Political Phenomena Research Articles

Opposites But Similar? Technocracy and Populism in Contemporary European Democracies

The purpose of this paper is to examine the characteristics of two political phenomena: populism and technocracy. Often seen as opposites, the two factors are linked by some elements: both are described by their proponents as remedies to the legitimacy crisis that modern representative democracies are going through; both tend to define certain practices and principles of constitutional democracy that are insufficient to ensure effective governance of society; both see as their main remedy a restriction of the classical functions of representation and of the institutions of mediation (parties and parliament among all). Nevertheless, the two phenomena seem to follow the dynamics of opposite extremes: in the phases when the democratic order is increasingly identified with technocracy, the populist democratic eschatology gains confidence on the basis of the promise to return to citizens the power stolen from them by non-elective institutions. We will attempt to identify some key features that unite the two phenomena and we will highlight the differences in principle, the possible relationships as part of a more general democratic vulnus and the different types of impact they have on democracy and its principles.

Striking from the margins: state, religion and devolution of authority in the Middle East

Global trends in social and political polarization have gained a lot of traction in social sciences lately. Many scholars suggest that contemporary transformations point to a broader trend of a gradual disintegration, at the core of many societies, of long-lasting consensuses. The implosion of traditional centres of authority is, for multiple reasons, providing room for former peripheries not only to further contest them, but also to articulate new authority centres of their own. Striking from the margins fits within this trend, as the contributors question what is happening to the conventional centres of authority and peripheries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The book makes an original contribution, scrutinizing the regional transformation of religion, as a political phenomenon, over the last three decades. The contributors examine the profound social transformations, initiated with economic liberalization processes in the 1990s and 2000s and culminating in the revolutionary wave of 2011. As a result of these transformations, the book claims, parallel sources of authority beyond the state have been gaining ground. Most notably, these include religious actors. New expressions of religiosity—including jihadism—and the ‘sectarianization’ of the public space are considered the corollaries of state atrophy (regrettably, the chicken-or-egg question is not fully addressed in the book). Since then, former centres of authority have tried to instrumentalize and co-opt some religious actors to prevent further contestation. At the same time, the former margins are becoming new centres of their own, exercising authority over large segments of the population. Thus, the contributors put up a fight against essentialist accounts: the contemporary importance of religion in the region is not the result of natural, unavoidable realities, as many pseudo-theological explanations about resistance against modernity would suggest. Instead, religion has gained ground as a result of structural and political transformations in the last decades.

Evolution and Spread of Politeness Systems inIndo‐European

AbstractIn this paper, we investigate the phenomenon of pronominal politeness in the Indo‐European languages and demonstrate that the processes of change of pronominal systems related to politeness follow two evolutionary regimes, one inside the ‘Standard Average European’ (SAE) linguistic area and another outside of it. Historical processes of language change differ at different levels of linguistic structure. In general, we presume that lower level, unconscious aspects of language change slowly over phylogenetic time, giving rise to patterns of relationship that can often be described as a family tree. Aspects of language that are consciously manipulated by speakers are expected to vary at a faster rate and to diffuse within areas of contact. Politeness is a social phenomenon, so we expect these systems to be highly susceptible to areal norms of interaction. We show that the similarities of SAE politeness systems can be accounted for with a model of convergence due to parallel evolution in a shared (social‐demographic) environment, rather than by genealogical relatedness or borrowing. By quantifying and testing factors determining rates of structural change, we offer a novel and realistic approach that can explain similarities between distantly related languages sharing the same environment.

ТРАНСГУМАНИЗМ КАК СОВРЕМЕННЫЙ АНАЛОГ ГНОСТИЧЕСКОГО МИРОВОЗЗРЕНИЯ: ФИЛОСОФСКО-ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИЙ АСПЕКТ

The article examines transhumanism as a modern and at the same time deeply rooted in the past ideological phenomenon. Starting from the approaches of L.Gumilev and E. Fromm, as well as using historical material, the author examines the genesis, essence and characteristics of transhumanism as a socio-anthropological and political phenomenon consonant with the ancient Gnostic worldview, as well as its later historical analogues. The article emphasizes the destructive nature of transhumanism, its promising and at the same time destructive impact on the social structure and political power established in the modern era.

몸으로 사유하기

In order to awaken the spiritual value of walking, conscious of the problem in our society we walk only when there is some material reward, this article reviews Wonderlust: A History of Walking written by Rebecca Solnit. The book is a liberal arts book that describes a vast knowledge of philosophy, literature, culture, space, etc and deep thoughts about walking in a unique style. It is of unrivaled value in that she reflected on the history of mankind by paying attention to walking itself, based on the author’s walking experience. In addition, it is meaningful to argue that walking is a cultural and political phenomenon by insight into the universality and resistance of walking. However, it is a limitation to raise the issue of those who cannot walk only in terms of women’s rights. Humans walk to exist and think while walking, so a society that people do not walk is dangerous. This book will be a good guide to those who take a curious look around and have a desire to read their own minds.

БОРЬБА С ПРЕСТУПЛЕНИЯМИ ЭКСТРЕМИСТСКОЙ НАПРАВЛЕННОСТИ В РОССИИ

Today, extremism is one of the main threats to the security of the entire world community, including the Russian Federation. Today, it is a multifactorial problem of our time, both for the entire world community and for the Russian Federation, which has both domestic and foreign policy components. These manifestations form an environment that threatens the progressive development of the world community as a whole, and the Russian Federation in particular. The history of extremism in the context of a political phenomenon indicates its firm tendency to sustainable development and expansion. Various researchers note such trends today have the forms of a network and a global kind, with all this, the threats of extremism are a modern element of world destruction, and also represent the most dangerous challenges for the development of the entire world civilization.

Identity, Dignity and the Politics of Resentment

In his 2018 book, Identity, the Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment, Stanford University politi­cal scientist Francis Fukuyama addresses themes which might more properly be considered matters of political philosophy and the philosophy of law: How are we to navigate between traditional, ethnic, unitary conceptions of the nation on the one hand, and the threat of identitarian fragmentation on the other? Though Fukuyama affirms the importance of the concepts of human dignity and identity, more or less as these are commonly understood, he also criticizes the contemporary phenomenon of identity politics—which he views as a danger to liberal democ­racy. “The rise of identity politics in modern liberal democracies,” writes Fukuyama, “is one of the chief threats that they face;” and moreover, “unless we can work our way back to more universal understand­ings of human dignity, we will doom ourselves to continuing conflict.” This paper raises the question of whether the well reasoned case against identity politics as a threat to national unity and purpose leaves room for skepticism of fast-paced and more ambitious (“Wilsonian”) pursuit of internationalist goals of globalization. Greater emphasis on political consensus at home may helpfully strengthen the hand of American foreign policy in support of liberal democracy. But we now look back with well founded skepticism on neo-conservative interventionism, and there are just and needed limits on globalizing internationalism imposed by and implicit in the retreat from identity politics. Having lost the unity of purpose of Cold War liberalism, we are yet to find a “golden mean” avoiding ethnic nationalism and short of political fragmentation.
 

Tribal Politics in the Balkans: Elections and Nation-Building in Montenegro

This article examines the electoral effect of revived tribal identity in contemporary Montenegro, despite the ruling party’s attempt to consolidate national identity. Using original data from the 2016 and 2020 elections, I show that contemporary tribalism in the Western Balkans is not merely a depoliticised folkloric occurrence but a consequential political phenomenon. Voters actively use tribal membership to help determine their position on nationhood cleavage and inform vote choice. The findings confirm that the politicisation of tribal affiliations is detrimental to the predominant Democratic Party of Socialists (Demokratska partija socijalista), as it disproportionately fractionalises Montenegrin ethnicity, from which the party draws support for its nation-building agenda.

Analisis Kebijakan Mutasi Asn Pasca Pilkada Berdasarkan Undang-Undang Nomor 10 Tahun 2016 Perspektif Fiqh Siyasah

Mutations for the State Civil Apparatus are commonplace in an organization or government agency. However, the mutation policy that was carried out after the Pilkada in Muna Regency was considered a technical, administrative and political phenomenon. The aims of this study are (1) to identify the mechanism for post-election mutations in Muna Regency; (2) Identifying the legal implications of the ASN mutation policy after the Regional Head Election in the Muna Regency government based on Article 72 paragraph (2) of Law number 10 of 2016 (3) Identifying Fiqh Siyasah's views regarding the ASN Mutation Policy after the Regional Head Election in Regional Government Muna District. The results of this study indicate that (1) In practice, the mutations carried out after the Regional Head Election are based on the needs of employees in a State Civil Apparatus employee office, this is done for the distribution of State Civil Apparatus Employees evenly and fairly; (2) Implementation of mutations according to the law, mutations are carried out on functional officials while what is meant in Article 72 of Law number 10 of 2016 are structural officials and functional officials who get additional tasks; (3 Mutation policy in Fiqh Siyasah can be done and occurred during the time of the Prophet Muhammad until the Caliphate of Umar Bin Al-Khattab.

РЕВОЛЮЦИИ И «ЦВЕТНЫЕ РЕВОЛЮЦИИ»: ОБЩЕЕ И ОСОБЕННОЕ

Color revolution is a term introduced and used by the mass media since around 2004 to describe various anti-regime protest movements and accompanying (attempted or successful) changes of government that took place in post-Soviet territory during late 20th — early 21st centuries. It should be noted that use of this term in the present-date media or official political discourse is not limited by the CIS region. Color revolutions that have become one of the most prominent political phenomena of the new millennium having affected many regions worldwide are not only a part of history, but also a material for active scientific reflection of the researchers and public persons in respect of preconditions and underlying causes of such phenomena, which problem becomes ever more topical in the modern world, whereas the so-called “forced democratization” with massive involvement of the up-to-date political technologies and techniques for achievement of the set goals serves as the pretext for interference into interior affairs of the sovereign states. Given that this concept is moving beyond the 21st century and it is possible to project it to somewhat earlier events, we may put a predictable question as to what exactly we mean by the “color revolution”, and in which way any given public unrest and power shift may be added to this group. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the patterns of the studied phenomenon related to destabilization of political environment in the country, explore its main signs and implementation models, specific aspects of the protest movement and power struggle. The article analyzes the theoretical concept of “color revolutions”, investigates whether it is reasonable to consider them as revolutions per se, reviews the new coup technologies in the modern political practices, and identifies their driving forces and mechanisms.

Multiculturalism as a cultural, social and political phenomenon

Modern humans live in a highly culturally, socially and religiously diverse world. The popularity of the phenomenon of multiculturalism is the result of rapidly progressing globalisation, migration, opening borders or the result of wars. On the one hand, such multiculturalism enriches societies, on the other hand, due to this diversity, it can lead to the emergence of new conflicts. This is due to the different value systems of people living next to each other. The article is an overview and refers to the analysis of three selected approaches to multiculturalism: cultural, social and political. The aim of the article is to draw the reader's attention to the broad context of the analysed phenomenon, its diversity, multicolour and educational challenges faced by educators as a result of this phenomenon.

A DISCOURSIVE TURN IN THE THEORY OF LINGUISTIC POLITENESS: TO THE FORMATION OF THE THEORY OF LINGUISTIC IMPOLITENESS

As Barbara Pizziconi notes, numerous studies in the field of linguistic politeness, starting from the mid-70s of the 20th century, i.e. since the birth of the later famous theories of R. Lakoff, J. Leach, as well as the universal theory of linguistic politeness by P. Brown and S. Levinson, play a very important role in modern pragmatic works. Nevertheless, although the number of publications on this issue is steadily growing, there is no single, generally accepted definition of the social and communicative phenomenon of politeness. There is also no unity among scientists in understanding the very nature of linguistic politeness (Pizziconi 2006: 706).

Strategi komunikasi politik elit NU Pada pilkada lombok tengah 2020 (Studi atas keterlibatan elit NU dalam tim pemenangan paslon Maiq Meres)

The involvement of NU organizational elites can be seen from the role, contribution and political communication strategies they played during the 2020 regional elections in convincing the electorate at the grassroots level. In the regional elections in Central Lombok district in 2020, the political phenomenon that was visible before the voting public was related to the involvement of the Central Lombok NU elite in winning the Lalu Pathul Bahri Candidate Pair - HM Nursiah or the Maiq Meres candidate pair. This research is participatory field research with a descriptive qualitative approach. Data collection was carried out by means of observation, interviews and documentation. The research process was carried out intensively for two months involving informants consisting of main informants and supporting informants regarding the winning of regional head candidates Lalu Pathul Bahri-HM Nursiah. This study found that the Central Lombok district NU elite played an active role as a medium, or media for political communication, the pair of candidates for regent and candidate for deputy regent of Central Lombok Pathul Bhari and HM. Nursiah. The Central Lombok NU elite took part in visiting the electorate, both personally and institutionally. The communication strategy used by the NU elite to convey political messages is to maximize the role of the organizational network, the network of NU teachers, as well as NU's amaliyah activities, which are driven to support pairs of regional head candidates supported by NU.

Voluntary Exile and Deportation in Sebastian Barry's On Canaan's Side

In recent times, exile and deportation have shaped the insights and works of many authors, because the current era is the era of political crises and immigration in which people migrate voluntarily or forcibly. Exile is often framed by the idea of disconnect. Thus, one of the key ideas that the study tries to prove is exile conceived as a connection rather than a separation. The experiences of voluntary exile and deportation, for political reasons, influence the human psyche and change the way humans perceive life. Therefore, the study sheds light on the psychological effects of these confusing experiences, and the way they were developed to be adapted in fiction. By analyzing the contemporary Irish novel Sebastian Barry's On Canaan Side (2011), the analysis provides insight into the psychological effects of voluntary exile and deportation from a psychopolitical point of view. This novel demonstrates how political events have an impact on people's lives even when they are not directly involved in any political conflicts but are nonetheless negatively affected by them. Thus, the study concludes that voluntary exile and deportation are primarily political phenomena, and innocent people become the first victims of these phenomena.

Review of Jan Doolittle Wilson’s <em>Becoming Disabled: Forging a Disability View of the World</em> (Lexington Books, 2021)

Jan Doolittle Wilson doesn’t invite as much as she compels the readers to do the uncomfortable, complicated, and necessary work of reimagining disability. Writing not only as a scholar of disability studies, but also as a disabled person, the granddaughter of a disabled woman, and the mother of a disabled child, Wilson uses an autoethnographic approach to not only get able-bodied readers to see disabled people in a new light, but also, and above all, to turn their gaze towards themselves and question their own understanding of disability. As Wilson explains, the autoethnographic approach is “defined as one in which an author draws on personal experiences to analyze and create meaning about larger social, cultural, and political phenomena” (p. 6). [...]

The Hindutva Brand of Populist Politics and the Women Question

This study maps the interactions of the Hindutva brand of political populism, which is in rise in India, with the feminist politics and concerns. To study this interaction, the article qualitatively studies the phenomenon of Hindutva-populism and feminist politics and uses the Bhartiya Janata Party, the Hindu-rightist political party, as the site to explore the gendered political culture and the complex relationship that populism and feminism share on the women question in their quest for political and social transformation in India. For this purpose, the article focuses on the broad themes, highlighting the differential visions of both projects, of: the lens through which the problems are diagnosed, the solutions proposed to these problems and the role of the related variables such as power, state and leadership, which puts them in a fundamental clash with each other.

Populist things. A study on the materiality of political ideas

AbstractIs there such thing as a populist thing? This article tries to answer this question by comparing two iconic populist objects: the Make America Great Again (MAGA) cap and the yellow vest. Despite their centrality to populist politics, there is remarkably little systematic examination of these objects' populist affordances, let alone a comparative study. We propose to address this lacuna by performing a pragmatic analysis of each object's role in the populist politics of the United States and France, respectively. Our comparison uncovers two findings, which, in turn, help us answer our research question. First, our study of the MAGA cap reveals how nationalism and populism can be combined into a powerful political message. Second, the yellow vest exemplifies how populism functions on its own that is, as a way of doing politics that is centred on feelings of resentment. Either in conjunction with other political phenomena (e.g., nationalism) or by itself, populism emerges from our analysis as a logic of action that involves both linguistic claims and physical objects. Things, in this reading, are surprisingly central to how populism operates.

Discussion on labeling: Identity Politics and Ideology

Through analyzing Zizek's theory of ideology, this paper explores the causes and solutions of the labeling phenomenon. This article first explores the relationship between the phenomenon of labeling and identity politics, putting the phenomenon of labeling into the framework of identity politics and ideology for discussion. The paper then explores the mechanisms of identity politics that lead to the labeling phenomenon are internal mechanisms of movement for the self-reproduction of ideologies. This paper finally believes that due to the various mechanisms of ideology, the only way to break through the identity politics and ideological reproduction of labeling phenomena is to look directly at "events" and seek knowledge.

Unpacking the Gendered Consequences of Protest-Driven Crises

Citizen protests are common political phenomena, ranging in size, kind, and impact. This essay focuses on a unique kind of citizen protest that reaches a crisis threshold: massive uprisings accompanied by violence and system-level critiques, expressed in phrases such as “It is not 30 cents, it is 30 years,” used by protesters in Chile in 2019–20. Crises meeting this definition have occurred in countries as diverse as Iceland in 2009, Hong Kong in 2019, Chile, and Colombia in 2019–21. In contrast with economic crises (Strolovitch 2013), protesters—not necessarily elites—perform the discursive work of (re)interpreting material and political conditions. Protesters’ framing of their grievances may overwhelm elite attempts to reinterpret these crises for their benefit. We argue that protest-driven crises can alter gendered opportunity structures, but outcomes are likely multifaceted and potentially contradictory.

Contagion, Confounding, and Causality: Confronting the Three C’s of Observational Political Networks Research

AbstractContagion across various types of connections is a central process in the study of many political phenomena (e.g., democratization, civil conflict, and voter turnout). Over the last decade, the methodological literature addressing the challenges in causally identifying contagion in networks has exploded. In one of the foundational works in this literature, Shalizi and Thomas (2011, Sociological Methods and Research 40, 211–239.) propose a permutation test for contagion in longitudinal network data that is not confounded by selection (e.g., homophily). We illustrate the properties of this test via simulation. We assess its statistical power under various conditions of the data, including the nature of the contagion, the structure of the network through which contagion occurs, and the number of time periods included in the data. We then apply this test to an example domain that is commonly considered in the context of observational research on contagion—the international spread of democracy. We find evidence of international contagion of democracy. We conclude with a discussion of the practical applicability of the Shalizi and Thomas test to the study of contagion in political networks.