Political Aspirations Research Articles

Disaggregating citizenship: Tibetan refugees navigating identity, belonging, and exclusionary state policies in India

AbstractThis essay explores the struggles of second‐generation Tibetan refugees under an exclusionary Indian citizenship regime. Confronted with a national orthodoxy that entwines legal status, entitlements, and national identity, Tibetans respond by “disaggregating” citizenship. First, stateless Tibetans, born in India to refugee parents, won legal appeals by demonstrating that Tibetan nationality was no bar to Indian citizenship. In response, Indian authorities demanded that Tibetans give up refugee entitlements and remove themselves from their national space and political community in exile as the price of Indian citizenship. This article explores the diverse responses of Tibetans to the citizenship‐on‐offer: some aspiring for it, some accepting it, and others actively rejecting it. These responses illustrate strategies refugees employ to navigate citizenship regimes that often render them liminal. Refugees act both to mitigate the precarity of statelessness and to preserve their identity, community, and political aspirations against erasure. In doing so, they not only disrupt the national orthodoxy of states that negates refugee experiences but also reveal the incompleteness and contradictions of citizenship regimes.

The Class Ceiling in Politics

Prior studies have documented that working-class individuals rarely become parliamentarians. We know less about when in the career pipeline to parliament workers disappear, and why. We study these questions using detailed data on the universe of Swedish politicians’ careers over a 50-year period. We find roughly equal-sized declines in the proportion of workers on various rungs of the political career ladder ranging from local to national office. We reject the potential explanations that workers lack political ambition, public service motivation, honesty, or voter support. And while workers’ average high school grades and cognitive test scores are lower, this cannot explain their large promotion disadvantage, a situation that we label a class ceiling. Organizational ties to blue-collar unions help workers advance, but only to lower-level positions in left-leaning parties. We conclude that efforts to improve workers’ numerical representation should apply throughout the career ladder and focus on intra-party processes.

Which MPs get elevated to the UK House of Lords?

Abstract Using logistic regression and a dataset of 816 MPs who sat in the UK House of Commons between 1997 and 2019, we analyse which MPs get elevated to the upper chamber. Drawing on literatures concerning progressive political ambition, the UK Parliament and the wider nature of the British state, we test hypotheses concerning loyalty, expertise and nepotism. We find evidence to support all three but expertise in the form of frontbench experience and, for those MPs without such experience, loyalty appear to be the most important factors driving elevation. Our research has implications for debates surrounding House of Lords reform.

Digital ambitions vs. classroom reality in Norwegian lower secondary schools: What digital competencies are students developing over time?

Despite high political ambitions, the increased use of digital technology in lower secondary school has resulted in little indication of the advanced use of digital skills. Drawing on video-recorded lessons (N = 29) from five schools in Norway over time and across two national curricula, this study mapped the opportunities students had to develop digital skills in English classrooms. The findings provide nuanced insight into the instruction of digital skills in highly digitalised schools. Despite a slight increase in digital skills after the 2020 reform, our findings indicate that digital ambitions in the curriculum were not reflected in classroom reality.

The Evolution of a Social Movement: The Muslim Brotherhood’s Path Between Political Ambition and the Rejection of Armed Struggle

This article examines the evolution of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, tracing its transformation from a social movement into a political party. This study investigates the conditions and dynamics that compelled the organization to engage in the political sphere and its efforts to distance itself from armed strategies. It explores the factors that have driven these changes and offers insights into potential future trajectories, especially in the context of the challenges faced by the Brotherhood following the military coup on 3 July 2013. Employing theoretical frameworks from studies on the transformation processes of similar movements and utilizing a process tracing methodology and in-depth interviews, the article seeks to understand how both historical and contemporary contexts have shaped the Brotherhood’s evolution and strategies. The findings suggest that, much like during previous periods of repression, the Brotherhood is likely to endure the current crisis and sustain its organizational presence. However, in doing so, it is expected to temporarily withdraw from political engagement. The article posits that, after completing this period of exile and resuming its activities in Egypt, the Brotherhood will likely continue as a social movement, stepping away from political involvement for a significant period.

The Impact of Transactional Politics on Papuan Ethnic Identity Politics in the Dynamics of the 2024 General Election in Manokwari Regency

The objective of this study is to investigate the perspectives of the Papuan ethnic group regarding the dynamics of identity politics in general elections, which frequently encompass aspirations related to identity politics. The term "Papuan ethnicity" refers to an identity within Papuan nationalism, symbolizing the mobilization and unification of Papuans. In the context of elections, the notion of Papuan ethnicity becomes a significant issue for electoral candidates, particularly for those who lack support from their fellow Papuans. Utilizing qualitative research methods and ethnographic approaches, this study explores the impact of transactional politics on the ethnic perspectives and political participation of Papuans during elections. It examines various factors, including the influence of political funding on voter preferences, the mobilization of ethnic groups for political backing, and the dynamics of inter-ethnic interactions within political disputes. The findings of this research aim to provide an in-depth understanding of the patterns of political aspirations in Papua and their implications for the consolidation of democracy in Indonesia.Keywords: identity politics, political aspirations, Papuan ethnicity, general elections

How does religion influence an emerging nationalism? Evidence from the Kurdish context in Turkey

AbstractBased on qualitative interviews with 66 Sunni Muslim Kurdish elites, this study reveals that Kurdish Islamic circles in Turkey are not monolithic, homogeneous or fixed. Some willingly or unwillingly maintain their Islamic identity as a primary reference point for self‐consciousness, motivation for collective action and political aspirations, often at the expense of ethnopolitical mobilization. Others combine Kurdish national claims with an Islamic orientation, pursuing a path of coexistence between the secular and the religious in the expedition towards nationhood. In the competitive interplay between religion and nationalism, Islam acts as a restraining force on the rise of national sentiment among Muslim Kurds. In the symbiotic interplay, Islam no longer serves as an obstacle to delay Kurdish mobilization but rather accommodates secular norms and values in favour of welcoming national zeals.

Seeking the Public Good: Public Service Motivation and Political Ambition

Seeking the Public Good: Public Service Motivation and Political Ambition

Reconfiguring the Tribe: Changing Ethnic Affiliations in India’s Northeast

This essay sees the form and functioning of the Zeliangrong Naga community as a work in progress. Rather than a perennial, historically immutable and delimited entity, the (relatively recent) formation of the Zeliangrong community indicates that tribes can be formed afresh and that tribal identities are constantly in flux. I begin by tracing and placing the origins of the Zeliangrong Naga as told by Zeliangrong elders and circulating origin and migration stories. Then, continuing my focus on ethnic alignment and realignment, I studied the Zeliangrong movement that emerged in the 1920s. At first, they advocated a Naga Raj through the ousting of the colonial government. Over time, however, this rebellion changed direction and reduced its ambitions to the creation of a Zeliangrong homeland that would unite the Zeliangrong people who currently inhabit three different states of Northeast India, namely Manipur, Nagaland and Assam. Drawing both on historical analysis and fresh ethnography this essay shows how over time the Zeliangrong ethnic identity has come under strain and is increasingly internally contested with its constituent parts now expressing divergent political aspirations while also struggling over status, standing and dominance within.

Divergent Pathways in North–South Education Policy Development in Ireland in the 1920s: Exploring the Influence of the First Ministers for Education on Both Sides of the Border

ABSTRACT A long tradition of both State and religious interest and support characterised provision for education on the island of Ireland from the 1700s. Following the partition of Ireland in the 1920s, the newly created political entities of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland forged separate and distinct education policy trajectories that largely reinforced and propagated the dominant identity in each jurisdiction. This article explores and assesses the contributions of the first Ministers for Education in the Irish Free State and in Northern Ireland in the 1920s, Eoin MacNeill and Lord Londonderry, respectively. A particular emphasis is placed on their influence, impact and legacy on primary education policy development and enactment. Ultimately it could be argued that both Ministers can be characterised to a certain extent as political failures in terms of introducing and embedding education policy that aligned with their personal or political ambition and ideology.

Public History: The Infrastructural Utopia of Metropa.

Metropa, an "art and peace project" by artist and musician Stefan Frankenberger, envisions a future European railroad network through the visual metaphor of an urban subway map, offering both an infrastructural and a political proposal for the future of the European continent. This essay explores Frankenberger's vision from a historical perspective, tracing the origins of the its visual language, its relationship with past trans-European railway projects, and its political implications. The article concludes that, although metropa's technical and political ambitions are deeply connected to the present, its visual appeal and references to historical precedents enhance its affective and political impact.

Public History: Infrastructural Imaginaries and the Production of Affective Power.

This section of Public History explores "infrastructural imaginaries"-shared visions of future infrastructure that are collectively held and either publicly enacted or resisted. These imaginaries are deeply rooted in both present realities and past dreams of what could have been. For historians of technology, understanding who imagines this infrastructure, the impacts of these imaginings, and the emotional forces driving these processes is essential. The contributions in this section explore artistic interventions that blend utopian ideas, visual languages, political ambitions, and radical actions. These interventions challenge us to rethink the contours of our infrastructure-dominated world and invite further historical analysis in these public discourses.

Russia – Africa: The Role of the Media in the Process of Cross-Cultural Communication

The article is devoted to the role of mass media in the process of intercultural communication with African countries. Due to the growing sanctions pressure from the European Union and the United States, Russia is looking for alternative political and economic allies, which it seeks to fi nd among the countries of the African continent. In this context, the issue of intercultural communication with this region is becoming increasingly important. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the image of African states in the leading Russian print media does not correspond to Russia’s stated political ambitions towards these countries. It is observed that the image of the partner countries in the Russian media is not presented fully enough, with an emphasis on the negative side. The article substantiates the idea that the awareness of Russian residents about the culture of Africa is an important component of successful communication. The study aims to evaluate the functions of the media in the process of forming the image of a number of countries and, in accordance with this, analyze the image of Africa being formed in the Russian media fi eld. The novelty of the research lies in presenting a new perspective on the role of the media in the process of intercultural communication. The theoretical basis was scientifi c articles, documents published by public organizations and public authorities. The method of content analysis is used as an approach to the study of media texts. The research materials were published by the major Russian online media “Argumenty i Fakty (Arguments and Facts)” and “RIA Novosti”. The results show the presence of a negative asymmetry in the representation of the image of Africa. The prospect of this study is further and more detailed monitoring of the tone of media publications about Africa and the formation of specifi c proposals for correcting information policy. Keywords: coverage policy, image of Africa, intercultural communication, prospects for interaction, role of the media

Empire from Another Angle: Queer Pleasures of Art in Statius, Silvae 4.6

Recent work on Statius’s Silvae has emphasized the poet’s efforts to create “intimacy” with his private patrons through espousing a value system based on friendship, connoisseurship, and shared literary interests, a system opposed to the public values of political ambition and the blunt glorification of military power in imperial expansion. This essay, however, argues that we have yet to comprehend the extent to which the dynamics of empire itself inform the creation of such intimacy in the Silvae. Specifically, what Sara Ahmed has described as empire’s “queering” effect on the subject’s relation to objects of desire has a formative role in Statian intimacy. I focus on one of the Silvae that has been central to the formation of the current view of Statius outlined above: Silvae 4.6, on a Hercules statuette owned by Novius Vindex but previously the possession of three empire-builders, Alexander, Hannibal, and Sulla.

Decolonizing Judeans

The confluence of decolonization and the Anglo-American study of religion has generally followed a mode of critical self-reflection which aims to illuminate, problematize, and undo the field’s colonial contours. While crucial to decolonial processes within the academy, less appreciated or understood are the ways in which decolonial language has been invoked across a far broader social landscape, often indexing a range of political commitments and aspirations that depart considerably from more conventional decolonial frameworks. More often than note, such articulations are either rejected as fraudulent or cast off as mischaracterization of more noble decolonial projects. Using Jewish and Zionist communal discourses as a case study, this essay instead proposes to take seriously these articulations through a deeper inquiry into its undergirding religious, historical, and theological logics. In thinking through such orthogonal transformations of putatively decolonial claims, we may thereby arrive at a more capacious theoretical model that can organize divergent (and often contradictory) modes of decolonial interpretation by a range of social actors.

‘It is absolutely unnecessary, even detrimental, to embellish the façades’

Following World War I, Belgium faced a severe housing crisis, necessitating a comprehensive reform of social housing policy. Established in 1919, the National Society for Cheap Housing (Nationale Maatschappij voor Goedkope Woningen en Woonvertrekken, nmgww) aimed not only to repair material damage but also to address new social and societal demands. However, financial resources were limited, while there was also a severe shortage of (traditional) building materials and skilled labour. Progressive architects attempted to create a new, socially engaged architecture with a modernist vocabulary through the nmgww. They also advocated for the application of alternative building methods that had the added advantage of being financially favourable. The lack of expertise and experience with these alternative methods prompted the nmgww to set up an experimental project at Het Rad in Anderlecht in 1920. It entailed the construction of some sixty houses, employing eighteen different building systems. While most of these systems used concrete blocks, three utilized a prefabricated skeleton, and two opted for cast-in-situ concrete using monolithic casting systems. Nearly all utilized ‘lean concrete’, a type of concrete with a low cement content. Furthermore, in most cases part of the aggregate was replaced with industrial waste products to reduce costs and improve thermal properties. The intention was to perform an extensive evaluation and objective comparison of the different building systems. Yet even before the experiments had been concluded, the nmgww started to actively promote the German casting system Non Plus. For example, it invited local housing associations to participate in a study trip to Merseburg near Berlin to familiarize themselves with the system. Successfully, as it turns out as the system was subsequently used in the garden suburbs of Klein Rusland in Zelzate (1920-1923) and La Cité Moderne in Sint-Agatha-Berchem (1922-1925). The two districts were designed respectively by the architects Huib Hoste and Victor Bourgeois in a modernist idiom. The literature often refers to the economic benefits of the Non Plus system and to the impact of construction techniques on the aesthetics of these garden suburbs. However, in-depth research shows that the relationship between economic, technical and aesthetic aspects is not so straightforward: concrete was not necessarily cheaper than brick, while the plaster exterior often concealed a variety of systems. Moreover, both garden suburbs were initially designed in brick, indicating that there is no causal link between the material and the design language. It was not long, however, before the alternative building systems in lean concrete, particularly the monolithic casting systems, were abandoned. After 1926, as a result of political power shifts, the focus switched to small-scale projects and alternative building systems lost their scale-based economic advantage. Yet the experiment with alternative building practices, however brief, was an important phase in Belgian architectural and construction history. Projects like Het Rad and the modernist garden suburbs in cast-in-situ concrete show the interrelationship between societal, social, political, cultural and economic ambitions on the one hand, and the evolution of building culture on the other.

Juozas Šibaila-Merainis

During the investigation it was established that the case of Juozas Šibaila, one of the freedom fighters, can be regarded as an individual’s voluntary act of joining the guerrilla struggles. His decision most likely was determined by the factors between some groups. First of all, these were national and cultural values and the position on the issue of defence of the state. They are testified to by professional (teacher’s) activities and his active participation in different public organisations: the Lithuanian Riflemen’s Union, the Lithuanian National Youth Union ‘Jaunoji Lietuva’ (Young Lithuania), also, possible cooperation with intelligence of Lithuania, organising local rebel groups in 1941, membership in the Local Force. This has to be assumed that it was purely personal reasons that greatly influenced the crucial decision to become a partisan – the desire to take revenge on the Soviets for deporting his family, the perception that there was nowhere to draw back – Juozas Šibaila, as an unreliable social element, had been the focus of the repressive structures of the occupiers since 1940. After the re-occupation, he was threatened with being taken to court and sentenced to death for taking part in the persecutions of Soviet activists and for other kinds of activities carried out in the summer of 1941. Juozas Šibaila, a teacher and an active propagator of nationality, had the authority and enjoyed high reputation in the environs of his place of residence, which he always tried to maintain and justify; hence, his early joining armed resistance, organising the first groups of partisans seems quite natural. His work in the headquarters of different underground structures where he was responsible for publishing the press and proclamations, preparing documents necessary for centralisation or their drafts, successful attempts to draw as many teachers in the fights for freedom as possible, which took the greatest part of time of Juozas Šibaila as a partisan, as well as the analysis of his personal correspondence, allows us to state that this person was perfectly aware of the importance and significance of public, ideological-intellectual component to the fights for freedom. Such external attributes as codenames of Diedukas and Merainis which are atypical of a freedom fighter, the appearance resembling an ordinary peasant, suggest that the image of a fighter-hero was alien to him. He was a strict, authoritative and respected leader of partisans who managed to establish close, family relations with his brothers-in-arms. The importance and significance of Juozas Šibaila to the post-war armed underground is undeniable. In his ideological texts Juozas Šibaila-Merainis spoke mainly about political aspirations of the Union of Lithuanian Freedom Fighters (ULFF) and moral-spiritual side of the fights. According to him, close links of democracy and Christian morality relatedd these spheres. He tended to treat partisan resistance to the Soviets, first and foremost, as a struggle for the well-being of all humanity determined and inspired by the Lord. Having examined Juozas Šibaila’s written legacy in this field, as well as the way he was valued by the members of the underground, it can be stated that, on the one hand, the majority of the values and concepts fostered therein may be fundamental and inseparable from armed post-war resistance, and, on the other hand, their presentation and the chosen means of expression seemed to the majority of the partisans difficult to understand and were unacceptable. It might be that a large part of partisans, unlike Juozas Šibaila, imagined fights for freedom simply as war waged by the members of the underground for freedom of the state rather than that of an individual. Consequently, though Merainis’ above-mentioned texts were significant and valuable, in some cases it cannot be stated that they had a considerable impact on the world outlook of an ordinary partisan or a common peasant.

The Protection of Human Rights in South Africa: Unpacking the Duty of the State to Realise the Right to Development

The 1986 United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development (DRTD) presents a multifaceted framework that blends political aspirations with principles from international human rights treaties. Advocating "people-centered development" places individuals at the forefront, empowering them as principal beneficiaries of development efforts. According to Article 2 of the DRTD, both state and non-state actors are responsible for formulating inclusive national development policies to continually enhance the well-being of the entire populace. This involves ensuring active, accessible, and meaningful participation in development processes and fair distribution of the resulting benefits. South Africa's duty to realise the right to development comes under scrutiny in this context. Despite its obligations under international instruments like the African Charter, challenges persist in effectively implementing developmental advancements. This includes fields critical for sustainable progress, such as renewable energy, biotechnology and information technology. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing obstacles, straining resources and threatening to reverse recent developmental gains. Budget constraints, particularly in the research and development sectors, hinder progress towards meeting development objectives. Therefore, while the DRTD and other international instruments emphasise the importance of the right to development, critical debates regarding its scope and implementation persist. Addressing these issues requires a nuanced understanding of development dynamics, balancing global aspirations with practical considerations. It necessitates collaborative efforts to refine and operationalise the right to development, ensuring equitable progress and sustainable development for all.

The logic of ambitious legislators in fluid party systems

AbstractClassic theories of political ambition assume relatively stable and programmatic party systems. However, in many parts of the world, ‘fluid’ or ‘inchoate’ party systems do not provide ambitious legislators with the electoral benefits associated with stable party brands. In this paper, we examine ambition in fluid party systems: What is the frequency of party switching for legislators who seek re‐election, and what are their characteristics? What incentives do parties create to push away or retain legislators? And which parties do ambitious legislators seek out? Using a systems approach, we argue that in fluid party systems, legislators' office‐seeking behavior is driven by their attitudes towards parties and their constituents, their prospective evaluation of party performance, and ideology. Incentives for politicians to switch parties act as negative feedback mechanisms which keep the party system stuck in a fluid state. We test the determinants of party switching using two data sources from Ecuador: a public records dataset of every legislator who earned re‐election from 1979 to 2021, and the Parliamentary Elites in Latin America (PELA) surveys of all legislators from 1994 to 2017. Both sources distinguish between switchers and non‐switchers. The results support the conclusion that ambitious legislators in fluid party systems are strategic actors that seek or keep parties to maximize their probability of re‐election—and thereby further exacerbate the party system's fluidity.

A Legal Appraisal of the Causes of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis

The Cameroon Anglophone Crisis, which erupted in 2016, stems from longstanding grievances among the Anglophone population regarding marginalization, governance issues, and cultural rights within a predominantly Francophone nation. This legal appraisal examines the historical context, highlighting the post-colonial legacy that has shaped Anglophone identity and political aspirations. It analyzes the key main Causes of the anglophone crisis bringing out facts such the constitutional problem, socio-political causes and the role of the diaspora and the media. The study adopts a qualitative research methodology which makes use of the doctrinal method as one of the main methods which deals with content analysis of primary and secondary data. Unstructured interviews and observation were also used as part of the methods of obtaining data. The ensuing results reveals that the main cause of the crisis is one of ideology which was birthed as far as the period of reunification which has remain unaddressed till date. Hence, it laid a foundation for the researcher to recommend a sincere and all-inclusive dialogue amongst the concerned parties amongst others.