Political Engagement Research Articles

Russian women’s protests against the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine: exploring motivations and gender dynamics through individual narratives

ABSTRACT This study explores narratives of Russian women who participated in anti-war protests following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Through 39 semi-structured interviews, the analysis shows how expressive and instrumental motivations, collective identities, emotions, risk perceptions, and gender norms shape women’s engagement in contentious politics. Protest participation simultaneously reinforces and disrupts gender roles, as women leverage feminized stereotypes while also politicizing their femininity and womanhood. Women’s engagement in anti-war protests conflicts with the attempts of Vladimir Putin’s regime to reimagine Russia as a nation of “traditional values.” Hence, women’s dissent, even if largely symbolic, chips away at militarized nationalism by inserting peaceful grief, accountability, and oppositional politics into Russian public life. This study resists simplistic explanations and homogeneous depictions of women’s anti-war protests, instead foregrounding the complex and multifaceted nature of their dissent. It captures diverse subjective reactions crystalizing around Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, revealing the diverse array of societal responses short of mass acquiescent compliance.

Contemporary Bangladesh: An Econometric Descriptive Analysis of Social Media Shaping Narratives, Gen-Z Identity, and Political Engagement

This research discusses how social media is drastically changing the face of identity and political involvement for Gen-Z in Bangladesh, drawing on different social theories. It focuses on the shift from dominant meta-narratives to the shift to personalized micro-narratives driven by digital platforms. Drawing on the theory of Francois Lyotard, reporting the decline of meta-narratives, and from Anthony Giddens' Structuration theory, the paper explores how such theoretical positions have accounted for the dynamics within the lives of young people residing in the digital age. Data collection was a mixed-methods process wherein questionnaires were distributed to 115 Bangladeshi university students over an online modality. As a result, from the analysis that social media in Bangladesh shapes individual identities while developing political engagement among the youth thereby contributing to the evolution of the socio-political environment. The study reveals that frequent social media use contributes significantly to individual identity formation and moderate political engagement among Bangladeshi youth.

Gender and Society: Introducing Islam Social Life in Kathmandu

This paper investigates the basic social life of Muslim people in Kathmandu focusing particularly on gender dimension. It emphasizes that while Islam is often misrepresented as patriarchal, many injustices stem from interpretations rooted in cultural patriarchy rather than the religion itself. Despite limited literature on Nepali Muslims, this research explores aspects such as education, employment, and social roles through surveys conducted within the Muslim settlements. Findings reveal significant educational advancement among Muslim women, as evidenced by higher female enrollment in higher education compared to males. Nevertheless, traditional gender roles restrict women's economic participation, with a majority confined to domestic responsibilities. Political engagement among Muslims shows that most of them participated in recent elections, favoring a liberal democratic governance than the monarchy or communist, while community sentiments towards religious tolerance are notably positive. The study highlights a need for targeted interventions to address educational and economic difficulties, faced particularly for women, indicating the necessity of comprehensive strategies that promote equality and integration within the broader socio-political context of Nepal. Overall, the research contributes valuable insights into the socio-cultural and economic dynamics of Muslim people in Kathmandu, advocating for informed policy-making tailored to enhance the welfare and rights of this underrepresented demographic.

Novelty Perspectives on Art and Heraldic Display of Nineteenth Century Historicist Retables in the Temes Banat

In this study I will question the function of images and symbols present on a selection of nineteenth-century altars in the Banat region, analyzing the use of heraldic symbols and particular iconography related to the holy kings of Hungary, providing an interpretation of the political engagement of their formulation and use. In order to augment knowledge on their semantic multivalence we will include a topical discussion on the ideas generating their specific morphology and integrated historicism, applying an interdisciplinary methodology, revealing multiple layers of novel meaning and connections.

Differentiated policy implementation in food safety and animal welfare policymaking

AbstractAgri‐food policies are in the midst of far‐reaching transitions, including the transformation towards sustainable production and food consumption. The European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy prioritize food safety and animal welfare issues, aiming to transform food systems towards more sustainability. Despite existing EU legislation, little is known about how EU agri‐food policies are implemented across member states. Our analysis addresses this gap by examining the conditions that shape how EU requirements are implemented in 16 EU member states in two policy areas: food safety and farm animal welfare. Through our qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), we identify distinct pathways to differentiated implementation in both sectors, with a shared emphasis on political engagement, green party influence, and public advocacy, while also highlighting domain‐specific governance dynamics. Understanding variations in the implementation of EU demands among member states is crucial to identify gaps, assess governance effectiveness, and promote harmonization within the EU.

The Militaristic Pandemic Response of Duterte: How Did It Affect Social Movements?

This article is based on extensive original research that aims to examine how the oppositionmovement against Duterte employed various mechanisms of political engagement, shaped by theadministration’s lockdown-centric response amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the pandemicimpacted individual social mobility, motivations and forms of political participation were stillobserved both physically and in the digital world. The study employs a qualitative approach, drawingon data from secondary sources to analyze the interplay between the administration’s governancestrategies and the actions of political interest groups during the COVID-19 pandemic. By usingrational choice theory, we gain a clearer understanding of Duterte's perceived interests and goals,as well as the costs and benefits of resistance during the pandemic lockdown. The findings showthat the Duterte administration's policies curtailed physical forms of political engagement, oftendescribed as “militarized” and “police-centric,” thus shaping opposition dynamics and forms ofdissent. Despite this, the civil society fostered alternative spaces for resistance, such as communitypantries and digital activism. While existing literature has largely focused on democratic backslidingin the context of combating COVID-19, the novelty of this study is its nuanced exploration of thepracticality of militaristic measures. Although the Duterte administration’s militarized response didnot achieve the expected outcomes in terms of managing the health crisis and suppressingopposition, it still represented the most practical strategy for controlling pandemic dissent. Theseinsights contribute to understanding how government responses to the COVID-19 crisis influencethe behavior of both the state and civil society.

Leadership of democratic communities: Municipal politicians’ motivation to take responsibility

Given that political party membership continues to decrease, it is relevant to investigate what motivates people to engage in political leadership of democratic communities. There is a lack of research-based knowledge on how sense of community responsibility (SOC-R) relates to political leadership behavior among politicians. Using survey data from all Danish municipal politicians in 2019 and 2023, we examine the longitudinal associations between SOC-R and two elements of democratic leadership: consensus building and visionary leadership. We employ both fixed and random effects panel regressions. The main finding is that SOC-R is positively associated with visionary leadership behavior, while findings are less certain for consensus building. This underscores the importance of continuing research into the conditions for leading democratic communities to prevent the erosion of political engagement.

Understanding Latino Political Engagement and Activity on Social Media

Social media is used by millions of Americans to access news and politics. Yet there are no studies, to date, examining whether these behaviors systematically vary for those whose political incorporation process is distinct from those in the majority. We fill this void by examining how Latino online political activity compares to that of white Americans and the role of language in Latinos’ online political engagement. We hypothesize that Latino online political activity is comparable to whites. Moreover, given media reports suggesting that greater quantities of political misinformation are circulating on Spanish versus English-language social media, we expect reliance on Spanish-language social media for news predicts beliefs in inaccurate political narratives. Our survey findings, which we believe to be the largest original survey of the online political activity of Latinos and whites, reveal support for these expectations. Latino social media political activity, as measured by sharing/viewing news, talking about politics, and following politicians, is comparable to whites, both in self-reported and digital trace data. Latinos also turned to social media for news about COVID-19 more often than did whites. Finally, Latinos relying on Spanish-language social media usage for news predicts beliefs in election fraud in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.

FEMALE POLITICIANS AS CATALYSTS FOR CHANGE: EXAMINING WOMEN LEADERSHIP ROLES IN NORTHERN NIGERIA

This study explores the transformative role of female politicians in Northern Nigeria, a region historically marked by deep gender disparities in leadership and political engagement. Despite entrenched cultural and social barriers, women are increasingly entering the political arena, challenging patriarchal norms and advocating for critical issues such as education, healthcare, and economic empowerment. Anchored in Gender and Development Theory, which highlights the interconnectedness of gender equality and socio-economic progress, the research adopts a qualitative design. Data were collected from secondary sources, including academic journals, government reports, Non Governmental Organization publications (e.g., United Nation Women and Oxfam), and conference papers, and analyzed through content analysis to identify recurring themes and insights. A key finding reveals that the participation of women in political leadership strengthens democratic governance and fosters a more inclusive and equitable society, as women leaders often prioritize social policies that benefit marginalized groups.The study concludes that empowering women in politics is essential for driving socio-economic progress and challenging systemic inequalities in Northern Nigeria. To enhance female representation, the research recommends implementing gender-sensitive policies, including affirmative action measures such as quotas for women in political parties and public offices. Additionally, strengthening legal protections to safeguard women politicians from discrimination and violence is critical for creating a supportive and inclusive political environment. Sustained efforts to dismantle the barriers women face in the political arena will not only ensure their voices contribute to governance but also catalyze profound societal change in Northern Nigeria, fostering a more just and equitable future.

Public pathways to influencing pro‐nature decision‐making in government: A case study in southeastern Australia

AbstractThe biodiversity crisis calls for more collective effort, and a close examination of the tools available to effect change. We documented insider knowledge into how pro‐nature decision‐making can be influenced in the Australian state of Victoria, focusing on the role of public advocacy targeting government. We interviewed 12 experts who currently or previously held influential roles in government or advocacy‐focused environmental non‐government organizations (ENGOs) and used thematic analysis to explore their responses. Experts described influence from individuals, grassroots groups, or ENGOs, and factors shaping success. These included attributes of the decision‐making context, having resources and commitment to see out long‐term change, having relevant networks, and being able to act when opportunities arise. Barriers described included lack of environmental literacy among the public and some decision‐makers, biodiversity concern being crowded out by climate change concern, and the difficulty of shifting from incremental to systemic change. Understanding these factors can better equip advocates to have impact. Democratic governments recognize that societies make progress where there is two‐way exchange between public and state, so should foster public pathways toward political engagement in conservation.

Rethinking utopias through Hannah Arendt: Youth climate activism and the politics of possibility

This article presents a reflective analysis that utilizes Hannah Arendt’s concepts to rethink utopias, examining how youth climate activism embodies her ideas of freedom and public action. It proposes viewing utopias as spaces for ongoing political engagement rather than as fixed visions of a perfect society. Grounded in Arendt’s critique of totalitarianism, the study highlights how young activists respond to the climate crisis through collective actions that express political freedom. By focusing on the youth climate movement, the article presents activism as a resilient alternative to rigid solutions, fostering new possibilities for justice and environmental change. Arendt’s concept of natality – representing new beginnings – connects with the hope-driven nature of youth movements that reimagine the future through collective action. Ultimately, it argues that, in an Arendtian sense, youth activism cultivates conditions for freedom and transformation in the present rather than merely pursuing a distant utopia.

Applying Rawls' Theory of Public Reason to Controversies over Parental Surrogacy.

Parental surrogacy remains a highly controversial issue in contemporary ethics with considerable variation in the legal approaches of different jurisdictions. Finding a societal consensus on the issue remains highly elusive. John Rawls' theory of public reason, first developed in his A Theory of Justice (1971), offers a unifying model of political discourse and engagement that enables reasonable citizens to accept policies that they do not necessarily support at a personal level. The theory established a promising framework for private citizens with distinct moral positions on the subject to find common ground and, in doing so, to negotiate a consensus regarding the degree and nature of regulation that is palatable to all rational citizens.

Management information-Communication Technologies in Modern Political Conflicts: An Analysis of Their Impact on Society

Introduction: The article examines the place of communication and broadcasting in today's political conflicts and draws attention to their impact on society. At the same time, political speech, social mobilisation, and affective polarisation are singled out as three essential aspects of the impact of political communication on society. Objectives: The article aims to examine the place of communication and broadcasting in today's political conflicts, emphasizing their impact on society. The objective is to understand how media and political speech shape the public's perception of conflicts, as well as how these forms of communication affect societal engagement and economic change. Methods: The first part of the study reflects how the media and the style of political speech influence the public's understanding of political conflicts. At the same time, the second part of the paper presents the results of the impact of political communication on affective polarisation and social mobilisation. The third part of the study focused on political conflicts as catalysts for economic change. Results: According to this, it was determined that the main trends in the reflection of political conflicts in the media are a decrease in the content load in speeches, the use of emotional narratives, and an increase in influence on voters by demonstrating a strategy for future actions. The Coleman-Liau case study found that political speeches of the last 50 years are less complex in form and content, making it easier for voters to understand the essence of the message. However, the quality of political speeches has declined significantly. According to the results, citizens are mobilised to increase their political engagement mainly through social media. This can be explained by the fact that social media allow for the public display of information and, simultaneously, grouping voters into specific categories. This revealed that such conflicts impact the decline in sales of certain goods, the refusal of buyers to use certain goods, and a decrease in tourist flows in certain areas. In addition, it was determined that the study's novelty lies in the study of political speech and communication comprehensively, and thus their impact on society. At the same time, the study was limited to clear regional zones and a specific period for data analysis.

Longer‐Term Effects of Voting at Age 16: Higher Turnout Among Young People in Scotland

Debates about the lowering of the voting age to 16 often include claims about the possible longer-term outcomes of earlier enfranchisement for the electorate. It has been shown that, when eligible to vote, 16-and 17-year-olds turn out to vote in higher proportions than slightly older peers (Zeglovits & Aichholzer, 2014). However, questions remain regarding the longevity of this early voter boost and whether it carries on as young people grow older (Franklin, 2004, 2020). Using original survey data collected from 863 young people in Scotland, we investigate the outcomes of being eligible to vote in elections from age 16/17 and its effects on political behaviour for young people aged up to 24. We compare levels of political engagement, including voting in the 2021 Scottish parliament elections, among cohorts of young people who were enfranchised at age 16/17 to cohorts who experienced their first election aged 18 or older. We show that young people who were eligible to vote at 16/17 exhibited greater levels of turnout in the 2021 Scottish parliament elections, up to seven years after the initial lowering of the voting age than those who got to vote for the first time at 18 or older. This finding provides new evidence in support of theories on the longer-term effects of voting at age 16/17 on electoral political engagement. However, we find no similar pattern for non-electoral political engagement, showing that the outcomes of the lowering of the voting age may be limited to turnout.

The effects of marginalisation in areas of high political centralisation

ABSTRACT Recent research indicates the existence of ‘places that don’t matter’, where residents harbour feelings of abandonment, prompting a tilt towards anti-system narratives. Yet, the effects of territorial marginalisation extend beyond voting behaviour, influencing deeper underlying factors. Utilising data from 9924 cases in the region of Valparaiso in Chile, this study reveals that living in politically marginalised cities in contexts of high political centralisation correlates with reduced political knowledge and internal political efficacy, even when accounting for other sociodemographic characteristics. By focusing on territorial marginalisation, this analysis offers a fresh perspective on the interplay between individual sociodemographic characteristics and political engagement.

Not all emotions are the same: an intersectional analysis of women’s political action based on emotive responses

If there was ever a time in US history to understand women’s politics, that time is certainly now, as with the increase of women candidates, the rise of women’s political engagement, and women-led social movements, scholars have little intersectional insight into what motivates women’s political participation. Anger and fear are powerful forces in US politics, yet how negative emotions about race matter for women is less understood. Using the 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Postelection Survey, we find that fear about race is associated with engagement in costlier political acts. Women’s anger about race leads to more frequent non-electoral political engagement once accounting for time, money, and civic skills. No one emotion has the same effect on women’s non-electoral political participation. Not all women are similar in their emotional responses to race, which impacts how women look to political systems to address racial issues.

Predicting Anti-Coastal Reclamation Engagement: A Logistic Regression Analysis of Philippine Mainline Protestant Church-Members in Bacolod City

The Banago Coastal Reclamation Project is a 247-hectare reclamation initiative in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. Proposed in August 2022, it is predicted to displace 6,000 families and damage surrounding mangrove ecosystems lining up coastlines of Banago, Bacolod. The political engagement of religious actors participating in anti-coastal reclamation movements has been evident in opposing such project, particularly in alliance-networks of mainline Protestant churches present in the area. In mainline Protestantism, the discourse on political participation involves integrating the practice of evangelism on the principles of social justice and ecological well-being. The focus of this study hinged on identifying the odds of political participation amongst mainline Protestant church-members in anti-coastal reclamation movements using logistic regression analysis. The study is only limited in exploring increments of political participation on five (5) Bacolod mainline Protestant churches – the Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, United Methodist Church, Philippine Independent Church and the Salvation Army. The assumed predictor variables are personal resources, political motivational factors, group membership and demographic proximity. The logit model suggests church doctrinal stance (under the category of political motivation factors) is the only predictor which expresses a significant parameter for comparing the Political Participation with “Yes” response versus the Political Participation group with “No” response. A one-unit increase in the said predictor is associated with a 1.719 increase in the relative log odds for a mainline Protestant church-member to participate (or not participate) in anti-coastal reclamation movements.

How different patterns of online participation reflect internal, external, and online efficacy: the case of Chile

ABSTRACT Recent research extensively examines the impact of political efficacy on online and offline political engagement, but those studies often overlook the multifaceted types of political engagement. This study addresses this gap by investigating the association between internal, external, and online political efficacy with the different types of online political engagement, using Chile as a case study. Using Latent Class Analysis, we identify five patterns of online political participants (clicktivist, super, disengaged, selective, and expressive citizens). Subsequently, we explore the relationship between internal, external, and online political efficacy with the five patterns of online participants. Multinomial logistic regressions reveal that internal efficacy exhibits no significant relationship with online political participation. In turn, external efficacy is associated with a higher probability of being a super and expressive citizen, and online efficacy is associated with a higher probability of being a super, expressive, or clicktivist citizen. These findings shed light on the complex relationship between political efficacy and online political engagement, highlighting the impact of measurement choices on the observed relationship between these variables in prior studies.

Revisiting the depoliticisation thesis: Political participation and the use of complementary and alternative medicine in Europe

The increasing cultural prevalence and appeal of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) have raised concerns about its potential depoliticising effects. Due to its focus on the self, CAM is believed to cultivate individualism and orient transformative energies towards self-improvement rather than the collective struggle for social justice. However, despite these concerns, few quantitative studies have examined CAM from the perspective of the depoliticisation thesis. This article aims to address this gap by studying the association between political participation and CAM with data from the European Social Survey (ESS). These data enable us to capture a diverse range of CAM practices and to scrutinise both institutionalised forms of political participation, such as voting, and non-institutionalised participation taking place in civil society. Contrary to the depoliticisation thesis, our results show that CAM users either engage more actively in voting or do not significantly differ in their voting behaviour compared to non-users, depending on the specific CAM modalities considered. Moreover, CAM users participate more actively in non-institutionalised activities than non-users across all types of CAM modalities. This article offers valuable insights into the relationship between CAM and political engagement and challenges prevailing assumptions about the depoliticising effects of CAM.

(When) Does Informal Labor Close Political Gender Gaps? Theory and Evidence from Urban India

Abstract There is a well-established link between women’s labor force and political participation. However, most of this literature focuses on women’s participation in the formal economy in high-income countries, while the vast majority of employed women in poorer countries work in the informal economy in positions that provide far fewer resources, networks, and skill-building opportunities than those in the formal economy. This article examines how women’s participation in the informal economy distinctly shapes their political engagement. I argue that (a) though participating in the informal economy is unlikely to increase interest in politics or civic-skill development that influences political efficacy, (b) working outside the home in any capacity expands women’s problem-solving networks in ways that facilitate group claim-making. I test the argument with original survey and social networks data from over 9000 urban slum households in three Indian cities. The findings elucidate why existing models linking women’s labor force participation and political participation may not generalize for much of the world’s labor force and contributes novel empirical evidence to a growing but nascent literature on the political implications of urban informality in the Global South.