Political Machine Research Articles

What’s under attack: Activism and institutional conflict within US higher education

Within the United States, the targeted efforts against Critical Race Theory, political machinations against higher education governance, and the use of surveillance on liberatory protests, reveals a complicated nexus regarding educational activism and institutional navigation. Through the Actors, Contexts, Tactics, and Strategies (A.C.T.S.) Framework, we offer an expansive understanding of the who, what, how, when, and where of activism. By applying this framework to three distinct yet interrelated examples on legislative fights against diversity, tenure and governance, and pro-Palestine activism, we illuminate the role of institutional mechanics to reimagine the institutional fatality of ‘this is just how things are’ and an inevitable political tide. In doing so, this manuscript offers a robust analysis of institutionalism, opposition, support, and transformation.

Book review: Adam Michael Auerbach & Tariq Thachil, Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness

Adam Michael Auerbach & Tariq Thachil, Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness. Princeton University Press, 2023, 228 pp., $35, ISBN: 9780691236100.

The Boss of New Orleans: Martin Behrman and Machine Politics in the Crescent City by Ralph Eric Criss (review)

The Boss of New Orleans: Martin Behrman and Machine Politics in the Crescent City by Ralph Eric Criss (review)

Political Clientelism in Rural Areas: Understanding the Impact on Regional Head Elections in Indonesia

Political clientelism is a strategy often used by candidates or political parties to gain electoral support by offering goods, money, or services in exchange for votes. In the rural context, this patron-client relationship develops more strongly due to the high economic and social dependency between communities and political actors. This research focuses on the phenomenon of political clientelism in rural areas and its impact on regional head elections in Indonesia. This research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive approach. Research findings show that political clientelism in rural Indonesia, especially in agrarian areas, strengthens patron-client relationships in which political elites exploit the economic dependence of communities to gain support through material promises. This causes voters to vote based on short-term favors rather than the quality of the candidate, thereby exacerbating transactional politics and undermining the integrity of the election. Factors such as low political education, limited access to information, and economic instability reinforce citizens’ dependence on local patrons, including village heads, who have access to favors. As a result, the democratic process in rural areas is distorted, focusing more on the distribution of resources than on the vision of candidates, making systemic change difficult to achieve .

Thoreau’s civil disobedience from Concord, Massachusetts: global impact

Major wars or battles, political revolutions, scientific breakthroughs, or profound social changes often constitute substantial historical turning points. The nineteenth century was a period of intense struggle for America, wrestling with its identity and unity, the quest for emancipation, and conflicts with Mexico. Amid these turbulent times, an initially inconspicuous essay, “Civil Disobedience,” penned in 1849 by a then-unknown Henry David Thoreau, proved to be a turning point that eventually changed the world. The essay provided the framework for a conscience-driven protest, which, when applied on a mass scale, gave the world an effective and non-violent method of war. The power of the voice rooted in conscience and courage, an approach sans violence, inspired “successful” movements across cultures, countries, and time. The essay Civil Disobedience laid the foundation for a conscience-driven, non-violent struggle against injustices that changed the course of human history and remains the best hope for fighting injustices in the future. While less recognized in the annals of popular culture than the political machinations of Machiavelli or the strategic doctrines of Sun Tzu, Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience has wielded a far more profound influence. In a world still riven by conflict and injustice, Thoreau’s 1849 essay offered the most impactful turning point in humanity’s struggle against injustice. It remains as compelling as ever, offering a blueprint for confronting tyranny not with arms but with the power of human conscience. It serves as a reminder that revolutionary changes sometimes begin with the quietest voice.

Mythic, national, global, geological: the countryside in Catalan literature

ABSTRACT This essay analyzes the dominant ideologies of the different representations of the countryside in modern and contemporary Catalan literature. I propose three main tendencies or stages. First, in the nineteenth century the countryside provided a symbolic form to local fatherlands that portrayed the mythification of the native soil, the transmission of historical memory and an implicit defense against the penetration of the Spanish state. Second, in the twentieth century the countryside became part of the political process of spatializing the Catalan nation. Josep Pla’s oeuvre constitutes the most comprehensive effort to narrate the national genius loci. Finally, literary works in the twenty-first century have focused on representing the ways in which globalization has altered the Catalan countryside. In our present, the geography of the rural has been largely disjointed by suburbanization, tourism, overexploitation of natural resources, itinerant immigration, remote work and political clientelism, but also multiple instances of local resistance and alternative forms of life. As AMO/Rem Koolhaas argue in Countryside: A Report, the rural world is currently more volatile than the most accelerated city, and many of the tensions between the global and the local, capital and labor, and human and natural histories emerge there in more extreme ways than in any urban space. In this global context, one singular novel, Irene Solà’s Canto jo i la muntanya balla (2019), thematizes how even the geological sphere of the countryside has become an unstable space of postsubjective experience and magmatic violence.

Covert 19th century political intrigues of Tenerife nobility revealed by cryptanalyzing an encrypted letter

This article presents a cryptanalysis of a 19th-century encrypted manuscript discovered in the archives of Conde de Siete Fuentes in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. The manuscript, preserved by the heirs of the 6th Count of Valle de Salazar, utilizes a polyalphabetic substitution cipher. The cryptanalysis was performed by applying statistical frequency analysis and developing a Python script for decryption, resulting in the authors successfully deciphering the message. The decrypted letter reveals political communications discussing the strategic positioning of Tenerife as the capital, the dissolution of local councils, and the influence of key political figures. The analysis compares the cipher with historical encryption techniques, and identifies the unique characteristics of the manuscript’s encryption method. The study highlights the political dynamics and alliances within Tenerife’s nobility and their interactions with the central Spanish government, providing significant insights into, both, the cryptographic practices and political maneuvers of the time.

Political Intrigue and Power in the Novel Lambung Mangkurat by Randu Alamsyah Through Semiotic Studies

This study aims to describe the content of the novel Lambung Mangkurat using the semiotic theory introduced by Charles Sanders Peirce as its analytical framework. This analytical approach involves the identification and discussion of icons, indices, and symbols present in the narrative of the novel. The study adopts a library research approach with a qualitative interpretive method. The data used comes from various primary and secondary sources, which are then interpreted descriptively. The data collection method in this study involves the use of documentation techniques and a review of library materials. The analysis results show that the spread of gossip in the Negara Dipa community about Lambung Mangkurat, who asks for toys from adults borrowing them, is an icon of Lambung Mangkurat's attitude when begging for the throne from Arya Megasari. On the other hand, the accusations and insults directed at Lambung Mangkurat represent an index of the political conspiracy designed by some officials of Negara Dipa to eliminate Lambung Mangkurat from the political arena in the region. Additionally, the slanderous actions by Arya Megasari and Tatah Jiwa to tarnish Lambung Mangkurat's reputation can be interpreted as a symbol of their hatred and fear towards Lambung Mangkurat's ambition to seize the throne of Empu Jatmika.

How can artists help change the world? The simple question that changed my life

AbstractThis article traces the journey of one artist's personal efforts on behalf of world peace. It lays the groundwork for promoting grassroots peace activism, which ultimately leads to the establishment of the peace organization, Artists for World Peace. Creating artistic designs such as the International Peace Belt, and establishing numerous other projects to raise funds on behalf of social justice and humanitarian endeavors, Artists for World Peace remains one of the more distinguished, non‐governmental organizations for peace and justice; its impact has been felt far and wide. Devoid of political intrigues, it tells the story of how creative peacemaking can be effective in changing many peoples’ lives.

Review of Adam M. Auerbach and Tariq Thachil 2023: Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness. Princeton: Princeton University Press

Review of Adam M. Auerbach and Tariq Thachil 2023: Migrants and Machine Politics: How India’s Urban Poor Seek Representation and Responsiveness. Princeton: Princeton University Press

National–Local Synergies for Development: How a Local Political Machine Delivered Infrastructure Results in Iloilo City

The upsurge in big-ticket infrastructure projects in Iloilo City for the past two decades owes much to the developmental alliance amongst Senator Franklin Drilon as the national government benefactor, multi-term city mayors, and the local business sector. These government officials’ prolonged tenure in office afforded a stable political leadership that ensured long-term planning around key infrastructure projects and continued access to national government funding. Robust institutional and informal ties between political and economic elites enabled consensus-building on the virtues of market-driven growth for which infrastructure is key. The Drilon political machine orchestrated a diverse but astutely networked group of local businesses by involving them in formal participatory planning processes, thereby facilitating approval of big-ticket items, and by influencing bureaucrats from national government agencies to approve the projects.

The Coloniality of Academic Freedom and the Palestine Exception

This article reflects on my experience of being suspended and reinstated. It demonstrates how administrators, including those at my institution, knowingly violate academic freedom and free speech. Throughout, I discuss the institutional and political machinations seeking to silence dissident voices, particularly those who critique Israel and Zionist settler colonialism. The aim is to make more visible the linkages between external pressure and the capitulation of administrators influenced by donors. I highlight the university’s role in producing technologies of colonial violence used on Palestinian bodies and the significance of the Gaza solidarity encampments. In the subsequent sections, I critique the weaponization of antisemitism and the Palestine exception to academic freedom. The article concludes by emphasizing the importance of speaking and writing truth to power during a genocide.

Conceptualising overlapping politics: Cross-class political relationships in urban Pakistan

Citizen-led activism to demand and secure adequate housing rights, infrastructure, and services in Islamabad forms part of a longstanding socio-political movement in Pakistan. This activism brings together different classes of urban residents. Drawing from qualitative research comprising of 129 interviews, this article reveals an emerging ‘overlapping politics’, defined as the political relationship between two (or more) distinct socio-economic classes of citizen(s) in response to any form of injustice or inequality. This (re)conceptualises everyday forms of urban political practice by countering existing assumptions that urban politics is rooted in class homogeneity. Inspired by the Islamabad case, I argue that ‘overlapping politics’ emerges largely as an alternative to, and progression from, clientelistic politics through four modes where ‘overlapping’ occurs across class lines: knowledge and information; networks and membership; support; and ownership and responsibility. The outcomes of ‘overlapping politics’ manifest spatially in the city, for example through increased interaction between urbanites, privately organised service provision, and urban protests. Although the practice of ‘overlapping politics’ has limitations, it provides an important new conceptual tool and language for understanding and analysing forms of politics that are embedded in cross-class relationships between urban citizens.

Godfatherism and Democratic Reconstruction in Nigeria: A Review of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic

Much of the contemporary discourse on Nigeria's democracy and politics from 1999 till date has at its centre, the phenomenon of 'godfatherism' in the leadership of political parties, and in running the affairs of our multi-nation-state. As a result of the corruption of the electoral and political processes, governmental structures, electoral politics and state power are skewed towards satisfying the self- regarding interests of the dominant political mentors otherwise known as 'political godfathers'. Relying on their wealth and their political machines, they secure party nomination for candidates of their choice by any means, sponsor their election, including manipulating the electoral process. This paper is intended to examine critically the crisis of political godfatherism in Nigeria and its implications for the future of the nation's democracy. It suggests ways the gods of Nigerian democracy and politics can be checked and confronted if the country is to deepen democracy and strengthen democratic institutions.

Changing Relations Between Chiefs and ‘Subjects’ in Zimbabwe and Botswana

The article historically analyses the changing relations between chiefs, ‘subjects’ and the state in Zimbabwe and Botswana. Entirely qualitative, it reviews published and unpublished sources. The article utilises three interrelated theories: bureaucracy, legal pluralism, and political clientelism. African chieftainship predates the colonial period, although this era has fundamentally altered it. The article argues that in colonial Zimbabwe and Botswana, chiefs were bureaucratised and became state functionaries. This weakened them and compromised the age-old relations with their ‘subjects’. To navigate this intricate situation, chiefs thrived on their clientelistic relations with the colonial state and their ‘subjects’. The colonial state created a legal dual system. The chiefs played a critical role as the intermediaries between their ‘subjects’ and the state in a legal dual system. For instance, they collected taxes and maintained law and order. In postcolonial Zimbabwe and Botswana, chiefs have also become more accountable to the state and ruling parties than their ‘subjects’. In both countries, the state appoints, recognises, de-recognises and can depose a chief. Chiefs often complain of state’s subjugation, but this is understandable given the protection and benefits they receive from the state.

The Spirit of the Service: Dash, Discipline, and Flying Accidents in the Royal Australian Air Force, 1921–48

From its establishment in 1921, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) attracted political and public critique for flying accidents. This article explores how its nascent institutional ethos developed in relation to a problematic safety record. Military aviators were expected to balance airborne “dash” against obeying flying orders, risking castigation if they proved either too timid or too reckless. Despite vigorous attempts to isolate their service from scrutiny, Air Force leaders were forced to adapt the RAAF's safety culture in response to civilian expertise, media pressure, political machinations, and comparisons with other air arms — particularly Britain's Royal Air Force. Through the 1930s and the Second World War, responsibility was increasingly channelled toward individual personnel. Tactics included severe punishments, signed attestations that confirmed compliance with orders and an “endorsement” system that permanently recorded infractions in errant flyers' log books. These measures risked producing timorous and inadequately skilled pilots, unprepared to exploit their aircraft's capabilities to the full. In 1945, the establishment of a Directorate of Flying Safety profoundly changed the RAAF's institutional safety culture, but its accident record remained problematic. Over 1921–48, the “sweet spot” between initiative and dependability eluded the RAAF's quest to inculcate an enduring “spirit of the service”.

What Do Brokers Provide for Urban Slums?

AbstractRapid urbanisation in developing countries has often resulted in slums with minimal public goods provision, where the poor rely on clientelist networks to provide for their basic needs. Using household‐level data, this paper is the first to empirically document how political clientelism operates in Pakistani slums. It finds that urban brokers, unlike their rural counterparts, are unable to claim credit for public goods provision. Instead, they provide personalised and highly targeted services – such as dispute resolution and assistance with documentation. Moreover, unlike traditional clientelism, urban networks are found to be problem‐solving and welfare‐enhancing for slum dwellers.

Analizando las reglas del juego. Características y efectos de las elecciones primarias presidenciales en Honduras

Objective/Context: What characteristics does the presidential primary system adopt? And what are the effects of the primaries on the Honduran political system? Honduras is among the precursor countries in Latin America to adopt the primary system as a mechanism of internal democracy within party structures to select their presidential, legislative, and municipal candidates. Although parties are not obliged to use primaries to select their candidates, the law mandates it for those political groups that have more than one internal movement. Thus, over the years, after eight experiences—in some political parties—the system has become established. The objective of this work is to analyze the origin of the presidential primary system in Honduras, its characteristics, and its effects on the political system. Methodology: This involves analyzing all primary elections held since their adoption to the present. Conclusions: the evidence indicates that, while the primary election system has allowed for the resolution of internal conflicts within parties, it has also contributed to the consolidation of political clientelism in the country. Originality: this work provides tools for analyzing the process of selecting presidential candidates in a political context of low programmatic competition, clientelism, and high personalism.

Political Clientelism in Presidential Elections and Political History in Madura

This research was conducted to reveal clientelism political data and to analyze why clientelism politics has not worked in the presidential election in Indonesia. This study uses a descriptive qualitative method and a case study approach. The selected cases are voters in the Madura region, East Java. Data collection techniques were carried out by conducting in-depth interviews with many informants from various backgrounds, ranging from religious leaders, community leaders, entrepreneurs, media figures, and others. In addition, data collection was also carried out by searching documents on published online media during the presidential election process. The research that has been conducted reveals data that the incumbent presidential candidate, Joko Widodo, and his winning team practiced clientelism politics, through various government programs he led, ranging from social assistance (grants) to programs originating from official ministries and state-owned enterprises. However, the political clientelism exercised by presidential candidate Jokowi is not working in the Madura region. Moreover, in the 2019 presidential election, Jokowi still lost to his rival, Prabowo Subianto. From the analysis conducted, the dysfunctional clientelism politics run by presidential candidate Jokowi is due to three factors that lead to local politics of voters in Madura.
 Keywords: presidential election, clientelism politics, political history in Madura

Qin Shi Huang's Legacy: Assessing the First Emperor's Impact on Chinese History

Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, stands as a transformative figure in Chinese history, leaving a lasting impact that reverberates through millennia. This comprehensive exploration delves into the multifaceted dimensions of his rule, assessing his achievements, controversies, and enduring legacy. From his early life in the tumultuous Warring States period to the unification of China through ambitious military campaigns, Qin Shi Huang's journey unfolds against a backdrop of political intrigue and strategic brilliance. The examination of his governance reveals the imprint of Legalist philosophy, with centralization, administrative reforms, and standardized systems shaping the Qin Dynasty's brief but impactful existence. The study evaluates the cultural achievements that define Qin Shi Huang's legacy, notably the Terracotta Army and monumental constructions like the Great Wall. Beyond the archaeological marvels, the paper probes the controversies surrounding his rule, including harsh legal measures, the suppression of Confucianism, and the burning of books. Modern perspectives offer a nuanced reevaluation of his legacy in contemporary China, exploring the relevance of his governance structures and the cultural significance of his achievements in the 21st century. Qin Shi Huang's influence on subsequent dynasties, particularly the Han, is scrutinized, highlighting the enduring elements of his governance that shaped Chinese political thought. The abstract concludes by emphasizing the continued relevance of Qin Shi Huang's legacy, providing insights into the complexities of leadership, governance, and the continuity of Chinese history. As debates surrounding his legacy persist, Qin Shi Huang remains an enigmatic figure whose historical significance extends beyond his time, contributing to a dynamic discourse on China's past and its implications for the present and future