Moral Entrepreneurs Research Articles

‘Sympathy for the devil’: The strategic use of the populist repertoire in Viktor Orbán’s politics

Populist politicians such as Viktor Orbán are masters at harnessing intense and polarizing moral emotions: they stigmatize the enemies of the people, offer their community protection as self-proclaimed heroes, and at the same time, othering and moral transgressing trigger emotional overreactions from opponents. This article draws on a new analytical framework that incorporates theories of social labeling (moral panic and euphoria, moral entrepreneurship) and heroic/charismatic leadership to explore this multifaceted and antagonistic emotional relationship associated with populists. The theoretical reasoning suggests that these emotional dynamics define the moral cornerstones and boundaries of populist identity politics. Based on an analysis of four illustrative Hungarian cases – the migration crisis, anti-gender politics, the Authorisation Act during the coronavirus pandemic, and Fidesz’s expulsion from the European People’s Party – the article shows that populists can follow different paths to become charismatic heroes in the eyes of his supporters, while others still see them as folk devils due to their controversial moral entrepreneurship.

PERAN ETIKA INOVASI DAN KEWIRAUSAHAAN LEMBAGA DAKWAH DI ERA DISRUPTIF

This disruptive era has had the impact of major changes in various fields, including da'wah institutions. Da'wah institutions as religious organizations face the challenge of remaining relevant, effective, and harmonious in conveying moral and spiritual messages to society. In this context, the ethics of innovation and entrepreneurship are key to the adaptation of da'wah institutions, because they can influence people's perceptions of these institutions. This research aims to explore how da'wah institutions apply innovation ethically and how entrepreneurship can support its sustainability in a disruptive era. Using qualitative research methods, this research explores insights from various da'wah institutions through library research based on primary data sources and secondary data to examine the ethics of innovation and entrepreneurship in the context of da'wah institutions. Primary data are journals and books related to secondary data obtained from dictionaries, encyclopedias, and journal reviews. The research results show that ethical innovation and moral entrepreneurship are important factors in maintaining the relevance of da'wah institutions in a disruptive era and the role of ethics in innovation and entrepreneurship in da'wah institutions.

The ‘War on Drugs’ and the Politics of Morality

Abstract In the time of Rodrigo Duterte, the leaders of the Philippine Catholic Church were divided on the president’s controversial war on drugs. This article draws on interviews with the religious elite and explores how these divisions took shape. We argue that while they agreed that the killings would not solve the drug problem, they diverged in two respects. The first concerns the violence of the war on drugs. It may have been ‘undesirable,’ but it was ‘unavoidable.’ The second concerns their role as national leaders in speaking truth to power. Some believed it was their duty to be prophetic; others felt it was necessary to be ‘practical.’ Our article frames the discussion in terms of morality politics, the competition for values that deliberately make a distinction between ‘good’ citizens and everybody else. From this vantage point, religious leaders are moral entrepreneurs who define who lives and who does not.

Moral panic and (in)security

Abstract This study examines Trump’s depiction of Hispanic and Latinx immigrants, highlighting his use of moral panic to activate fear and thereby deepen societal divisions within a broader right-wing populist agenda. Analyzing nearly half a million words from Trump’s tweets using corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis, the research reveals that he portrays Hispanic and Latinx immigrants as the ‘object of offence,’ amplifying their perceived threat while ‘scapegoating’ political adversaries and other nations. As a ‘moral entrepreneur,’ he and his allies position themselves as protectors against this perceived danger, warning of severe ‘consequences’ for national security and the economy if left unaddressed. Their ‘corrective action’ involves implementing strict immigration policies, with the ‘desired outcome’ being enhanced security and economic prosperity. The study demonstrates how the deployment of moral panic generates public fear and insecurity, legitimizing anti-immigrant sentiments and justifying stringent measures. This, in turn, reinforces right-wing populism narratives with significant societal implications.

Is It Real? The Construction of Prejudice Against Nigerian Immigrants in Italy: A Case Study

Italian public opinion has developed, through the years, a strong discriminatory attitude against the Nigerian community. It is based on the assumption that Nigerians are involved in the illegal sex industry. Moral entrepreneurs, such as politicians and charity activists, as well as scholars, fuel this rhetoric, as they represent Nigerian women either as victims of smugglers in their native country and in Italy, or as attracted by easy gains. Moreover, it is taken for granted that they follow primitive beliefs and rituals, such as Juju. This paper will focus on a case study, highlighting the process of criminalization of Nigerians. After discussing different perspectives about migration, a judicial case involving a network of Nigerian citizens will analyse how the mainstream representation of migration and sex workers results, at the end of the day, in discriminatory prejudices. The final part will propose to change the focus of the analysis from smuggling and exploitation of human beings to a human rights approach.

Can Street-Level Bureaucrats Assist with Material Resources? Naming, Trivializing and Privatizing Economic Abuse in Israel

ABSTRACT Street Level Bureaucrats’ (SLBs) contribution to social inequality was proposed to be best assessed by combining three analytical approaches: Discretion, Positioning, and Reproduction. Such a triple analytical framework may be required for understanding SLBs’ responses to Economic Abuse (EA) in Israel where formal law has not addressed EA while the prevalent welfare orientation denies the material resources required in responding to EA. Applying the triple framework in analyzing fifty-three interviews conducted with Israeli SLBs operating in state welfare organizations reveals the extent to which each analytical component is open for SLBs’ moral entrepreneurship, generating a sense of appropriate professional treatment. It develops a critical discussion of the conditions under which applying the triple framework of discretion, positioning, and reproduction is conducive.

Beyond panic: navigating the tides of change in relationships and sex education

ABSTRACT This paper critically evaluates societal reactions to integrating LGBTQ+ content into the Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) curriculum in England and Wales. Utilising Stanley Cohen’s theory of moral panics, it examines the roles of media, moral entrepreneurs, authorities, and the public in shaping debates around educational reforms. The paper highlights the complexities of balancing traditional values and inclusivity in education, emphasising the necessity of a considerate and comprehensive RSE approach. The study employs mixed methods, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses, to explore the multifaceted nature of this societal issue and its wider implications.

Moral Entrepreneurship and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Psychiatry

Moral Entrepreneurship and the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence in Digital Psychiatry

Academic Moral Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Translation to Turn Crises Into Opportunities: The Case of VeniSIA

Academic Moral Entrepreneurship and Knowledge Translation to Turn Crises Into Opportunities: The Case of VeniSIA

INTERNET GOVERNANCE AND MORAL ENTREPRENEURS

A growing body of academic work on internet governance focuses on the “deplatforming of sex,” or the removal and suppression of sexual expression from the internet. Often, this is linked to the 2018 passing of FOSTA/SESTA – much-criticized twin bills that make internet intermediaries liable for content that promotes or facilitates prostitution or sex trafficking. We suggest analyzing both internet governance and the deplatforming of sex in conjunction with long-term agendas of conservative lobbying groups. Specifically, we combine media historiography, policy analysis, and thematic and discourse analysis of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s (NCOSE, formerly Morality in Media) press releases and media texts to show how conservative moral entrepreneurs weaponize ideas of morality, obscenity, and harm in internet governance. We illustrate how NCOSE has, directly and indirectly, interfered in internet governance, first by lobbying for rigorous enforcement of obscenity laws and then for creating internet-specific obscenity laws (which we argue CDA, COPA, and FOSTA/SESTA all were for NCOSE). We show how NCOSE adjusted their rhetoric to first link pornography to addiction and pedophilia and later to trafficking and exploitation; how they took advantage of the #metoo momentum; mastered legal language, and incorporated an explicit anti-internet stance.

“This is Not A Song, It’s An Outburst”

Challenging traditionally-conceived narratives surrounding the dialectic of Apartheid, many Afrikaners became facilitators of in-state resistance alongside their black peers after becoming disillusioned with the South African regime’s foreign policy initiatives during the 1970s and 1980s. Afrikaner men were conscripted to fight in their country’s dirty wars in Rhodesia and Angola, which destabilized the regime’s legally-enshrined white privilege and fueled resistance expressed through musical movement. This idea connects to tactics used by the American government to assert racialist sovereignty as a tenet of stratifying South Africa’s domestic society through soft power. This paper demonstrates through semantic and musical deconstructions how and why Paul Simon’s “Graceland” project and the Voëlvry punk movement worked to dismantle tenets of racial governance at the grassroots level in South Africa. From the usage of the English language to the usage of Western instrumentation with “reclaimed” rhythm, these cases show a broader yet calculated transgression from mediatic expressions of Apartheid through moral entrepreneurship.

Public relations professionals' views of moral entrepreneurship: an exploration of the concept, its benefits and barriers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine US public relations professionals' perceptions of the benefits and challenges associated with the concept of moral entrepreneurship, defined as the purposeful process of changing or creating new institutionalized ethical norms. This study argues that the concept of moral entrepreneurship provides organizations with a potentially valuable framework to actively recognize societal pressures and problems and act accordingly to better the environment in which the organization resides and operates.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory study uses purposive in-depth interviews with 25 diverse public relations professionals, who represented communication firms, in-house public relations departments, higher education, nonprofits and government.FindingsRespondents assigned a high value to the concept of moral entrepreneurship: In addition to its being viewed as the right thing to do, they recognized its practice as a way to help organizations recruit and retain employee talent and improve stakeholder trust. However, based on the interviews, organizational leadership is the primary initiator of ethical changes; therefore, without a seat at the management table, practitioners lack the influence to initiate such new organizational directions and take on the role of moral entrepreneurs only when directed to do so by their superiors. Barriers to adopting a moral entrepreneurship approach included a limited budget and shortage of staff, employees' resistance to change, fear of failure, poor leadership and a politically polarized workplace.Practical implicationsPractice implications include considerations for furthering moral entrepreneurship in organizations.Originality/valueThis study is the first to explore the applicability of the concept of moral entrepreneurship in public relations. The paper underscores the need for further discussion around novel approaches to ethics in public relations that go beyond simple compliance with professional codes and industry standards and that help organizations lead societal change.

The Evolution of a Social Problem: The Case of the Switchblade Knife

ABSTRACT We illustrate the evolution of a social problem by describing the history of the switchblade knife and claims used by moral entrepreneurs to change the switchblade’s legal status in American. To investigate this issue, we conduct a historical-event analysis using legal documents, newspapers, magazines, advertisements, books, and testimonials. We argue that the switchblade’s deviant status evolved not from the objective harm it caused, but rather, from sensational claims made by moral entrepreneurs. In our analysis, politicians successfully singled out and redefined the switchblade as a vicious weapon with no legitimate civilian use and created concern for this particular knife by drawing attention to its associations with a dangerous class and criminal behavior. Additionally, we show how politico-moral entrepreneurs utilize sensational claims and sketchy data to create, proliferate, and regulate a new social problem. We conclude by discussing the role of power regarding the ability to define and regulate social problems.

The (not so) secret governors of the internet: Morality policing and platform politics

A growing body of academic work on internet governance focuses on the ‘deplatforming of sex’, or the removal and suppression of sexual expression from the internet. Often, this is linked to the 2018 passing of FOSTA/SESTA – much-criticized twin bills that make internet intermediaries liable for content that promotes or facilitates prostitution or sex trafficking. We suggest analyzing both internet governance and the deplatforming of sex in conjunction with long-term agendas of conservative lobbying groups. Specifically, we combine media historiography, policy analysis, and thematic and discourse analysis of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation’s (NCOSE, formerly Morality in Media) press releases and media texts to show how conservative moral entrepreneurs weaponize ideas of morality, obscenity, and harm in internet governance. We illustrate how NCOSE has, directly and indirectly, interfered in internet governance, first by lobbying for rigorous enforcement of obscenity laws and then for creating internet-specific obscenity laws (which we argue CDA, COPA, and FOSTA/SESTA all were for NCOSE). We show how NCOSE adjusted their rhetoric to first link pornography to addiction and pedophilia and later to trafficking and exploitation; how they took advantage of the #metoo momentum; mastered legal language, and incorporated an explicit anti-internet stance.

‘Pornophobia’: Lord Porn and the fall of Britain’s domestic pornography trade

ABSTRACT This article reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Longford Report. Published at a time when other countries had legalized or were planning to liberalize laws regarding the publication and distribution of pornographic materials, the report is often viewed as a failed attempt at policymaking. Drawing on extensive ethnohistorical research conducted over a six-year period, which includes engagement with archival documents, media reportage and the published report, I show how the Longford Report inadvertently had a significant impact on Britain’s hardcore pornography trade and suggest that the activities of moral entrepreneurs like Longford can have a lasting effect on how pornography is controlled.

“I'm going to do battle… I'm going to do some good”. Biographical trajectories, moral politics, and public engagement among highly religious young Catholics in Spain and Mexico

AbstractPublic debates and controversies on moral issues have gained visibility in recent decades in both Spain and Mexico. Conservative Catholic groups and networks are increasingly playing a crucial role in raising and framing highly morally charged themes in the public arena, especially on intimacy‐related policies, including sexual and reproductive freedoms. A new generation of young Catholic leaders becoming key political agents has emerged in this scenario. They are fostering new mobilisation repertoires in the public sphere (e.g., digital activism and public performances) and promoting new political narratives merging moral, cultural, and religious elements. These highly religious and conservative young Catholics consider themselves part of a cultural/cognitive minority and feel entitled to become what Howard Becker termed “moral entrepreneurs.” Most have been educated in Catholic schools and belong to Catholic movements. Still, they can also navigate secular politics and strategically use different regimes of justification and action. Within this context, the article aims to examine and compare the intersection of historical trends and the relevance of individual biographies to understand the role of these young Catholics in the public space in both countries.

Mortality, moral regulation, and (im)moral entrepreneurship in My Favorite Murder

ABSTRACT As mediated death has become a staple of contemporary society, debates about the treatment of death in the public domain abound. This article examines the true crime comedy podcast My Favorite Murder, arguing that it functions to produce a collaboratively ‘provocative morbid space’ in which its hosts and audiences can engage in contemplating, discussing, and negotiating the politics of murder, victimhood, and their surrounding inequalities. My Favorite Murder explicitly positions itself as provocative and morally ambiguous, raising questions about who has ownership, legitimacy, and moral standing when it comes to discussing death. We argue that the podcast both reflects public fascination with death and functions to enact a socially progressive agenda through controversial and entertaining popular cultural engagement with the sensitive subject of murder. With the hosts acting as what we term ‘(im)moral entrepreneurs’ collaboratively producing with audiences ‘counter cultural (im)moral discourses’, the commercially successful podcast offers a version of the ‘cautionary tale’ that foregrounds the sociocultural inequalities that have contributed to the vast array of murders discussed across its 300+ existing episodes.

Local cultures of control, order maintenance policing, and gentrification: A comparison of railway station districts in three German cities

ABSTRACT In recent years, many major German cities have expanded the capacity and legal authority of their municipal order enforcement services and order maintenance policing. The focal action points are central neighborhoods characterized by a concentration of social problems, reinvestment in the built environment, and prevailing feelings of insecurity and the need to improve the quality of life. This study explores the causes of local cultures of control and their relations to order maintenance policing and neighborhood change. We used a document analysis and guided interviews with experts in the railway station districts of Düsseldorf, Leipzig, and Munich. Our findings demonstrate how the local control habitus shapes neighborhood change while being shaped through neighborhood-specific demands for formal social control. Demands for order maintenance policing originate from both the supply (business people) and demand sides (new residents). Moral entrepreneurs convey such demands through the local political context.

A Moral Entrepreneur in the Land of Consensus: Making School Policy in Switzerland

Abstract This article examines the way in which political decisions on schooling are made, with the double constraint of a search for consensus, anchored in Swiss politics, and the presence of moral entrepreneurs (Becker, 1985).We analyse the tensions that this creates in the design of a reform of lower secondary education and the forms that the conflict takes. The analyses show an over-politicisation of educational issues, exacerbating the divisions between policy actors.

Prudent Entrepreneurship inTheory of Moral Sentiments

Adam Smith writes favorably about innovation inWealth of Nationswhile writing unfavorably about a figure associated with innovation: the projector. His criticism of projectors prompts many scholars to claim that Smith disapproves of entrepreneurship. But Smith criticizes the projector not because he acts as an entrepreneur but because he fails to meet Smith’s moral standards for entrepreneurship. InTheory of Moral Sentiments, Smith conceives of a framework for moral entrepreneurship based on prudence. The framework consists of two principles: first, approach everyday matters with the general “tenor of conduct” that governs your life and trade, and second, approach life-changing matters with prudence and justice. Recognizing that Smith is concerned with the total effect that an entrepreneurial venture has on society beyond its immediate profits opens the door to engage with contemporary research that studies the ethical and moral externalities of entrepreneurship.