Political Culture Research Articles

Grind Your Way Out: The Construction of Hegemonic Homomasculinities Among Young Hong Kong Grindr Users

ABSTRACT Existing literature suggests that Grindr and other similar apps manifest a pattern of social exclusion along the lines of body and gender. However, these studies are primarily conducted outside the context of Asia. Inspired by Connell’s hegemonic masculinity and Duggan’s homonormativity, I adopted the term “hegemonic homomasculinity” to explore the cultural hegemony at the intersection of masculinity and homosexual practices. Employing qualitative, semi-structured interviews, this study draws on 20 young Hong Kong Grindr users with diverse social backgrounds to examine the cultural hegemony within this gay online space. Through desiring muscular/athletic bodies, straight-acting men, and “healthy” sexual practices, users marginalize undesirable gay men and reproduce the cultural hegemony. Although the subordination of undesirable bodies and homomasculinities is evident in Grindr, the findings also suggest potential room for negotiation and non-conformity. Due to the emphasis on cultural politics in the establishment of Hong Kong’s gay identity, neoliberalism facilitates a homomasculine ideal that is not only based on success in the realm of career, education, and family but also on a responsible body that is healthy. LGBTQ+ activists and organizations may allocate more resources to address everyday discrimination within the online gay community.

The perception of volunteering in Türkiye: socio-cultural factors and structural-institutional continuities

ABSTRACT Cross-cultural studies focusing on formal volunteering often underestimate and misinterpret the volunteering rates in non-Western countries like Türkiye. To address this gap, we conducted 22 focus group discussions to explore the perception of volunteering in Türkiye within the historical context of social and political culture and to provide insights into the prevalence of informal over formal volunteering. Our findings reveal that volunteering in Türkiye is perceived as a daily altruistic activity that does not need to be recorded. This perspective, informed by Islamic norms and traditional practices, is reinforced by the strong state tradition and distrust of civil society organizations (CSOs) rooted in the historical dynamics of civil society. We argue that the prevalence of informal volunteering in Türkiye depends on a socio-cultural perception of volunteering, which is underpinned by structural and institutional continuities that interact with ongoing transformations between civil society and the state, marked by Türkiye’s distinctive modernization experience.

US-China competition, world order and economic decoupling: insights from cultural realism

ABSTRACT This study examines how US-China geopolitical rivalry is reshaping global economic order. It identifies gaps in existing research on hegemonic state behaviour and presents an alternative theory based on cultural realism. This latter builds on realism by arguing that political culture influences the intensity of geopolitical tensions. Drawing on domestic political discourse, this study demonstrates that US and China geopolitical tensions are driven by conflicting national political cultures that generate competing visions of global order, reducing the capacity of international institutions to sustain cooperation. This divergence manifest in geoeconomic competition and weaking multilateralism. Theoretical expectations suggest an emerging geoeconomic world economy operating alongside the WTO-based multilateral economic order. The article analyses recent US industrial policies as a case study illustrating this dual order. The simultaneous existence of multilateralism and geoeconomic competition, implies governments face a novel, highly complex policy domain in an era of rising national economic security needs.

Antiliberalism and Counter-Enlightenment for the 21st Century: Viktor Orbán's Illiberal Political Ideology

Abstract This article analyses the political speeches of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán between 2014 and 2023 by applying the ‘ideational approach’. Questioning the description of Orbán as a politician whose career represents nothing but opportunism and kleptocracy, the article argues that his politics are driven and underpinned by an illiberal political ideology. Examining how Orbán conceptualizes illiberalism in the realms of (1) Hungarian domestic politics; (2) foreign and global politics; and (3) cultural politics (understood in the Gramscian sense as a battle for fundamental values), this article offers a systematic analysis of Hungarian illiberalism and of the interrelations of its main ideological components. The article also examines how and why Orbán portrays himself not only as the authentic voice of the Hungarian people, but also simultaneously as the genuine representative of original Europeanness.

Shalini Kakar, Devotional Fanscapes: Bollywood Star Deities, Devotee-Fans, and Cultural Politics in India and Beyond.

Shalini Kakar, Devotional Fanscapes: Bollywood Star Deities, Devotee-Fans, and Cultural Politics in India and Beyond.

7 - Dinâmicas dos movimentos juvenis’

This article examines the protest actions they have triggered by the so- called revús with a view to bringing about social change. The article seeks to understand and describe the relevance of these actions, the type of demands raised, as well as the articulation established at local and national level because of expressions, aspirations, wills, political and social struggles against the authoritarian Angolan political culture. The article essentially discusses two pre-election protests held in Luanda on symbolic dates and three expressive movements, two before and one during the electoral period, which initially emerged on social networks. The text focuses on analyzing the social impact of these events, especially among young Angolans.

The Marshal partition of 1247: a medieval text’s journey through early modern Ireland

Abstract This article analyses the role of the Marshal partition (1247) in political discourse and manuscript transmission in early modern Ireland. It is argued that the early modern interest in the Marshal partition reflects the vulnerability and the identity crisis of the English of Ireland due to British and Irish politics and changing European ideas of power and peerage. Overall, this article uses the Marshal partition as a key to open a broader discussion about noble, political, and manuscript cultures in early modern Britain and Ireland and to advocate for a greater permeation of the ‘medieval’ and ‘early modern’ historiographical divide.

Educational Influence on Political Culture: Insights from Israel’s Arab Political Elite

This study delves into the dynamic interplay between the Arab political elite 1 and education within Palestinian society in Israel, addressing the way educational experiences shape political culture. Looking at Arab society’s leading politicians, the article explores their unique political perspectives and roles in a distinctive sociopolitical landscape. The findings reflect a nuanced view of politics, transcending ideological confines to encompass social and educational endeavors; they also highlight the Arab political elite’s dual focus: fostering social solidarity and shaping representative political organizations. Crucially, education emerges as a pivotal force in cultivating political identity and influence, underpinning efforts toward sociopolitical change. This study offers profound insights into the symbiotic relationship between education and political culture in a context marked by its quest for representation and influence.

Mexico, Myth, Politics, Pollock: The Birth of an American Art

Challenging the still widespread modernist and Eurocentric understanding of Pollock’s art as a formal advance based in Picasso’s cubism, this study explores the pervasive impact of Mexican art, political culture, and myth on the creation of Pollock’s Birth c. 1941. The recent discovery of Pollock’s early exposure to Diego Rivera’s use of the Mesoamerican myth of Quetzalcoatl invites a reconsideration of the sources of his art. The myth of Quetzalcoatl challenged Pollock, who responded not just to Rivera but also to Siqueiros’ understanding of the political significance of art and to Orozco’s call for Quetzalcoatl’s return in a modern migration of the spirit at Dartmouth College. Made aware of the positive potential of this mythic symbolism by his Jungian psychotherapy, we see Pollock using it to counter the destructive force of fascism depicted in Picasso’s Guernica 1937. In the process he discovers his own artistic identity in Birth as a mythmaker in a time of war, capable of generating new Pan-American symbols and forms to challenge the hegemony of Picasso.

Historiographical studies on the conceptualization of the national idea in political and legal thought

The article explores the historiographical issues of the phenomenon of national idea or identity, which has been present in political and legal thought throughout history and manifested itself in various ways through different interpretations and discussions of the fundamental characteristics of law and state. The relevance of this topic stems from the lack of adequate coverage in the field of the history of political doctrines and the presence of inaccuracies and gaps in interpretations regarding the significance of national identity within the context of state and law. Furthermore, there is a need to reassess existing approaches to understanding the national idea as a component of political and legal culture. The solution to the problem of understanding and properly considering the role and significance of the national idea and national consciousness in interpreting the meaning of political and legal theories of the past and present can be found in understanding them as necessary cultural contexts in each case. This allows us to view the idea of law and state as historically specific phenomena.

Political Themes and Narratives in Videogame Cybertexts: Procedural Media Rhetoric in the Loop of Educational Practices

Introduction. General political education and a set of basic political science competences are important both for the formation of political culture of a particular person and for the balanced development of the state and strengthening of civil society. Video-game political simulators, acting as carriers and media-translators of multimodal political information, can become a legitimate participant of educational and political science discourse. Materials and Methods. The work is based on the theoretical basis of cybertextual-procedural interpretation of video games, funded by the concepts of E. Aarseth and I. Bogost. The multimodal-semiotic optics of video games is based on the synthesis of J. Havreljak and V. Toch's concepts. The teaching and learning (practical) part of the research is conceptually based on the Digital Game-Based Learning methodology of M. Prensky. Results. In the modus operandi of considering the language of video games and their media rhetorical techniques, the spectrum of dominant semiotic structures used to translate political content in video game cybertexts was explicated. The core of the political semiosphere consists of a bimodal sign structure consisting of iconic (visual-graphic and textual-letter) and procedural signs. The latter create a fundamentally new, interactive-action modality of information and communication interaction with a digital media text. The experimental part of the study confirmed the effectiveness of the DGBL methodology in studying political science topics and stories. The overwhelming majority of respondents (85%) noted the expediency of educational use of thematically profiled video game cybertexts. The final works demonstrated students' deep understanding of the dynamics and internal logic of political processes, as well as their connection with other spheres of social life. Qualitative testing showed a high (80%) mastery of thematically relevant issues and stories from the general political science course. At the same time, about 30% of students noted difficulties in mastering game interfaces and procedural mechanics of video games. KEYWORDS Conclusion. When integrating video-game cybertexts into the educational process, it is necessary to provide high-quality methodological and consulting support, as well as to have a technical (hardware and software) base and to take into account the factor of significant time expenditures required to master video games. Accordingly, it is recommended to use video-game political simulators within the framework of elective classes in political sciences. When using the DGBL methodology in the current political science teaching process, it is necessary to apply a modular approach, clearly limiting (chronologically and thematically) the work with video-game cybertexts.

The twisted patriarchal fandom governance in China: changing media representations of fanquan nvhai (“fangirls”)

ABSTRACT This research delves into the dynamics of gender, political governance, and fandom culture in China through an analysis of the evolving media portrayal of fanquan nvhai, or “fangirls,” and the responses of women fans. We explore the concept of “fandom governance” in two ways: as efforts to regulate online fan culture and as a tactic used by the authorities to manage citizens-as-fans. Our study pinpoints three prevailing narratives about fangirls: (1) as young and promising “little sisters” amid the Hong Kong protests in late 2019; (2) as competent career women during the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020; and (3) as irrational “daughters” in need of “rescue” during the government’s Qinglang campaign aiming to regulate fandom since 2021. We also identify reports of fangirls, albeit predominantly shaped by the media, exhibiting agency and resistance. By unveiling the discursive maneuvers concerning fangirls, we demonstrate how state media places them within various patriarchal narratives to reconcile the contradictory logics that characterize the party-state’s strategy of fandom governance. This strategy, which we term “twisted patriarchal fandom governance,” involves naming specific groups of women and deploying ideological constructions to achieve the state’s political goals and represents a novel progression in its enduring patriarchal political culture.

감정과 차별의 이데올로기: N. K. 제미신의 『다섯 번째 계절』의 억압 구조 분석

This paper examines how the intertwined ideologies of emotion and discrimination shape and sustain social oppression in The Fifth Season, the first book of N. K. Jemisin’s The Broken Earth Trilogy. The novel narratively constructs the experiences of marginalized individuals, the Orogenes, depicting their subjugation and emotional oppression while exploring how societal emotions function as mechanisms of discrimination and exclusion. To analyze this process, this study employs Sara Ahmed’s The Cultural Politics of Emotionas a theoretical framework, focusing on how emotions such as hatred and fear are not merely personal reactions but actively justify and perpetuate social exclusion and inequality. Specifically, this paper investigates how emotions operate as structural mechanisms of oppression within the novel, shaping social boundaries and reinforcing hegemonic power relations. Furthermore, it highlights how The Fifth Seasonnot only illustrates the circulation of emotions within oppressive systems but also reveals the internalization of discriminatory ideologies through its narrative. By doing so, this study demonstrates that emotions are not isolated individual experiences but essential forces that construct and maintain social hierarchies, ultimately providing a critical exploration of the politics of emotion and structural discrimination.

Human Trafficking in the Horn of Africa with Emphasis on the Eastern Route to the Gulf States through Djibouti

Human trafficking is a global issue involving myriad drivers and forms of exploitation due to the involvement of various actors. This research explored human trafficking in the Horn of Africa (HoA), focusing on the eastern route to the Gulf States through Djibouti. Using a phenomenology study design, interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 18 participants. The data were analysed using a thematic analysis technique. The findings revealed that various drivers, including community perceptions of migration, political conditions, and social media platforms, drive human trafficking in the HoA. The findings further indicated that the HoA has become a hotspot for various forms of human trafficking, including commoditisation for forced labour and sexual exploitation and trafficking for ransom. The findings suggest that governments in the HoA should focus on changing community perceptions of migration by creating a democratic political culture and raising awareness about the advantages and disadvantages of social media platforms to curb human trafficking. Findings reveal the necessity of a more sophisticated study investigating the various drivers contributing to human trafficking and forms of human trafficking in the HoA.

A national park for tourists or mountaineers?: Debating Mount Olympus in inter-war Greece

ABSTRACT This article explores debate in interwar Greece surrounding designation of Mount Olympus as a national park, focusing on tensions between tourism and mountaineering. During the 1920s and 1930s, Mount Olympus, regarded as both a natural wonder and as a symbol of ancient Greek heritage, became the subject of intense public and state-level discussion. While tourism promoters sought to develop the mountain as a major destination for tourists, mountaineers advocated for the preservation of its rugged terrain for climbing and exploration. This article examines the key players in this debate, including government officials, local stakeholders, and the emerging Greek mountaineering community. It analyses how their differing visions for the mountain reflect broader national concerns about identity, heritage, and modernisation. Ultimately, this study highlights the complex interplay between tourism, conservation, and the cultural politics of place-making in early twentieth-century Greece, shedding light on the evolving relationship between natural landscapes, national goals, and societal priorities during the interwar period.

Corruption - A Common Social Phenomenon in the Orient from the Political Culture Perspective

The Orient, encompassing a diverse array of regions and linguistic families across Asia, Oceania, and portions of Africa, manifests a distinctive sense of collective identity. This study, grounded in Marxist-Leninist theoretical frameworks, employs historical and logical analytical approaches to investigate the phenomenon of corruption within these regions, examining its evolution from ancient times to contemporary society. The conventional political culture of the Orient, shaped by geographical determinants, demographic attributes, and notably religious and belief systems, fosters a deep-seated reverence for authority and a delineated social hierarchy. Notable features include the emergence of personality cults, paternalistic governance, nepotism, and relationships characterized by patronage and clientelism. The influence of religion has often been appropriated to reinforce loyalty to the ruling elite. This cultural paradigm substantially contributes to the pervasive incidence of corruption within the Orient. It is evident across a multitude of sectors, involves a wide array of stakeholders, and permeates all levels of governance. The challenges of nepotism, factionalism, and the emphasis on personal connections—such as those rooted in ethnicity, familial ties, and regional affiliations—further exacerbate the issue. A coprehensive understanding of these entrenched cultural dimensions is essential for effectively addressing corruption in these regions.

The Portrayal of China in Ethiopia’s Creative Works

ABSTRACT This article examines the portrayal of China in Ethiopian artistic works through the lens of Orientalism, postcolonialism, and representation theory. It focuses on six artists who use different narrative modes to illustrate the relationship between China and Ethiopia. Through textual analysis, the article examines the motifs, narratives, and ideological constructs that shape how the creative works view China. The article argues that after Ethiopia's 1991 political change, creative works began reflecting the evolving Ethiopia-China relationship, shaped by economic, cultural, social, and political ties, with artistic expressions celebrating and critiquing it. The findings reveal that most Ethiopian creative expressions depict China positively, highlighting its economic and cultural influence. However, they also uncover a subtle scepticism underlying this portrayal. The analysis examines how these representations show economic, social, and political changes shaping South-South relations and culture. The article contributes to the discourse on China’s role as a key partner in Ethiopia’s development and modernization and its implications for bilateral relations in a globalized context.

The Jeepney Culture of Politeness: A Structural Functionalist Perspective

The Jeepney Culture of Politeness: A Structural Functionalist Perspective

Beyond Technology and Development: Reflections on the Digital Double Bind

In the Middle East, digital technologies have ushered in a new era of connectivity and global integration, promoting political, economic, and social opportunities. However, adopting these technologies presents a digital double bind for states, markets, and publics. States leverage digital technologies to drive economic growth and modernize their infrastructure, yet simultaneously seek to control and restrict their uses to preserve power and uphold societal norms. Markets embrace the innovation and dynamism brought by digital technologies while clinging to entrenched economic structures that curb the professed entrepreneurial spirit of the digital age. Middle Eastern publics harness the empowering potential of digital platforms to invigorate cultural politics and foster social movements, all while contending with the same tools being employed for surveillance, censorship, and repercussions. Occasioned by the release of the open-access edition of Mohamed Zayani and Joe F. Khalil’s The Digital Double Bind (2024), this article deepens the understanding of these dynamics, highlighting the need for a nuanced approach to digital transformation in the Global South and inviting further scholarly reflection and policy engagement.

Role of Media in Transforming Political Culture: A Comparative Study of ARY and Geo News in Political Agenda Setting

Aim of the Study: This study analyses the two famous TV channels ARY and Geo News particularly, to investigate their political debate shows i.e. “Off the Record” & “Capital Talk”, which might be cornerstones in political agenda setting, predominant on the country's broadcasting channels. This study investigates at how media influences public opinions and encourages people to change their mindset. This study also highlights how these two talk shows can shape what people think is important and what they should be concerned about. Methodology: This research adopts a quantitative approach to how ARY News and Geo News affect political awareness among the people of Pakistan. Talk shows like “Capital Talk by Hamid Mir” and “Off the Record by Kashif Abbassi” are focused due to their high viewership. A total of (n=50) respondents were selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Participants were chosen based on age, gender, education level, and affiliations to ensure a diverse representation. The sample included people from urban and rural areas to reflect different regions of the country. Findings: Media significantly influences public opinion and shapes political culture in Pakistan. ARY and Geo News, as leading news channels, have played a crucial role in establishing the political agenda and framing the public discourse. Both ARY and Geo News have demonstrated a considerable influence on establishing political agendas. Conclusion: Media access acts like a “Magical Key”. It gives people a vast amount of information and helps them stay connected. The proposed study concludes that people can find a variety of viewpoints through news channels and online platforms. They can participate in discussions and create their own opinions. However, it's crucial to critically assess the information to gain a complete understanding of the relevant issues.