Political Crisis Research Articles

The Truth and the Pain: A Reading of Edouard Kayihura’s <i>Inside the Hotel Rwanda</i> and Marie Béatrice Umutesi’s <i>Surviving the Slaughter</i>

Literary realism focuses on everyday people, issues, characters, settings and situations that are real. Some writers engage realism to document their real-life experiences. The readers as well tend to gain access to real life events as vivid as the writers can recollect them. Fictitious approaches are avoided completely in these narrations. This is done to ensure that the readers can identify with the stories being narrated. Hence, the 1994 genocide has been the major focus of contemporary Rwanda prose narratives. They project the experiences of the people before, during and after the genocide. Also, some authors document their experiences as suggested by their therapists, because it usually helps as one of the coping mechanisms for trauma. This study delves into the analysis of two post-genocide prose narratives. It adopts the use of postcolonial and trauma theories as the tools for conceptualizing, understanding and interpretation of these prose narratives. Marie Béatrice Umutesi’s <i>Surviving the Slaughter: The ordeal of a Rwandan Refugee in Zaire </i>and Edouard Kayihura’s<i> Inside the Hotel Rwanda: The Surprising True Story and Why It Matters Today </i>are autobiographies, they depict the causes of the genocide, the outcomes, specifically on the victims and hopefully the solutions. Edouard Kayihura suffers harrowing experiences of perpetual fear, oppression and extortion inside the Hotel des Mille Collines, this is his own truth, debunking the inaccuracies of the movie Hotel Rwanda. While, Marie Béatrice Umutesi, a Hutu woman witnesses and experiences inexplicable brutality and hardship. She endures the pains as she journeys towards safety. This study interrogates the contributions of political hegemony and identity crises to varying degrees of trauma and explains that the experiences and pains of these writers are factual. It also establishes that these prose narratives serve dual purposes of correcting a false claim and projecting the pain of a Hutu woman, a unique diversion from the popular focus on the Tutsis.

Political Turmoil in ECOWAS: When Politics Prevails Over Law

Several military regimes have recently come to power within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). This article on the political crisis in ECOWAS examines the main causes of these developments in the region and the approaches of regional organizations to address them in the African context, taking into account the practices of the OAU and the African Union. In the first phase, ECOWAS imposed a series of sanctions against these states for violating their international legal obligations in the areas of democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and good governance. In addition, the community decided to use military force in the Republic of Niger in order to free M. Bazoum, and, in response to this threat, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger decided, on September 16, 2023, to create the Alliance of Sahel States (ASS) for self-defense to repel the aggression of the ECOWAS troops. Furthermore, on January 28, 2024, the ASS countries announced their withdrawal from ECOWAS, and, in order to prevent a split in ECOWAS, on February 24, 2024, the community decided to lift the sanctions previously imposed on Niger, Mali, and Guinea on humanitarian grounds. This article examines in detail both the political and legal sides of the decisions taken by ECOWAS. Based on their analysis, the authors conclude that democracy remains an important tool for promoting stability in African multinational societies. According to the authors, attempts by the AU and ECOWAS to address political instability through normative means can be encouraged. However, ECOWAS’ sanction policies against offending countries should be based on existing community norms, humanity, and real facts in order to avoid dividing the community.

Российско-американские отношения конца XX – первой четверти XXI века: тенденции и перспективы

The article studies the relations between Russia and the USA in the late 20th – first decades of the 21st centuries as a central problem of modern international relations. The analysis is performed in the historicalpolitical retrospect, from the 1990s to the present day. When it comes to the 1990s, viewed as a time of friendship and partnership, the reasons for the rapprochement between the two countries are described, as well as the events of the late 1990s – eastward NATO expansion and the NATO bombing of Belgrade – which were the turning point for the decline in Russia–US relations. Talking about the 2000s – 2010s, the author indicates the contradictions in the development of the bilateral relations, namely, a trend towards both improvement (establishment of the NATO–Russia Council following the attacks of September 11, 2001 and the “reset” policy in the late 2000s) and deterioration (as a result of the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, Russo-Georgian conflict in August 2008, Syrian civil war, Ukrainian political crisis and the accession of Crimea to Russia in 2014). According to the author, Russian-American relations over the past decade (2014–2024) could be described as hostile, which eliminates the possibility for their normalization through direct contacts between the two parties. The downward trend in Russia– US relations, which emerged in the late 1990s and continued to grow during the 2000s – 2020s, can be explained by the two countries’ irreconcilable positions on the system of international relations. The United States seek to create a unipolar – Americentric – world, while Russia insists on multipolarity. According to the author, the only way to improve relations between Russia and the USA is to stabilize the system of international relations. This problem is discussed in the final part of the article.

О причинах политических кризисов в работах П.А. Сорокина российского периода

P.A. Sorokin is one of the most renowned and peer-reviewed scientists of the XX century. In his anniversary and in modern conditions it seems important to address his explanation of the genesis of political crises in the early period of his work, since his recommendations for the preservation of eternal peace given in his later works have not been fulfilled. The article focuses on P.A. Sorokin’s ideas of political crises. For analysis, the concepts presented in his main monographs of the Russian period: “Sociology of Revolution” and “Hunger as a Factor in Human Affairs” are used. The article compares the ideas expressed in them with lesser-known publicistic and scientific articles by P.A. Sorokin of that time. For a better understanding of the context, the biographical material of the scientist was used, showing the complex environment of the formation of his intellectual heritage. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the importance of revisiting P.A. Sorokin’s works on political crises during the Russian period. His ideas provide valuable insights into the causes of political crises and offer guidance for maintaining perpetual peace. It is essential for modern scientists and policymakers to engage with Pitirim Aleksandrovich Sorokin’s ideas and apply them to current challenges in global politics.

LIVING IN A DIGITAL WORLD. HOPE AND FEAR OF FUTURE AMONG GENERATION Z

Generations shaped in the process of formation of an information/digital society have significant differences from previous generations, which were formed in the conditions of an industrial society at the level of values. The aim of this study is to identify specific differences in the perception of social, existential, and transcendental fears in Generation Z (also known as centennials, zoomers, etc., born in the late 1990s - early 2000s). Based on an information-communication approach, qualitative research (focus groups) of centennials - students of universities in the city of Ufa on the topic of fear perception was conducted. It was found that fear of the future information/digital society, shared by the older generations, is not characteristic of Generation Z. Development in a digital environment has fostered qualities such as pragmatism, network solidarity, network rootedness, and a positive attitude towards the digital future. Generation Z has shown a decrease in fear towards the development of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and genetic engineering. At the same time, they are concerned about existential fears related to external forces, such as environmental pollution, global warming, and the risk of economic and political crises. In general, representatives of the digital society are optimistic, hoping that they can solve society's problems with the support of digital technologies. The identified change in the structure of fear perception has both academic and practical significance, allowing for the expansion and deepening of research in this area, as well as increasing the effectiveness of interaction with Generation Z.

THE ROLE OF RISK MANAGEMENT IN ENSURING THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF ENTERPRISES UNDER FORCE MAJEURE CIRCUMSTANCES IN FOREIGN ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES

The article examines the influence of the modern globalized economic environment on the activities of enterprises operating in the field of foreign economic activity and facing a large number of risks in the course of their operation, in particular due to the influence of force majeure circumstances. The importance of risk management for ensuring the financial stability of enterprises in the conditions of increasing risks and threats to economic activity is determined. The impact of risk management on the financial stability of enterprises in foreign economic activity, especially in cases of force majeure, is studied. It has been proven that risk management in the context of foreign trade involves the identification, assessment, management and monitoring of risks that may arise. It has been determined that effective risk management allows business entities to properly adapt to changes in the economic environment and reduces the likelihood of financial losses in the event of force majeure events, such as the cessation of trade, sudden changes in exchange rates, or military or political crises. Strategies for including risk management in the management processes of enterprises based on analytical assessments and practical experience of ensuring financial stability are considered. Methods of risk identification, development of risk minimization strategies and mechanisms of risk control during foreign economic operations were studied. The objective necessity of forming an effective risk management system in the management mechanism of economic entities to ensure the financial stability of enterprises in foreign economic activity, especially in connection with force majeure circumstances, has been proven. The issue of implementing risk management at the level of strategic and operational management of enterprises is considered. Methods of risk forecasting, analysis of their impact on financial indicators and development of effective action plans to reduce possible negative consequences of exposure to risks and threats were analyzed. The necessity of introducing international risk management standards into the activities of Ukrainian enterprises, which contribute to increasing their level of competitiveness and compliance with international requirements, has been proven. The need for constant improvement of the risk management system and the introduction of corrections in enterprise management strategies, taking into account changes in the external environment, was identified. It is proposed to introduce approaches to the management of enterprises focused on effective management of financial risks in force majeure situations in order to ensure their financial sustainability and stability.

Methodology and Recommendations for Improving the Commercial Processes of Catering in Hospitals

In the modern world of stormy economic, political and value crises, healthcare becomes significant for the development of every society. This is because the ever-increasing market globalization, regionalization and digitalization of the economy requires new and healthy human resources. Thus the necessity of an effective and expedient management of commercial processes in hospitals arises. It is a matter of radical, fundamental and drastic improvement of the values of the establishments and of the material resources concerning the commercial healthcare processes. In particular, this study observes the evaluation of commercial processes affecting the private hospital nutrition in an environment of deepening crises. This article examines the basic methodology aspects as well as recommendations are given in order to improve commercial processes after having performed a framework analysis of the main nutrition processes in healthcare facilities and after having established the basic constructs for the formation and implementation of a nutrition policy through the prism of the complex reengineering theory.

From crisis to "permacrisis" in media communication in Romania

The article examines how the crisis phenomenon is discussed in the Romanian public communication environment. The authors argue that in the current context, where society is marked by multiple crises, the term "permacrisis" has become relevant, describing a state of permanent crisis affecting the society at multiple levels. The authors analysed how the topic of crisis has been represented in the Romanian media, focusing on articles published online between 2017 and 2022. Through quantitative and qualitative analysis, the study highlights a significant increase in crisis-related mentions since 2020, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase indicates a shift in public perception and media discourse, suggesting the normalisation and acceptance of the crisis as a constant state. Four dominant themes associated with the crisis were identified in media discourse: the economic crisis, the health crisis generated by COVID-19, the domestic political crisis and the crisis generated by the war in Ukraine. These themes illustrate the different facets of the permacrisis in Romania, from the economic and social impact, to political uncertainty and the consequences of pandemics and geopolitical conflicts. The paper highlights the importance of recognising and understanding the phenomenon of permacrisis in Romanian society in order to develop more effective strategies for managing crises and building a more resilient society.

Новый раскол (Украинский кризис и религиозный фактор в контексте перспектив социально-политического развития)

The article is devoted to the role of the religious factor in the context of the socio-political development of modern societies against the background of military-political confrontation. The ongoing processes are analyzed at several levels — national, international, and ecclesiastical. Utilizing the post-secular paradigm, as well as actor and identitarian approaches, the authors examine the religious dimension of the Ukrainian crisis. They draw a particular attention to the situation in the world Orthodox Christianity. The authors reveal the reasons why the main line of cleavage in the modern Christianity formed precisely in its Orthodox segment and was closely intertwined with the largest international political crisis of the first quarter of the 21st century. The article shows that the Ukrainian crisis has a destabilizing effect on the situation in the world Orthodox Christianity, reactivating old conflicts and creating new sources of tension. Having stated that the Ukrainian crisis served as a trigger and catalyst for dynamics in different spheres, covering a significant number of different types of actors, the authors at the same time point out that socio-political development in the context of the religious factor has deeper roots. From their viewpoint, the observed phenomena and processes indicate the formation of new models of interaction between the state, society and church within the framework of post-secular or traditionalist discourse, which in turn is associated with the rapid establishment of a new scientific and technological order. According to the authors’ conclusion, as it already happened many times in history, the religious factor is obtaining key importance in determining the basic features of the new era. The transformation of Modernity into something else, which is taking place before our eyes, does not result in the “elimination” of this factor, but, on the contrary, transforms religious factor into an important component of the formula for a new way of life. The Ukrainian conflict intensifies the search for post-secular models of socio-political development in the Western political areal. At the same time, Russia and the West itself are moving in different ways, since the Russian model is closer to pre-secular practices.

Strategic Judicial Empowerment

Abstract When courts seek to strengthen their own institutional power, they often need to be strategic. In many fraught political contexts, judiciaries lack a history of asserting authority against powerful political actors. How can courts with fragile authority establish and enhance judicial power? This Article explores the phenomenon of strategic judicial empowerment, offering an account of how and when courts deploy various strategies aimed at enhancing their institutional position vis-à-vis other branches of government. Drawing on examples from apex courts in Pakistan, Malawi, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom, it explores the ways in which judges use tools of statecraft to increase the effectiveness of their decisions and enhance their role in the constitutional order. The Article explores the particular strategies that courts might employ in service of self-empowerment: first, a strategy of maxi-minimalism features Marbury-style maximalist reasoning that expands judicial power while issuing a narrow ruling to avoid political backlash; second, an inverse strategy of mini-maximalism involves formalistic, orthodox doctrine that downplays the expansion of judicial power, even as a court delivers a decision of immediate consequence; third, a strategy of coalition-building that aids a judiciary in seeking allies in other institutional stakeholders; fourth, a rhetorical strategy that courts may use to craft a constitutional narrative of popular salience; and, fifth, a unanimous, single-voice decision that provides the optics of a unified judicial front. This Article also considers the conditions that tend to give rise to instances of judicial self-empowerment. Courts in diverse contexts tend to assert themselves, for example, when their own institutional turf is threatened, during moments of political or constitutional crisis, when judges can capitalize on popular support for the outcome of a ruling, and under an influential judicial leader mindful of establishing a legacy.

Origin of Islamophobia in Europe: A Case Study of Hungary

The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in 2001 proved to be a turning point in the relationship between Islam and the West. Subsequently, the United States (US) invaded Iraq to avenge the tragedy. The US called its militaristic venture into the Middle East as an "act against terror." This invasion triggered a political crisis in the Middle Eastern countries. This situation was further aggravated by the Arab Spring, which occurred in the Middle East in 2011. The Arab Spring created problems in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Tunisia. Political instability in the Middle East has forced Arab people to immigrate to European countries. The increase in Arab immigrants in the early 21st century fueled Islamophobia in Europe. Hungary is one of the European countries that has accepted many Arab immigrants. This studydiscusses the relationship between the rise of Arab migration and the increase of Islamophobia in Europe, particularly in Hungary. A qualitative research approach was used to analyse various government and non-government reports and literature. This study argues that the increasing population of Arab immigrants in Europe has led to the emergence of right-wing political movements. These movemnets play a major role in carrying out Islamophobic propaganda in European social and cultural life.

A new side of deglobalization: Why did US multinational corporations deconsolidate their subsidiaries from Venezuela?

This study explored the deconsolidation of Venezuelan subsidiaries by 15 U.S. Multinational Corporations (MNCs) during the severe economic and political crisis of 2015. We used a probit model and decision tree classifier to examine how foreign exchange losses and the industry sector influenced this decision. We found that consumer goods MNCs and those with large losses were more likely to be deconsolidated. Deconsolidation may be a common response in other troubled emerging markets, especially in a deglobalized world. We contend that deconsolidation improves stakeholder quality and the transparency of financial reporting. In addition, an MNC’s subsidiary deconsolidation is the middle ground between doing nothing and divesting. This study fills a gap in the academic literature on deconsolidation that has been largely overlooked in the past. This raises new questions and challenges for scholars seeking to promote financial reporting transparency in a changing global environment.

Preservice teachers’ beliefs toward online learning and future teaching: Redesigning teacher training

Global health and political crisis lead to the development of educational practices. This study examined pre-service teachers’ beliefs concerning online learning and their future teaching in online environments. Seven hundred sixty four participants responded to online questionnaires at three points in time during the Covid-19 period. It was found that the average level of beliefs in readiness for future online learning and teaching is moderate. Whereas, the level of beliefs in online teaching is consistently high compared to beliefs in online learning. Three of the four components of the Dynamic Change of Personality Traits Theory (DCPT) showed higher levels of Pre Service Teacher (PST) beliefs in future online teaching than beliefs in their ability to learn online. Findings of this study propose that radical changes in learning environments impact the formation of beliefs. As beliefs contribute to the construction of motivation they must be acknowledge as essential for future teaching environments.

Interactional and convivial possibilities at war: Ukrainian students’ home-making on a multicultural campus

This article examines Ukrainian students’ home-making at London’s multilingual and multicultural universities, contrasting the ways in which students’ idea of themselves and their sense of belonging developed after their arrival in London, and the ways in which this experience was altered by the outbreak of war on 24 February 2022. For international students in the UK, making themselves at home on a university campus is a relational process in which cultural, linguistic and political ideas and practices, brought together from the students’ former homes, are negotiated and transcended in newly established social networks. In this article, we explore the ways in which students’ networks, old and new, are altered as a result of their experience of war. Our findings indicate that when imagined personal life trajectories are disrupted as a result of the social and political crisis that accompanies the war, the possibilities of articulating the individual experience and the social interactions that provide such affordances are existential processes, which allow (or not) individuals to (re-)engage in home-making and to find new meaning in their emplacement and sense of self.

Reporting Cameroon’s Anglophone Crisis in a Hybrid Media Environment: How Citizen Journalists and Traditional Media Collaborate and Compete

ABSTRACT This study examined how Cameroonian legacy media and citizen journalists have collaborated or competed to report on the Anglophone crisis in Cameroon since October 2016. Using Chadwick’s hybrid media system theory, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 41 Cameroonian legacy media reporters, editors and citizen journalists. The results show that when reporting on political crises, new relationships are established between legacy media and citizen journalists that grow into formalised collaborations. Mainstream media reporters and citizen journalists either collaborate or compete to report on the crisis. Some citizen journalists both cooperate with traditional media and run their own reporting platforms, while professional journalists working for established media outlets create platforms of their own to freely report issues that would otherwise be censored on traditional media outlets. The findings reveal professional journalists acknowledge the important role of citizen journalists but are cautious about fully collaborating with them at every stage of the news production chain.

A railway modernity. Izmalkovo train station in Ivan Bunin’s work

The article discusses the everyday life of Izmalkovo, a train station in Imperial Russia’s Oryol governate. Among its frequent visitors and commuters was Ivan Bunin. The writer often resided in the area and used the station’s postal and passenger services. Housed in a small and inconspicuous railway station building of the fourth rank, Izmalkovo gradually became an important logistical hub for the writer. Izmalkovo’s postmark grew increasingly familiar to prominent figures of Russian modern art and literature. Following the devastating events of 1917, life in the Russian provinces becomes perilous for those living there. The political crisis forced Bunin to move from Izmalkovo to Yelets, where he had to seek a secret sanctuary at the local notary’s house. Next, the writer was forced to flee the country. Nostalgic memories of the humble station’s chronotope haunted Bunin for the rest of his life. Using an extensive body of examples, the scholar traces the changing perception of the station in the Nobel Prize winner’s writings, from the romantic impressions of his youth to the agonizing reflections on the ‘cursed days.’

Emotions of fear and anger as a discursive tool of radical right leaders in Central Eastern Europe

The paper examines how the radical right parties´ leaders work with emotions while addressing their voters and sympathizers on Twitter/X social media. We focus on the “supply side” on the level of leaders´ discourses. The goal is to demonstrate how they work with emotions, especially those of fear and anger. The context represents Russian aggression against Ukraine, because, typically, circumstances of a crisis bolster the ability of radical right leaders to use emotional rhetoric devices. Czechia, Hungary, and Slovakia represent three particularly relevant and distinctive cases among the CEE countries according to the relevance, relative strength, and stability of radical right parties. We examined social media, particularly Twitter, since it is one of the most prominent tools of political communication today, especially for populists. We collected the data of all Tweets between February 24, 2022 and February 24, 2023. We combined a systematic quantitative content analysis with a more in-depth qualitative analysis of the key characteristics of the discursive construction of the two most salient emotions: anger and fear. We did not confirm the assumption that they would utilise the war in Ukraine since most tweets addressed issues related to domestic politics. The research, however, confirmed that despite differences, anger and fear play a substantial role in the emotional repertoire and represent necessary rhetorical devices. Our findings concur with the literature on radical right populism and its employment of emotional discourse. We found that even a crisis in international politics has been reframed primarily as a domestic issue and integrated into classical discursive practices.

Critical Junctures, Ideological Continuity and Change in Western Europe: Comparing the Pandemic and the Global Financial Crises

ABSTRACT Research focusing on the Covid-19 crisis politics treats ideology mostly as an independent or intervening variable, lacking attention to the effects of the pandemic on ideological conflict and the configurations between ideas and actors and is ambiguous about its impact. To address these deficiencies, we provide an assessment of ideological change by combining accounts of political development and theories of hegemony and apply the resulting framework through a comparative history of “crisis” in Western Europe, juxtaposing the pandemic with the 2008 financial crisis. We argue that the pandemic’s ideological impact entails signs of both continuity and change, across both ideational and institutional dynamics, more change than the financial crisis, but not reaching the threshold of “a critical juncture” and thus amounts to a partial ideological reconfiguration. The analysis has implications for the Covid-19 pandemic legacy, the study of crises and the ideological terrain in the current context.

On the Borders of European Pluriversalism. Thinking Europe With/Beyond the Limits of Balibar

ABSTRACT The article aims to initiate a dialogue with Étienne Balibar’s writings on borders, Europe, and universalism, in the context of the contemporary transformations of the borders of Europe and the current crisis of universalist politics. Its first motivation is to demonstrate how Balibar’s work could serve as a theoretical framework for border studies to understand the link between the vacillation of borders and the crisis of European universalism. The figure of boundary, limit, or horizon played a key role in the emancipatory narratives on the idea of Europe. Balibar recognized how the metamorphoses of borders revealed the fundamental aporia of European universalism of any kind: each universalism, no matter how inclusive and radical, has to adopt the particular carrier and designate its limits. Hence the politics of universality tends to be border politics: it rests on constant and infinite transgression of the limits to universalism, without the prospect of overcoming the aporia. The second motivation is to revisit Balibar’s philosophy of borders of Europe by drawing out lessons from contemporary research on border transformations. Answering Balibar’s call to the need to theorize pluriversalism, the article shows how European borders became recently the new sites of pluriversal politics.

Extended flexible capacity planning methodology with flight network contribution to the airline fleet assignment problem

Flexible capacity planning is crucial for the airline industry due to the high fixed cost of assets, notably aircraft ownership, and the fluctuating demand, particularly in response to external shocks like pandemics and political crises. Following the negative consequences of such events on the financial positions of almost all airline companies, there is growing interest in developing more responsive capacity planning structures for cost efficiency in the airline industry. In this study, we present a sequential two-phase methodology for flexible capacity planning and airline fleet assignment considering the factors related to fleeting strategies, passenger demand behavior, and contribution of flights in the network. The first phase of the methodology generates potential scenarios to estimate the number of flights to the destinations, based on the data and the reports provided by two prominent associations in the aviation industry, which incorporate various country-related and airline-related factors, including population, income, routes, airports, and connectivity. The second phase identifies the required number of aircraft for each type within the fleet inventory, taking into account the aircraft utilization rates associated with each scenario. The fleet assignment problem is also reformulated to employ the objective of maximizing total profit of the entire flight network by introducing network contribution and nation/region-specific limitations in this phase. A real case study from Turkey is conducted to illustrate efficiency of the proposed methodology. We also present a comparative study to highlight the impact of network contribution and how fleet size affects the outcomes. We have observed that the inclusion of the network contribution aspect and country constraints has led to a significant improvement in financial indicators and connectivity. The results show that the methodology can effectively tackle challenges in airline transportation problems.