Political Decisions Research Articles

(De)politicizing water: justice in times of water crisis

In times of climate change, water resources are shrinking at an alarming speed worldwide, making water a focal point of social and political contestation. Essential for environmental and human wellbeing, and economic prosperity, competing demands on water’s finite resources amidst the global water crisis raise critical justice questions regarding allocation, accessibility, legitimate recipients, or prioritized uses. Access to water is deeply intertwined with political decisions, as it heavily depends on infrastructure and governance. Depoliticization, however, renders water issues to technical or economic terms, aligning with neoliberal practices that commodify and privatize water resources. This approach often neglects the inherent political and social dimensions of water, privileging corporate interests while restricting access for the poor and powerless. This article examines how (de)politicization shapes such water realities by applying theoretical perspectives on (de)politicization and environmental justice. Through a systematic literature review and interpretative content analysis, we explore how (de)politicization is conceptualized in scholarly discussions, identifying common themes in the water context, the scales and regions addressed, and the roles of various actors and actions involved. Our research reveals a persistent tension between depoliticization and repoliticization. While depoliticization, though conceptually rather imprecise, obscures accountability and perpetuates neoliberal practices leading to exclusion, repoliticization, driven by activism, addresses policy deficiencies and amplifies marginalized voices. By illuminating these dynamics, this study enhances the understanding of (de)politicization in the water realm and its implications for justice.

STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF POLITICAL COMMUNICATION IN THE CONTEXT OF MODERN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

The article highlights the structural and functional features of political communication as a process of communicative interaction in the political sphere in the conditions of modern social development. It was determined that political communication is a communicative process of mutual exchange of political information and broadcasting of political discourse among political subjects, state administration bodies, civil society, aimed at achieving consensus in making political and managerial decisions, legitimizing power and maintaining the stability of the democratic political system through means mass communication, Internet social networks, informal contacts, etc. The leading functions of political communication in terms of its structural elements are distinguished: 1) subjects of political communication: citizens, state authorities and management, political parties, movements and associations, civil society institutions, associations and groups of users of social networks on the Internet etc; 2) feedback between the subjects of political communication, acting as a communicative interaction that takes on different forms of information exchange; 3) information message as a relevant political discourse; 4) channels and means of information transmission and two-way communication between subjects of political communication.

Strategic States: The Congressional Roots of Federal Grant Applications

Abstract While a large body of research explores the federal-level influences over distributive politics decisions, very little attention has been given to the active role state and local governments play in the geographic distribution of federal funds. Before presidents, legislators, and agency leaders can influence the selection of federal grants, state and local governments must expend time and resources to submit grant proposals. We focus on grant applications as our unit of analysis and advance a theory that congressional representation influences the grant application behavior of state and local governments. We analyze US Department of Transportation grant applications and awards from 2009 to 2022 and find evidence that congressional representation meaningfully influences state-level grant application behavior. States apply more aggressively for federal transportation grants when represented by senators in the Senate majority party, and states apply more efficiently for grants when represented by a senator holding an advantageous committee leadership post.

A study on the changes of China's parenting labor system from the perspective of legal culture theory (1949-1957)

In the early years of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), the Communist Party then referred to as CPC implemented a series of equality policies in favor of women. This type of policy is reflected in the allocation of childcare labor resources, emphasizing the construction of women’s social welfare. However, China’s women’s welfare policies are influenced by overall political decision making and exhibit an unstable state. This study discusses the changes in the CPC’s childcare norms from 1949 to 1957. Using the laws and regulations issued by the CPC government from 1949 to 1957 and the news materials published from 1949 to 1957, this study classifies and discusses these first hand historical materials in different periods using the method of literature analysis. This study uses Friedman’s legal culture theory to analyze the interaction between the internal legal culture of the government representatives of the CPC and the external legal culture of the people’s representatives. This study finds that by exploring the process of the construction of women’s welfare policy of the PRC from 1949 to 1957, it can be clearly seen that under the condition of limited financial capacity, women’s welfare work is easily abolished due to other more important national socio-economic work. From these results, this study finally concludes that women’s liberation become a tool to serve the national construction under the discourse construction of the CPC.

Development of a tool to assess the compliance of canteen menus with the Mediterranean Diet

Abstract The Mediterranean Diet (MD) is one of the healthiest food patterns associated with important health benefits. Acknowledging this, it’s important to understand how the dietary patterns of the consumers align with the MD. Over time, different authors have formulated several indexes for this purpose. However, current indexes lack standardization, and they only evaluate the quality of the diet of individuals to be used by health professionals and political decision-makers. Although there are indexes to assess the food options at the restaurants, none of them assess the menu compliance with the MD. Due to the importance of the food services in the food choices and dietary patterns of the consumers, this research developed an index to assess the alignment of the food availability with the MD key points. To address this gap, after reviewing the existing indexes in the literature, the authors created a tool that assesses the degree of compliance of menus with the MD - MedCIn. This index is divided into 4 dimensions, the first one assesses the availability (part A) and variety (part B) of the food/food groups. The second dimension assesses the nutritional quality of the menus based on the nutritional declaration, the third dimension assesses the food portions and culinary options, and the fourth dimension allows the verification of the previous information on site. Although the use of all dimensions allows for a more comprehensive menu evaluation, dimension one can be used as a first approach MD compliance. The index is meant to be applied in a 4-week cycle, though it can be adapted for each food service. Validation of this tool included construct validity, internal consistency and inter-rater reliability, all of which returned high values (alpha-Cronbach=0.88; Coheńs Kappa=0.92). The researchers consider this a reliable tool to easily assess compliance of menus with MD key points, allowing for the identification of issues to be addressed and improved

Decision-making under pressure: ethical considerations in COVID-19 policy making in Switzerland

Abstract Background Policy making and science were deeply intertwined during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in justifying health policy measures with ethical considerations being at the core of decision-making trade-offs. However, not much is known about the actual ethical challenges encountered by policy makers and scientists involved in policy advice. This study aims to explore the ethical challenges in COVID-19-related political decision-making as perceived by Swiss policy makers and scientists involved in policy making, the role of ethics advice, and what can be learned for future public health crises. Methods Thirteen qualitative expert interviews were conducted with policy makers and scientists involved in COVID-19 policy decisions in Switzerland at regional and national levels. We used inductive thematic content analysis to analyse the interviews. Results Key ethical challenges included making trade-offs between common vs. individual good and economic welfare vs. health of the population, proportionality of policy measures, and public capacity to handle uncertainty. Opinions varied on the sufficiency of ethical considerations on the policy level. Constraints included a lack of time in the fast-paced dynamic of the pandemic, ethics as a complex subject area, its overlap with law, too much focus on few topics such as vaccination-related questions, and individual character traits, such as the dominance of medical professionals over ethicists. While ethics support was deemed adequately present in the decision-making process, there were calls for more ethics training, involvement of the public in the discourse, and for accompanying communication to build trust among the population for the future. Conclusions The study offers empirical insights into the ethical considerations of COVID-19 policy making in practice in Switzerland, providing a basis to enhance ethics support for future crises also in other countries. Key messages • This study uncovers the key ethical considerations in Swiss COVID-19 policy making, emphasizing constraints to sufficient ethical discussions. • Enhanced ethics training and greater public engagement is needed in future health crises to build trust and improve decision-making in future health crises.

Cost of fall injuries in traffic are for pedestrians and bicyclists - municipal respons needed

Abstract Motivation Pedestrians and bicyclists have been posting in news and social media with reflections on municipal efforts to clean bicycle paths and sidewalks in icy and wet conditions. The municipality have lowered budgets for these cleaning efforts in recent years. Methods Analysis of A&E department registration data with the Nomesco core dataset allows for separation of location, age, sex, time of day and date of injury. Injury severity is classified according to diagnosis of treatment (minor/major). Cost calculations are based on national scales from the Ministry of Transport (ambulance/police/treatment/rehabilitation). Cold weather was defined as lowest day temperature < 5 degree C (Danish Metereological service DMI). Results During 2023 all pedestrians or bicyclists (n = 2516) treated at the A&E following an incident on sidewalks, streets or bicyclepaths (population 225.000) were included. Non-serious were (total/cold weather): sidewalks (699/266), bicyclepaths (414/117), streets (762/277). Serious: sidewalks (290/130), bicyclepaths (123/32), streets (228/100). Assessment of economical costs was DKK: Non-serious were (total/cold weather): sidewalks (20.8/7.9), bicyclepaths (12.4/3.5), streets (22.7/8.3). Serious: sidewalks (42.2/18.9), bicyclepaths (17.9/4.7), streets (33.2/14.6). Discussion and conclusions The economic burden for the population and municipality far exceeds the costs for cleaning the streets, bicyclepaths and sidewalks in icy and wet conditions. With appropriate injury surveillance and communication to municipal authorities revised cleaning principles was decided at the political level Key messages • Appropriate and focused injury registration is needed for targeted political level decision. • Standardized and targeted economic calculations are persuasive in the political arena at the local level.

Impact of COVID-19 measures on psychosocial outcomes in Austria – a qualitative vignette study

Abstract During the COVID-19 pandemic, Austria implemented frequent and restrictive containment measures. We aimed to explore the perspectives of individuals affected by political and epidemiological decisions in Austria, particularly in Vienna and Lower Austria. A qualitative vignette-based study conducted from July to Oct 2023 utilized two hypothetical future pandemic scenarios to prompt in-depth discussions in semi-structured interviews with Austrian residents about their perspectives, either private or from the fields of healthcare, education, citizen representation, business, research, public health and politics. Interview data was analysed using a thematic analysis approach. To ensure results’ rigor and accuracy, we followed the COREQ guideline and included two citizen research partners. This project is funded by WWTF (Grant ID: LS22071). Preliminary thematic analysis from 28 interviewees (53.6% female) aged 19-77 (mean 53.0 years) shows that the negative effects of school closures was a major concern among participants. Despite diverging points of view on other topics, there was a broad consensus that school closures would have negative consequences, such as unstable educational modalities impairing young people’s individual development, decreasing psychosocial support in their peer groups, leading to long-term educational losses, not only for individuals but also for society as a whole, and having a negative impact on economic growth, social justice and innovation. The participants also described a lack of evidence for the necessity of the frequent school closures during the pandemic as had happened in Austria and suggested a different approach in a future pandemic. Further topics were the deterioration of mental health, incentives instead of mandatory measures, more transparent communication by authorities, agreement between experts and researchers, reducing uncertainties regarding pandemic management, compliance by the general public and democratic social cohesion. Key messages • Addressing the multi-faceted impact of a pandemic requires a comprehensive approach that considers mental health, social justice, communication and social cohesion alongside containment measures. • This work represents a learning from the COVID-19 pandemic. From the conclusions of this study, recommendations can be derived to be better equipped in future pandemics.

CURRÍCULO E FORMAÇÃO NA EDUCAÇÃO DE JOVENS E ADULTOS: ANÁLISE DOS AVANÇOS, DESAFIOS E PERFIL DE ALUNOS

Analyzing the school curriculum from a post-critical and multi-referential perspective is essential to understand the influence of movements that defend a neutral and impartial curriculum. These moves have significantly shaped official decisions about the curriculum. The aim of this article is to explore how disputes over curriculum definitions go beyond epistemological concerns, encompassing political aspects and power relations, and to assess the implications for Youth and Adult Education (EJA) and teacher training. It is a bibliographic and documentary research. The results suggest that curriculum development is influenced by external power dynamics and political decisions. It is necessary to integrate the continuous training of teachers to better meet the diverse needs of EJA students. Understanding the curriculum as a dynamic and contested space is crucial for effective educational practices. To create an effective and inclusive pedagogical model, it is essential to consider both the theoretical and practical aspects of curriculum development. Reflecting on and learning about continuing professional development for educators from a curriculum that responds to students' experiences and needs is vital to fostering a meaningful learning environment.

Evaluation of influential factors on energy system optimisation

Energy system analysis is gaining more importance in political decisions, science, and society, thus, the basis of interpreting the results is increasingly being questioned. Different approaches have been used in energy system models: Scenario variations, changing base assumptions or sensitivity analyses. A direct comparison of these approaches aims to show that the influence on the results is comparable for all and thus needs to be considered alongside each other. Therefore, this paper uses energy system optimisation within a case study on Germany. It confirms that all approaches greatly influence the results and are thus suitable for discussing uncertainties. Among other things, the sole change of the reference weather year can have a comparable influence on the emissions just like the specification of an entirely different mobility scenario (+44% and +56% respectively). However, the target function (total costs) is significantly more influenced by scenarios. Among the evaluated parameters, the investment costs of renewable technologies and the potential of renewable feedstock affect the system the most. In summary, all three methods provide important insights into the optimisation model and should therefore be used together for validation, discussion and design of energy system models.

Science, technology, and strategic calculation: the contributions of Carlos Matus to Latin American STS

ABSTRACT This article aims to address the contributions of the Chilean economist Carlos Matus to the field of Latin American Thought in Science, Technology and Development, considered the pioneering STS field in the region. To this end, it focuses on the affinities between Matus’ early writings (1970–1980) and various exponents of the first generation of STS scholars. Two key dimensions are analyzed: the link between dependency, human creativity, and technology as defined by a certain style of development, and strategic calculation as a method of rationalizing political decisions. While the former is an aspect shared by Matus and other PLACTED members, the latter is his specific contribution. Two aspects are considered: the “strategic procedure” as a non-mathematical formalization to estimate political feasibility, and the “quasi-structured” problems as a theorization that attempts to account for social and political reality. The paper concludes that Matus’ significant contribution to the field is strategic calculation, a means of rationalizing decisions and enabling profound social transformations.

STATE POLICY AS A FORM OF TARGETED STATE ACTIVITY

The article examines state policy as an organized and purposeful activity of the state, which provides for the protection of public interests, ensures the adoption of balanced and justified state decisions, and contributes to the stable development of Ukrainian society. Issues of state policy formation in the system of planning and implementation of development plans of modern society are considered. It was determined that with the transition from bureaucratic forms to innovative methods of managing the state and society, state policy acquires certain signs of publicity, due to the involvement of both state and non-state public organizations in its implementation. It has been proven that the European integration of Ukraine is accompanied by changes in state policy, which is based on European values ​​and standards for the formation of a legal, social and democratic state. Therefore, it is better to use the term «public policy», as active purposeful actions of the state based on the cooperation of state institutions, civil society institutions, as well as non-state organizations and individual citizens. It is noted that the participatory theory of democracy should become a universal principle of organizing the public policy of the Ukrainian state. Because the basis of the effective functioning of participatory democracy is a developed civil society, as well as public trust in the activities of state and public institutions, that is, citizens' confidence in the correctness of the actions of public authorities to implement the goals announced by the state. It is substantiated that modern state (public) policy, firstly, is designed to ensure public expression of will, expression of interests and needs of the population and their practical implementation at the level of power institutions; secondly, it should be based on the principles of: openness, transparency and democracy; thirdly, in the process of development and implementation of political decisions, civil society institutions should be involved in this work. The specific characteristics of state policy as an active activity are singled out, which distinguish it from a whole array of other types of policies. In further studies, it is suggested to pay attention to the normative and legal regulation of state policy.

The institutional dimension of the inequality–corruption nexus: A varieties of capitalism assessment

AbstractAre unequal societies prone to the abuse of economic power to influence political decisions for private gains? We investigate how changes in inequality affect changes in corruption, controlling for comparative political economy factors. Our varieties of capitalism (VoC) approach explains corruption trends from an institutional viewpoint: liberal market economies (LMEs) exhibit lower corruption despite having high inequality. Coordinated market economies exhibit lower inequality but higher corruption, while state‐led non‐liberal economies have low inequality despite showing a range of degrees of corruption. Resource exporting economies show high corruption as well as inequality, akin to developing countries despite having higher national incomes. The relationship between changes in inequality and corruption diverges between the different VoC: strongly positive in coordinated and state‐led market economies, of an unclear sign in resource‐exporting economies, weak in resource‐poor developing countries, and downright negative in LMEs. Institutions are thus critical mediators of the socioeconomics of corruption.

Perceptions of women’s leadership in urban governance in the communes of greater Lomé, Togo

Perceptions of women’s roles and leadership in urban governance vary from country to country and culture to culture. While women are represented and participate fully in political decision-making in some countries, in Togo women’s participation in local governance is still limited. The aim of this research is to analyse perceptions of women’s leadership in urban governance in the communes of greater Lomé. Specifically, the study of the influence of general perceptions of the role of women on the development of their leadership in the urban governance of greater Lomé (i) and the implications of these perceptions on the participation of women in the urban governance of greater Lomé (ii). Semi-structured interviews were conducted in all the town halls of the thirteen greater Lomé autonomous district communes with 222 women and 162 men, i.e., a total of 384 people. The corpus created from the interviews, which were transcribed in their entirety, was analyzed using the theory of social dominance developed by Sidanius and Pratto to explain power relations and inequalities between social groups. The results show that perceptions of women’s participation in urban governance vary and are generally associated with several significant implications. The general perception is that women are not as competent or legitimate as men in political and administrative leadership roles. However, there is a growing recognition of the value of gender diversity in urban governance, with a growing awareness of the importance of including women in decision-making processes. From the point of view of the significant implications of perceptions, positive perceptions favor increased representation of women, innovation, and creativity, strengthening legitimacy, reducing inequalities, and presenting women as positive role models in urban governance.

Система государственного управления как актор политики по обеспечению жизнеустойчивости страны (на материалах РФ и стран Запада)

This study draws conclusions from the analysis of the activities of governmental bodies and the public administration system in ensuring the resilience of the country. Resilience is understood as the state and capacity of society to counteract both external and internal threats without significant losses to the vitality and integrity of the nation. The viability of a country depends on a variety of conditions and factors that affect its existence and position at a particular time. The study reveals the management subjects and the mechanisms for implementing state policy. Systemic errors in the implementation of state policies aimed at ensuring national resilience are identified. Furthermore, ways for improving the public administration system as a mechanism that fosters the achievement of this goal are proposed. The main task of public policy for ensuring national resilience is the development of society and the overcoming of uncertainty and chaos in the relationships among individuals, society, and the state under the influence of both internal and external threats. “Freedom” as a systemic category characterizes the quantity and quality of connections among the elements of the system. It can be stated that the greater the freedom afforded to social systems – characterized by fewer moral, ethical, spiritual, legal, and other ties – the lower the level of security within such a society. In addressing the challenge of ensuring the resilience of the country, enhancing the effectiveness of the public administration system demands firm political decisions and operational management.

Zbyt długi żywot ustawy o pracownikach urzędów państwowych

In 1982, the Act on State Office Employees was passed. Despite the establishment of the civil service, which, according to Art. 153 of the Constitution should serve government administration offices, the 1982 Act is still in force, although its repeal has been announced many times. This is mainly because the 1982 Act, unlike the Civil Service Act, does not provide for a public procedure for equal recruitment for vacant official positions, which allows all political decision-makers to fill these positions through their discretion. However, this constitutes a violation of Art. 60 of the Constitution, which provides citizens with equal access to public service. The data collected under the Act on Access to Public Information shows that the number of people subject to the 1982 Act is very large and, moreover, that numerous important positions in the offices of the supreme state administration bodies are filled on its basis. This is to the obvious detriment of the public interest, especially since the 1982 Act does not contain a whole range of legal structures and requirements intended to ensure professional, reliable and impartial operation of the administration, as required by Art. 153 of the Constitution. The article contains a polemic with arguments about the need for special trust in employees, pointing out their extra-legal nature, as well as the dangers resulting from these assumptions. The thesis is the need to repeal the 1982 Act as soon as possible, as it has already been announced many times.

DETERMINANTS INFLUENCING MADEIRA ISLAND'S SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AS AN ECO-TOURISM DESTINATION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY

Objective: Based on the standards of Global Sustainable Tourism Council and the participants' experiences at destination, the current study aims to reflect and survey among visitors to Madeira Island about the primary challenges to be taken into consideration for the development of sustainable policies for the tourist destination. Method: 1136 valid questionnaires were collected and statistical treatment was carried out. In order to create value, replicate it in the economy, and improve the well-being of both residents and visitors to the Destination, all parties involved in the Sustainable Destination certification process. Results and Discussion: The findings hold significance for an enhanced comprehension of the phenomena intrinsic to the Madeira Eco-Tourist Destination. Research Implications: The practical implications of the research were to recommend ways in which political decision-makers and companies in the tourism sector can improve their performance in the process of certifying the Madeira Islands destination as an Eco-Tourism destination with sustainability concerns. The research is relevant to the enrichment of literature at the level of Portuguese-speaking academia, in the panorama of global and island studies, particularly in the development of socioeconomic policies for sustainable tourism. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on the border between the management of tourism destination certification projects based on sustainability and tourism innovation/promotion and can contribute something new for both professionals and policy makers in the formulation environment. of sustainable development policies for destinations.

The Amazigh language in Melilla (Spain): an approach to its uses and meanings

ABSTRACT The Amazigh language in the city of Melilla (Spain) is recognised as a regional and minority language, but it is not recognised as a co-official language, nor does it have the status of an official language. The unequal relationship between the official language, Spanish, and the Amazigh language has not only linguistic but also social implications, which have been little studied in this particular territory. Against this backdrop, we propose to investigate the situation of the Amazigh language in this context. For this purpose, an exploratory sociolinguistic study has been carried out, which approaches the uses, attitudes and opinions of the Melilla population – speakers and non-speakers – of the language in relation to the role it plays in the life of the city, its contribution to individual and collective cultural identity, as well as the role of political decisions on these dynamics. To this end, a mixed methodology was applied, including a questionnaire, as a pilot application, focus groups and semi-structured group and individual interviews. Among the conclusions, it is clear that there is a differential valuation of languages, which leads to inequalities. In response, the study recommends strong institutional support.

Srebrenica as a Marker of Memory in Bilateral Relations Between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Light of Ontological Security

Abstract This article aims to analyze the impact of memory on security/foreign policy using the example of Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina’s bilateral relations. The basis for these considerations is the concept of ontological security. It indicates the construction of the identity of the state and is implemented through political decisions and social practices (for example remembering important historical events). Here, memory is treated as a social construct. In addition, the article focuses on memory leading to the formation of state identity, also seen in the international sphere. Historical memory has a considerable impact on bilateral relations between countries that used to be in conflict, like Serbia and BiH. In the example analyzed, leaders use historical memory to create separate identities, commemorate chosen and appropriate victims/heroes or important dates, historical sites, monuments events and develop selective narratives. The most significant elements in the analysis of the historical memory of Serbia and BiH relations are (1) the goals of foreign and security policy of Serbia and BiH (2) the contemporary narrative of the Srebrenica genocide and its perception by governments of Serbia, BiH, and by Bosnian Serbs and Bosniaks, and (3) an official Srebrenica commemoration (memorials, Srebrenica Memorial Day).

Military Intervention in Civil Wars: Individual-Level Explanation of Leaders’ Decisions

Why are some national leaders more likely to intervene in a civil war than others? In this paper, I suggest that prior military service and combat experience can influence leaders’ risk perception by altering what they expect the result of their (in)action to be, as well as making militaristic means more mentally accessible, creating a militaristic heuristic for judgments. Analyzing national leaders from 1875 to 2004, I find that 1) leaders who have a military service background are about 3.86 percent more likely to engage in third-party intervention compared to those without; 2) leaders who were deployed in combat are around 4.53 percent more likely to intervene than those who either do not have any military experience at all or have military service experience but were never deployed; and 3) leaders’ military service experience without deployment in combat shows almost no impact especially when the standard error was taken into consideration. By examining how individual leaders’ experiences impact third-party intervention, this study aims to contribute to the agent-structure debate in IR and the debate on political decision-makers and their personal backgrounds.