Muhammadiyah Citizens as a Muslim Minority in the 2018 Bali Governor Election in Indonesia

Purpose: the primary aim of this study is to explore how the Muhammadiyah community in Bali, a minority Muslim group, engaged in the 2018 Bali gubernatorial election to assert and navigate their political identity. This research seeks to understand the impact of their political participation within the broader dynamics of identity politics in a predominantly non-Muslim setting. Theoretical Reference: the study is framed within theories of political identity and political communication, which provide insights into how identities are formed, communicated, and leveraged in political contexts. These theories help elucidate the complex interactions between minority groups and the political environment, particularly in areas where identity politics play a significant role. Method: A qualitative descriptive approach was employed to capture the political preferences and behaviors of Muhammadiyah members during the 2018 gubernatorial election. Data was gathered through interviews, focus groups, and analysis of campaign materials and public statements. This method enabled a detailed and nuanced understanding of the Muhammadiyah community's political engagement. Results and Conclusion: the findings indicate that Muhammadiyah members actively participated in the election, using it as a platform to advocate for their political and social interests. Their engagement was shaped by their minority status and the need to assert their identity in a socio-political landscape dominated by different religious and cultural norms. The election outcomes revealed both the challenges and opportunities faced by Muhammadiyah in navigating identity politics in Bali. Implications of Research: this study highlights the critical role of minority religious communities in shaping political landscapes, even in regions where they do not form the majority. Understanding these dynamics is essential for policymakers, political leaders, and civil society organizations that aim to foster inclusive political processes. It also underscores the importance of effective political communication strategies that cater to diverse communities. Originality/Value: this research contributes to the limited literature on the political behavior of Islamic organizations like Muhammadiyah in regional politics, particularly within non-Muslim majority regions. It offers a unique insight into how identity politics and minority status influence political engagement and communication, adding depth to the discussions on multiculturalism and political inclusion in Southeast Asia.

Civic integration and the negation of collective selfhood: A normative analysis through Paul Ricoeur’s notions of identity

ABSTRACT Requirements of immigrants to prove language skills, undertake knowledge tests, or complete courses of civic education, have become central in the process of attaining formal legal membership in the political community. However, while civic integration often is furthered as an emancipatory process and way to strengthen social cohesion, this article maintains that civic integration deviates from a notion of integration as the mutual transformation of migrant and receiving polity alike. Drawing on Paul Ricoeur’s discussion of ipse- and idem-identity, the article analyses the normative underpinnings of civic integration and argues that civic integration is conditioned on a community based in sameness rather than in an inclusive and reciprocal respect for diversity, meaning that civic integration will emerge as strikingly similar to the assimilationist practices it seeks to overcome. Thus, drawing on idem-identity, civic integration is seen to not only defeat its own goals of political emancipation of the migrant and the social cohesion of the community, but also to negate the very possibility of collective selfhood. By contrast, through exploring Ricoeur’s notion of identity as imbued with temporality, this article gestures towards how the normative standards of reflexivity, tolerance and mutuality ought to guide any idea of integration.

Democratic disenfranchisement: a relational account

ABSTRACT Standard accounts of democratic disenfranchisement either start from a presumption of universal inclusion and justify electoral exclusions as deviations from the norm, or attempt to draw a demarcation line between justifiable inclusion and exclusion relying on membership in the political community. Even when successfully employed, each strategy only provides a partial view of disenfranchisement, which is usually targeted at just one or two groups of agents. In this article, I develop a generally applicable account of disenfranchisement, grounded in a respect-based understanding of the relational value of democracy. This account simultaneously provides the normative basis for widespread enfranchisement under equal terms and for justified electoral exclusions.

The role of Ukrainian political and legal thought in strengthening the national self-identification of Ukrainians of Galicia in the interwar period

The article summarizes the contribution of national-democratic, conservative and nationalist thinkers to the restoration of Ukrainian statehood based on the analysis of ideological and worldview doctrines of representatives of Ukrainian political and legal thought of the interwar period. The forms and methods of struggle, which are the basis of the state concepts created by them, are summarized. It was established that the defeat in the national liberation struggle of the Ukrainian people at the beginning of the 20th century led to the transformation of the worldview of many Ukrainian scientists and politicians, who, despite ideological differences, had a common strategic goal - the need to restore and establish a sovereign, independent Ukrainian state. The study of the intellectual heritage of the leading representatives of Ukrainian political and legal thought gave reason to conclude that the failure of Ukrainians to form an independent state was largely connected with the weakness of the national consciousness of the people and the insufficient ideological and political maturity of its leaders. In view of this, Ukrainian political and legal thought was aimed at strengthening the national self-identification of Ukrainians and their awareness of their political interests. It is argued that the scientific approach to substantiating the idea of national-state independence of Ukraine was initiated by Stanislav Dnistryanskyi, one of the founders of Ukrainian political and legal thought of the national-democratic direction. It is characterized (according to Volodymyr Starosolskyi) that the struggle for one’s own (national) state is a historically political factor in the formation of a nation. It is emphasized that disappointment in the ineffectiveness of the republican-democratic methods of organizing power prompted V. Lipinsky and other representatives of conservative opinion to search for more adequate forms of state organization. It is shown that in the interwar period for the Ukrainians of Galicia, nationalist ideology was especially important, which had a powerful influence on the formation of the Ukrainian nation as a self-aware, social, cultural, legal and political community and was a prerequisite for the creation of its own sovereign and independent state.

Cultural Constraints in the Eradication of Corruption in Indonesia

Corruption is the enemy of mankind around the world. The eradication of corruption in Indonesia today is increasing if you look at the quantity. However, the massive efforts to eradicate corruption in Indonesia seem to have not been successful because corruption continues to occur. The problem can be formulated in this article, namely: Is culture an obstacle to efforts to eradicate corruption in Indonesia. Using a normative juridical research approach, it was found that one of the obstacles to the eradication of corruption is a cultural obstacle where corruption actors who are political figures and community leaders are often regarded as good people who must be defended. The main problem is that the culture that was originally considered noble by the community is misused in practice as a means of facilitating corruption.

Adaptive leadership in times of crisis: Exploring situational responses and contingent factors at sub-national levels

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the necessity for effective public service leadership in managing complex crises. Employing the extended case method, this study examines sub-national pandemic responses in three countries, analyzing six comparative cases across governments and healthcare organizations. It focuses on the Situational Leadership Model (SLM) amidst diverse contingent factors such as political environments, resource allocation, cultural nuances, and community engagement. The findings demonstrate the adaptability of SLM in dynamic crisis contexts, highlighting its applicability in various organizational structures and cultural settings. Particularly notable is the interplay between organizational structure and leadership dynamics, as seen in the contrasting approaches of Zhongnan Hospital and Mayo Clinic. This research augments the discourse on crisis leadership, emphasizing adaptable and context-aware leadership strategies in navigating global health crises. It offers both theoretical and practical contributions, providing strategic insights for policymakers and leaders in similar future crises.

Community Education and General Elections: Strategies to Enhance Political Awareness Based on Technology & Community Participation Levels in Gorontalo Province

Community participation serves as a measure of success in conducting general elections, thus political participation must be optimized through building and developing political awareness among the populace through various efforts, including education and political advocacy based on information technology. This study aims to design a strategy to enhance technology-based political awareness and community participation levels in Gorontalo Province. The method employed in this study is qualitative, with data analysis utilizing the Miles and Huberman model. The study findings reveal that community political participation in local elections in Gorontalo Province has reached a satisfactory level, although there is still room for improvement. Community education on politics with a technology-based approach is also crucial, especially in addressing digital divides. By involving technology, political education can become more accessible to the populace. It is hoped that political participation will increase, voters will be better educated, and local democracy will become stronger. Communities engaged in politics have greater potential to influence policies, monitor the government, and uphold accountability. Technology-based political education is a progressive step towards achieving the goal of community awareness and participation in general elections. Keywords: Community Education, Elections, Awareness, Participation.