National Political Issues Research Articles

College Women’s Establishing of Peer Social-relationships and Communicating about Pandemic-related Political Identities and Topics

This mixed-methods study examines two research areas concerning whether U.S. women college students, compared with men, enrolled in online classes during the pandemic suffered from stress regarding their ability to socialize and negotiate a community/national political issue(s) affecting them negatively academically in terms of their grade point average and course outcomes, as well as whether the women would experience a sense of belonging and camaraderie with classmates by discussing topics impacting their identities and circumstances in terms of their individual and communal, social-relational, health, and financial pandemic contexts, which might also influence them negatively academically as stressors linked to their course outcomes and progress. Conducted in a rural, geographically marginalized area, the study implements survey and short-answer question instruments and utilizes an exploratory case-study design and a convergent-parallel strategy assessing 188 women and 188 men participants, including racial/ethnic minority and low socio-economic status (SES) women, with women’s median age of 23. of women and men surveyed, the former reported statistically significantly higher stress levels than men connected to the women’s need to socialize and tackle pandemic-oriented community and national political issues affecting their lives and statuses, which subsequently influenced their academic progress. Overall, the pandemic damaged women, especially racial/ethnic minorities, more than men, with women having higher stress rates revolving around their need for socializing (59% versus 33%) and addressing political issues (54% versus 32%), stressors hampering the women’s academic outcomes and status, as well as some experiencing additional stress regarding health and financial concerns. In response to these settings, 21% of women (n = 40) desired to discuss controversial topics, such as their pandemic stressors and related experiences in the classroom, including the pandemic’s political consequences for themselves, to promote self-expression, forge bonds, and seek and provide assistance in addressing all classmates’ academic, personal, and community needs.

Politik Identitas Di Indonesia: Antara Nasionalisme Dan Agama

Liberal democratization is also politically the basis for individual self-actualization. The guarantee of individual liberties in Indonesia's constitution reflects the popularity of this democratic system. However, this freedom ultimately clarifies the divide between identities (religion, ethnicity, language, gender, etc.) that exists in Indonesia, especially in relation to national political issues. Issues of state religion and nationalism are her two identities currently being debated in Indonesia. The politics of identity politics narrows until truthful claims emerge that one interest group is superior to another, and this interest issue begins to divide nations that previously maintained their differences. This article aims to shed light on the reality of identity politics in Indonesia today, focusing on two identity groups: religious groups and nationalist groups. Qualitative methods and literature surveys are used to answer this question. This study finds that the divisions created by political groups based on religious identities and nationalism are constrained by the emergence of crises of trust in government, the spread of false reports, persecution, betrayal, democratic space, etc. found to lead to stability disruptions.

ԵԼԻԶԱՎԵՏՊՈԼԻ ՆԱՀԱՆԳԻ ՂԱԶԱԽ ԳԱՎԱՌԻ ԺՈՂՈՎՐԴԱԳՐԱԿԱՆ ՊԱՏԿԵՐԸ 19-ՐԴ ԴԱՐԻ ՎԵՐՋԻՆ / DEMOGRAPHIC PICTURE OF THE POPULATION OF THE GHAZAKH DISTRICT OF ELIZAVETPOL PROVINCE AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY

The purpose of this article was to present the demographic picture of Elizavetpol province and Ghazakh district at the end of the 19th century. It is known that demography has not only scientific-cognitive, but also political significance from the point of view of the study of Armenian history. Undoubtedly, the fact that demographic issues of the second half of the 19th century have always been in the center of researchers' attention is due to the growth of a special attitude towards national-political issues. The subject of the study is the demographic picture of the Ghazakh district of Elizavetpol Province. Research objectives: to study the process of formation of Elizavetpol province and ethnic composition of the population, to present the population of Elizavetpol province and Kazakh uyezd according to family lists and census data for 1873, 1886 and 1897, to present the age composition of the main population (Armenians, Muslims) of Kazakh Uyezd, to identify the level of education, confessional picture. The research was conducted on the basis of census data, statistical sources and professional literature review. In the course of the study, analytical, historical-comparative and descriptive methods were used. Studying the topic, we came to the conclusion that despite the state's multiethnicity, Armenians and Muslims were the main residents living in Elizavetpol province. It is clear from the census data that Armenians were mainly concentrated in Shushi, Zangezur and Ghazakh districts of Elizavetpol province. The census data also allow us to conclude that a relatively safer and more stable situation was created for the population of Eastern Armenia, which is part of Russia, which in turn was a favorable stimulus for the life activity and development of the population. It would be desirable to compare the size of the Armenian population and growth trends of the Ghazakh district of Elizavetpol province during Persian Armenia and Russian rule, but given the administrative and territorial transformations, the formation of new provinces and the system of local self-government, in fact, the comparison with the provincial composition is inaccurate.

Газет тақырыбындағы прецеденттік бірліктер қолданысы

In the article, the language culture in the mass media and the established tradition of the language of the people are analyzed from a scientific point of view, the precedent units that have been formed as a science in the course of the study of the Kazakh language are analyzed in the mass media, and the linguistic and ethno-cultural aspects of the language culture are classified from a scientific and practical point of view. Precedent names and names in the media are a source of cultural information as culturally meaningful names. That's why it is important to study the linguistic nature of the expressions and transmission of precedent names in intercultural communication and interlinguistic communication from the point of view of linguistics in order to improve health. Therefore, in the course of the study, on the basis of the comparative analysis of modern theories and concepts, the use of precedent units in the regional press pages was described by specific examples, and their pragmatic functions were demonstrated. Precedent names in the mass media are mainly created for pragmatic purposes, they provide preliminary information from the story line and serve as a basis for an impressive, understandable, thorough, eventful presentation of the story to the consumer. This, in turn, gives an opportunity to clearly understand the professional skills of journalists working in the media, in addition to their thorough knowledge of national traditions, customs, cultural, social and political issues. It is known that due to the development of science and technology, using gestures and various slang words in interlanguage communication is a big danger that leads to a decrease in vocabulary. That's why understanding the meaning of speech, striving to convey more meaning with fewer words is probably a necessity of the times.

Metodologi Politik Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia dan Implikasinya terhadap Nalar Nasionalisme Berbasis Keagamaan

This article attempts to explain the political methodology of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia and its implications for religious-based nationalism. As is known, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia was built with great struggle. Indonesia was born based on a sincere and sincere intention to build an independent unitary state. At the same time to achieve a just, prosperous and prosperous society. A number of events have been passed by this nation. The task of the Indonesian people at this time is to take care of the common house (Indonesia) as a realization of devotion and love for the homeland. Taking care of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia today is by understanding the political methodology of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia, if observed in the contemporary era in Indonesian localities, many political issues with religious nuances are developed. National political issues are strongly influenced by the controversy surrounding SARA (ethnicity, religion, race, and intergroup) wrapped in religious normative arguments. Religion, which should be the teaching and norms of living personality that enlightens every individual, is tainted by the issue of poor quality political interests. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the political methodology of the Republic of Indonesia which includes several aspects such as the harmonization of religion and state. Furthermore, aspects of the concept of democracy in Indonesia are in line with Islamic teachings and the last aspect of national politics is egalitarian and non-violent based which is also in line with religious teachings. All of these aspects will in turn give birth to the reasoning of religious-based nationalism as an ideal and logical implication in seeing the existence of Indonesia which is multicultural and diverse.

COVID-Subsidiarity as A New Political Phenomenon

The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly and synchronously changed the lives of billions of people all over the planet. The economic, social, and political problems were entwined in tight contradictions. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international and national political issues has been the focus of attention of academia around the world since early 2020. The primary attention has been focused on international and national levels. At the same time, the subnational and local dimensions of the corona crisis "elude" the political science community. Nevertheless, fighting against the new biogenic danger changes the redistribution of power between the national, subnational, and local levels. The article analyses this redistribution and presents its preliminary due to the incompleteness of the pandemic results. It seeks to identify the main patterns of a new round of the evolution of subsidiarity associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. What role does COVID-subsidiarity play now, and what are its prospects in the post-pandemic world? The article employs the concept of megatrends and comparative methods to answer this question. The results show that extraordinary powers have been redistributed worldwide from the national to the subnational level. The essential characteristic of COVID-subsidiarity is the emergence of emergency powers at the subnational and local levels. It happens in states with different political regimes and different political cultures. It is likely that even after the end of the current pandemic, in some cases, the subnational regions will try to retain the expanded powers they acquired during the emergency. This is part of a broader process of transformation of the modern state and its adaptation to the newly emerging political organization of the world.

A antropologia brasileira vista nos dados da ABA coletados na Pesquisa Global de Práticas Antropológicas. De uma nação imaginária à defesa de direitos

Abstract The article explores the characteristics of Brazilian anthropology identified by analyzing the response of more than 300 Brazilian anthropologists to the GSAP. Even if there is a movement towards internationalization, the data shows that majority of anthropologists in the country conduct research in Brazil and are employed by universities. The article argues that the thematic foci most often chosen are due to the anthropologist's public role in combining research with defense of rights since the 70’s. Social or cultural anthropology are the topical expertise of the majority of Brazilian anthropologists, followed by ethnology. The thematic foci most often cited are: ethnicity and social identity; urban anthropology; political anthropology; Indigenous peoples and colonialism; gender and sexuality. In a Brazilian society where democracy is not consolidated, an anthropological study rarely fails to raise a political debate, either among anthropologists, as it was the case for racial quotas or, either, confronting segments of society or government. In this sense, Brazilian anthropology’s focus on national social and political issues cannot be considered from the European or American point of view to be the same as “anthropology at home”. The voices of Anthropologists are present in the public arena and in many cases have influenced state practices.

Non-Institutional Forms of Political Participation of Muslim Youth in Modern Scotland

The article examines the main forms and socio-cultural features of the participation of Muslim youth in Scotland in non-institutional politics. As their research goal, the authors chose to identify the mechanisms through which political processes specific to the Scottish context (different from the general British or, for example, the English context) generate various forms of political participation of young adherents of Islam. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was a significant layer of empirical data (mainly Scottish), comprehended through an interpretive paradigm, which allowed the authors to analyze the non-institutionalized political experience of young Muslims, finding patterns in how Muslim youth perceive and construct the social world around them. The result of the study was an understanding that the strengthening of the “Islamic factor” in the social and political life of Scotland is explained not only by the growth of the Muslim population, but also by the obvious support that the Scottish authorities provide to adherents of Islam. According to the authors, the issue of national and state independence, the specificity of Scottish nationalism, the attractiveness of the political platform of the Scottish National Party for ethno-confessional minorities became the most important primary factors that predetermined the active entry of Scottish Muslim youth into politics. The main conclusion in this article was the idea that the specific socio-political and sociocultural contexts of Scotland create appropriate forms of political participation of young Muslims. Despite the prevailing opinion that Scottish Muslim youth are interested mainly in international events, the authors show a clearly traceable institutional and non-institutional involvement of young Muslims in national and local political issues in Scotland. According to the authors, the non-institutional political participation of young Scottish followers of Islam is manifested in such forms as social movements, activism and charity, and volunteer work.

Consensus and entrepreneurship: The contrasting local and national politics of UK air pollution

Air pollution in the UK has recently re-emerged as a major policy problem. Insights from the agenda-setting literature are used here to explain the extent to which air quality has become a national political issue, and a local issue in London. The article explores the development of a problem stream in which scientific experts and non-governmental actors have since the late 2000s, provided evidence related to the economic and particularly health costs of air pollution, and increasingly framed the problem as urgent. Key focusing events have also contributed to increasing media coverage and public concern. Explanations are offered for the limited policy response at the national level compared to London. The research is based on primary data which includes 16 elite interviews with key actors, manifestos from London Mayoral and UK general elections, and local and national government policy documents. In London there is broad cross-party consensus and relatively high public concern, and a mayor acting as a policy entrepreneur, able to build upon pre-existing congestion charging policy. In contrast, at the national level there is a shared understanding that air pollution constitutes a problem, but less consensus on its scale amongst the public and across political parties, fragmented policy making and responsibility for the issue and little agreement on the appropriate policy response.

Making the Case for our Legitimacy: Broadening the Management Education Curriculum to Achieve Impact

“The aim (of education) must be the training of independently acting and thinking individuals who, however, see in the service to the community their highest life achievement” - Albert Einstein. There has been much recent debate about the legitimacy of business schools in a world that increasingly views education as a commodity and questions the value and impact of traditional scholarly activities. In this paper, we demonstrate the need for business schools to embrace all three facets of scholarship – teaching, research and service to society – to make a compelling argument regarding our continuing legitimacy. This paper describes how an AACSB accredited business school, delivering degree programs with a partner university in the Middle East, designed its strategic management curriculum around a national political, economic, and social issue, namely the financial literacy levels of citizens. Using the framework of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this innovative curriculum led to the design and implementation of a range of impactful educational initiatives, empowering over 200 students to improve their own lives and those around them, while also achieving learning outcomes based on a curriculum that emphasized multidisciplinary learning, industry engagement and active citizenship.

‘No, we vote for whoever we want to’: young British Muslims making new claims on citizenship amidst ongoing forms of marginalisation

ABSTRACT Young people’s relationship with politics is routinely deemed problematic by a range of influential actors. Amidst concerns over disengagement and the potential for radicalisation, the political participation of Muslim young people is often particularly scrutinised. In contrast to such ‘crisis narratives’, this paper reports on qualitative research with young Muslims in a northern English city. Consistent with research on young people in general, the findings reveal widespread disillusionment with electoral politics amongst this group. Despite this, most respondents were politically engaged and voiced claims for a substantive representation which addressed mainstream and often national political issues. These claims were articulated in contrast to an older generation who were seen as prioritising local issues and representation much more closely tied to kinship and ethnic identity. These Muslim young people were asserting claims for a more mainstream citizenship marked against the political and cultural orientations of an older migrant generation and a wider social context of ongoing racism, Islamophobia and marginalisation.

FEATURES OF DIRECT DEMOCRACY IN SWITZERLAND

The subject. The article is about the peculiarities of referendum and popular initiative which are the main forms and institutions of direct democracy in Switzerland.
 The purpose of the article is to determine the peculiarities of direct democracy in Switzer-land and characterize its main forms: referendum and popular initiative. In order to achieve the objective the following tasks can be defined: 1) to find the origins and identify the variations of forms of direct democracy in Switzerland; 2) to trace the evolution of en-shrining on the statutory level of such institutions of direct democracy in Switzerland as referendum and legislative initiative from the time of their conceiving till the enactment of the actual Constitution; 3) where relevant, to perform a brief comparative analysis of the forms of direct democracy in Switzerland and similar institutions shaped in other countries; 4) to define the role and meaning of referendum and legislative initiative in history as well as in the modern stage of the development of the Swiss State. 
 The methodology of the study includes the use of general scientific methods (description, deduction, induction, analysis and synthesis) together with formal juridical and compara-tive juridical approach. In addition, throughout the article and, in particular, while working with sources of law, historical approach and systematic approach were practiced.
 The main results and scope of their application. The article presents the analysis of such forms of direct democracy in Switzerland as referendum and popular initiative, character-izing each form. The principle of democracy expressed by the practice of referendum and legislative initiative is present in its entirety. No country in the world has come as close to applying direct democracy to national political issues as Switzerland. Since the mid-nineteenth century, when the country's first Federal Constitution was adopted, Switzer-land has managed to hold more referendums than all other countries combined in the same time frame.
 Conclusions. Referendum enables Swiss citizens to dismiss the measures taken by their representatives and the initiative gives the citizens possibility to put laws into practice in-dependently from the legislative powers. Swiss experience vividly demonstrates that used sensibly and taking into consideration national legislative traditions such forms of consult-ing with the people can be quite promising and efficient for other European countries.

L'incerto percorso della legislazione in favore della montagna in Italia e nuove prospettive di attenzione al "territorio"

Mountain areas have been the object of national legislator attention since the beginning of the 20th century and with the approval of the art. 44 of the Constitution they are the subject of specific constitutional commitment. In the immediate post-war period, the need to maintain in these areas socio-economic vitality despite the difficult environmental conditions was such as to make the situation of territories feel like a national political issue. Three specific laws, passed twenty years later from each other, tried to respond, with different visions and tools, to the needs of those territories without however achieving the expected results. After that, it possible to note progressive loss of in mountains by the national institutions and the end of national policy in their favour. From the analysis of some recent national measures that also involve areas, the A. notes the recent trend not so much to the lack of interest in territories, but rather to the loss of specificity of them; the mountain is no longer specific object worthy of attention by the juridical order. The end of specific policy could provide an opportunity to overcome the limitations of the past and think of instruments that are able to capture the high level of internal differentiation in areas, taking into account diversities rather than common features.

Those Who Care CCS -Results from Japanese Survey on Public Understanding of CCS-

The Japanese social survey conducted in 2015 showed that the majority of the Japanese general public did not know much about CCS, but were interested in CCS without any opinion on CCS as a part of climate policy portfolio. In terms of implementation of CCS, the NIMBY perception on CCS influenced opinions, while about half of the respondents did not have clear opinions on a hypothetical plan of implementing offshore CCS near their house. The survey found that some of the characteristics of indifferent people toward CCS were low consciousness on climate change issues (our climate target in 2030, etc.) and politically passive on national political issues. Respondents were categorized to 4 groups and the points of communication for each group were discussed. We found it was important to inform Japanese general public about technological maturity, positive and negative influences or risks of CCS, and necessity of climate change mitigation actions.

Gobierno, legitimidad y movilización: aspectos de la vida electoral en tiempos insurgentes

Partiendo de las valiosas observaciones de Virginia Guedea sobre las elecciones insurgentes convocadas por José María Morelos en 1813, esta investigación, basada en información proveniente del Archivo General de la Nación y de colecciones impresas de fuentes primarias, indaga sobre la función de los comicios en las regiones rurales del país controladas por las fuerzas rebeldes. En vez de discutir los temas de política nacional asociados con la formación del Congreso de Chilpancingo, el artículo centra su atención en la experiencia electoral en los pueblos del territorio insurgente. Las elecciones permitieron a los mandos medios y bajos de la rebelión fortalecer su posición ante la sociedad local haciendo evidente a las poblaciones su autoridad y valiéndose de los eventos para establecer su legitimidad como gobernantes. También sirvieron como actos públicos de adhesión al movimiento y una oportunidad para movilizar a los habitantes a su favor. Además de la cuestión de movilización social, el estudio explora el lenguaje de los actores y los aspectos ritualistas de los comicios para examinar la mentalidad de los insurgentes. Por este medio, podemos mejor entender como éstos concebían el papel de los elementos corporativos en el proyecto de construir un gobierno nacional de forma republicana y representativa desde las bases comunitarias del país. El artículo concluye que de una manera orgánica los revolucionarios aprovecharon las tradiciones coloniales enraizadas en las Repúblicas de indios para crear una visión novedosa de la relación entre la sociedad y el gobierno.

Those who care about CCS—Results from a Japanese survey on public understanding of CCS-

In order to assess the present status of the general public’s awareness and opinion on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and to analyze attributes of groups who have different opinions on CCS, a Japanese social survey was conducted in 2015. The results of the survey showed that the majority of the Japanese general public did not know much about CCS but were interested in CCS without any opinion on CCS as a part of climate policy portfolio. In terms of implementation of CCS, the Not in My Backyard (NIMBY) perception on CCS influenced opinions, while about half of the respondents did not have clear opinions on a hypothetical plan of implementing offshore CCS near their home.Respondents were categorized to four groups, who were consistently positive, consistently negative, changeable or fundamentally indifferent to CCS, and the points of communication for each group were discussed to get a consensus on CCS policy and implementation. The survey found that some of the characteristics of indifferent people toward CCS had a low level of consciousness regarding concerns on climate change issues and politically passive on national political issues. Required information to communicate CCS issues for each group were identified by the analysis. The results of our analysis highlighted the importance of informing the Japanese general public about the technological maturity, positive and negative impacts or risks of CCS, and the necessity of climate change mitigation action in communicating the issues surrounding CCS implementation.

The Webster-Hayne Debate: Defining Nationhood in the Early American Republic by Christopher Childers

Reviewed by: The Webster-Hayne Debate: Defining Nationhood in the Early American Republicby Christopher Childers Thomas Blake Earle The Webster-Hayne Debate: Defining Nationhood in the Early American Republic. By Christopher Childers. Witness to History. ( Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2018. Pp. xiv, 165. Paper, $19.95, ISBN 978-1-4214-2614-3; cloth, $59.95, ISBN 978-1-4214-2613-6.) The debate between Daniel Webster and Robert Young Hayne in the early days of 1830 was a signal moment in the history of the early republic, one that Christopher Childers uses as a lens to analyze competing understandings of the relationship between the people, the states, and the federal government. Going beyond Webster's soaring rhetoric that extolled the blessings of union, Childers casts the senatorial showdown as heralding the emergence of a new party system and the festering of slavery as a national political issue. While the debate became a discourse on the fundamental nature of union, its origins were far more mundane. Weeks before, a resolution had been introduced to limit sales of western lands. Westerners balked at the idea as an eastern scheme that would limit their sovereignty and slacken the pace of development. Southerners like Hayne saw a chance to make common cause with their western counterparts against an eastern establishment that favored a more powerful and more assertive federal government. The western lands question itself did not motivate Hayne; rather, he reacted to the precedent it set. Hayne's position, Childers observes, was clear: "If the federal government could impose a restrictive land policy … it could impose its will on slaveholders and their human [End Page 680]property" (p. 98). Hayne insisted that the Union was composed of sovereign states whose participation remained voluntary. Webster, however, disagreed, seeing the Union as an inviolable compact of the people, or as he so memorably put it, the Union was "now and forever, one and inseparable" (p. 85). Though the debate settled little, Webster and Hayne gave voice to differing conceptions of union that remain part of the American political landscape. Childers devotes the bulk of his attention to explaining how each section arrived at its respective position. He explains how New England, a region that had flirted with secession in 1815, became the standard-bearer for an active federal government, while the South retreated from belligerent nationalism to become a hotbed of states' rights. The reason for the reversal was largely economic, as the entrenchment of the market revolution and of chattel slavery shaped the political outlook of each region. As Childers observes, "economic issues became central to American politics in the years following the War of 1812" (p. 18). The primacy of issues such as the tariff and internal improvements in the development of the ascendant Whig and Democratic Parties attests to this fact. Readers of this journal will be particularly interested in Childers's take on southern politics. The South, Childers contends, committed itself to an unnuanced embrace of states' rights, motivated by a fear of any precedent that might allow the federal government to restrict slavery. This narrative is familiar but feels increasingly out-of-date. While certainly plenty of southerners professed a belief in the uncompromised sovereignty of the states, recent scholarship has shown how adaptable their thinking was. The states' rights that southerners deployed when convenient was not of the ideologically committed, dogmatic sort that Childers suggests became mainstream in southern intellectual circles. The Webster-Hayne Debate: Defining Nationhood in the Early American Republicis an excellent fit for the undergraduate classroom and will surely spark conversation about the relationship between the states and the Union. Though specialists will find little new in this treatment, this work serves as an introduction to this pivotal moment and to the politics of early antebellum America. Thomas Blake Earle Texas A&M University at Galveston Copyright © 2019 The Southern Historical Association

Structure of cocoa farming systems in West and Central Africa: a review

Cocoa agroforests are growing in importance with a view to meeting farmers’ livelihood goals as well as ecological services. Following the recognition of cocoa agroforests as being useful for biodiversity conservation and farmers’ livelihoods, there is a growing discourse on the fact that they may also be useful in climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation. Several companies have expressed their willingness to be “deforestation” certified within the next two decades. In West and Central Africa, cocoa is part of the endeavour to contribute to the REDD+ mechanism. Besides producing cocoa beans, the additional expectations from cocoa agroforests (timber, NWFP, biodiversity conservation, carbon storage, etc…) depend on the trees associated with the cocoa plants. The manner in which associated trees are mixed in the system impacts on the cocoa plants and plants associated with cocoa trees within the agroforestry system thus impact on the products and services produced by these farming systems. Studies are being undertaken to identify the exact composition of these associated trees but very few deal with the manner in which these trees are structurally distributed—vertically and horizontally—within the cocoa agroforest. Understanding the way in which cocoa and non-cocoa trees are distributed within the system would be useful with a view to improving the farm system, thus meeting the needs of several stakeholders. The present study reviews the structure of cocoa orchards and agroforests in West and Central Africa (Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire) with a view to improving the products and services of cocoa landscapes. This review is centred around: (i) density of cocoa, (ii) density of associated plants, (iii) basal area or associated plants, (iv) stratification and space between components, and (v) the life cycle of cocoa plantation components. Densities of cocoa and associated plants in the field are not always those advised by extension services. The cocoa varieties play an important role in type and intensity of shade of the cocoa farms. In the context of multiple expectations placed on cocoa plantations, the unproductive cocoa trees in the farmer fields can be substituted by more vigorous ones or replaced by useful associated plants (Timber and NWFP). With the growing desire to reproduce some key attributes of local forests while responding to other economic and social needs associated with cocoa farms, the neighbouring/previous forest climax and its related basal area can be considered as a reasonable aim, when managing the cocoa agroforest. The life cycle of each of the plant components needs to be optimized in these spatial–temporal intensification considerations. In the prospect of vertical intensification, there is a need to give more attention to understorey management and the number of strata of the agroforest. In the context of sustainable management, a well-structured cocoa agroforest system needs to take landscape, local, national and global socio-economic and political issues into consideration.

Black Lives Matter, gentrification and the security state in the San Francisco Bay Area

In the Fall of 2014, Black Lives Matter protests erupted across the United States and the San Francisco Bay Area became the site of nightly demonstrations that deployed a range of disruptive practices and direct actions. The content and style of these protests reflected both the national political issues raised by the Black Lives Matter movement, and highly local and regional struggles over gentrification and displacement. In this article, I analyze these protests in relation to the regional political economy of the tech-industry, the real estate booms, and the attendant ‘eviction epidemic’ in the region. In doing so, I lay out an analysis of the relationship between policing and gentrification in the Black Lives Matter protests in the Bay Area. In the first section, I analyze the regional political economy as the context in which these protests must be understood. In a second section, I argue that the protests created a regional protest geography that, in turn, was met by a regionalized repressive security state. Finally, I read the disruptive practices deployed by these protests as a series of complex and sophisticated contestations which embodied connections among policing, gentrification, and the regional political economy. As such, the Black Lives Matter protests produced an intersectional analysis and can be read as a regional uprising aimed to disrupt the security state.

De Nederlanse casus: Een politiek gevecht om de grondwetsherziening

The political struggle leading up to the Dutch Constitution of 19831 is an empirical theoretical relevant case. A particular theoretical point of view (called the theoretical perspective of scientific legal intervention) appears to be important with respect to knowledge about contitution building. A preponderating identical habitus of constitutional law intervention was characteristic for all political actors involved on the Dutch national level. In revising the Dutch Constitution of 1983 these actors have been influenced by the international context. However, 'the' international context does not exist. Instead there have been four international politically relevant contexts in the case of the Netherlands between 1945 and 1983. These contexts provoked national political issues and could have a strong political impact.