Political Dialogue Research Articles

Political and Business Negotiations in Spain: Socio-cultural and Linguistic features.

The article is devoted to the analysis of the specifics and structure of negotiations and discourse in politics and business, some speech techniques and phrases, as well as important details of national and cultural specifics that need to be studied in order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings. The objectives of this work are to identify the ethno-cultural features of business communication in Spanish during negotiations, to analyze some lexical units and speech structures of the Spanish business language and to describe situations that can lead to conflicts in business communication.The material of the article was scientific culturological works of russian and foreign authors, interviews of political figures and businessmen. The research methodology includes analytical, descriptive, interpretive, classification methods.The scientific novelty of this work consists in identifying and systematizing common verbal and nonverbal features of political and business negotiations in Spain, as well as the linguistic techniques used. It should be concluded that Spaniards definitely prefer verbal communication to non-verbal, try not to focus on audiovisual material and presentations. Analysis of the way of life of Spaniards, national values, traditions, holidays, shows that in Spain there is a huge number of events, festivals which reflects the expressive and creative nature of the Spanish people. Ignorance of the fundamental elements of the Spanish national culture can lead to disagreement in official business relations, so they should be thoroughly studied before negotiations begin.

"Center-region" relations through the prism of interaction of national and regional political elites

The problem of the relationship between the national elite of the Republic of Moldova and the regional elite of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia in the context of the «center – region» concept has important theoretical and practical significance. During the years of its independence, the ruling elites of the Republic of Moldova faced a number of problems in relations with the regional elite of the ATU Gagauzia. Despite the change of elites at the national and regional levels, their representatives have not been able to establish a constructive dialogue for three decades. In order to reach a consensus, the political dialogue between the ruling elite and the regional elite of the autonomy should be aimed at harmonizing the legal framework, clarifying the status of the autonomy, concretizing and distributing powers, as well as broader involvement of the inhabitants of the autonomy in the political and economic life of the Republic of Moldova.

Digital geographies of mundane violence: Outline of an emerging research field and the example of (cyber-)bullying in young people’s lives

The objective of this article is to outline the emerging field of the “digital geographies of mundane violence”, which is characterised by a critical and reflective engagement with the spatialities and dynamic and non-linear temporalities of mediated violence unfolding in entangled online and offline spaces. Going beyond a conventional review of existing literature, we apply Barad’s (2007: 25) “diffractive methodology” to “read through” findings of studies on violence with non-essentialist concepts of entangled online and offline space and spatiality. Given the variety of technologies, forms of violence, and spaces in which violence unfolds, we develop our argument by focusing on a specific type of gender-based violence: (cyber-)bullying of young people identifying with “abundant identities” (Persson et al. 2020: 67) that neither conform to hegemonic heterosexuality and binary gender categories nor are confined to LGBTQI categories. We discuss the ambivalent role of digital technologies in the negotiation and diffraction of difference by young people facing exclusionary identity politics and violent processes of heteronormalisation and heterosexualisation. We present an illustrative research design from our own work, which combines retrospective insights into biographies, family and social relations and media use with a participant-led, mobile, partly in-situ exploration of everyday entangled mediated experiences, practices and negotiations of inclusion, exclusion and violence. Therewith we outline how the contextualities, dynamics, fluidities, non-linearities and variegated historicities behind mediated violence in entangled online and offline spaces can be empirically unpacked. We show how digital technologies are an intrinsic and entangled part of social, cultural, and political negotiations, discourses, and processes, and contribute significantly to the normalisation and everyday (re-)production of diverse forms of violence.

The relations of the Republic of Moldova - Romania in the context of the conflict in Ukraine

The military aggression of the Russian Federation on Ukraine on February 24, 2022 accelerated not only the relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, but also accelerated the relations of the Republic of Moldova with Romania. Although during the three decades of independence the Republic of Moldova had dynamic relations with Romania, the “special operation” carried out by the Russian Federation in Ukraine conditioned the acceleration of the Moldovan-Romanian political dialogue. Today, the acceleration of relations between the Republic of Moldova and Romania are dictated especially by the events in Ukraine, which oriented the vector of the foreign policy of the Republic of Moldova towards the European Union (EU). The purpose of this article is to highlight the main aspects present in the relations between the Republic of Moldova and Romania in the context of the conflict in Ukraine. We also aimed to highlight the main aspects of the Moldovan-Romanian dialogue in the context of the invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine on all dimensions: political-diplomatic, commercial-economic, energy, defense, and, including the social dimension. The events in Ukraine conditioned the strengthening of Moldovan-Romanian relations not only from the perspective of the common past, the affinities of race, language and culture, but also from the perspective of the irreversible orientation of the foreign policy vector of the Republic of Moldova versus the European Union.

Deliberating in the Gray Zone: North Macedonia’s Hybrid Regime and Deliberative Democracy Exercise

Abstract Deliberative polling has emerged as a promising method for promoting democratic reform and citizen engagement in various contexts, however, its potential and limitations in hybrid regimes, where democratic governance is challenged by a mix of democratic and authoritarian features, remain relatively unexplored. This paper focuses on the case of North Macedonia, as a country that has undergone significant political and societal transformation especially in the recent years. Despite efforts to promote democratic reforms, the country continues to face challenges in terms of ensuring democratic governance and citizen participation. In a hybrid regime, like North Macedonia’s, political leaders might not be inclined to value citizens’ input, and the media environment might not be free from influence, which limits access to varied and reliable sources of information. Civil society organizations may also encounter limitations on their operations, and institutional assistance may be insufficient. Additionally, the population’s diversity could make it difficult to reach and build trust with citizens. In this context, deliberative polling represents an opportunity to engage citizens in meaningful political dialogue and institutional reform. This paper examines the potential of deliberative polling as a tool for promoting governance in North Macedonia and highlights the challenges and limitations faced in this process.

Agonistic reflections on the legitimacy of EU referenda

ABSTRACT This article suggests that we need to rethink the legitimacy of EU referenda by considering them as democratic games with different groups of players, levels and rounds. Unlike most research on EU referenda informed by direct democracy or demoicracy, the article employs the approach of agonistic democracy. It argues that we need to shift analytical focus from the member-state to the EU citizen and develop EU-level criteria for a comprehensive assessment of EU referenda’s legitimacy. The criteria are whether all EU citizens – and not just the citizens from the country conducting the referendum – had opportunities to participate in the political dialogue surrounding the EU referendum, and whether citizens across the EU have been able to develop EU-level democratic subjectivities through such participation. Applying these criteria in the cases of the Greek and British EU referenda, the article finds legitimacy shortcomings for both, yet with variations.

Music as an Important Means of Foreign Policy

The article discusses the influence of music on the process of political socialization, analyzes the mechanisms of interaction between the musical and political spheres of society at different historical stages. The relevance of this article lies in the fact that at this historical stage the questions of studying the experience of establishing cooperation between states using the methods of cultural negotiations are most relevant in connection with the events taking place in world politics. The purpose of this study is to analyze musical art as an important element of international political relations, as well as to substantiate the effectiveness of the use of musical art in political negotiations. The article describes the cultural relations of allies during political negotiations at different historical stages using archival scientific materials. The principles of construction are considered, as well as the artistic features of concert programs at the Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences. The methodological basis of the study is the work of cultural communication researchers. The main methods of cognition are theoretical analysis of scientific-journalistic literature, narrative analysis and historical method, comparative and typological method, generalization of theoretical and practical experience of influence of music on political processes in the world. The practical significance of the research on "Music as an important instrument of foreign policy" is that the data obtained in the scientific research can be used by specialists and teachers of higher educational institutions, as well as in the preparation of a methodological educational program in the field of "History" and "Political Science". The results of the ongoing research may be of scientific interest to students, specialists and teachers of history, political science and cultural studies in higher educational institutions and advanced training courses.

Cannibalizing Bach: Villa-Lobos in Europe, 1936

Abstract During the 1930s, Heitor Villa-Lobos concentrated his efforts on coordinating Brazilian musical education. As such, he changed his compositional style and did not travel to Europe again until 1936. This article examines Villa-Lobos's trip to Europe in 1936, drawing on Florencia Garramuño's call to ‘incorporate avant-garde voyages as founding moments’ for an autochthonous national character in music. During his journey, Villa-Lobos represented Brazil in different settings: as a deputy at the International Congress of Music Education in Prague and as a composer in under-the-radar political negotiations with Nazi Germany in Berlin. Considering the authoritarian Vargas Regime, Brazilian modernism, and the dialectical relation between nationalism and internationalism, I argue that this trip served as a catalyst for a new creative phase, culminating in the series of Bachianas brasileiras, a resignification of J. S. Bach's music and legacy in the context of his interpretation of Brazilian Antropofagia (cultural cannibalism).

Politics beyond the Plate: Embracing Transdisciplinarity in Addressing the Gastronomic Heritage of Spain

Research and initiatives in the emerging field of gastronomy require collaboration among scholars and experts from diverse backgrounds. Transdisciplinarity has been indicated as an effective approach allowing stakeholders from a variety of disciplines and professional practices to better understand and plan interventions in complex gastronomy-related issues and challenges. However, the actors collaborating in such transdisciplinary processes often represent different priorities, values, and needs, as well as varying levels of power and access to financial means. This is particularly evident when it comes to gastronomic heritage. Its identification, support, and promotion require cultural, social, and political negotiations among a great number of stakeholders. Using a pilot workshop organized in March 2023 in Madrid as a case study, this articles suggests that participatory design methods can offer instruments to ensure the effective transdisciplinarity required in gastronomy and to address the political tensions that underlie many of its aspects.

POLITICAL PERFORMANCE AND DISCURSIVE DEMOCRACY: PECULIARITIES OF THE POLITICAL ACTIONISM`S INTERPRETATION

The article is devoted to clarifying the significance of a political performance, which acts as a theatrical communication action designed to draw society’s attention to the important problems of certain social or political groups. The purpose of the research is to establish the peculiarities of the interpretation of political performance in the paradigmatic and methodological dimensions of modern discursive democracy. The development of political performance under the conditions of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war is characterized. It was found that an important task of modern political science should be considered the identification of paradigmatic dimensions (or “poles”) of analytical judgments regarding the assessment of the significance of political performances. It was emphasized that political performance acts as a postmodern alternative to the realization of the unfinished project of political modernity. The importance of political performance for the discussion of society’s problems at the political level and its dependence on a specific topic and the subjects of its application are analyzed. The importance of public discussion and manifestation as signs of broad involvement of citizens in democratic political activity is revealed. It was found that the ability to express political meaning in a theatrical form is beyond the limits of rational planning and organization. It is revealed that the functionality of political performance stems from its connection with specific social groups. It has been proven that political performances are a form that contradicts the formal procedure of expressing the will and approving the results of the discussion. It has been established that, subject to regulatory support from the state, discussions require voluntary participation and a significant level of competence. It is assumed that political performance can provide certain advantages in political competition due to the imagery and emotionality of the political message. The limited suitability of performance for promoting the values of deliberative democracy has been established, since many cases of the use of performances in the modern period are related to the defense of the right to freedom of speech. It was concluded that in the conditions of political discussions, the importance of political performance consists in creating preliminary conditions for political dialogue.

Boundary experts: Science and politics in measuring the Sustainable Development Goals

AbstractThe Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) purport to cleanly separate politics and technical matters, embodied by the political negotiation of goals and targets, and the technical creation of an indicator framework. This article analyses how this boundary between science and politics is managed in practice. The statisticians tasked with selecting indicators through the Inter‐agency and Expert Group on Sustainable Development Goal Indicators (IAEG‐SDGs) are seconded to a global process from national statistical offices. Boundary management requires acceptance of certain normative and political aspects of creating an indicator framework, such as claims to national relevance. Others, like overt national intervention, are however considered impermissible. Each statistician must manage their role as a boundary expert that experience irresolvable tensions due to representing specific countries while being mandated to propound scientific practices and norms. Building on this empirical inquiry, the article sketches out a new normative ideal for knowledge pluralism in the measurement of sustainable development. It argues that indicator processes would benefit from more pluralistic indicator bodies than the IAEG‐SDGs. Including diversified knowledge and perspectives from civil society and international organisations would explicate already existing political contestation. It would also contribute to capturing more of the complexities of sustainable development in future monitoring frameworks through consideration of a broader selection of methodologies.

Early Warning System from the point of view of the administrative representatives of national parliaments in Brussels

Under Protocol No. 2 on the Application of the Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality, national Parliaments have been granted participation in EU law-making through the Early Warning System (EWS). Within the framework of this mechanism, national chambers can evaluate EU legislative proposals on subsidiarity grounds, within an eight-week period, following their submission by the European Commission. The contribution of the National Parliaments Representatives at the European Parliament (or the liaison officers) is crucial for the national chambers to follow up on the Union agenda and participate in EU affairs. This study offers novel data that were collected through a questionnaire administered to the liaison officers in 2022. In brief, these transnational practitioners tend to express scepticism with regard to the EWS and its eventual reform, and at the same time, they would welcome an enhancement of the much broader “political dialogue” between the European Commission and national Parliaments.

Radical Territoriality and Temporality: Dilli Chalo and Roadway Occupations in India

The politics of infrastructure lies at the influx of a range of interconnected, yet chasm-riddled 
 disciplinary silos. Thus, infrastructures take time to conceive, build, maintain and update. As such, infrastructures become long-standing relics in the built environment and witness socio-political, climatic and temporal change while remaining relatively frozen in their morphology. There is merit in considering how infrastructures of the future might learn from unprecedented occupation and civilian alteration - events that exceed the single-use capacities of network infrastructures - to become more informed and representative of past, current and future politics. In particular, there is merit in analysing recent shifts in contemporary politics that incited global instances of occupational dissent and civil mobilization by employing tactics and strategies to meet unforeseen needs. 
 Two urgent, contemporary examples of these infrastructural adjustments were the Dilli Chalo protests in North India in 2020-2021 and the pedestrian exodus of migrant workers at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. Within the scope of these events, this essay seeks to explain some region-specific and contemporary revelations that can be drawn from the ways in which the protestors and occupants of these infrastructural artifacts informed creative street-centric dissent within the finite set of modelled scenarios as programmed and designed by architects and designers 
 This essay is bolstered by a central proposition: there are many instances where, in the South Asian context, the street has historically encapsulated demonstrative emerging political hegemonies, where the negotiation of existing infrastructures to support multiple functions - both spatial and social - was central to future political dialogue. The civil redesign of existing infrastructures in these contemporary scenarios came to alter the local, street-level exercise of autonomy. Both revolutions, the migrant exodus and the farmers’ protests, though differentiated by their initial reactions and causes, ultimately demonstrated the Indian public’s right to the city.

Three meanings of colonialism: Nehru, Sukarno, and Kotelawala debate the future of the Third World Movement (1954-61)

AbstractAs the post-colonial Global South was weaving together the Third World Movement in the 1950s, it was also struggling to arrive at a common definition of colonialism. Since the movement was primarily premised on anti-colonial sentiments, redefining the term ‘colonialism’ could change its parameters. This article examines debates between three Asian leaders – Jawaharlal Nehru, Sukarno, and Sir John Kotelawala – who proposed three different meanings of colonialism. These definitions were informed by distinct ways that the colonial experience was remembered in their respective countries. Each definition was meant to redirect the energies of the Third World Movement towards a different vision of a post-colonial global order. The three leaders debated this question in major Afro-Asian conferences of the mid-twentieth century. Their disagreements represented a foundational fissure in the movement. Relying on primary sources from multiple countries, this article recovers a political dialogue within the Global South unmediated by the West, which is often ignored by the scholarship.

The Nicaraguan Conflict as a Factor in the Cold War Confrontation

This article is devoted to the analysis of the Nicaraguan conflict as an element of the Cold War and its impact on the international political situation. The author conducts a detailed review of the latest research on this problem, both in domestic and international scientific literature, focusing on the causes of the conflict, the role of international actors, socio-economic consequences and the global impact on the Cold War. The study found that the Nicaraguan conflict was caused by political, economic and social factors such as the authoritarianism of the Sandinista regime, social inequalities and external interference. The role of international actors in the conflict turned out to be crucial, in particular due to their support for different sides of the conflict and the competition for influence in the region. The conflict was accompanied by serious socio-economic consequences, such as economic decline, destruction of infrastructure and exacerbation of political contradictions. Its global impact was to change the dynamics of the Cold War and the tensions between the superpowers. The findings of the study emphasize the importance of understanding the consequences and influence of the Nicaraguan conflict on the Cold War and the international political situation. This makes it possible to develop effective approaches to the settlement of similar conflicts in the future and contribute to the achievement of stability and peace in the region. Understanding these consequences can serve as a basis for further political negotiations and peace-making measures aimed at reducing the socio-economic consequences of the conflict and strengthening international stability.

News Framing on Actors of National Capital City (IKN) Through Cultural Communication of `Tanah' and `Air' Unity in Online Media

Against the backdrop of historical communicative actions, the news is the outcome of knowledge in the reality of everyday life. The homo sociological communication model consists of behaviors that refer to collective norms and values, especially laws that declare a requirement, a social order which is then ensured by normative conventions. Through actors and cultural symbols, social action, transcendence, and objectivity become communication acts in the form of news framing. The State Capital or Ibu Kota Negara (IKN) has been the subject of news in the media. This study then aimed to determine news context on the unity of land and water (Tanah dan Air) as a metaphor for the State Capital’s relocation from Jakarta to East Kalimantan Alfred Schutz’s Communicative Action theory. The research used qualitative methodology, while analysis was done using narrative analysis. The findings of this research are the symbols of land and water in the discourse of framing the news of the transfer of the State Capital (IKN) since the administrations of President Sukarno to President Jokowi became a reality of communicative acts with historical significance and cultural communication through land and water rituals. The discourse frame is a value that contributes to profound political and cultural dialogue and equal growth. Sociologically, communicative behavior in new framing results from integrating players historical, cultural, and political interests. Based on the research findings, the recommendation put forward is policy analysis on the transfer of IKN, which must continue to investigate history via cultural communication and social action of players on homo sociologicus and history who possess strategic collective values and norms for sustainable cultural and economic development.
 Keywords: news framing, communicative action theory, cultural communication

Young protesters’ ambivalence about violence in the 2015 crisis in Burundi: local legacies of conflict and generational change

ABSTRACT April 2015, Burundi. What started as peaceful demonstrations against another term of president Nkurunziza, quickly turned into violent confrontations between mostly young male civilians and government forces. The demonstrations signalled the beginning of a new political crisis after a decade of peace. In this paper, we draw on eye-witness accounts of civilians to understand the escalation of violence. We argue that legacies of conflict informed the understanding and escalation of the violence. For instance, memories and skills learned by adults and older peers during the civil war were passed on to novices to organise protests and neighbourhood defence. Yet the legacies of conflict also juxtaposed with protesters’ ideals on ‘civil’ non-violent political dialogue. The ambivalence towards violence experienced and narrated by protesters and witnesses points to intergenerational change, but may also be understood as contradictions in how political dialogue and competition is generally envisioned in Burundi.

The Impact of Political Exits on Dividend Policy

Abstract The paper addresses the impacts of political exits on the dividend policy, taking the impact of the Brexit deal on UK’s companies listed at FTSE 100 as a practical case. The paper analyzes the political risk and uncertainty of Brexit and links it directly to the dividend policy of UK companies during the period (2010-2021). Data were collected from the annual reports of the companies from the FTSE 100 data base. Moreover, dividend policies were studied through analyzing its determinants such as dividend payout ratio, leverage, profitability, tangibility, liquidity, size and political factor – Brexit. A regression analysis was adopted to analyse and interpret the variables for the UK companies and notice the impact of the Brexit deal on the dividend policies. Therefore, the results show that there is a direct relation between political exits and corporate financial policies, especially dividend policy. Also, the results show that the financial ratios differed between the two periods (before and after) Brexit, where it seems that the dividend policy variables were affected starting from mid of 2016 due to Brexit referendum and then the political negotiations between the two parties during the period (2016-2021). In addition, the correlation matrix shows that DPR has a negative linear correlation with profitability, liquidity and size where it seems that DPR has a positive linear correlation with leverage, tangibility, and political factors. Moreover, our results show that political uncertainty and instability were affecting the FTSE 100 performance starting from 2016 due to Brexit related events.

INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL DIALOGUE AS THE BASIS OF UKRAINE'S INTEGRATION INTO THE EU

The category "international political dialogue" is considered, which should be understood as a political-psychological and political-legal decision-making process by harmonizing the positions of states on complex problems and ensuring the process of their implementation. The most important prerequisites for interstate dialogue are the equality of the parties. The mutual interest of Ukraine and the European Union regarding the integration movement of Ukraine into the EU, which is the choice of the Ukrainian people, is emphasized. The main state documents that ensure this movement are considered. Since the EU is an integration entity of developed free and democratic states, it strives precisely for parity dialogue. In the conditions of globalization of socio-political development, political crisis, in particular, war, it is impossible to obtain EU membership without reaching a consensus on certain problematic issues and implementing the results of international political dialogue. The dictation of one party and/or the lack of willingness to negotiate excludes the existence of dialogue, as the agreement of the parties' positions is replaced by unilateral or multilateral (depending on the situation) pressure. Attention is paid to the complex process of ensuring political dialogue with a number of special measures (from defining the goal, resolving conflict situations to reaching the desired consensus). It was revealed that the obstacles to the effective political dialogue of Ukraine with the EU are the problems that the latter emphasizes: ineffective fight against corruption, slow reform of the law enforcement system, involvement of the judiciary; imperfection of the legal framework; uncompetitiveness of the financial system and the banking sector; weak protection of property rights of a potential investor.

Insurgency and Terrorism in Africa. Main Lines of Action of the European Union. Case Study: Central African Republic, Mali and Niger

"This article examines the main causes of insecurity on the African continent by attempting to identify the structural factors. Starting from these, the study examines and proposes a series of generic EU action lines for an integrated response. The work aimed to answer the following questions: What are the structural factors of insecurity in Africa? What lines of action should the European Union adopt? Is the action in the security sector sufficient? The methodology used was the comparative analysis of similar phenomena in the three mentioned countries. Process tracing and document analysis techniques were also used to determine causality and similarities. The findings indicate that violent extremism, inter- and intra- community conflict, climate change, population growth and poor governance are exacerbating instability and fragmentation on the African continent. Moreover, armed conflicts have become internationalized due to the involvement of external actors such as Russia and China, even if their strategies are different and complementary in nature. In this context, the main axes of the European Union's response must be subordinated to diplomacy and political dialogue, support for socio-economic development and the strengthening of the security sector. These measures should be complemented by coordinating the actions of like-minded actors and articulating appropriate strategic communication actions. Keywords: insurgency, terrorism, extremism, actions, European Union, security, dialogue. "