Political Inclusion Research Articles

Nonhuman animals and the all affected interests principle

ABSTRACT Some authors have suggested that the All Affected Interests Principle, an influential principle of political inclusion, requires that animals have their interests politically represented. In this paper, I provide a systematic formulation, assessment, and defense of this argument, and suggest a middle way between two strategies found in the literature. On the one hand, I argue that applying the All Affected Interests to animals inevitably requires that we make some (potentially controversial) assumptions about the weight and scope of animal interests, and cannot remain morally noncommittal. This is because most formulations of the principle do not apply to all interests, but only to those that satisfy a relevancy test – which requires first-order moral reasoning. On the other hand, I also contend that one can defend some substantive claims about the inclusion of animals via the All Affected Interests Principle without having to endorse a comprehensive account of animal rights, or a theory about the worth of natural entities. For the All Affected Interests Principle to apply to animals, all that we need are instances of normatively relevant interests systematically affected by political decisions. The interest of mammals in avoiding pain and suffering, I contend, provides such an example.

The fourth era of political communication in Mexico: structural and contextual aspects

Democratic transitions provide additional insight into how media systems, journalism, government communication, and digital platforms combine into what the authors call the B‑side of political communication studies. By that, they assume different structural and historic characteristics that guide the objectives and theoretical perspectives from which political communication is typically examined. Thus, this paper makes a distinction between mainstream political communication studies based on the global North and less popular or normalized political communication ecosystems like Mexico. In an effort to build a coherent narrative for the evolution of Mexico’s political communication system from 1960 onwards, this paper introduces four different eras through which regulation, political inclusion, and technological changes can be analyzed. A first era (1960–1994) in which an authoritarian state mostly controlled the flow of information. A second era (1995–2006) in which television networks flipped the script and became dominant in an increasingly competitive electoral market. A third era (2007–2018) of media legitimacy crisis and digital disruption. Finally, a fourth era (2018–to date) is marked by news audience atomization, systemic violence against journalism, and state disinformation. The authors conclude by presenting a list of trends that will shape the future of political communication in the region. These include institutionalized post-truth, asymmetric consumer logic, and the use of moral convictions for political purposes.

The Democratic Limits of Populist Politics

The Democratic Limits of Populist Politics

The Politics of Social Inclusion: Bridging Knowledge and Policies towards Social Change

The Politics of Social Inclusion: Bridging Knowledge and Policies towards Social Change

DINAMIKA POLITIK IDENTITAS DAN DINASTI DI INDONESIA: Menuju Politik yang Ideal Melalui Eksplorasi Teori Maslahah

This research aims to explore the dynamics of identity politics and dynasties in Indonesia and efforts to present ideal politics. This study uses a literature review, adopts a qualitative research approach, and applies descriptive analysis techniques based on Maslahah's theory. The results show that identity politics and dynasties play a significant role in the formation of power, often relying on ethnic, religious, or family identity to mobilise support, which can increase the representation of certain groups but also trigger polarisation and erode the principles of democracy and meritocracy. The interaction between identity politics and dynasties creates complexities in political dynamics that can hinder the achievement of an ideal politics based on democracy, justice and equality. On the other hand, efforts towards ideal politics in Indonesia must involve a strong commitment to the principles of democracy, justice and equality, strengthening the foundations of inclusive and participatory democracy, ensuring free and fair elections, and building political awareness and political education among the people. Eradicating corruption, collusion, and nepotism is also a top priority in creating clean politics and integrity. In addition, nurturing diversity and pluralism is an essential step in creating a more inclusive and democratic society. A Maslahah theory-based analysis also emphasises the achievement of the common good and the prevention of harm, which are essential in guiding Indonesia towards ideal politics. It includes empowering individuals and groups in society, promoting social justice, and maintaining social harmony. As such, this study makes an essential contribution to the understanding of identity and dynastic politics in Indonesia and the steps needed to achieve a more equitable and inclusive politics.

Defining democratic inclusion from the perspective of democracy and citizenship theory

ABSTRACT In political science, we deal with a series of ideas, which are primarily political ideals. In comparative politics, we need concepts that are able to “travel” across countries and regions and capable of being measured. Inclusion is an equivocal notion in which both aspects converge: On the one hand, inclusion is used as a code for normative claims regarding, for example, participation, equality, social justice and recognition. On the other hand, it can be applied as an analytical tool for assessing a quality of political regimes. How can inclusion be defined in order to maintain its value orientation and serve at the same time as an empirical concept for systematic-qualitative comparative research? Combining the perspectives of democracy and citizenship theory—two strands that run parallel to each other without much interaction—I define and operationalize inclusion as a property of democratic political systems. Starting from a normative conception of democracy and citizenship that leads to a procedural definition, I conceive of democratic inclusion as civic and political inclusion and lay out dimensions for comparatively assessing political regimes from the perspective of inclusionexclusion.

“Troubled” derby subjectivities: Wellbeing and feminist new materialist movements in sport

Roller derby is a unique and innovative phenomenon in the sporting landscape. Body image, gender policies, aggression/contact elements, music, art, and subversive and inclusive politics are all embraced to various degrees. Its growth was swift and significant – thousands of women around the world strapped on their skates and pushed themselves to meet the minimum skills requirements for joining a derby league. This unique sport was put in the (un)enviable position of somehow having done what governments and medical professionals had tried to achieve for years: to get people active who were inactive in the past, raise people's physical activity levels, and therefore (so the story goes) to improve their overall wellbeing and mental health. This article engages with interview transcripts with 12 derby skaters who chose to leave the sport in order to understand the complex social, cultural and personal forces at play in the relationship between sport and wellbeing. Drawing on feminist conceptualisations of care and movement, I explore the notion of “troubled derby subjectivities” to understand the ways in which the “sport” (including its style, music and affinities) provided a generative space for non-normative gendered subjectivities, embodied movement and “wellbeing”.

Empowering Inclusion? The Two Sides of Party-Society Linkages in Latin America.

This article investigates why, in two different political and institutional contexts, leftist governing parties became agents of empowered inclusion, boosting the capacity of subordinate social actors to shape the agenda of politics and allowing them to push social policy in an inclusionary direction. To explain how and why this happened, it highlights the ambiguous nature of party-society linkages. While societal ties are necessary for sustained significant progress in social and political inclusion, they can also block the later consolidation of achievements. This happens as some groups, once included, block further inclusion. We build our theoretical argument about the two-sided nature of party-society linkages using comparative evidence from Bolivia and Uruguay—two countries where progress toward empowered inclusion has been especially notable in the past two decades. The article contributes to existing scholarship on social and political inclusion by calling for greater attention to the critical but, at times, ambiguous role that the social bases of parties play.

A Role to Play for Interest Groups in EU Foreign and Security Policy: The Case of Migration Focused EU - Libya Policies

Following the fall of Gaddafi, Libya has fallen apart, and this vast and resource-rich country with around 1,800 km coastline to the southern side of the central Mediterranean has become a failed state. The crisis stemming from Libya has significant impact on the EU: Not only for irregular migration but also due to its security, economic and geopolitical importance to EU. Despite this multifaceted significance, EU Libya poli- cies have been focusing on the migration dimension of the crisis and making use of non-functioning Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions as the primary policy tool. That is why the EU missed the oppor- tunity to solve the crisis from an early age and has been sidelined with the escalating conflict. In the absence of EU, rival international actors took over the Libya dossier and started to shape the developments per their interests. If the EU does not take lessons from previous mistakes, it will soon lose its influence over Libya, which might turn out to be quite detrimental for its interests. As this is a multifaceted and multi-dimensional web of relations, the policy paper at hand focuses explicitly on the “migration” dimension and makes infer- ences based on this narrower scope. Interest Groups (IGs) are prominent actors in the migration dimension of the Libya crisis. This policy paper depicts that there are at least 738 IGs concerned with European or global level migration & asylum policies, and they have had hundreds of interactions with members of the EU Commission and Parliament. IGs have been spending money, energy and other resources to influence the EU policies in this field. However, up to now, just like EU Libya policies, their efforts on migration-related problems stemming from Libya has failed. Following a comprehensive description of the current status of migration dimension of EU Libya policies together with the role of various IGs, this policy brief examines the causes of (in)effectiveness of IGs’ efforts in influencing EU policies. It argues that public salience, internal security concerns of the member states and highly politicised nature of the migration issue makes it difficult for IGs to be influence. Irregular migration is not a matter on its own; it is a consequence of a causal link. In solving the issue, the EU needs a multifaceted approach, which considers IGs an integral partner and utilises IGs soft power, knowledge and expertise to increase the EU’s leverage. The policy paper at hand recommends EU and IGs to develop a partnership model which requires coordi- nation and assistance in Libya matters, without damaging the neutral interlocutor position of the IGs. This new model foresees IG support in handling IDPs, refugees/irregular migrants, training and monitoring of the Libyan officials, or in reporting about the humanitarian aspects. Requires EU to utilise IGs in addressing the sources of grievances between local ethnic, tribal and religious groups, or facilitating the truth-seeking ven- tures and repairing the relations between rival groups. IGs can support EU policies by providing mentorship to sovereign economic, financial, auditing institutions or misfunctioning judiciary, public health or education institutions. EU should benefit from IGs in the prevention of radicalisation/extremism, as well. For the sake of preventing the emergence of several and conflicting member state Libya policies, EU su- pranational bodies should lead to the process vis á vis overall EU interests. To save IGs from the complex power-sharing structure, European External Action Service should undertake the one single coordinator role with IGs. EU officials should encourage or —if need be— stipulate Libyan authorities to cooperate with IGs in their operations for Libya. EU may consider using military CSDP operations or EU battlegroup to protect the peace process from spoilers or destructive foreign meddling or defend the governing institutions from the impact of various militia groups and enforce the arms embargo. EU should also activate a competent sanctions policy against the spoilers of the process. Another crucial task for the EU will be the construction of a unified and reliable security apparatus. IGs can build the support that the EU requires on the ground. EU requirements overlap with IGs interests; they both need to construct a thriving society, inclusive politics, and good governance, which will make Libya a hard-to-find neighbour/ally to the EU.

Bokujinkai: Japanese Calligraphy and the Postwar Avant-Garde by Eugenia Bogdanova-Kummer

Reviewed by: Bokujinkai: Japanese Calligraphy and the Postwar Avant-Garde by Eugenia Bogdanova-Kummer Maki Kaneko (bio) Bokujinkai: Japanese Calligraphy and the Postwar Avant-Garde. By Eugenia Bogdanova-Kummer. Brill, 2020. xii, 181 pages. €104.00, cloth; €104.00, E-book. The last two decades have witnessed the significant growth of English-language scholarship on 1950s and 1960s Japanese avant-garde art. Spearheaded by Alexandra Monroe's 1994 landmark exhibition/publication Japanese Art After 1945: Scream Against the Sky, in the early twenty-first century many scholars published must-read books, catalogues, and articles on post-1945 Japanese avant-garde art, including Reiko Tomii, Bert Winther-Tamaki, Midori Yoshimoto, Ming Tiampo, and Miriam Sas. Particularly foregrounding Japanese avant-gardists' active interactions and negotiations with their Euro-American counterparts, their studies have effectively illuminated the central roles played by those "non-Western" artists in the post-1945 contemporary art scene and thereby posed a significant challenge to the Euro-American-centric notion of modernism and avant-gardism. This collection of scholarship thereby sets firm ground for the study of post-1945 Japanese art vis-à-vis the so-called global art history, whose most recent outcome can be found in the 2019 traveling exhibition Changing and Unchanging Things: Noguchi and Hasegawa in Postwar Japan, while inspiring young and mid-career scholars to further complicate and diversify the narrative of the postsurrender art of Japan.1 [End Page 426] Eugenia Bogdanova-Kummer's first book, Bokujinkai: Japanese Calligraphy and the Postwar Avant-Garde, is the most recent member of this league of scholarship and fully demonstrates that the study of 1950s and 1960s Japanese art is far from exhausted. The book focuses on the avantgarde calligraphers' collective Bokujinkai, or People of the Ink, which was founded by five young Japanese calligraphers in 1952 and attained significant recognition in Western Europe and the United States through to the 1960s. While the Bokujinkai is not at all an unknown group, previous studies focused almost exclusively on its de facto leader Morita Shiryū (1912–98) and on Inoue Yūichi (1916–85), arguably the most radical member of the group. Bogdanova-Kummer's book is the first study in English to holistically investigate this avant-garde calligraphy group through its membership, network, formal experimentations, and guiding philosophies from its formation to its "conservative turn" in the 1960s. By centrally focusing on the Bokujinkai's strategies, efforts, and struggles for the internationalization of calligraphy with the notion of the "transcultural" advocated by the German philosopher Wolfgang Welsche as its key framework, moreover, Bogdanova-Kummer sets the goal for her book to "change the perception of transcultural constellations in postwar abstract art" and further challenges the Eurocentric account of avant-garde art "not only in regard to geographies, but also in terms of the art forms and communities involved" (p. 3). The uniqueness of this study lies in the author's attempt to position calligraphy, "an often overlooked and culturally specific art form" (p. 9), at the center of the early postwar transnational interactions of Japanese and Euro-American avant-garde artists. Oscillating between art and letter, rooted in the Sino-Japanese cultural tradition, and deemed to be conservative, calligraphy was significantly disadvantaged in proving its relevance to Euro-American art at that time. However, the author insists, precisely because of this disadvantageous position or marginalization, the Bokujinkai's "success" in the international art arena invites our scrutiny; its bold strategies toward the challenge of bridging calligraphy and abstractions, and the limitations encountered in doing so, reveal "the complex mechanisms that drive the art world's politics of inclusion and rejection, as well as the conflicting historiographies of the postwar avant-gardes as perceived in Japan, Europe, and the United States" (p. 146). Based on this fascinating proposal, Bogdanova-Kummer details the Bokujinkai's trajectory through six main chapters. Chapters 1 and 2 present, in the author's words, the "macro-level sociopolitical contextualization" (p. 23) and "micro-level study of the community of avant-garde calligraphers" (p. 37), respectively. Together with the [End Page 427] introduction, which includes an extremely important survey of pre-1945 modern Japanese calligraphy, the first two chapters provide the reader with key...

The Violent Homo, Nationization in Tomer Heymann's Paper Dolls and Arundhati Roy's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Abstract What if the discursive and political recognition of queer liberation colludes with a nationalist agenda to produce a unified statehood? Postcolonial and transnational feminists have critiqued the political mobilization of GLBTQ rights within the context of nation-state modernity. The politics of queer inclusion and its institutional, normative production of subjects deemed to be (un)acceptable promote the modernity of progressive nations, but also justify state violations of sexual, religious, and ethnic minorities. This article examines Tomer Heymann's documentary film Paper Dolls and Arundhati Roy's novel The Ministry of Utmost Happiness to articulate how the queer subjects in both texts play a role in and resist Israel's and India's optimization of Jewish and Hindu nations. I juxtapose the film and the novel to demonstrate that their focus on nonnormative, gender-variant subjects works differently: the film absorbs nationalist paradigms, whereas the novel critiques Hindu nationalism and anti-Muslim ideology. I argue that queer world-making intervenes in the paradoxical exercise of the recognition of queer rights in the service of the exclusionary policies of emerging nationalisms.

Institutional Restructuring and Reforms for National Development

This paper argues that weak national institutions cannot be relied upon to produce successful restructuring and reform packages that can lead to accelerated national development and higher living standards for the Nigerian people. The paper further identifies weak national institutions, the pursuit of pecuniary individual and group interests, ethnic cleavages and intra-ethnic rivalries among the elite class, including the extractive nature of politics and economic pursuits, as major factors militating against successful restructuring and meaningful institutional reforms in Nigeria, which are hinged on accelerated technological innovation, political development and wealth creation. The paper concludes that only strong and functional institutions, inclusive political and economic policies, and innovative leadership can bring about accelerated national development in Nigeria.

Strengthening top–down design? Mapping science, technology and innovation policy developments in China in the age of COVID-19

ABSTRACT In the COVID-19 era, science, technology and innovation (STI) dynamics witness fundamental changes as the global expansion of government mission-oriented STI policies emphasises political stability, environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness. How does this global directionality affect China, a country known for its strong leadership in setting strategic STI policy directions? By performing a content analysis of 1,268 STI policies issued by the Chinese government before and after the pandemic started in 2020, we document the country’s latest attempts of top–down design of STI dynamics that use import and export barriers to restrict the flows of STI activities while crack down on the country’s effervescent STI scene to control what Chinese enterprises see and do, at both the national and local government levels. This increasing protectionist and interventionist tendency is a legacy of the U.S.-China trade war era when China was forced to ensure that its domestic technological progress could continue independently of the global market. However, to achieve such independence, we suggest that the country needs to restructure its demand-side, supply-side and environmental-side STI policy instruments to create a more efficient market space for techno-entrepreneurship, as it is hard to shore up political control without damping bottom–up entrepreneurial vigour.

Are post-communist interest organizations learning to lobby? Exploring the “coming-of-age” of Central and Eastern European interest groups

ABSTRACT Countless scholars have explored the emergence, stability and transformation of interest intermediation structures in western democracies and beyond [Jahn, “Changing of the Guard”; Schmitter, “Corporatism is Dead!”; Siaroff, “Corporatism in 24 Industrial Democracies”.]. In this article we take a new avenue by exploring the “micro-level” impact of (quasi-)representation monopolies and high or low access on organized interests, namely at the level of groups themselves. Looking at Central and Eastern European organizations, we assess how the inclusion within or exclusion from frequent interactions with the state impacts the internal development of organized interests? Do excluded groups seek to professionalize their operations to increase their chances of eventually accessing policy-makers? Do they expand ties with other groups to increase their joint political clout? Or do they flee the national political arena and focus more on regional- or European-level activities? Based on a survey of Central and Eastern European organized interests, the analysis reveals that political inclusion indeed strongly enhances organizational development and intergroup cooperation. Yet, we also show that even occasional political participation boosts the lobbying capacities of organizations, in particular younger, mainly civic organizations. Altogether, the data shed positive light on the responsiveness of interest organizations operating in a region previously often overlooked in interest group research.

Pious, populist, political masculinities in Pakistan and India

ABSTRACT This article makes a case for the inclusion of piety politics and populist masculinities in any analysis of the governance and international relations between two South Asian rivals and nuclear neighbours; Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India. It offers a comparative case-study of the redeemed Sufi masculinity of the recently deposed Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan, and the ascetic Hindutva one performed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The study finds that the nativist, capitalist and gender discriminatory regimes of both populist leaders depend on subduing any dissenting resistance offered by subaltern masculinist and feminist politics. The conclusion finds that military-pious-heteronormative masculinity serves to stabilize patriarchy in both ‘manly states’ and underwrites regional security policies. It also points to how subversive movements are constantly challenging these hegemonic masculinities.

Zimbabwe’s fast-track land reform at 20: exploring disability inclusion and the attendant policy implications

This article interrogates disability inclusion two decades after Zimbabwe’s fast-tracked land reform and the associated policy pathways for improving the situation of people with disabilities in an agrarian context. Exploring the country’s land reform through disability inclusion lenses is largely missing in literature and policy. Using disability inclusion and interpretivism as the evaluative conceptual framing and heuristic research approach in a rural district respectively, the article shows that latent and manifest politics of inclusion and exclusion influence people with disabilities’ formal and informal access to land and agrarian support. Accordingly, the article advances the significance of a sturdy transformative agenda that prioritizes this often-sidelined group in the productive, redistributive, reproductive, protective and social compact outcomes of the land reform. This approach tackles the structural causes of marginalization, inequality and poverty in pursuit of generating and sustaining the wellbeing of people with disabilities.

The Transnational Afterlives of European Muslims

Abstract How do European Muslims navigate death and burial in countries where they face systematic barriers to political inclusion? The authors of this article investigate the complex negotiations surrounding end-of-life decisions for Muslim communities in France and Germany. Drawing on multisited ethnographic research among Algerian and Turkish diasporas in Marseilles and Berlin, they illustrate how burial decisions reflect divergent ideas about citizenship, belonging, and identity. While some Muslims are interred in local cemeteries, many more are repatriated out of Europe to be laid in ancestral soils in countries of origin. Through interviews with Muslim death-care workers and community members the authors analyze the significance and symbolic value that such posthumous journeys carry in postmigratory settings. They argue that the Muslim corpse embodies a range of overlapping desires, experiences, and expectations connected to histories of migration, settlement, and return, as well as attitudes toward death and beliefs about the afterlife. Consequently, the corpse offers a compelling window into the transnational afterlives of migration and empire.

The Formation of a Stable Technopolitical Environment as a Factor in the Development of Recursive Public Policy in Russia

Aims. Conceptualization of technopolitical sphere impact on recursive processes of public policy; defining key problems that inhibit public authorities from improving digital politics stability essential for developing public policy recursive potential.Methods. The work is based on institutional approach traditional for conducting interdisciplinary research about using informational and communicative technologies in politics and governance. Moreover, it is helpful for considering meaning of public institutes in the scope of conceptualization of technopolitical sphere stability and recursiveness as an attribute of public policy.Results. Recent approaches to understanding the essence of public policy define the efficiency of shaping political agenda, developing and making decisions as more and more dependent on expert knowledge and ways of political participation. Based on the recursiveness as a public policy attribute there is made a point of expert knowledge for building and keeping feedback linking between system elements as a key principle of public policy change as an «epistemic thing». Recursive processes progression depends on stability of technopolitical sphere that rests upon quality, direction and dynamics of institutional change, political inclusiveness. As for Russia, building technopolitical infrastructure necessary for recursive processes is in progress now and meet a wide range of political and governmental rigidity, legal framework insufficiency. In order to overcome it, public authorities shall pay attention to total improving the digital literacy, coordination, legal framework update and developing new institutes of digital intersectoral collaboration.Conclusion. In public policy and its actors recursiveness serves as a principle of systematic monitoring politics and governance which defines evolutional dynamics of these processes. Digital politics creates conditions for building recursive processes into the context of shaping political agenda, developing and making decisions. The research results highlight issues significant for contemporary political science in the context of technopolitical national development and can be enhanced with both theoretical and applied research.

Reading is fun-da-mental: queering queer “safe” spaces within drag culture

ABSTRACT This paper explores how the queer subcultural practice of “reading” can pave the way for a more ontologically open way of being. Reading involves the trading of insults between two or more marginal subjects in ways that create comedic value by identifying and parodying representational norms. It reveals a radical politics of inclusion that rejects the idea of distinction that underpins subject formation, and thus repositions the subject in-between representations. Because reading usually occurs within the queer “safe” space of drag culture, it can be seen to have a queering effect on “safe” space. I illustrate these ideas through an analysis of the reading challenge that has become an anticipated part of the programming of RuPaul’s Drag Race. The challenge asks contestants to subvert their already subversive subject positions, to parody representational injustices, and to therefore demonstrate how reading can be “fundamental” to realising the political promise of queer theory.

Universal enfranchisement for citizens with cognitive disabilities – A moral-status argument

ABSTRACT The social and cultural model of disability has challenged the historically powerful perception of disability as a deficiency. Disability is no longer conceived of solely in terms of an individual lack of capacities but also considered as a structural effect of disabling social institutions and normalizing thinking. The UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) from 2006 marks a decisive step towards the recognition of humans with (cognitive) disabilities as legal subjects who are entitled to enjoy all human rights on equal terms with others. A central claim of the CRPD refers to full political participation of persons with (cognitive) disabilities. This paper argues for strengthening the political participation of persons with severe cognitive disabilities. The normative starting point is the claim that they are our equals, both morally and socially. In spelling out this status equality for the realm of the political, I focus on what political equality and inclusivity means concerning franchise. I will argue that the disenfranchisement of persons with cognitive disabilities, as practiced in many countries, cannot be justified. Furthermore, enfranchising persons with cognitive disabilities is deemed a central expression of their recognition as equals. Thus, it marks a crucial moment of emancipatory transformation towards a more inclusive political system. In cases where severely cognitive disabled persons cannot exercise the right to vote themselves, forms of assisted voting and supported decision-making must be available.