Party Program Research Articles

Fear of Others: Processes of (De)Securitisation in Northern Ireland

Situated at the junction between the field of ethnic politics, security studies, and migration, this paper analyses processes of (de)securitisation in Northern Ireland. The country is characterised by its violent past, consociational power-sharing institutions, experience with periods of political instability, and the recent arrival of several thousand people from other EU and non-EU countries. As a case study, Northern Ireland epitomises the problems of divided societies and the challenges posed by the presence of competing nationalisms in multinational and ever more diversifying countries. This paper applies the concept of (de)securitisation to analyse the extent to which past conflicts and tensions have been overcome; uncovering who or what is perceived as a threat, according to which terms, and how this affects majority-minority relations. To conduct the analysis, I adopt the Copenhagen School understanding of securitisation as a speech act. I use a qualitative methodology, examining (de)securitising discourses that emerged in the party programmes of the main political forces which won seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2017 and in previous elections since 1998. I look at the evolution and transformation of such discourses since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 to today, bringing to light the different security narratives that characterise Northern Ireland concerning the divisions and relationship among its communities and the broader issue of diversity.

GENDER EQUALITY IN TUNISIA: CURRENT TRENDS

Tunisia has come a long way towards achieving gender equality and remains a prominent example to other Arab countries in this experience. Meanwhile, Tunisia still takes only modest positions in international rankings on various indexes measuring gender gap. This work examines, with the help of a comparative-historical method, the formation of the women's movement in Tunisia and the development of legislation on gender equality. Then, through statistical data the author outlines the extent of women's economic, social, and political participation, and, finally, referring to the "concept of representation" by Hanna F. Pitkin (1967), the author looks at the pre-election programs of political parties that won the 2019 parliamentary elections, in order to assess the perception of the problem of women's emancipation in Tunisian society on the whole. As a result of the research, the author comes to the conclusion that, despite progressive legislative framework guaranteeing women's rights, the mass consciousness of Tunisians maintains a set of ideas and norms on gender inequality generated by Islamic tradition and fostering the discrepancy, first in the existing legislation and the objective reality, and secondly, between the rules of family law containing elements of Sharia, and the provisions of the Constitution, as well as the accepted international obligations.

Is Global Capitalism Compatible with Democracy? Inequality, Insecurity, and Interdependence

AbstractGlobal capitalism seems to be placing democracy, especially liberal democracy, under considerable stress. Support for populism has surged, especially for extreme right parties with populist and authoritarian programs. Inequality, insecurity, and interdependence—all associated with globalization—have grown globally and appear to be key sources of stress. New technologies spread readily by globalization are also a force for destabilization. Do these international forces pose existential challenges to democracy? Liberal democracy rests on a foundation of political equality among citizens; it requires free and fair elections, competition among programmatic parties, political legitimacy from public support, and institutional constraints on executive power and majority rule. Is the rise global capitalism eroding all of these key elements? If so, what can be done about it?

Социальный запрос на будущее России в политических проектах и массовом сознании граждан

Introduction. The purpose of this article is to find out to what extent the “social state” concept, brought to the fore of domestic political, social, and economic agendas by amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, is able to satisfy the demand of the mass political consciousness in Russia for the image of the country’s future. Methods and materials. To solve this problem, a wide range of general scholarly and specific political science approaches and methods were used. The conclusions are based on the results of opinion polls conducted by the largest social surveys research organizations of Russia (i.e. “Russian Public Opinion Research Center”, “Levada-Center”, and “Public Opinion Foundation”), analysis of the programs of political parties, speeches of Russian politicians, as well as on the observation over the Russian political process. Analysis. The views of citizens on the prospects for the development of relations between the state and society in Russia are analyzed in relation to the political projects of leading Russian political actors; the prospects of key projects of the existing political, social, and economic system optimization in the context of their compliance with the needs of various social groups in modern Russia are considered; estimation of social risks of their implementation is given. Results. An inference is made that formation of a socially desired image of the future of Russia requires a significant adjustment of the main Russian political actors’ activities. Domestic political parties need a renewal of their leadership and relevant institutional and ideological reformatting; the highest bodies of state power need to adjust the political course – first of all, it is necessary to establish control over the use of natural resources, introduce a differentiated taxation system, and stimulate production. The lack of a clear response from government bodies and party structures to society’s requests for a just, socially responsible state creates risks for the stability of the domestic social and political system, and can be used by destructive political forces to implement the scenario of a “colour revolution” in Russia.

One-Eyed King: Phenomenon of “Positive Program” in Russian Politics

One of the central issues of the Russian politics is whether its participants have the so-called “positive program”, and the representatives of both the ruling regime and opposition regularly talk about the need for such program. The article examines three interrelated issues: 1) what a “positive program” means and how this phenomenon is interpreted in the Russian political space; 2) to what extent it is correct to accuse Russian parties in their lack of a “positive program”; 3) whether the current government, which articulates the demand for a positive program more often than others, has such a program. In this article the author shows that, being a specifically Russian phenomenon, a “positive program” today presupposes not only the advancement of concrete proposals and initiatives that look into the future and represent an alternative to the current political course. Its most important feature is the acceptance of the status quo: in order for the initiatives of an individual politician or a party to be recognized as “positive”, they should not infringe on the legitimacy of the existing order. It is this criterion alone, according to which the programs of a number of parties can be deemed “non-positive”. In terms of their concrete, alternative and future-oriented programs, many parties are not inferior, if not superior, to the United Russia that largely devotes its party program to the chronicle of the achievements made by the country (not the party) as well as to Vladimir Putin who did not offer to the public a single document called “program” in any of his presidential campaigns.

The Role of Ex Combatants Party Against The Advocacy of Political Representation of Women In The Post-Conflict in Aceh, Indonesia

This study discusses the role of ex-combatant parties in advocating post-conflict women by using the Aceh Party case study. Aceh Party is one of the parties that transformed the struggle movement from the armed movement into a political party movement through general elections. The ex-combatant party was formed by post-conflict combatants after peace negotiations. The ex-combatant party which later became the case study material in this study was the ex-combatant party (Aceh Party) in Aceh. The presence of ex-combatant parties as part of the democratization process has a different reception towards the equality discourse of women in the participation and representation of public spaces, especially representation in politics. The Aceh Party has a tendency for women only as a formality to fulfill a 30 percent quota, without involving women seriously in political matters. This certainly can be seen how the party programs tend to be gender biased. The purpose of this study is to look at the phenomenon of the presence of post-conflict ex-combatant parties as part of the democratization process in providing advocacy for women. Through this research with a qualitative approach both sourced from primary and secondary data by tracing various literature, documents, and other supporting materials.

Lithuanian Political Parties in the Age of Populism: Content Analysis of the 2016 and 2020 Seimas Election Programmes

During the spread of populism in politics, we know little about the prevalence of populism in the discourse of Lithuanian political parties. This article presents a content analysis of Lithuanian political parties’ manifestos for the 2016 and 2020 parliamentary elections. The results show that references to the people as a homogeneous unit are relatively widespread, but the number of anti-elitist paragraphs in party programmes is lower. We can divide the parties into three groups according to the level of populism. The most populist parties, located at the fringes of the party system, received little support from the voters in the Seimas elections. Parties that presented relatively high numbers of people-centrist paragraphs and a relatively moderate criticism of the elite proved to be much more successful in the election.

School education reform in the party discourse (based on the materials of the election to the State Duma of the 7th convocation)

In recent years, the reforms of the educational system have become a pressing public concern. The subject of this research is the proposals of the political parties pertaining to school education. The article considers the election programs of political parties with the federal lists of candidates officially registered for the 2016 State Duma Elections. The author explores reference to the problems of public education in the election campaign, attitude of the parties to such topical aspects as the implementation of the Unified State Exam, social status and salary of the pedagogues, and future trends in the education reforms. With the exception of the “United Russia”, which noted a number of positive trends, the parties criticized the current situation in education. Most criticism was expressed towards drawbacks of the Unified State Exam procedure; therefore, the parties demonstrated different approaches – from its cancellation to modification. Instead of submitting new comprehensive proposals, the political actors suggested focusing on the Soviet system of education or the Russian system of education formed after 1991. The problem of school education will remain relevant in the next election cycle; however, the priority topic of discussion may change to distant education.

Is Alt-Europe possible? Populist radical right counternarratives of European integration

ABSTRACT After the 2016 Brexit referendum, European populist radical right (PRR) parties shifted towards what I call an alt-European policy programme. Alt-Europe is a conservative, xenophobic intergovernmental vision of a European ‘community of sovereign states’, ‘strong nations’ or ‘fatherlands’, that abhors the EU’s ‘centralised’ United States of Europe. Whereas most work on the PRR examines its national impact and plots party programmes on a spectrum from soft to hard Euroscepticism, this article instead contributes to cutting edge transnational research on PRR narratives. I use qualitative content analysis to identify narratives that support or undermine alt-Europe, and tropes that refer to them, in the thirteen parliamentary, presidential and European election manifestoes since 2012 of four major PRR parties, AfD (Germany), PiS (Poland), Lega (Italy) and FN (France). Contesting the hard-soft dichotomy in Euroscepticism studies, the article identifies enduring alt-European master narratives across Europe. These stories of geopolitics, democracy, money and especially ethnic understandings of Christian civilisational identity offer important shared narrative resources for programmes of both reforming and replacing the EU. Common narratives also support the PRR unity needed to implement an alt-European programme. However, PRR parties’ extreme nationalism and different interpretations of these narratives strongly impede this cooperation.

Mass Observation, Apathy, and Electoral Politics in England, 1937–1950

AbstractWhile various historians use Mass Observation sources to study popular engagement with politics in the 1940s, they tend to rely on file reports summarizing research or the writings of the national panel, which paid limited attention to how the public engaged with key aspects of electioneering. By contrast, we re-examine Mass Observation's various election surveys to explore people's assumptions about how election campaigns should be conducted, the qualities looked for in political parties, and their reflections on the records of governments. Our conclusions shed light on the transformation of British public politics after 1918. During the interwar years it became common thinking to assume that parties would centre their campaigning around a detailed programme for government. Whereas Mass Observation's employees often claimed that much of the public was apathetic about politics, a reanalysis of the survey results indicates that many people were eager to be seen to be able to offer a considered assessment of the veracity of the competing parties’ promises. Mass Observation's election studies were criticized for their supposed amateurism. However, they offer richer insights into how the public engaged with party programmes than the quantitative surveys that came to dominate election studies in the 1950s and beyond.

VERTYBIŲ KOMUNIKACIJOS YPATYBĖS LIETUVOS POLITINIŲ PARLAMENTINIŲ PARTIJŲ PROGRAMOSE (2016 METŲ RINKIMŲ ATVEJIS)

The article discusses the results of value-based communication analysis in the electoral programs of winning parties in Republic of Lithuania Seimas’2016 year election (LVŽS, LSDP, TS-LKD, LRLS, TT, LLRA-KŠS). With the application of three criteria of programs’ analysis – the volume of thematic parts, semantic segments, and ideological values – these questions were addressed: the connection and differences between winner parties’ attitudes towards values; whether traditional parties have preserved ideological identity; what coalitions after the election in the Seimas were possible based on values. The research data revealed that communication of values relevant to society in all analyzed programs is very similar, and, through cluster analysis, the connections between ideological values’ communication were established foremost between traditional parties (first cluster). The second cluster consists of less related programs of other parties. Almost identical results were established when analysing this aspect based on programs’ structural parts. Thus two separate structural elements with stronger (first case) and weaker (second case) interconnections were determined.

Marxists (Revolutionary) Doctrinal Concepts of the State Power Mechanism

The article provides a structural retrospective analysis of Marxism, its main directions in the period from the end of the 19th to the end of the 20th century. Five stages of Marxism evolution are distinguished according to the views transformation criterion on the state power mechanism. Starting from the «birth» of Marxism foundations, its spread and domination, further hegemony and immunity to discrediting and declining, revisionism. The movement of scientifi c thought about the state power mechanism transformation, the ideological basis of this phenomenon and related state institutions is shown. The involved complex of hermeneutic methods, taking into account the political situation and relations between various groups of Marxists (left, centrist, radical, etc.), made it possible to assess the general direction of development of approaches to the state power mechanism and the changing boundaries of political and legal regulation. As a result, a methodological system was created, which served as a scientific (instrumental) basis for the transformation of the dominant Soviet socialist ideology of the formation and functioning of the state power mechanism, real practice of the power resources distribution, the content of party program documents, changes in the political regime in the USSR. Assessing the unrealized potential of the Marxism ideology, the authors came to the conclusion about its relevance, applicability for state-legal and economic-political reality in the context of globalization, informatization and digitalization of society. As a result, the author's instrumental (mechanistic) vision of the state power mechanism was formulated, that is both free from many shortcomings of the "classical" approach to the state institutions and adapted to solve modern problems of public administration.

Карманный справочник для правого избирателя к выборам в XXIV-й Кнессет (Pocket Guide to XXIV-th Knesset Elections for Conservative Voter)

Russian Abstract: Этот материал – небольшое, но, надеюсь, полезное добавление к нашим старым обзорам к выборам в XX и XXI-й Кнессет (первым в затянувшейся серии выборов): «Краткий обзор позиций основных партий, баллотирующихся в Кнессет XXI созыва. Ориентиры для правого избирателя» и «Краткий Обзор Позиций Основных Партий, Баллотирующихся в Кнессет XX Созыва» Позиции партий по проблемам:• Распространение суверенитета Израиля на освобожденные в 1967 году территории (аннексии)• Кровавый навет на евреев в связи с поджогом в Кфар Думе: партии чьи лидеры поддались давлению Шабака (Евсекции) и те, которые не поддались• COVID-19 реакции властей по трем параметрам: поддержка принудительного карантина, принудительное ношение масок на улице (в открытых пространствах), полу-принудительная вакцинация (позиции: Да, нет, не определенная)• Реформа судебной системы и прокуратуры: Разделение полномочий юридического советника правительства от полномочий генерального прокурора; поправка о преодолении решений Верховного суда (поправка к Основному закону о достоинстве и свободе человека ); Назначение судей – по классическим образцам – исполнительная власть назначает по согласованию с Кнессетом по итогам открытых слушаний по кандидатуре; Защита наших военных от произвола военной прокуратуры использующей против них «международные нормы» не ратифицированные Израилем (с 1977 г.) и ограничение полномочий военной прокуратуры.English Abstract: Here is a small Supplement to previously uploaded reports on Israel Parties Programs and History. The Short Review of Parties’ Platforms Towards Elections of XXI-th Knesset. Reference Guide for Conservative Voter and to the more detailed report XX Knesset Elections: What Do These Parties Really Stand for?

Pocket Guide to XXIV-th Knesset Elections for Conservative Voter

Here is a small Supplement to previously uploaded reports on Israel Parties Programs and History. The Short Review of Parties’ Platforms Towards Elections of XXI-th Knesset. Reference Guide for Conservative Voter and to the more detailed report XX Knesset Elections: What Do These Parties Really Stand for? The issues covered are:• Sovereignty • Kfar Duma anti-Jewish blood libel test: party caved in and supported ‘Jew Section’ of Shabaq (GSS) - Yes or Not• COVID-19 response position means 3 issues: Lockdowns, Compulsory masks at the streets, semi-compulsory vaccination (position: Yes, No, Ambiguous)• Judiciary reforms: Attorney General separate from Legal Advisor to Government; Supreme court Override Clause (Amendment to the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty ); Government appoints Judges, Knesset agrees; Judges appointed after a public hearing in the Knesset; Our military personnel protection against application so-called ‘International Law’ not ratified by the State of Israel promoted since 1977 by Military Advocate General's Corps.

Transformation of Approaches to Solving the Agrarian Question in the Programs of RightWing and Liberal Parties in the period 1905−1913

Transformation of Approaches to Solving the Agrarian Question in the Programs of RightWing and Liberal Parties in the period 1905−1913

ЖОГОРКУ КЕНЕШ И ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ ПАРТИИ КЫРГЫЗСТАНА: ВЗАИМОДЕЙСТВИЕ В УСЛОВИЯХ ПАРЛАМЕНТСКОЙ ФОРМЫ ПРАВЛЕНИЯ

The article analyzes using the normative and systematic methods, as well as analysis and synthesis, the content of the statements of the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Constitutional Law of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Election of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic and Deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic”, the Laws of the Kyrgyz Republic “On Regulations of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic» and «On the Status of a Deputy of the Jogorku Kenesh of the Kyrgyz Republic» and the works of legal scholars. The study analyzes the issues of interaction between political parties and the Jogorku Kenesh – the parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic in parliamentary form of government. The authors consider the transformation of Kyrgyzstan into a parliamentary republic as a native process, justify the conditioning of the increasing role of political parties in formation of the Jogorku Kenesh and organization of its activities with the signs and requirements of this form of government. Particular attention is paid to the party-political and constitutional-legal foundations of mutual influence of the parliament and political parties of the Kyrgyz Republic. Researchers came to the conclusion the transformation of modern Kyrgyzstan into a parliamentary republic leads to a significant increase in the role of political parties both in the formation of the Jogorku Kenesh and in the organization of its activities as a whole; the interaction of the Jogorku Kenesh and political parties in the parliamentary form of government, in particular, is manifested in the organization and conduct of elections of deputies of the Jogorku Kenesh, distribution of deputy mandates, formation of parliamentary fractions and organization of their activities, determination of the organizational structure of the Jogorku Kenesh and formation of its bodies and organization of parliamentary activities in whole. From the point of view of the authors the fact that mutual relations between the Jogorku Kenesh and political parties are based on legal principles and norms, this whole process takes place on political plane and is sent implementing party programs.

Education Policies in the Context of Political Communication in Turkey

<p style="text-align:justify">The present study aims to discuss how political communication shape education policies in Turkey: How does political communication make education policy a political product based on ideology? What are the ideological differences between education policies in Turkey? The political party programs and election manifestos related to the General Election held on June 24, 2018 in Turkey are examined with the content analysis method in the context of political communication. The data of this research confirmed that political party’s ideologies are effective in the determination and the application process of education policies in Turkey. As a result, the impact of political communication on education policy is defended as a political product in this paper.</p>

Репродуктивные права женщин в политическом дискурсе современной России

The article examines the specifics of reproductive rights presentation in political discourse of modern Russia and it is based on the well-handled quantitative and qualitative content-analysis and frame-analyses of collections of speeches of political leaders and official programs of political parties which participate in electoral process of 2016. The main frames are sort out where gender problems are marked. Dominating if gender political discourse traditional and conservative rhetoric confirm the fact of embodied conservative turn, which accent on differences between genders in social relationships leading to gender inequality. In political parties programs women mainly consider as the instrument of realization of state demographic policy. Solving of women problems reduces to motherhood and supporting family. It is shown that exclusion of problems of reproductive health and reproductive rights to the periphery of information public space sharpen gender oppositions which can lead to radicalization of women movements.

Environmental policy in the programs of political parties in Macedonia

This paper aims to analyze whether, how much and in what way environmental policies are developed in the programs of political parties in Macedonia. The paper will initially develop the terms party, party program and policies in the field of ecology. The central topic of the paper is the environmental policy in the programs of the parties and their systematization in terms of the topics on which they base their policies. The author will try to contribute to the typology of parties in terms of their attitude towards environmental issues.

Gender related topics in the European parliament election campaigns of the Italian populist parties in 2019: ideas reflection in the media and social network

The author studies how gender related topics are presented in the Italian populist parties and the populist political leader’s discourse. Based on the qualitative and quantitative content analysis of the texts of the representatives of political parties in the media and their posts on their Facebook page, as well as the texts of political programs of political parties that participated in the elections to the European Parliament in 2019, the main gender themes of contemporary Italian society are highlighted. The second part of the paper is devoted the analysis of women representation in the parties’ election lists for the European Parliament elections. The aim of the paper is to identify how gender topics are reflected in the speeches of politicians and political programs of the parties, to determine the relevance of this topic. The empirical basis of the study are the text units (comments, articles, posts in the social media), and the texts of political programs of Italian populist political parties. According to the article gender topics are usually integrated in the themes of economy development and financial support for different groups of the population. However, the gender related themes are not dominant in the discourse of Italian populists. The established populist parties cover gender issues much less than parties-newcomers. The reason of presence of women in the lists of candidates mainly is a legal requirement, but not a public need. The research results can be used as an auxiliary material in the study of the key peculiarities of Italian populism.