Political Issues Research Articles

Can high-profile endorsements improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake and reduce hesitancy in Pakistan?

BackgroundWhile low- and middle-income countries continue to struggle to secure adequate COVID-19 vaccine supply, a potentially greater challenge is to induce adequate demand to overcome widespread vaccine hesitancy; vaccination uptake has historically been a contentious political issue in Pakistan. High-level endorsements by trusted actors are one way to potentially increase public vaccine confidence. Methods: Employing a four-armed randomized trial with 2,026 participants in June 2021, we examine whether endorsements by different actors (Prime Minister, prominent religious leader, doctors) influenced participants’ willingness to register for the COVID-19 vaccine. ResultsWe find high levels of vaccine hesitancy with nearly 35% of participants reporting that they do not intend to vaccinate against COVID-19. Endorsements failed to influence participants' desire to register for vaccination, and only 37% agreed to register on spot. However, we find that higher trust in government, male gender, and higher income/wealth were associated with participants' willingness to register. A follow-up phone survey was consistent with the main results. DiscussionOur study finds that endorsements appear to have little effect on people’s immediate willingness to register for vaccination. Our findings suggest messaging on its own may be insufficient to overcome widespread social and structural barriers to vaccine uptake.

The affective injustice of colonial statues and monuments: ethical, political and pedagogical issues

ABSTRACT This paper draws on affect theory and new materialism to argue that it is crucial to pay attention to how and why some people, especially from oppressed and marginalised communities, are so strongly opposed to colonial statues and monuments. Through a critical reading of colonial statues and monuments that highlights their affectivity and materiality, the analysis suggests that there is pedagogical value in both removing and recontextualising colonial statues. This analysis does not settle the debates in favour of one side or the other, but rather adds a neglected theoretical perspective to discussions about the educational value of removing or recontextualising colonial statues and monuments, namely, the concept of affective injustice. The paper draws on this concept to propose an affective pedagogy of ‘living inquiry’, a pedagogical approach that enables educators and students to engage in critical inquiry about the ethics, affectivity, materiality, and politics of colonial statues and monuments.

O trabalho na Educação Ambiental Crítica

An environmental education (EE) system that does not analyze social and political issues cannot contribute to understanding the roots of problems involving the environment. The study of social relations and the production of life through work is fundamental to understanding the historical connection that human beings establish with nature and to pointing out ways to confront the environmental crisis - a symptom of a broader, civilizing crisis. More specifically in teacher training programs – essential subjects to the EE approach at school – it is important to not be fragmented and disconnected from the reality into which teachers and students are immersed. Therefore, analyzing and understanding the historical relationship between school, community, and their surrounding environment, especially regarding the concept of labor, is one of our bets for the training of critical and engaged teachers and citizens. In view of these concerns, we aim at describing and analyzing part of a teacher training program (initial and continuing) for members of a Pedagogical Residency Project, which occurred through the elaboration and carrying out of a participatory research study – an environmental mapping – with the community surrounding a local partnering school in Lavras-MG. Through this participatory research, content analysis, and the interviews with community members, we observed that the study of working relations, as well as other particularities of the local community, can bring elements of great relevance to the exercise of critical EE, especially in this context of teacher training.

Deciphering Sisterhood: A Semiotic Exploration of Shared Symbols in Indian Narratives

This research article investigates the multifaceted concept of sisterhood within feminist theory and literature, emphasising its role as a symbol of the collective struggle against patriarchal oppression. It explores different aspects of women's shared experiences and collective action with various labels encompassing sister-friends, comadres (co-mothers, allomothers), sworn sisters, hermanas del alma (sisters of the soul), and numerous others. First-wave feminists popularised the term to promote unity among women, intending to address personal, political, and gender-related issues. This paper explores the theme of sisterhood in Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Sister of My Heart and Mistress of Spices, examining how these novels serve as a powerful catalyst in female relationships. The analysis uncovers the profound significance that everyday objects and our surroundings can hold, symbol-ising the characters' emotional transformations and the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood through semiotics. Additionally, the analysis enhances our comprehension of the novels and provides a broader outlook on the emotional support and companionship in female friendships, emphasising their positive impact on women's overall well-being.

Ends versus means? Ideology and support for repeals in the mass public

AbstractAn important, but poorly understood issue in modern American politics is the conservative wing of the Republican party's interest in repealing legislation. Although existing work shows that conservative Republican elites focus more on repeals than in past decades, it remains unclear what the public thinks about this governance approach. We examine this issue with a survey experiment asking respondents to evaluate four policy proposals in Congress, holding the “ends” constant but randomizing whether they are achieved by enacting a new law or repealing an existing law. Our results show that conservatives favor repeals as a legislative tool more so than liberals and moderates. We also show that this is the result of ideological, rather than partisan considerations. Our findings shed light on both the modern Republican party's approach to governance and a key issue at the nexus of mass attitudes, ideology, and legislative procedure.

Isu-Isu Politik dalam Kampanye Calon Presiden RI terhadap Preferensi Pemilih di Nusa Tenggara Barat

This study examines the preferences of voters in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) in the context of the 2024 Indonesian presidential election and how various political issues influence their choices. Utilizing a quantitative approach and descriptive survey, data was collected from 2,672 respondents representing diverse educational and occupational backgrounds in the NTB region. The findings reveal various political issues affecting voter preferences, including economic, social, environmental, security, leadership, and other issues. The most dominant issue in NTB voters' preferences is Nationalist Religious Issues, with about 24% of respondents considering it the most important issue. Socialism and Cultural Issues also receive significant attention, reflecting concern for the preservation of local culture and social integration. Additionally, Education and Public Health Issues are high priorities for NTB voters, indicating the need for access to quality education and good healthcare services. This research provides a deeper understanding of the political dynamics in NTB and the factors influencing voter decisions. The results can guide presidential candidates and political parties in designing campaign platforms relevant to the needs of this region. Furthermore, this study can help enhance political participation, advance important issues, and strengthen political representation at the local level. Recommendations are given for further studies on the role of religion in NTB politics, evaluation of issue fulfillment in public policy, analysis of demographic changes, and studies on political participation in NTB. This research is expected to provide valuable contributions to understanding regional politics in Indonesia and voter preferences that could influence the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in NTB.

The Role of Cinematic Elements in Creating Sympathy for the Hero in Palestinian Narrative Films “Paradise Now Film” as a Model: Analytical Study

Objectives: The study aimed to explain the role of cinematic elements in creating sympathy among the audience with the hero in Palestinian feature films by studying the film “Paradise Now” as a model. Methods: Employing an analytical approach, the research utilized content analysis—a form of scientific research—to describe the explicit content of the media material being analyzed. Results: Cinematic elements significantly contributed to crafting a realistic cinematic illusion, incorporating plot, image, sound, and landscape design to complete the realistic picture and create a sense of sympathy for the audience with the martyr hero. The study identified eight issues in "Paradise Now," comprising six social and two political issues related to Palestinian rights and resistance to occupation. The film employed conflict, human concerns, and values frameworks to present these issues. The role of cinematic elements in generating sympathy for the hero was underscored, emphasizing cinematic language as a tool to convey the message.. Conclusion: The studies concluded that cinematic elements play a major role in creating and simulating the cinematic illusion of reality. The study called on research centers and researchers interested in the Arab-Israeli conflict to conduct more media studies that present the details of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in an impartial manner, and realistically document the violations and oppression practiced by Israel in the Palestinian territories against the Palestinians.

Rhetorical action in a liberal international order in crisis: theorising EU and NATO enlargements post-2022

ABSTRACT The Russian invasion of Ukraine has thrust the issue of European Union and NATO enlargement back into the political spotlight. However, it remains uncertain whether established theoretical frameworks are still applicable in today’s rapidly changing world. In response to this uncertainty, this debate section brings together five short reflection pieces, with a response from Frank Schimmelfennig, to assess the relevance of the theory of ‘rhetorical action’ in light of recent developments in European and international politics. How effectively does rhetorical action explain current EU and NATO enlargement processes, as well as broader forms of international cooperation? The authors find strong overall support for the theory’s continued validity. However, they caution that the increasing politicisation of issues, the rising competition from populist, non-liberal forces, and the broader crisis of the Liberal International Order require more careful reflection and specification of the scope conditions that define the theory’s limits.

How Road and Rail Transport Respond to Economic Growth and Energy Prices: A Study for Poland

Transport drives economies. This statement covers complex and multifaceted economic, environmental, and political issues. The literature mainly describes the unidirectional impact of transport on the economy, and far less often bilateral or reverse impacts. This is the context in which this study was conducted. The question of whether the economy (GDP and exports and imports) and energy prices (crude oil and diesel) have an impact on road and rail transport in Poland was examined. The research was based on correlation methodology and VAR modelling for the January 2010–March 2024 period (quarterly data). It was found that there is no sufficiently strong basis to speak of an inverse relationship, i.e., that the economy is the cause of transport. This confirms the majority of studies, but it has been shown that this relationship occurs in the current period. And this statement means that both road transport, which is developing, and rail transport, which is declining in Poland, are able to serve the economy on a continuous basis. Moreover, rail transport is positively affected by changes in fuel prices, but the basic energy resource used in rail transport is not fuel but electricity. Therefore, as fuel prices rise, investment in rail transport or combined transport can have positive economic and environmental effects in the future.

Representation of Dalit Characters and Reflection of Their Consciousness in Nepali Short Stories

The paper attempts to explore the position of Dalit characters and their consciousness on the contexts, contents, and issues as portrayed in the select stories from “Nepali Kathama Dalit [Dalits in Nepali Stories]” published by Nepal Academy. The stories written on Dalit subject matters and issues primarily portray the socio-economic and political positions, problems and issues of exclusion of Dalits in different forms. The characters of the stories demonstrate the miserable condition of Dalits; however, they speak up against the oppression and discrimination for their rights, equality, justice and liberation. For the purpose, the researcher has selected the stories of Khagendra Sangroula’s “Sangram Bahadur Sarki”, Narayan Dhakal’s “Sunakhari Tol”, Matrika Pokharel’s “Itihasko Chihanmathi Ubhiyera” and Krishna Bam Malla’s “Pudke Damai”. The stories are plotted on the context, issues, and problems of Dalits and their resistance against the caste system. The study basically explores the representation of the Dalit characters, their socio economic and political positions, consciousness and protest for the change. Hence, the stories are studied from the perspectives class consciousness connecting with caste consciousness. The researcher has employed the qualitative approach with descriptive and exploratory methods.

Framing Pro-Palestine Protests: A Comparative Analysis of News Coverage by The Guardian and USA Today

This study examines the framing strategies employed by The Guardian and USA Today in their coverage of the pro-Palestine protests in American universities during April and May 2024. Accordingly, the corpus comprises 213 news texts, with The Guardian contributing 106 articles and USA Today contributing 107 articles from April 17 to May 17, 2024. The research identifies and contrasts the dominant frames used by these two newspapers by conducting a framing content analysis on the selected news articles. The Guardian frequently utilizes conflict and adversarial frames, emphasizing university-wide ideological and political struggles. Conversely, USA Today focuses on broader political confrontations and administrative accountability, often highlighting institutional responses and governance issues. The analysis process is guided by framing theory to reveal how news representations influence public perception and interpretation and media agenda-setting theory to explore how media news coverage prioritizes specific issues within the same event. The findings underscore the decisive role of media framing in shaping public opinion and priorities, particularly in the context of global and political issues.

Moral foundations and political ideology in the UK

Moral foundations theory is one of the most popularised and tested lenses of recent years, with its ability to account for differences in political ideology. For the first time using a nationally representative random probability sample, we assess how the newly refined moral foundation questionnaire may explain differences in political ideology and views on political issues in the UK. We confirm a six-factor model with robust estimates for the moral intuitions of care, equality, proportionality, authority, loyalty, and purity. We then use moral intuitions to predict (a) economic left-right and socially liberal-conservative ideology and (b) the relationship between political ideology and views on salient political issues. We find moral intuitions mostly play a unifying role across a series of issues, with the exception of feelings toward patriotism and Brexit.

Waves of Islamic Radicalism

Islamic radicalism has become a constant disturbing issue in world politics. Since the early 1980s, the dormant madness of Islamic radicalism has exploded in vicious waves of terrorist attacks around the world. Previous studies, though they contributed enormously to understanding this issue, fell short in analyzing the process that led to the dominance of Islamic radicalism and the damping of Islamic moderateness. This article (a) models the rise and fall of Islamic radical/ moderate waves utilizing Fourier series and the damping notion of waves (2) Identify and test empirically the factors that advance/hamper radicalism using time-series and panel data from 1980 to 2015 across six Islamic countries: Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, and Turkey.

Depoliticisation as a Diplomatic Defensive Strategy: Analysis of the International Conflicts Waged in the ICAO

ABSTRACT The research is dedicated to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the politicised debates held on its forum. The purpose of the research was to investigate political debates on the ICAO forum and to analyse the attempts to terminate them through references to their political character or the technical character of ICAO. The main research question concerns the arguments used by the delegates/representatives engaged in political debates held on the ICAO forum. The researchers argued that the participants in these debates, mostly diplomats representing member states, have been employing depoliticisation techniques to terminate inconvenient debates, claiming that the ICAO is a technical organisation and political issues should not be debated there. The study covers several diplomatic standoffs at the ICAO forum: debates over ICAO membership/statehood in Spain, Taiwan, Cyprus and South Africa; various instances of the Arab-Israeli conflict; shootdowns of the Korean aircraft by the USSR and the Iranian aircraft by the US; and aviation aspects of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. The study specifically covered individual statements of state representatives and debates on the forum of the ICAO Council and Assembly. The research has been performed through qualitative content analysis of the ICAO archival documents acquired both online and during research visit to the ICAO headquarters in Montreal. It was observed that state representatives have been employing depoliticisation in order to defend their countries on the forum of the ICAO from the attacks associated with international conflicts. Depoliticisation as a diplomatic tactic, however, in most cases proved unsuccessful.

Climate, Conflict, and Context: Reevaluating Americans’ Support for Refugees

ABSTRACT As more people are displaced by climate change, public acceptance of migrants is an increasingly relevant geographical and political issue. How willing are Americans to accept climate migrants and how does this support compare to others who are fleeing conflict? We conducted a nationally representative survey experiment (N=1,027) with prompts that varied the context of refugee resettlement, including a control condition without context, those displaced by global warming, refugees from Ukraine, and refugees from Afghanistan. Respondents expressed marginally lower willingness to admit climate migrants and significantly higher willingness to admit Ukrainian refugees. These differences were amplified by partisanship, religion, and race. These results suggest that some migrants experience a more welcoming public than others and highlight a challenge for those who are made vulnerable by climate change.

Brexit and the Iraq War on BBC Question Time: Demographic and Political Issue Representation in UK Public Participation Broadcasting

Public broadcasters are bound by strict guidelines to ensure balance in representing different demographic and political groups, and to better reflect the distribution of these characteristics within the public and political elites. How are these decisions affected when the biggest political issues of the day create further cleavages that not only cross-cut existing divides but also deserve representation in political discourse? In this article, we examine how panel selection on BBC Question Time dealt with this in relation to two prominent issues in twenty-first century UK politics: Brexit and the UK invasion of Iraq. We introduce an original dataset including all BBC Question Time appearances between 2001 and 2019, created using a combination of web-scraping and expert coding. This allows us to trace patterns in representation across sex, ethnicity, educational background, as well as partisan affiliation and stances on issues like Brexit and the Iraq war among the show’s panelists. We find that panel selection closely reflects gender and ethnic diversity among the UK public and MPs, but that individuals from privileged educational backgrounds are vastly overrepresented on the show. For both the Iraq war and Brexit, the show again broadly reflects the views of the public and political elites once we account for relevant comparisons between politicians and non-political guests.

Internalist and Integrationist Theories of (Global) Justice

The global justice debate has increasingly moved toward the analysis of concrete issues in global politics, such as trade, migration, or climate change. This raises a methodological question: should the demands of justice in these domains be theorized independently or in conjunction with one another? Integrationists have championed the latter approach, arguing that it is better suited to guide our practical judgments. In contrast, internalists maintain that each domain is governed by its own set of principles. This paper defends the plausibility of the internalist approach against integrationist challenges. By examining different interpretations of internalism, it first seeks to provide a clearer overview of the methodological dispute. It then analyzes various arguments for integrationism, showing that their implications are more limited than their proponents believe. Finally, it focuses on the question of practical guidance, highlighting the value of idealized domain-specific theorizing in guiding transitions toward just arrangements.

The Influence of Tiken Jah Fakoly’s Reggae Music in Post-independence Côte d’Ivoire

Tiken Jah Fakoly, a prominent Ivoirian reggae artist, has played an important role in the social and political development of post-independence Côte d’Ivoire. This paper explores the impact and influence of Tiken Jah Fakoly’s music on the socio-political dynamics of the country, especially as these relate to national unity, political awareness, and social movements. To assess Fakoly’s influence on the social fabric of Côte d’Ivoire, we administered a questionnaire-based survey to a diverse sample of participants. The questions included information on demographics, music consumption habits, familiarity with Fakoly’s music, perceptions of his recordings, his influence of their sense of identity, and their impressions of the impact his music has on social and political issues. The results show that Tiken Jah Fakoly’s music has had a significant effect on the attitudes of Ivoirians and has helped shape the unique character of Ivorian reggae. His music has fostered a sense of unity and solidarity among Ivorians, and it has inspired numerous individuals to take part in advocacy and activism-related activities. The outcomes of this research have broad implications for the role African music plays in nation-building processes, in the creation of a sense of cultural identity, and in the capacity to motivate political and social movements.

Developing digital twins of urban low-income communities in Sub-Saharan Africa: a case study in Ghana, West Africa

Low-income urban and rural communities in Sub-Saharan Africa are habitats for more than 556 million profoundly poor people, and the United Nations and the African Union are pessimistic that sustainable development goals will be met. The number of people falling into poverty is increasing, and policy initiatives to reduce poverty have been confounded by various economic, political, social, structural, and environmental issues. Despite a wealth of natural and human assets, there is no systematic approach to sustainable development for poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa. This case study of an urban community in Ghana, West Africa, investigates the potential role of digital twins in a systematic approach to sustainable development for poverty alleviation. Aerial and community surveys of the built environment and social and economic surveys of businesses and households were compiled to inform a virtual representation of the study area. A small e-commerce business intervention was introduced, and data was recorded for studies on the impact of the intervention. A 3D interactive view, extensive video, and fixed images provided a comprehensive view of the built environment. A limited view of the social and economic environment was obtained from a small population sample. It was observed that online transactions increased in the businesses receiving the e-commerce intervention, demonstrating a willingness of businesses and their customers to engage in e-commerce when incentives are provided. A single successful community-centric initiative has little value unless it can be generalized across the broader society. This limited case study focused on developing and testing virtual and physical constructs to enhance a deeper understanding of the community, community engagement, and pathways to sustainability. The scale of the intervention was too small to conclude generalizability. Future research will focus on improving the data collection processes, fidelity of virtual representations, visualization methods, and methodologies for constructing viable virtual interventions.

The Psychological and Social Underpinnings of Political Belief Development

In this study we will, examine the complicated psychological and social forces that produce political attitudes. The paper reveals the twofold nature of the cognitive processes; how emotive and cognitive biases influence reasoning about politics. The findings reveal that one of the common types of directional motivated reasoning is one in which the pre-held belief impacts the treatment of political information, which in turn results in biased assessment of political personalities and issues. Other than that, this research discusses the role of conversation and deliberation in the promotion of reflective political opinions. Discussion with others persuades a person to express an opinion and to listen to others that develop one's thinking of political matters. The paper also discusses the emotions, such as anxiety and anger, associated with political judgment, maintaining that such emotions distort and occlude any lucid judgment about political performance. It also reveals that scientific curiosity acts to offset such one-sidedness: "The more scientifically curious anyone is, the more open they will be to information that runs counter to pre-existing points of view, allowing them to reason more impartially." Findings underpin views that a critical thinking-open discussion environment will be highly instrumental in raising political awareness and understanding. The present study bequeaths an important understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying the construction of political opinion and the social processes that can help consolidate or contest these opinions. Controlling these factors sets up a better ability to confront polarization and misinformation in modern political discourses