Political Nature Research Articles

The Interplay of Affect and Power Structures in Mountains May Depart

In recent years, affective theory has gained significant attention in Western film studies and gradually influenced Chinese cinema research. However, its application in Chinese film studies remains superficial, particularly in the lack of in-depth exploration of the political nature of affect and its interaction with power structures. As a representative of China's ‘Sixth Generation’ directors, Jia Zhangke is not primarily known for political narratives, but his works centre on social realities, implicitly revealing the oppression and influence of social power on individuals through the depiction of ordinary lives. This study applies affective theory to analyse the interaction between affect and power structures in Jia Zhangke’s Mountains May Depart. The analysis focuses on three dimensions: affect as the embodiment of power, affect as the physical manifestation of power, and affect as a means of resistance and self-rescue. Through specific analyses of the film texts, the study demonstrates that affective movement is both an important medium for emotional expression and a key to the operation and resistance of power in film narratives. The study finds that Mountains May Depart fuses individual emotions with social power through the multidimensional expression of affective movement. The affective movement not only demonstrates the implicit operation of power, but also expresses the individual's resistance to social oppression and the reconstruction of subjectivity through the transformation of emotions.

Using public–private partnerships for political reasons: the Government’s motivation and conditions

ABSTRACT Why does government use Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs)? Besides their economic values, we argue PPPs are used for political reasons. Employing a political agency framework, we explain how politicians use PPPs to appear competent and extract rents, and under what conditions these political potentials are attractive and accessible to politicians. By analysing U.S. state-level data, we reveal some political and fiscal variables that are associated with PPP initiations and uncover state PPP legal framework diminishes the associations. By echoing literature on public administration, political economy and state politics, our research responds to the call to study the political natures of PPPs.

Power Preservation, No Matter the Means

This article examines the Serbian political leadership—the president and government alike—by addressing the dominant political figures’ narratives. We communicate with the theoretical aspects in the study of populism and conspiracy theories as this nexus enables us to examine the specific nature of the domestic politics in Serbia. In our view, the ruling elite complements its populist discourse with conspiracy theory to ensure its survival in power, by regularly generating fear about the threat posed to Serbian statehood and lack of apprehension for Belgrade’s geopolitical preferences and exploration of foreign policy alternatives. Our analysis fills a major gap in the literature, since there has been only sporadic research on this topic and none of it has focused on the merger of populism and conspiracy theory. The findings we have reached—largely those of the elite’s self-victimization narratives and their dissemination of anti-Western sentiments—provide for a fresh contribution to the debate concerning the power struggle and the state of democracy in Serbia, especially given the fact that the key political stakeholders draw heavily on pro-regime media outlets to readily disseminate their self-serving accounts.

Urban sprawl and the automation of building control in the peripheries of Nairobi

ABSTRACT The peripheries of Nairobi, especially Kajiado County, are experiencing rapid urbanization, leading to an urgent need for essential services and infrastructure. This surge, driven by an influx of middle-class residents and industrial developers, has prompted the county government to implement the Kajiado e-Development Management System (KeDAMS) – a web-based platform for automating construction permit applications. This paper, based on fourteen months of institutional observations and stakeholder interviews, critically examines the unfolding of automation in the physical planning sector of Kajiado. It explores the tensions between the government’s push for technological solutions and the deeply politicized nature of urban planning, where discretionary power remains prominent among state and non-state actors. In analyzing the possibilities and challenges associated with KeDAMS, the paper builds on wider debates on smart urbanism and the automation of urban procedures in global South contexts.

Towards Digital Era Governance? Examining Health Policy through the Lens of Public Administration / Digital Era Governance in der Gesundheitspolitik? Eine Analyse von Gesundheitsreformen aus verwaltungswissenschaftlicher Perspektive

This paper examines the administrative dimension of digital health policy in Germany, focusing on the transformation of the Gematik and the capacity-building initiatives within the Ministry of Health. It highlights the shift from a public governance model to digital era governance and discusses the challenges of both vertical and horizontal integration. The study underscores the political nature of administrative reforms by distinguishing between various governance models and between governance as a structure and governance as a process. The findings emphasize the need for integrating public administration research into policy analysis to better understand the complexities of digital health governance.

El cine de Isabel Sarli y Armando Bó. Una lectura decolonial

Drawing from Walter Mignolo's decolonial theory and the concept of latsploitation, this article explores how Sarli and Bó’s films challenge Eurocentric standards and represent identities marked by colonial wounds. Thanks to this reading it is possible to highlight the political nature of Bó and Sarli’s productions, despite having been considered a commercial entertainment cinema. By analyzing the decolonial stance in the films of Isabel Sarli and Armando Bó, this article concludes the necessity of challenging and questioning the unequivocal binary between commercial and political cinema. This study seeks to contribute to a broader understanding of Sarli and Bó’s cinema, and its role in cultural resistance against coloniality.

Social psychology of context and in context: Understanding the temporal, spatial and embodied dimensions of contemporary geopolitics.

Critical voices within social psychology have, for some time, emphasized that context matters for understanding psychological phenomena and processes. This special issue examines what a social psychology of context, and in context, can contribute to understanding contemporary geopolitics. We argue that, in examining the interplay between social psychology and contemporary geopolitics, we can understand how geopolitical contexts shape psychological processes and how psychology, in turn, informs our understanding of geopolitical phenomena. There are two thematic strands of the special issue; first, how psychological mechanisms influence perceptions and actions within geopolitical contexts, and second, how geopolitics shapes psychology as a discipline, including its theoretical frameworks and power dynamics. Papers examine three dimensions within which psychology and geopolitics meet-the temporal, spatial and embodied-representing history, geography and social relations, while emphasizing their interconnectedness. Drawing on critical geopolitics and social psychology, this introduction underscores the constructed, contested and political nature of time and space. By interlinking historical and social meaning with spatialization, this issue offers a deeper understanding of how individuals, groups and nations create and contest the psychological and geopolitical landscapes that shape contemporary life. The contributions highlight both the opportunities and challenges for social psychology in engaging with these critical intersections.

"Our Golden Girl": Race, Politics, and Sport in the Creation of Identity in Post-colonial Zimbabwe

This paper offers a nuanced analysis of how sport intersects with race and gender in creating identities in post-colonial Zimbabwe. It traces the biography of Zimbabwe’s most successful Olympian swimmer, Kirsty Coventry, from her success at the 2004 Olympics in Athens to her appointment as the Minister of Sport in 2018. The selective acceptance of Coventry’s whiteness against the backdrop of a general rejection of white identity in Zimbabwe points to a nuanced understanding of race. It suggests that whiteness in Zimbabwe is not inherently incompatible with national identity but is often constructed as such for political expediency. Coventry’s case reveals that the state can redefine who is considered a legitimate Zimbabwean based on contributions to national pride and the political context. This flexibility in racial identity construction highlights the dynamic nature of postcolonial identity politics in Zimbabwe. Her victories came when Zimbabwe descended into a socio-economic and political crisis after the ruling ZANU PF regime took over white-owned farmers in a move meant to redress colonial land disposition. FormerPresident Robert Mugabe’s party created a narrative of white farmers as foreigners who did not belong and whose forefathers stole land from black Africans. As a white woman, she was part of these foreigners, yet the former president called her “golden girl” and awarded her US$100,000 in cash for her performance. Through content analysis of media coverage of her success and homecoming, we highlight how success in sport separated Coventry from colonial masters portrayed in the narrative ZANU PF has created around white people. Success in sport created an identity around Coventry, which had nothing to do with her race; she became a Zimbabwean, our golden girl.

Linguistic Choices as Political Participation: The Political Voice of Ukrainian Refugee and Migrant Mothers

ABSTRACT While political participation today manifests in many new, creative, and individualized forms, the contextual drivers and implications of lifestyle politics remain underexplored. This paper offers a comprehensive framework for the study of lifestyle politics, and examines deeply intimate private-life decisions that acquire political meaning during times of conflict. It leverages 18 unique in-depth interviews with Ukrainian refugee and migrant mothers in Denmark to investigate the political nature of linguistic choices, particularly the shift from Russian to Ukrainian after the invasion. Findings show that choosing to speak Ukrainian over Russian and avoiding Russian-language cultural products demonstrates solidarity and protest. Mothers’ policing of language and popular culture at home illustrates how language politicization blurs the line between private and public life and facilitates intergenerational transmission of lifestyle politics. These findings reveal the pervasiveness of and overlooked barriers and sacrifices to this form of political participation, offering insights that are relevant beyond the Ukrainian context.

Re-Sovereignising Africa in the Context of the New World Order Formation

This article is devoted to an examination of both the theoretical and practical aspects of the strengthening of sovereignty on the African continent. The first part of the article comprises a critical analysis of the ‘conventional’ social sciences, concluding that there is no enough literature addressing the issue of sovereignty. The theoretical part of the article also provides a matrix of conjugations of concepts, both synonymous (sovereignty and security) and antonymous to the former (hegemony and neocolonialism). The article then goes on to present the main classifications of types of sovereignty, hegemony and neocolonialism as interpreted by leading Soviet, Russian, Western and African scholars. The theoretical framework of the study is based on the works of the prominent Russian intellectual V.L. Tsymbursky, who distinguished between ‘sovereignty of fact’ and ‘sovereignty of recognition’, and also divided the political and legal nature of sovereignty. This framework is used to examine both the current situation in the Sahel and the broader African context, and the unprecedented rise in efforts to strengthen sovereignty in Africa that took place in the 1970s and 1980s, coinciding with the peak of the Non-Aligned Movement’s and the UNCTAD’s activities. The author identifies the problem of sovereignty defense (ensuring comprehensive security) in the declarations of the BRICS summits in 2009–2022. Conclusions are drawn about the ‘double evolution’ of the external structures of ‘geopolitical recognition’ that took place immediately after the collapse of the USSR and in recent years, when the erosion of the Western-centric system is observed. The final part of the study draws parallels between the Russian and African approaches to the defense of sovereignty in the current world system and concludes that lessons of the previous attempt to consolidate the ‘Global South’ (1970s–1980s) should be taken into account.

Geopolitical Risk and Higher Education in Indonesia: A Systematic Literature Review

As the 2024 elections in Indonesia draw attention, the issue of democracy on universities is often overlooked. Despite the political nature of power dynamics within universities, debates about campus democracy can create tension and harm the academic environment; such conflicts can negatively affect community, cooperation, and mutual respect among students and faculty. This study aims to help universities make better governance decisions, focusing on transparency, accountability, and other key factors. This article emphasizes the geopolitical risk effect in higher education circumstances, which was then developed as a basis for finding solutions for the sustainability of higher education in Indonesia. This research uses the PRISMA systematic literature review method to assist researchers in reporting transparently and systematically why the review was carried out, what the author did, and what was found which was then analyzed using the SLR method which was carried out systematically by following the correct research stages or protocols, includes review studies, structured evaluations, classification and relevant categorization of previously generated evidence bases. As a result Universities behoove sterile from elements of power or, in other words, have political immunity; the functions and roles of campuses need to be revitalized and decontextualized in campus democracy from any political anomaly that causes turmoil. In addition, this research can help stakeholders at the political level to provide consideration in granting full autonomy to campuses both in academic and non-academic aspects.

Как идеологи определяют идеологию: А. Г. Дугин

Introduction. Ideology as a category of political philosophy in a digital society cannot be defined neutrally and autonomously from the activities of its defining subject. Theoretical analysis. Using the example of a specific system of views, the authors show the inevitability of the ideological character and the ideological bias of the concept of ideology. Considering A. G. Dugin’s textbook “Philosophy of Politics”, they try to identify the line beyond which philosophical research goes beyond the criteria of scientific academic objectivity and submits to the task of constructing its own worldview system, which includes the author’s political ideal. The doctrinal analysis of the work under consideration shows the elimination of the concept of ideology from its didactic units, although the traditional programs of this academic discipline contain it. The authors establish the dominance of a broad approach to understanding political philosophy in this work, which allowed its author to “dissolve” ideology in the content of the political and de facto identify ideology and politics. In this case, ideology loses its role as a methodological conceptual tool and transforms into an element of living thinking. An ideologist is identified as a person who directs his intellectual effort to maintain the probabilistic nature of politics as an area of maximum realization of human essence. Conclusion. The identification of ideology and politics is a way of distancing oneself from competing projects of the philosophy of politics, defining them as non-essential and therefore not corresponding to the meaning and purpose of politics.

The meanings of restriction: the Heydt Rescript of 1859 and German migrations to Brazil

On 3 November 1859, the Kingdom of Prussia decreed the so-called Heydt Rescript, a circular that curtailed propaganda and private emigration drives from Prussian lands to Brazil. In line with the assessment of nineteenth-century observers, scholars have long understood the Rescript as a singularly restrictive measure that directly responded to reports of abuse against German colonos culminating in the sharecroppers’ rebellion (revolta dos parceiros) of 1856-1857. However, a number of factors suggest that, beyond Brazil, other Prussian concerns of both a domestic and international political nature motivated the Heydt Rescript. Beginning with the life trajectory of the decree’s author, trade minister August von der Heydt, this article surveys the context that preceded and underpinned the Heydt Rescript in order to show how Prussian military imperatives, economic overtures in Asia, and government changes dovetailed into a multifaceted migration restriction that remained in place until the end of the century.

Gendered EUropean careers? Representation and the challenges in women's political careers

The European political arena, particularly the European Parliament, is considered a more favourable environment than the national political spheres for women. However, nearly half a century passed before a woman was appointed president of the European Commission. Women remain underrepresented in both the European Parliament and the Council. Against this backdrop, this special issue offers a comprehensive analysis of women's political careers in the European Union addressing barriers to gender equality and examining their influence on political representation. By bringing together distinguished scholars and new insights from two previously rather separate research areas—political careers in the European Union and gender representation studies—this issue sheds new light on the challenges women face. This introduction presents a multidimensional framework addressing who, what, when and how regarding key challenges women face as political leaders in the EU, such as legislated gender quotas, gendered norms, and societal stereotypes. The articles in this special issue reveal that women in European Union politics face challenges from individual and collective actors, with party gatekeeping and institutional structures playing critical roles. Gendered stereotypes and the multilevel nature of European Union politics significantly impact women's career trajectories, highlighting the need for reforms at both the European Union and national levels.

Kopciuszek i Sarmaci. Kamp w polskim i norweskim dramacie współczesnym

The 1964 publication of Susan Sontag's essay Notes on ‘Camp’ initiated a discussion of a phenomenon whose functioning in the mass consciousness was inevitably linked to the process of its cultural appropriation, which had been going on for more than half a century. This phenomenon, born in the New York homosexual subculture, was characterized by a rejection of the normative cultural codes that inhibit the development of individual identity. With the publication of Notes on ‘Camp,’ however, it was reduced to an aesthetic of excess and emptied of ideological content. Sontag's gesture of appropriation sparked a discussion on the possibility of reclaiming the political and queer nature of camp. The latter understanding of camp is deployed in this article for the purpose of analyzing its manifestations in Polish and Norwegian contemporary drama. As catalysts of social moods, dramatic texts can be an excellent source of knowledge about the relationship between theatrical practice on the one hand and politics, power, or gender on the other. This paper juxtaposes key dramatic texts (including Jolanta Janiczak's O mężnym Pietrku i sierotce Marysi, Paweł Soszyński's Teo, Lisa Charlotte Baudouin Lie and Maria Kristina Karasjo's Sons of Libertys udistanserte Hongi hjerter og hjerner spiddet av enhjørningens anti-transcendentale regnbågs hallojs rosa horfluff med en twist, and Kari Fredrikke Brænne's Fattigjenta, Bingoprinsen og Det Magiske Pølsevannet) to bring out the similarities and differences between the two countries' camp dramas set in different social and political contexts. The most significant point of comparison revealed by this analysis is that the dramas address different themes and, as a result, the dramas evoke different connotations in the two countries. Since many Polish dramas showcase events, traditions, and heroes associated with Polish national identity, they still seem deeply involved in contemporary social discourse. By contrast, Norwegian drama seems somewhat less serious; artists often play with the aesthetic possibilities of camp in their texts. This juxtaposition reveals the dramatic potential of contrasting the multifaceted and innovative nature of camp in the Polish and Norwegian theater. Camp plays in these countries are shown to have distinctive connotations and to represent different social conditions.

Tugas dan Sifat Politik Hukum terhadap Sistem Hukum di Indonesia

Legal politics plays a role in determining the direction of legal policy that must be taken by the government to achieve certain goals. Legal politics is a very important component, one of which is the implementation of existing laws in the country and every policy taken by the government reflects existing political dynamics and the interests of certain groups, thereby affecting the integrity and justice of the existing legal system. The purpose of writing this article is to research further on how the duties and objectives of legal politics are applied to the Indonesian legal system and whether the application of the nature of legal politics is appropriate to the Indonesian legal system. The method used is normative juridical with a statutory and conceptual approach. Legal politics in Indonesia is normative, dynamic, adaptive, pragmatic, progressive, and functions as a tool of social control. However, implementation is often hampered by political interests and lack of consistent implementation. Therefore, there is a need for regular regulatory evaluation, increased transparency of law enforcement, and public participation to create a more responsive and fair legal system.

המאבק בין צה"ל למשרד החוץ על השליטה בוועדות שביתת הנשק, 1956-1948

The armistice agreements signed between Israel and the Arab states at the end of the War of Independence required the establishment of joint commissions to oversee their implementation. Upon their formation, the Foreign Ministry supported placing these commissions under the responsibility and management of the IDF, based on the understanding that the primary issues they would handle would be military in nature. However, the Foreign Ministry soon realized the political nature of the commissions’ activity and the political consequences of their actions and positions. From the Foreign Ministry's perspective, the problem was that military personnel managed the discussions on political issues within the commissions and firmly refused to allow the Foreign Ministry to be involved in their activities or in relations with the UN entities. This was a prolonged, intense, and bitter power struggle between the Foreign Ministry and the IDF over control of the commissions. In the early years, the Foreign Ministry did not demand control over the commissions but merely sought improved coordination and consideration of its position on various issues. This was met with firm refusal from the IDF, which was supported by Ben-Gurion. Only after Ben-Gurion stepped down as Prime Minister and Moshe Sharett had replaced him did the Foreign Ministry begin to exert pressure, eventually succeeding in early 1955 when Sharett transferred control over the commissions to the Foreign Ministry. Ben-Gurion’s return, first as Minister of Defense and later as Prime Minister, reignited the struggle, as Ben-Gurion contested Sharett’s decision and demanded that responsibility for the commissions be returned to the IDF.

Emancipatory entrepreneuring as disidentification: A queer-feminist view of becoming a democratic cooperative

Democratizing entrepreneurship itself is by far no guarantee for emancipation: the majority can (over)rule, masculinist dominance or regressive ideologies may flourish, and exclusions occur. By ethnographically following the transformation of a socially engaged agency into a diverse cooperative, we offer a processual study of emancipatory entrepreneuring that is undoing the paternal, family-like, and pseudo-democratic enterprise and creates a diverse cooperative with shared ownership, co-leadership, and queered sensitivities to gender, racism, and affective difference. Our analysis thereby relies on the political concept of “disidentification” and its process of queer worldmaking as developed by José Esteban Muñoz. On this conceptual basis, we redraw becoming democratic as an ongoing in-between process of “decomposing” heroic and patriarchally inclined entrepreneurship and ongoingly “recomposing” democratic entrepreneuring through revising interrelated layers of inequality. By introducing the theory of “disidentification”, we contribute with a queer-feminist conceptual vocabulary to analyze the intertwined political and processual nature of emancipation. Transformation is neither understood as a revolution nor a planned linear change but rather as an ongoing in-between process that subversively recycles former, habitual ways of interacting into undertaking different, more inclusive worldmaking.

Perspectives of respondents in Anyigba town on the impediments to the underrepresentation of Kogi State women in elective positions following Nigeria’s 2023 democratic elections

ABSTRACT Studies on women’s political marginalisation in Nigeria dominate the academic literature. However, limited research has interrogated the impediments to the underrepresentation of Kogi State women in elective positions following Nigeria’s 2023 elections. This study examined the role of socioeconomic factors, the nature of politics and perceived patriarchal considerations in the poor representation of Kogi State women in government. This study adopted the liberal feminist theory, used a descriptive survey, and the sample consisted of 361 respondents in Anyigba with deep and diverse knowledge and experience of gender politics in Kogi State. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire, and analyses involved descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviation and t-test. Study results from the 326 completed questionnaires showed that the majority of the respondents implicated socioeconomic issues (19.052), the nature of politics (17.221) and societal patriarchal attitudes (19.051) in the underrepresentation of Kogi State women in government after the elections. The empirical evidence in this study highlighted the obstacles to women’s political representation. This study concluded that improving women’s employment and educational opportunities and strong political commitment from the leadership towards implementing political quotas for women and internal democracy is crucial to increasing the representation of Kogi State women in government

SOME ASPECTS OF SAUDI ARABIAN FOREIGN POLICY: RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT AS AN ACCEPTABLE PRECEDENT

The article examines the issues of noticeable diversification of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's approach to a number of issues of a domestic political, regional and international nature. It tells about the individual methods used by the specified country to achieve strategic objectives. Modern Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy is characterized by a strategic shift towards greater assertiveness and diversification. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom has pursued initiatives such as Vision 2030, aiming to reduce oil dependency and enhance economic resilience. KSA plays a crucial role in regional conflicts, notably in Yemen and Syria, while strengthening alliances with Western powers and emerging nations like China. The kingdom also seeks to enhance its global image through cultural diplomacy and investments in technology and tourism. However, its human rights record and involvement in regional tensions pose challenges to its international standing.