Political Concepts Research Articles

The Medical Professional Elimination Program and the Ideology and Motivation of Nazi Physicians

The appointment of a new chancellor in 1933 marked the beginning of the Third Reich in Germany. The ideology of the Nazi Party focused on establishing a pure Aryan state characterized by nationalism and racial superiority. Their goals would be achieved through a totalitarian form of government that enforced the subjugation, exclusion, and elimination of those they defined as inferior minorities, particularly Jews, who were depicted as non-human. Implementation of the Nazi ideology required the exclusion of Jewish people and other dissenters, particularly Jewish physicians, from their professions. The exclusion of Jewish physicians, referred to herein as a “Medical Professional Elimination Program,” was gradually imposed on other Jewish professions in nations absorbed by the Third Reich, and particularly enforced by incorporated Austria. Why did German and Austrian doctors support the Nazi racial ideology, the removal of Jewish physicians from every possible sphere of influence, and subsequently participate in criminal medical research and experimentation, as well as euthanasia of perceived non-contributors to society, and become involved in refining the effectiveness of the death camps? Was the Medical Professional Elimination Program an opportunistic political concept, or was it part of an entrenched ideology? With these questions in mind, the lives of four key Nazi physicians and two institutions are examined.

Examining Ukraine’s EU Candidate Status: (When) Does the Accession Process Turn from Political to Legal?

This article explores the nature of the notion “candidate country status” in the context of EU accession. In particular it enquires whether the candidate status, which was granted to Ukraine by the European Council on 23 June 2022, has any actual legal implications or is the whole accession process up to the point where accession agreement is signed entirely devoid of legal consequences. Legal doctrine seems to generally answer this question in the affirmative, explaining that the candidate status was a rather political concept bearing primarily symbolic relevance. However, the example of Ukraine, which was granted candidate status much more rapidly than a number of other countries before it, challenges to explore the topic in more depth, in particular by delving into the CJEU’s existing case law on candidate status and the possibility of challenging the granting of candidate status through litigation in the CJEU.

Constituent power and independence movements: On the founding and foundation of political orders and the meaning of political independence

This paper links the debates on constituent power and European independence movements in order to develop a theoretically compelling and empirically grounded conception of constituent power, as well as to assess in how far constituent power contributes to the meaning of political independence. In its first part, it builds upon recent republican contributions to the debates on corporate, joint and collective agency and argues that, even on individualist grounds, constituent power can convincingly be understood as a surplus of collective agency that corporate agency cannot encompass. In the second part of the paper, these preliminary theoretical considerations are confronted with the debates about Scotland's constitutional future and the 2014 independence referendum. This examination suggests further differentiation, but also facilitates insights into the interplay of the constituent power of the people with corporate forms of agency, as well as into changes of constituent peoples. In the final part, the paper inverts the perspective of inquiry to show that, once one is conscious of the complex relation between popular sovereignty and sovereignty that conceptions of corporate and collective agency help us to grasp, constituent power also proves to be an element of a compelling political conception of political independence.

Polite Social Practices in 18th-century Scotland

This article explores the role and influence of elite women in 18th-century Scotland, focusing on their engagement with polite social practices during the Scottish Enlightenment. The Scottish Enlightenment, characterized by its integration of various disciplines and emphasis on both theoretical and practical knowledge, was a period of significant cultural intellectual development. Central to this movement was the concept of politeness, which shaped the social interactions of the elite and played a crucial role in their personal and societal advancement. Elite women were integral to the social fabric of this era, participating in mixed-gender activities and shaping the cultural landscape through their involvement in social gatherings, education, and print culture. Despite being formally excluded from public office and direct political power, these women exercised significant influence through social networks, family ties, and patronage, subtly navigating the political and intellectual currents of their time. The study highlights how these women, while adhering to socially accepted norms, found ways to circumvent formal exclusions, thereby contributing to the broader cultural and political life of Scotland. Their participation in polite sociability not only facilitated their integration into elite society but also played a vital role in the broader program of social improvement that characterized the Scottish Enlightenment. This article underscores the complex interplay between gender, power, and politics, revealing how elite women helped shape “The Golden Age” of Scotland through their engagement in polite social practices.

The visual construction of the people’s country and the Chinese nation: political aesthetics in the Ethno-documentaries of New China

This paper discusses the political positioning of the people and the cultural image of the Chinese nation through the lens of the Social-historical Scientific Documentary Films of China’s ethnic minorities (hereafter referred to as “the Ethno-documentaries”) by restoring the problem to the site of the investigation of humanities and social sciences and the General Surveys on (Folk) Arts in the early years of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. Through detailed analysis of specific Ethno-documentary films, this paper explores how the social sciences conducted its “Social and Historical Investigation of China’s Ethnic Minorities” via the medium of film to convey the advanced social concepts and ideological work of the new regime through the historical narrative of art and politics. This study highlights three key points. First, the “Chinese nation” as a modern political concept dates its origins back to the 1920s with the emergence of the “National Heritage Reorganization Movement” and the “Doubting Antiquity School.” However, it was only through the medium of the Ethno-documentaries that this concept was visually and aurally represented in films for the first time, which draws our attention to the fact that the entry point for understanding modern China lies in discerning the relationship between culture and politics. Second, when discussing the relationship between culture and politics, this study juxtaposes the Ethno-documentaries and “art for workers-peasants-soldiers,” which developed during the same period. These two forms of art focus respectively on national history and the suffering of the lower classes of society, and it is this intertextual nature of the historical narrative that jointly anchors the cultural and historical view of New China. Lastly, historical view is the core of the humanities, social sciences, and art disciplines in New China. Previous studies have mainly attributed certain phenomena to the “politicization” or “pan-politicization” of a particular historical period due to disciplinary barriers and cultural trauma and have stopped discussing such topics in depth. In contrast, the significance of the political aesthetics in the Ethno-documentaries is to have transformed classical Chinese artistic language into a modern one to represent the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It also raises a question of re-sinicization of many modern political issues that have persisted until now: How do today’s Chinese art works vividly depict the prosperity of this country and its hardworking and courageous people?

The Political Economy of Energy Security in Wartime Yemen

Abstract The politics of energy provision and the governance of the electricity sector are well-studied topics. However, there is a gap in information when it comes to comprehending how violent conflict interacts with the political economy of the electricity and energy sector. This paper examines the relationship between energy provision and conflict within the context of the ongoing war in Yemen. It illustrates how developments in the conflict trajectory since the war’s onset in 2015 have shaped new forms of energy politics. These developments are reflected in fragmented institutional arrangements, transformed subsidy politics, adaptive grassroots solutions, and emergent war economies, all of which highlight the changing nature of energy security beyond conventional state-centric paradigms. The Yemeni case thus demonstrates an emerging energy landscape in which the sector and war dynamics are deeply intertwined and evolving simultaneously.

Troubling environmental governance: citizen legal experiments with transboundary commons

ABSTRACT Environmental phenomena shed light on the fiction that inter-state borders constitute on some level, and the limitations of state-based environmental governance. Transboundary watersheds, in particular, flow across borders of different kinds, evincing the interdependence of water bodies, both human and nonhuman. The lack of cross-border comprehensive environmental governance imposes regional forms of inequity and inefficient forms of water protection. In Central America, to address such problems, citizens have created a legal prototype for how transboundary watersheds could be governed as a commons going forward. This endeavour has been led by Salvadorans, concerned as they are by their country’s position as a lower co-riparian and their significant interdependence with transboundary water bodies. I argue that, in addition to destabilizing established approaches to environmental governance, the legal prototype opens avenues for forms of earthly politics and multispecies justice by placing the reproduction of life, human and nonhuman, side by side.

Julius Malema, from Masupatsela to the Formation of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF): Historical Narrative

Julius Malema was born in 1982 during the apartheid era in South Africa and began his political journey at an early age. As he rose in the political space, he became prominent, playing a critical role in reviving the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He was exposed to formal politics from the age of nine when he joined Masupatsela (Trailblazers), the youth brigade of the African National Congress (ANC) at the time. He rose to positions of power through joining the ranks of the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), the ANCYL, and post his expulsion from the ANCYL, established his own organisation, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), of which he is the current president, also known as the commander in chief (CiC). The article interrogates Malema's role in South African politics, and how he contributed to growing factionalism in the ANC. First, the article discusses Malema's early stages of joining politics, and his gradual growth, until he became the president of the ANCYL in 2008. Second, the article discusses his role in the politics of the mother body, the ANC, that is, in policies. Third, the article scrutinise why Malema was expelled from the ANCYL and, last, the emergence of the EFF in 2013 and its radical stance in the politics of South Africa.

Performativity and political organization after the squares: rethinking horizontality and verticality

ABSTRACT This paper explores the role of performativity in political organization, especially in relation to horizontality and verticality. Taking its cues from the heightened interest in horizontal and vertical organization following the post-2010 movements of the squares and new forms of party politics that have emerged in their wake, the paper draws on Michael Saward’s and Judith Butler’s accounts of the performativity of representation and assembly, respectively, to develop an original synthesis of a discursive-organizational approach based on Laclau’s and Mouffe’s discourse theory with an understanding of the role of performativity in horizontal and vertical forms of party organization. Following initial considerations on performativity as a category that tends to be implicitly assumed but under-theorized in theoretical perspectives on post-squares organization (e.g. Chantal Mouffe and Rodrigo Nunes), the paper presents readings of Saward’s and Butler’s understandings of performativity, which are then linked to existing and ongoing work on movement parties and Volksparteien of a new type (VNTs) as prototypical types of horizontal and vertical party organization. In this vein, the paper develops an integrated framework of Discursive-Organizational Analysis (DOA) that combines post-foundational discourse analysis (PDA) with performativity theory and serves as a bridge between the semantic and pragmatic aspects of discourse.

What Next for Actor Network Theory? Inventing around Latour on a planet in distress

This is a reflection piece on the theme ‘what will happen to actor-network theory (ANT) after Latour?’ We distinguish three scenarios but focus on the one we see as the least probable but most interesting for sociology and related disciplines. With inspiration from the anthropologist Marilyn Strathern, we think of this third scenario as a way of “inventing around” Latour. In this scenario, classical ANT tenets are prolonged and refracted through Latour's later work on modes of existence and critical zones. This mutant ANT is subject to further transformations through encounters with empirical situations and concepts from many other places. We use two brief cases for illustration. The first considers the empirical potentials and possible pitfalls of Latour's modes of existence in relation to the emergence of carbon markets as a form of Anthropocene politics. The second examines recent urban upheavals and transformations in Bangkok through the lens of urban critical zones, which make visible problems of co-existence that shade into pluriversal cosmopolitics because the city is full of beings that are both modern and amodern. These cases point the way to a scenario in which ANT is still unfinished, and far from “uncritical”. It is an “indisciplinary” scenario, where ANT with sociology and adjacent disciplines venture into complex landscapes of planetary ecological disruptions and postcolonial tensions without any false protection from certified theory and pre-defined politics.

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.

Exploration of the Extended World of the 13 Characters in Weiliaozi

In addition to the Establishing the first unified empire in East Asia XiHuang (始皇) and HanFei (韩非) active political and military activities, WeiLiao (尉缭) had a great impact on the unification of the six countries of Qin in the late Zhanguo Period with his political purpose and concept of "XingDe (刑德)". This weiliao's military and political rule and its theory were the metric development that later brought about the legalization of territory and system and the perfection of Qin (秦) 18's legal system, which was the driving force for the development of science, technology and civilization. If can grasp the background of the pivotal figures and events in the history of the times and their causes, and rediscover the literature and artifacts with regional characteristics as a scene of a long history, the regions and their boundaries that can be seen in the whole map of the 21st century are not only the territorial boundaries divided and staged. As an integrated media of the behavior product of the human community, its epistemological objects, whether paper or digital, have a great impact on the globalization (the whole area) of the global village.

Politicization of the Jewish and Muslim minorities in Poland

With Poland’s political transformation after 1989, religious minorities including Jews and Muslims gained more autonomy and support from the state authorities. At the same time, the liberal democracy principles of religious equality and the state’s neutrality have still not been fully implemented. The paper focuses on this problematic situation, using the concept of politicization to portray the situation of the Jews and Muslims in contemporary Poland, and their relations with the Polish state. It presents four instances of politicization of religious minorities (specifically, Muslims and/or Jews). The research is based on public surveys, interviews with members of the Jewish and Muslim communities, legal documents, and NGO reports. According to the hypothesis of the paper, Muslims and Jews are significantly politicized in the Polish public discourse, and both communities play significant roles in shaping the political identity of the Polish polity. Their roles differ in character due to historical factors and the contemporary international context.

Transnational readings in the Trumpocene: Kim Stanley Robinson’s New York 2140 and Chris Beckett’s America City

This article discusses two climate fiction novels—one British, one American—that were written in the runup to two major political events on either side of the Atlantic in 2016—the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency—and considers how their focus on a future climate emergency serves as an apt reflection on the mutual reinforcements of neoliberalism, precarization, and populism. By looking at these two novels together through the lens of right-wing populism and notions such as the Capitalocene (Moore), the Trumpocene (Colebrook) and the “critical utopia” (Moylan), I consider how the future climate catastrophes that these novels imagine are equally likely “to be used as opportunities to advance and entrench socially regressive forms of politics and unsustainable trajectories […] as inspire forms of ‘disaster collectivism,’ where acts of community and solidarity flourish” (Newell, 2020: 157). As novels that are deeply concerned with the politics of the present, I consider how Robinson’s and Beckett’s novels are inspired by different utopian inflections that lead to different outcomes but similar diagnoses: that the worst effects of climate change will not be averted because humanity seems bent on its current trajectory.

Post-trial access practice in malaria, tuberculosis, and NTDs clinical trial studies in Sub-Saharan African countries, quantitative study

This article discusses two climate fiction novels—one British, one American—that were written in the runup to two major political events on either side of the Atlantic in 2016—the Brexit referendum and the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency—and considers how their focus on a future climate emergency serves as an apt reflection on the mutual reinforcements of neoliberalism, precarization, and populism. By looking at these two novels together through the lens of right-wing populism and notions such as the Capitalocene (Moore), the Trumpocene (Colebrook) and the “critical utopia” (Moylan), I consider how the future climate catastrophes that these novels imagine are equally likely “to be used as opportunities to advance and entrench socially regressive forms of politics and unsustainable trajectories […] as inspire forms of ‘disaster collectivism,’ where acts of community and solidarity flourish” (Newell, 2020: 157). As novels that are deeply concerned with the politics of the present, I consider how Robinson’s and Beckett’s novels are inspired by different utopian inflections that lead to different outcomes but similar diagnoses: that the worst effects of climate change will not be averted because humanity seems bent on its current trajectory.

Collecting empires: Dominik Bilimek and early subterranean zoology between politics and field research

The Moravian Cistercian monk and collector Dominik Bilimek (1813–1884) is considered one of the earliest European naturalists to conduct zoological research on subterranean fauna in Latin America. During the second French invasion of Mexico, from 1861 to 1867, he accompanied Maximilian of Habsburg, the newly enthroned emperor of Mexico, to the region. There, he explored the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa near Taxco de Alarcón, comparing its fauna to his earlier discoveries in Postojnska jama in Carniola (Slovenia). After the victory of the Mexican republican forces and Maximilian’s execution, Bilimek retained his role as curator of the emperor’s collections, which he took back with him to Europe and exhibited at Miramare Castle near Trieste. Prior to his Mexican venture, Bilimek had embraced the imperial goals and intellectual agendas of the Viennese central administration while teaching at the monarchy’s military institutes. Following the revolutions of 1848/49, extensive research undertakings—including geoscientific, biological, and archaeological surveys—were initiated to preserve the Habsburg monarchy as a supranational entity amidst internal and external crises, and to legitimize its territorial framework as both a natural and cultural unit. These developments coincided with the initial surge of zoological interest in Carniolan caves, which spurred efforts to gather similar findings in other karst regions of the monarchy. Drawing on historical sources, this article explores the intersection of political concepts and fieldwork practices in the early study of cave biology. Special attention is given to the sites, networks, and modes of collecting during this transformative period.

The Evolution of Indian Sculptural Traditions: Interweaving Art, Culture, and Contemporary Practices

Indian sculptural art has historically been intertwined with various artistic forms, such as music, dance, and painting, creating a distinct narrative that has shaped the country's cultural identity. Among these, religious idol-making holds a significant role in reflecting societal values, spiritual beliefs, and artistic expression. Over centuries, idol-making techniques have evolved while adhering to traditional aesthetic and religious principles. This paper explores the evolving traditions of Indian sculpture, with a particular focus on Rajasthani stone sculptures, and examines how modern Indian sculptors are adapting ancient practices to contemporary sensibilities. The research adopts a qualitative approach, employing historical analysis and interpretative methods. Archival materials, such as ancient texts and scholarly commentaries, are used to trace the continuity and transformation of traditional sculptural practices. Fieldwork conducted in Rajasthan, specifically in Jaipur and Alwar, documents the current state of traditional sculpture workshops. Interviews with contemporary sculptors provide insights into the adaptation of traditional techniques to modern artistic trends, while secondary literature on art history situates these changes within a broader cultural and religious context. Results indicate that religious idol-making continues to be a central form of artistic expression in Indian culture, with Rajasthani sculptors preserving traditional methods while incorporating modern materials and techniques. Proportions, aesthetic purity, and spiritual symbolism remain key components of traditional idol-making, influencing contemporary works. However, modern sculptors are expanding their themes to include social, political, and philosophical concepts, reflecting the changing socio-political landscape of India. In conclusion, Indian sculptural traditions have shown resilience and adaptability, balancing cultural heritage with modern innovation. This study highlights the evolving nature of Indian sculpture, particularly in Rajasthan, as artists continue to redefine their craft in response to contemporary cultural shifts.

The Distribution of Executive Power and Corruption: A Meta-Analytical Review

While much research has been devoted to the institutional determinants of corruption in democracies, debates continue regarding the merits of distributing executive power horizontally (presidentialism vs. parliamentarism) and vertically (federalism vs. unitarism). Taking advantage of the rich empirical literature on the subject, we investigate the effects of institutional features on corruption applying a meta-analytical framework to over 1000 estimates across 71 studies conducted over three decades. Results show a consistent positive association between presidentialism and corruption and that much of the confusion around decentralization can be explained by the distinction between its fiscal and political forms; political decentralization has a marginal positive association, while fiscal decentralization has a negative effect. A series of moderator analyses reveal the sensitivity of many of these findings to research design choices made in conducting the studies, such as the temporal and spatial coverage of the sample and the selection of co-parameters in statistical tests.

Iberian Vistas: Franco, Salazar, and American Conservatives

The article takes both a historical and a present-oriented look at the influence of the twentieth-century authoritarian Iberian regimes—including their leaders, Franco and Salazar—on the American conservative movement. It explores the political and religious motivations and major narratives driving Hispanophilia and Lusophilia, and their main advocates. Furthermore, and with a comparative approach, the text analyzes the past and current arguments—in magazines, books, and social media—favoring both regimes, especially in the light of the revival within American conservatism of Catholic Integralism and the defense of alternative representative systems, such as corporatism, that could usher in a new postliberal political regime. The article further explores the potential impact—and inherent limitations—of such strategies and projects, and shows that the revival of interest in figures such as Franco and Salazar is significant not only in terms of a reinvigorated criticism of the political and moral philosophy of liberalism but also regarding the search for new political forms and regimes.

Ethical Judicial Restraint and the Rule of Law: Strengthening Constitutional Integrity in the UK

This article establishes the theoretical framework for evaluating the concepts of ‘elective dictatorship’ and ‘partisan politics’ within the broader context of UK rule of law and ethics. It critically examines these notions to diverge from the conventional practice of parliamentary sovereignty in instances of power abuse. The term ‘elective dictatorship’ describes a scenario where an elected political party wields substantial power without effective checks and balances, leading to a concentration of power within the ruling party. This situation raises concerns about the erosion of democratic principles and potential power abuse. Closely linked to this is the concept of partisan politics, where alignment with a particular political party leads to abuses of power, challenging the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. Various factors contribute to this dynamic, including ideological, social, and economic considerations. In a healthy democracy, political parties play a crucial role in representing diverse interests and offering voters choices. However, when partisan politics becomes overly polarised and prioritises gaining and maintaining power at any cost, it can foster an elective dictatorship. This article reviews existing literature in this domain and addresses these concepts within the context of the rule of law and ethics. It aims to fill a gap in the literature by establishing the conceptual parameters for ‘elective dictatorship’ and ‘partisan Politics’, and argues that when both are used to undermine the judiciary, the court has a duty to depart from traditional norms. It further recommends that courts assess any legislation enacted by the government and Parliament against the rule of law, morality, and ethics. Keywords: Elective Dictatorship; Partisan Politics; Ethics; Rule of Law; Parliamentary Sovereignty.