Political Phenomena Research Articles

Everyday Virtuality: A Multimodal Analysis of Political Participation and Newsworthiness

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, digital interactions ceased to be “just another form of communication”; indeed, they became the only means of social interaction, mediated and driven by information and communication technologies (ICTs). Consequently, working in a digital context switched from being a phenomenon to be studied to the primary means of socializing and the primary workspace for researchers. This study explores four different methodologies to question how discursive interactions related to power and newsworthiness may be addressed in digital contexts. The multimodal approach was reviewed through the affordances of critical discourse analysis, issue ownership and salience, morphological discourse analysis, and protest event analysis. It starts by theoretically addressing concepts of multimodality and phenomenology by focusing on the implications of both perspectives. It examines publications and interactions in digital contexts in Ecuador from March 2017 to December 2020 within three political phenomena. The results of the analysis of these publications and interactions suggest that when analyzing political participation and newsworthiness, the virtual becomes a subjective space. Moreover, qualitative research is one of the primary ways to combine multimodality with other forms of discourse analysis. This paper concludes that perceptions, practices, and meanings assigned to social online representations can be better analyzed through multimodality, which tackles the intertwined characteristics of virtual discourses.

Lev Tikhomirov: supreme power and the state as political axioms

At the beginning of the twentieth century, there was an aggressive, brutal political struggle in which the government, the imperial camp put forward a number of ideas. Among the highranking dignitaries were people with a fine sense of state, who understood the difficulty of the situation and were looking for people in society who could find out, write out for the government a number of reform actions to curb the revolutionary movement and a clearer understanding of the positive tasks necessary for the Empire entering the industrial era. Scientists and writers of this camp have shown a very deep understanding of the importance of the ideological struggle against the revolution. There were many who wanted to formulate a complete understanding of the political phenomenon of Tsarist power, but, for the most part, it was an outline of some contours, an attempt to identify a problem or raise a question with a few juicy strokes. In such attempts, there was not the necessary capital, inclusiveness, universality that L.A. Tikhomirov was able to give in “Monarchical statehood”.The scientific basis for his sociological reasoning, L.A. Tikhomirov builds on the statement about the immutability of the basic psychological properties of a person as an actor in social relations. The fact of the existence of a thousand-year-old Orthodox Russia was not a boring misunderstanding for him, requiring revolutionary changes or the development of social doctrines for its capital utilization. His amazing mental independence was in stark contrast to the widespread intellectual dependence on the ideological trends of the time.

Государство-цивилизация в цифровой ойкумене

At the beginning of the work, a brief review of the articles of the current thematic issue of the «Journal of Political Research», devoted to political aspects and problems of the worldview phenomenon, is presented. At the same time, the main goal of the article is to study the features of the construction of digital ecumene on the example of the Russian and Chinese states-civilizations. The methodological optics of this article is the principles of comparative analysis, based on the comparison of the same order, similar political phenomena, processes and phenomena. The methodological optics of this article is the principles of comparative analysis, based on the comparison of the same order, similar political phenomena, processes and phenomena. These were the state-civilizations, their civilizational features, as well as the methods of constructing their digital ecumene (state policy of foreign broadcasting; strategic regulatory documents related to the information sphere; digital diplomacy). The features of the state-civilization as a specific form of polity are compared and clarified. Also, an attempt was made to conceptualize the phenomenon of the digital ecumene – a system of news agencies, corporations, Internet resources, radio, television, leading media activity in other countries to position and protect the interests, value-civilizational, political, economic agenda of the states that created it. Such a conceptualization is based on the reception of Antiquity and correlates with the understanding of the ecumene as a sphere of influence of the state through digital technologies and communications. Such a reception also presupposes the preservation of the civilizational meaning of the ecumene. It is concluded that civilizational states have sufficient resources to maintain digital ecumene as new fields of technological and cultural strategic actions that can protect the integrity of their own civilizational cores. It has been suggested that the civilizational uncompromisingness of the West, its strategy of divide et impera, will most likely contribute to the strengthening of such a form of polity as a state-civilization. In the conditions of the existing geopolitical turbulence, the states-civilizations can focus on building a new, more just system of international relations based on the settlement of political, religious and ethnic conflicts, rather than their escalation and conservation.

Expanding Publication Opportunities: Different Types of Political Science Journal Articles

In the field of political science, scholars can contribute to the growing literature on gender and politics in multiple ways. While research articles remain important for scholars to communicate their research, they are not the only way. Scholars might consider other means to contribute to the scholarship, such as through research notes, book reviews, and review essays (a particular type of literature review). Specific to Politics & Gender, Critical Perspectives and Notes from the Field are two more avenues for scholars to engage in the gender and politics scholarly conversation. Each of these publication types provides a way for scholars to participate in the conversation about current political phenomena, research innovations, or topics of concern in the field. In what follows, I distinguish between the type of publishing opportunities available in the field of political science and the options specific to Politics & Gender. I also discuss what scholars should think about when considering the type of publication they want to submit.

Legal Democratization of the Existence of Indigenous Peoples

This article describes the position of indigenous peoples who are starting to be marginalized due to the democratization process of existing laws. This article aims to show how far the process of legal democratization has progressed so that indigenous peoples are often marginalized while the law should uphold human rights. The research method used is the normative research method, and the research approaches used are the statute approach, the conceptual approach, and the analytical approach, so that they can help examine and find good research results. The democratic method begins with the freedom of the right to vote, which allows every citizen to participate in making political decisions. Each participant has equal rights in determining their own choices and also has the opportunity to be elected. The principle of a majority vote is essential to reaching decisions in the concept of democracy. "Democracy" contains three phenomena at once, namely political phenomena (power), ethical phenomena (moral teachings), and legal phenomena, which mutually form this theory with a theoretical basis that firmly rejects the authoritarian and totalitarian (political) order of power. It is based on this method that the rights and customs of indigenous peoples are increasingly marginalized.

Voting System and Electoral Malpractices in Nigeria: A Case Study of the Fourth Republic of Nigeria

This paper examines the effect of voting system and electoral malpractices in Nigeria with the fourth republic as the case study (1999 - 2023). In carrying out this work, two theories will be used: game theory will be used as the first context in the area of study, to explain reasons for why electoral malpractices is inherent in Nigeria voting system while the theory of E-Democracy will be used as the way forward for electoral malpractices and violence in Nigerian voting system. Game theory is a theoretical framework used in the explanation of many phenomena in political science, politics, economics, psychology etc, and game theory is simply a systematic study of strategic interactions among rational individuals. A popular example of game theory in politics is the sum zero game, the sum zero has to do with which one player winning all and others losing all. In the context of election in Nigeria with reference to “to first win the post” as the dominant type of electoral system in Nigeria, two things are usually involved which is; the winner wins all and the looser loses all, as the result of this, political actors device all forms of strategy to win an election in the political actors often take advantage of the lapses inherent in the traditional paper voting system in Nigeria to advance their interest. This is through rigging, electoral violence, ballot box stuffing, falsification of electoral result multiple voting etc. the exercise of franchise is the fulcrum on which democracy revolves. Unfortunately, anti-democratic practices such as underage voting, snatching of ballot boxes, denial of voting rights to qualified physically challenges and deliberate falsification of vote figures to favour a particular candidate have greatly bastardized the democratic procedure. This scenario has simply placed a question on the Nigerian democracy. Keywords: Elections, Electoral Process, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), E-voting (Electoral Voting), Electoral Malpractices, E-democracy theory. DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/13-4-04 Publication date: May 31 st 2023

La forja de una opinión pública: Leer y escribir en Buenos Aires, 1800–1810

La forja de una opinión pública: Leer y escribir en Buenos Aires, 1800–1810

THE PRAGMATICS OF POLITENESS, Author: Geoffrey Leech

The study of “politeness” by sociolinguists is quite new and frequently cites Brown and Levinson’s work from 1978 entitled “Universals in Language Usage: Politeness Phenomena”. The article was modified and republished as a book in 1987 with the title Politeness: Some Universals in Language Usage. Ever since, there has been a substantial explosion in the amount of research on “im/ politeness” in linguistics and related fields. Geoffrey Leech can be deemed one of the pioneering authors in the discipline of politeness studies, along with Robin Lakoff (1973), Penelope Brown and Stephen Levinson (1978, 1987), and others. The Pragmatics of Politeness by Geoffrey Leech is a wonderful addition that serves to remind readers of the linguistic roots of this area of study. This book offers an overview of politeness and supports the idea that it is a form of communicative altruism. It describes a variety of English politeness phenomena and provides numerous instances of actual language use from reliable British and American sources to demonstrate its points. The book also presents a thorough examination of politeness in contemporary English, including all significant speech acts that are either positively or negatively linked with politeness, such as requests, apologies, compliments, offers, agreement, and disagreement. Chapters on impoliteness and the related concepts of irony (mock politeness) and banter (mock impoliteness) are also included. Additional chapters explore research techniques and learning English as a second language. The history of politeness in the English language, which spans more than a thousand years, is covered in the final chapter. Therefore, The Pragmatics of Politeness is intended to establish itself as a new benchmark in the study of (im)politeness.

Difference between Classical & Human Relations Theory of Public Administration with Reference to the Impact of Foundational Political Theories

In this journal, a sincere attempt is being made by the author and co-author to highlight the similarities and some of the common characteristics of political theories like positivism–post-positivism, modernism–post-modernism, materialism–post-materialism as well as liberalism–conservatism, etc. with administrative theories like classical theory and human relations theory of public administration. Here the aim and objective of writing this journal are to put a question on readers’ minds to look into the matter of how political theories have a significant impact on the thinking process of administrative thinkers. Being a student of politics, we must be aware of a thinker’s mindset and understanding of political phenomena which makes things better and easier in giving conceptual clarity as well as many readers as milestones to guide a scholar in future research. When we read the core subjects of political science, we must have holistic thinking rather than only understanding a particular theory in a given period. This journal is designed briefly to avoid reader boredom and as per reader’s convenience to make readers believe that reading it is worthy for them. However, despite covering various points this journal as earlier discussed is just like a stepping stone to those students and scholars who try to think holistically on this topic.

The Justification of Democracy Peace Theory in the 21st Century

Dependent on liberal ideologies , the democratic peace theory assumes that democracies rarely wage war on one another than non- democracies. But critics argue that merely being democratic in nature may not be the main reason for peace between democracies. Throughout the 21st century, we have witnessed the “War on Terrorism” after 9/11, the rise of multipolarity, several buffer zones underpinning major powers’ divisive politics and reflection of national leaders’ decisions on regional cooperatives and international institutions, etc., which have had varying effects on international politics. Therefore, this study begs a question that whether the implications of democratic peace theory are justified in the 21st century or not. Answering this question required a thorough review of the arguments put forward by democratic peace theorists and detractors. This article examines the justification of democratic peace theory by focusing on the remarkable political phenomena in the 21st century. The method of this study is based on the thematic literature review and in-depth study of the documents and summaries comprised of articles and journals. This study found that authoritarianism, democratic backsliding, the rise of populism, contentious politics, border and regional conflicts, violent annexation, etc. have become critical issues in democracies where neither the values of democracy are protected, nor the liberal ideology is followed in the state mechanisms. Social Science Review, Vol. 39(1), June 2022 Page 211-229

Roundtable “Unification Church in Japan as a Sociocultural and Political Phenomenon”

In the second half of 2022, the Japanese political world was shaken by a major scandal: in July 2022, former Prime Minister and a prominent member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party Abe Shinzō was killed at an election rally. The assassin, caught at the crime scene, declared that the murder was a revenge for the victim’s connection with the Unification Church, which, according to the perpetrator’s words, had led his family to financial ruin. Initially, this explanation seemed fantastical, but the investigation that followed revealed that both Abe Shinzō himself and many other Japanese politicians had been maintaining connections with the Unification Church for many years. This caused an uproar in Japanese society, especially given the rather controversial reputation of the Unification Church. On January 26, 2023, the Association of Japanologists and the research laboratory “Center for Japanese, Korean, and Mongolian Studies” of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University) held a roundtable “Unification Church in Japan as a Sociocultural and Political Phenomenon”. The participants of the roundtable analyzed the situation around the Unification Church and its role in Japanese politics in detail, studied the specific features of the “new religions” in Japanese society, and considered the factors determining their influence on the political world of Japan.

AN INTERACTIVE STUDY ON THE BRITISH AND GERMAN SEMI-COLONIAL STRATEGY AND THE CHANGE OF TRADITIONAL CHINESE SOVEREIGNTY-BASED ON THE COMPARISON BETWEEN SHANGHAI AND QINGDAO

The emergence of “Concessions” is not a simple historical problem. Based on the sovereignty declining theory, this paper attempts to explore the emergence of “Concessions” and the mechanism and process of sovereignty change. Unlike the ceded territory, Chinese “Concessions” in modern times are a special sovereign space. It means China shares its sovereignty with the western states. “Concessions” breaks the “supremacy” and “exclusiveness” of sovereignty. As “Concessions” with different legal statuses, Shanghai and Qingdao are not only part of the global colonial strategy between Britain and Germany, but also the watershed of Chinese sovereignty change. By comparing the changes in Chinese sovereignty in Shanghai and Qingdao, this paper finds out the mechanism and process of Chinese sovereignty weakening in the different Concessions. At the same time, the maintenance of sovereignty is related to whether China can form a centralized system. Before 1949, China could not form a centralized system, which was the main reason for the capacity of the state. The emergence and development of “Concessions” is also a manifestation of the Chinese vulnerable capacity to external interference and loss of sovereignty. This political phenomenon has affected the change of the Chinese state form.

CITIES IN THE 21st CENTURY: A CHALLENGE FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN SPENDING IN BAUCHI-NIGERIA

This paper is aimed at explaining the relationship between growth of cities in the developing countries and urban governance in the 21st century. The Nigerian experience in fiscal matters has posed numerous challenges to urban finance as well as sustainability of urbanization and its development. The joint account system between states and the local governments has generated numerous contentions as to how the system will operate without creating setback to local governance. While the joint account system affects good governance, the states are using it as weapons against any disloyal elected chairman in some quarters. In order to finance viable projects, local government need resource at all levels to be mobilized and also put into proper use for urban management. Therefore, the paper examined the phenomenon of urban politics in one of the major cities of Nigeria. The study conducted documentary research of city development in the 21st century, with specific reference to Bauchi Metropolis in Nigeria, to give explanation and predict what will be the future of urbanization and sustainable development in developing countries. It assumed that high level of poverty, decay in social infrastructure, legal obstacles and pattern of physical planning are found to be the major predictors of problem bedeviling urban governance.

Generational populism and the political rise of Robert Kyagulanyi – aka Bobi Wine – in Uganda

ABSTRACT This article analyses the political rise of the Ugandan opposition leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, arguing that he has a deployed a novel type of generational populism – a mobilising political discourse which frames the struggle between ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’ in generational terms, defining the former in relation to their status as youth, and in antagonistic opposition to an elite, which is depicted as defending a gerontocratic political order. At a theoretical level, the article broadens political science’s conception of populism, by introducing a new subtype of the political phenomenon which demonstrates the importance of intergenerational dynamics in the construction of the discursive categories of ‘the people’ and ‘the elite’. While it argues that Kyagulanyi’s success demonstrates the potential of populism in African countries to electorally challenge incumbent regimes, by helping to build political coalitions across ethno-regional lines, incorporating previously excluded social groups into the political process, it concludes by stressing that Kyagulanyi’s political project has failed to offer any real ideological alternative to the neoliberal orthodoxy that has characterised President Museveni’s Uganda over the last four decades.

Visualizing international relations: Challenges and opportunities in an emerging research field

The visual is central to global politics. Over the past two decades, scholars in the field of international relations have increasingly recognized and examined the numerous and complex ways in which the visual, the political and the international are intertwined. They have scrutinized how a diverse range of global political phenomena – from war, diplomacy and development to election campaigns and refugee policies – are shaped by images and visual artefacts, such as photographs, film, videogames, satellite images, art, surveillance technologies, monuments and architecture. The purpose of this commentary is two-fold. First: I overview this bourgeoning body of literature on visuality in international relations. I discuss the emergence and evolution of this field of research, drawing attention to the significance of the ensuing contributions. Second: I highlight three key challenges that lie ahead: understanding the changing relationship between visuality and digitalization; embarking on more cross-disciplinary inquires; decolonizing research on visual communication. I end with highlighting that understanding the role of visuality goes far beyond appreciating the political impact of images. Visuality goes to the very core of politics because it shapes how we – as individuals and as collectives – see, perceive and enact the political world around us.

How to Mix Monarchy with Democracy. Precepts from Roman History

The article deals with several aspects of the theory of mixed government (mixed constitution), given that many scholars, including Max Weber, considered such phenomenon of modern political systems as Ceasarism to be a mix of monarchy and democracy. In the beginning an analysis of a famous statement from the “Roman History” of Cassius Dio (who wrote that Augustus has “mixed monarchy with democracy”) is provided. Such terms from Ancient Greek as demokratia and monarchia had a very specific meaning during the time of writing of this book, i.e. 220–230 CE. But apart from studying the peculiarities of the historical meanings of the terms used to designate these forms of rule what is important is also how their juxtaposition or mixing was theorized. The article studies different terms used in such interpretations. Briefly, the term krasis meant a fusion of the components and thus a creation of a new substance with new qualities and homogeneity, while the term mixis could also mean that the components of the mixture retained their distinct existence, though acquiring an ability to influence each other. The second version of conceptualizing mixes eventually served as the basis for a famous theory of checks and balances within a political regime. Thus Dio, one could argue, uses the term mixis rather than krasis — and this makes his different from the other authors of the school of the Second Sophistic — because he wants to stress that one form of rule should check and balance another form, and they should not constitute a total fusion within a uniform political regime. In the end of th article, the conceptual vocabulary of Dio is tested in its felicity while describing present day political phenomena.

GENERAL L. ROKHLIN AND THE “MILITARY OPPOSITION” PHENOMENON OF THE 1990s

Aim. To study the political phenomenon of General L.Rokhlin (1947–1998) as the leader of the anti-Yeltsin “military opposition” in the second half of the 1990s.Methodology. The study is based on an interdisciplinary approach, which relies on the use of problem-chronological, formal-legal, and systemic methods.Results. The conducted analysis revealed that the political phenomenon of Rokhlin was the result of the crisis transformation of the giant military defense complex, which was inherited by Russia from the Soviet Union. At the same time, the methods, which the “rebellious general” wanted to apply to solve the army and the military-industrial complex problems, could not be called completely constitutional. Therefore, Rokhlin appears as an undoubtedly bright and charismatic leader who, at the same time, was quite isolated from the rest of the opposition spectrum, and his significance in the political history of Russia in the 1990s seems quite exaggerated.Research implications. In the course of the study, new sources were introduced into scientific circulation: materials of the periodical press, legal acts, electronic sources, the integrated use of which enables comprehensive study of the socio-political activities of General L.Rokhlin and his supporters.

Distortion of Information in Politics: Based on the Work of Paul Ekman <i>Telling Lies</i>

Conceptual analysis of the mechanism of information distortion in the political domain of public life and the issue of lies in politics undertaken in this study stems from the work of the American psychologist, Professor Paul Ekman Telling lies (1985). As the research question raised concerns about the cultural determination of these phenomena in politics, the authors attempted to determine whether deception and lies in public life depend on cultural background. In his work, Ekman presents the interconnection between personal meanings, emotional perception, self-censorship, features of human memory, metaphors, and narratives with the manipulation of public opinion. The paper indicates factors that may affect the study of intentional distortion of information and increase the possibility of error. The methods proposed in Telling Lies coupled with vivid examples enable us to identify patterns of political lies and investigate the meaning of lies as a specific cultural strategy. Specifically, this essay compares Ekman’s arguments with the ideas of the cultural and historical approach of Soviet psychology, as well as with the ideas of prominent foreign authors concerning the acceptability of using lies in certain political cultures. In particular, the authors are interested in considering political metaphor and group thinking in studying reasons goals, and results of employing lies to create political clout. According to research, personal meaning is closely related to group values and meanings. Based on the example of American foreign policy in the second half of the 20th century, it is shown that across cultures there are some manipulation techniques and patterns. Accordingly, the authors conclude that intentional and unintended deception is typical of politicians despite their cultural background.

Zur Bedeutung von Verlegenheit für einen Begriff politischer Öffentlichkeit

Abstract The paper examines the significance of embarrassment for a concept of political publicity. It is critical of how the common interpretation of this apparently social phenomenon as a “milder form of shame” leads to a functionalist interpretation. According to this interpretation, embarrassment regulates given normative structures by initiating or even motivating self-criticism. In contrast, the article shows, first, that embarrassment cannot occur at all in a public sphere that is thought of exclusively in normative terms, and second, that the phenomenon is primordially not reflexive. In embarrassment, one is not immediately “thrown back on oneself” but tries to find a relation to one’s public figure. A philosophical reflection on this pursuit reveals the constitution of normative structures. In this light, embarrassment presents itself as a genuinely political phenomenon.

Leaving Europe, leaving Spain: comparing secessionism from and within the European Union

Are secessionisms from and within the EU comparable? What motivates them and to what extent do they pose similar challenges to EU territorial governance? This article addresses these questions by comparing the framing of the British Leave campaign and the Catalan independence movement. Drawing on the FraTerr database and method, the analysis suggests that secessionism from the EU and secessionism within the EU are different political phenomena despite sharing an emphasis on sovereignty and the common goal of breaking-up from an existing polity. Secessionism from the EU is primarily a call for the recovery of lost sovereignty and of classical functions of the state such as border control. Secessionism within the EU invokes sovereignty as the right to external self-determination and adds narratives around a better future and greater democratic quality and social justice. These two types of secessionism pose different challenges to EU territorial governance because the first entails a full rejection of the European project while the latter calls for a review of European multi-level governance.