Political Dilemmas Research Articles

Red for Ed Teacher Movements: Exploring Roles and Symbols in the Politics of the Superintendency

Purpose: In recent years, a new wave of teacher-led political action has erupted resulting in work stoppages in several states across the United States. This study examines how superintendents navigated this Red for Ed movement in two representative states. Methods: Framed as a multisite, embedded case study, we drew from public documents and semistructured interviews with superintendents. We took a deductive approach to data analysis, seeking analytic generalization to the theoretical frameworks adopted herein. Findings: Red for Ed-motivated teacher job actions did create a political dilemma for superintendents. Superintendents addressed the dilemma by utilizing the roles of business manager, instructional leader, and politician as expressed through symbolic politics including assigning responsibility and vaguely supporting the Red for Ed cause. Superintendent responses are consistent with isomorphic tenants of sociological institutionalism. Implications: Considering the modern superintendency’s political nature, superintendents might benefit from preparation in political strategy and tactics.

Higher education, violent modernities and the ‘global present’: the paradox of politics and new populist imaginaries in HE

ABSTRACT Higher Education (HE) constitutes a space that calls urgently for new understandings in the contemporary political moment. One way of establishing such an understanding of HE is to consider more fully the work of political theorists in relation to questions of power in the modern nation-state, particularly as these impinge upon the key problem of the rise of populism in the twenty-first century. In this task, I argue that a productive conceptual approach is to be found in the recurring idea of political paradox in the political philosophy literature, an idea which I utilize to explore the role of conflicted national politics, moralising state practices, and scientific rationalities in reconfiguring the governing rationales of HE. While most definitions of populism are remarkably consistent, the underlying reasons, processes and contextual particularities amongst institutions and groups are contested. Importantly, this definition cannot therefore suffice on its own in comprehending the place of populism in HE. Rather we need to conceptualise HE as an experimental ‘problem space’ (Scott 1997, 2004). Fundamental to this problem space are the political paradoxes that inhere within the aspirations of liberal democracy globally, within nation states, and within liberal institutions such as the university. In this paper, I engage the work of political thinkers who have sought to understand the role of modern nation building, the changing features of modern power and authority, and the rise of bureaucracy and technocratic rationalities as they impact upon political institutions – in this case, how they impact particularly upon HE. I draw chiefly from Hannah Arendt, Bonnie Honig, Chantelle Mouffe, Etienne Balibar, Frederiche Nietzsche, Michel Foucault and Achilles Mbembe, amongst others, to articulate the paradox that concerns us – to consider how and why populist strains of national and transnational governance may find a home in HE as a consequence of unresolved and contradictory political dilemmas and conflicts. Importantly, in this context, the paradox of politics in HE is not necessarily the naming of a discrete conflict between two political logics or the process of a mass movement seeking to overtake HE in the name of a popular constituency. Rather, it involves a highly complex set of forces – emerging out of the bureaucratic machinery of modernity and the fundamental paradox of liberalism itself - that positions the university as a testing ground for the tasks of politics and governance, particularly in relation to state crises, crises in knowledge making and in critique and geo-political conflicts.

Subject or Object? The Anti-Hero of the Allegory and the Hero of the Anti-Allegory

Referring to the British writers’ prompt reaction to the Brexit crisis, in developing what has already come to be known as BrexLit, Robert Eaglestone remarks the “cultural and emotional landscapes” created by such literary responses, which attempt to “humanize” major political dilemmas. Ali Smith, commenting on the same speed of writing books “pressed against the contemporaneous,” considers this as the result of history repeating itself with us failing to be aware of it, evidence of what we might call a community of unreliable remembers. The paper focuses on Ian McEwan’s 2019 The Cockroach, a novella offering a reversed Kafkaesque metamorphosis, a pretext to satirize Brexit and to meditate on how the antiheroic character caught in this allegorical transformation devolves from subject into object. I argue that this process of objectification (using Martha Nussbaum’s concept, derived from, but not limited to the feminist critique) contributes to the disembodiment and further relativization of memory.

Military and demographic predictors of mental ill-health and socioeconomic hardship among UK veterans

BackgroundAround 8% of the UK Armed Forces leave in any given year, and must navigate unfamiliar civilian systems to acquire employment, healthcare, and other necessities. This paper determines longer-term prevalences of mental ill health and socioeconomic outcomes in UK Service leavers, and how they are related to demographic factors, military history, and pre-enlistment adversity.MethodsThis study utilised data from a longitudinal sample of a cohort study UK Armed Forces personnel since 2003. A range of self-reported military and sociodemographic factors were analysed as predictors of probable Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, common mental disorders, alcohol misuse, unemployment and financial hardship. Prevalences and odds ratios of associations between predictors and outcomes were estimated for regular veterans in this cohort.ResultsVeteran hardship was mostly associated with factors linked to socio-economic status: age, education, and childhood adversity. Few military-specific factors predicted mental health or socio-economic hardship, except method of leaving (where those leaving due to medical or unplanned discharge were more likely to encounter most forms of hardship as veterans), and rank which is itself related to socioeconomic status.ConclusionTransition and resettlement provisions become increasingly generous with longer service, yet this paper shows the need for those services becomes progressively less necessary as personnel acquire seniority and skills, and instead could be best targeted at unplanned leavers, taking socioeconomic status into consideration. Many will agree that longer service should be more rewarded, but the opposite is true if provision instead reflects need rather than length of service. This is a social, political and ethical dilemma.

Changes and Trends in the Current Relations Between Saudi Arabia and Israel

The relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel have become increasingly public after the Trump administration took office in the US. Particularly, Saudi Arabia either holds inconsistent, ambiguous attitudes or gives short shrift to sensitive issues such as Jerusalem issue and the ‘Deal of the Century.’ Moreover, Saudi Arabia and Israel have been interacting with each other frequently in a public and official way, which further embodies this change in their relationship. The relationship between Saudi Arabia and Israel has a long history, and it has experienced four development stages: mutual isolation, secret contact, open contact, and intimate contact. The changes in the current Saudi-Israeli relations have realistic interests, open interaction, and practical cooperation. The changes in the Saudi-Israeli relations have taken place under the combined effect of the realistic logic of the common political and security dilemma, the transformation of their respective diplomatic strategies and the complementary economic advantages of both sides, as well as the overall environmental changes in the Middle East, the overall fragmentation of the Arab world, and the ups and downs of the US Middle East policy. Saudi Arabia and Israel have formed an anti-Iranian quasi-alliance, which has certain actual or potential impacts. In the long run, although the changes in the Saudi-Israeli relations are conducive to bilateral cooperation and development in diverse fields, they bring no advantage to the overall stability of the Arab world, and the contradictions within the Arab world will further deepen, which, for example, is represented by a breakthrough in diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco. Besides, geostrategic competition in the Middle East will become more intense and will not contribute to the Middle East peace process.

The Imperative of the Bioethical Approach to the Moral and Political Problems of the Coronacrisis COVID-19

Mass diseases in the modern world, such as epidemics and even more pandemics pose global threats and risks to human civilization. Few infectious diseases known or emerging pose vital ethical problems as quickly and sharply as they did during the outbreak of the new form of the coronavirus COVID-19. The peculiarity of this epidemic is that the emergency situation in healthcare over a short period of time escalated into an economic and geopolitical crisis, which received one of its names “Corona Crisis 2020”. The World Health Organization has classified COVID-19 as a worldwide pandemic. At the time of writing this article, the epidemic has declined, but in the future, there is a threat of a “new wave” of infectious diseases. The moral and political dilemmas arising from the outbreak of the new coronavirus, among other problems, also actualize many bioethical considerations in developing methods and tactics for combating the epidemic. The limited capabilities of the healthcare system and medicine in the treatment of infections highlight the need for understanding bioethical approaches to many problems and challenges affecting the vital values and interests of the individual, medical workers and society as a whole. We attempt to identify and briefly analyze some aspects of the political and moral state of modern society, due to corona crisis COVID-19. A comparative analysis of existing concepts of bioethics with an emphasis on the need for adapting ethical standards and requirements for public health policies is given. We stress the importance of adhering to the principle of mutual moral responsibility of the state and the individual; the protection of socio-economic and political rights and freedoms of a person during the period of implementation long-term measures of isolation and long-term emergency situation. Keywords: coronavirus COVID-19, pandemics, bioethics, policy, health organization

BREXIT DEAL AND THE EUROPEAN UNION: PROSPECTS & CONCERNS

The approach to Brexit in the current political dilemma is challengeable for the seekers who want to understand the problem with clarity and perceptibility with the very nature of the European politics. It’s under process of becoming coherent and unprecedented in terms of its consequences. Although the opening and ending of the curtain of the European theatre has always been spectacular for its peoples and to the peoples of nearby continents connected to it by a vicarious cycle and in an extended perspective to the rest of the world, but this time the actors are emerging with a new play with a new set of performances. This research is tend to apply the analytical and argumentative approach for the issue in consideration to take into account the different perspectives of the problem in order to perceive and suggest the divergent possibilities involved in a particular issue not only for the EU members but also for other powers. Explained in it are the factors that at first provide impetus for integration despite the presence of the disintegrating elements at the first place, and then the consideration of emerging politics of preferences, evolved with a passage of time, and let those disintegrating forces overcome.

The future of public health policymaking after COVID-19: a qualitative systematic review of lessons from Health in All Policies

Background: ‘Health in All Policies’ (HIAP) describes the pursuit of health equity. It has five main elements: treat health as a human right; identify evidence of the ‘social determinants’ of health inequalities, recognise that most powers to affect health are not held by health departments, promote intersectoral policymaking and collaboration inside and outside of government, and generate political will. Studies describe its potential but bemoan a major implementation gap. Some HIAP scholars learn from policymaking research how to understand this gap, but the use of policy theories is patchy. In that context, our guiding research question is:How does HIAP research use policy theory to understand policymaking?It allows us to zoom-out to survey the field and zoom-in to identify: the assumed and actual causes of policy change, and transferable lessons to HIAP scholars and advocates.Methods: Our qualitative systematic review (two phases, 2018 and 2020) identified 4972 HIAP articles. Of these, 113 journal articles (research and commentary) provide a non-trivial reference to policymaking (at least one reference to a policymaking concept). We use the 113 articles to produce a general HIAP narrative and explore how the relatively theory-informed articles enhance it.Results: Most articles focus on policy analysis (identifying policy problems and solutions) rather than policy theory (explaining policymaking dynamics). They report a disappointing gap between HIAP expectations and policy outcomes. Theory-informed articles contribute to a HIAP playbook to close that gap or a programme theory to design and evaluate HIAP in new ways. Conclusions: Few HIAP articles use policy theories for their intended purpose. Policy theories provide lessons to aid critical reflection on power, political dilemmas, and policymaking context. HIAP scholars seek more instrumental lessons, potentially at the cost of effective advocacy and research.

‘Between the devil and the Bay of Bengal’: the Ford Foundation and the politics of planning in post-Independence Calcutta

ABSTRACT From 1960–1973, the Ford Foundation and the Calcutta Metropolitan Planning Organization (CMPO) engaged in a unique partnership that produced the Basic Development Plan, a bold strategy for the development of the world’s ‘most troubled city.’ The Ford-CMPO partnership brought together leading planning experts from the United States and India and resulted in innovative and abortive development plans and programmes, and was beset by the economic and political crises that came to define post-Independence Calcutta. This paper provides a detailed history of the Ford-CMPO partnership and highlights the myriad of political dilemmas that challenged the project and that provide a window in the politics of planning and urban development in post-Independence India.

Policy learning from COVID-19 in Europe

The relative success of East Asian countries in controlling the spread of COVID-19 at its onset was widely attributed to their capacity to learn from previous experience of epidemics, their preparedness to deal with new threats to health, and public acceptance of the need to comply unquestioningly with stringent measures to contain the virus. The conditions were very different when Europe was recognised as the epicentre of the pandemic in March 2020. In a climate of uncertainty, intensified by inconsistent scientific advice and intractable political dilemmas, European governments embarked on a steep learning curve. They experimented with packages of measures based on limited and often conflicting evidence about their effectiveness in preventing transmission of the disease and high excess death rates, amid growing concern about the collateral damage being caused to public health, and to social and economic life. Drawing on a wide range of multi-disciplinary published materials and official statistics, research articles, reports, briefings and academic debates, as well as media headlines and commentary, this briefing assesses policy learning during the first wave of the pandemic in Europe and asks: What lessons did European countries, individually and collectively, draw from their own experiences and from the policy responses of neighbouring countries when Europe was the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic? Were decision-takers better prepared to contain further waves of the disease and to improve outcomes?

Degrowth or Green Growth: A Reflection on the Recent Public Discourse in Norway

This study offers a reflection about the ongoing debate on “degrowth” and “green growth”, as depicted in the Norwegian mass media. It addresses the following two interrelated research questions. How do the topics of public debate, where the concepts of degrowth and green growth are used, connect and overlap? In these connections and overlaps, how do the two concepts relate to each other? We read all the articles published in Norway on ten newspapers and magazines, which have mentioned “degrowth” or “green growth” since January 2018, to identify recurring interpretations of the two concepts and related social and political dilemmas. Then, we isolate elements in the articles, which may represent sources of discord and misunderstanding, and synthesize them into “core” topics, to provide a simplified basis for future debates.

The problem of dirty hands and Christian participation in politics

Today, politics, in all its forms and kinds, has been negatively construed by many as a “dirty game,” so that anyone involved in it must at one point or the other soil his/her hands with evil deeds (immorality). Consequently, it is usual to find numerous individuals in the society especially Christians, refusing to participate or get involved in politics. Recognising the manifold fatal implications of Christians’ refusal to participate in politics, this paper, adopting the expository, analytic and critical methodologies of research, argues that the inescapable moral dilemmas in politics should not deter Christians from participating in politics. Besides, it is also argued in this paper that the task of political leadership is one that Christians should and must embrace as a way of fulfilling their vocation as “salt of the earth and light of the world.” Fundamentally, this paper, using the four approaches to Christian participation in politics identified by Lesie Griffin as basis, argues that it is possible for a Christian politician to refrain from immorality (doing evil). By so doing, this paper refutes the negative standpoints of Niccolo Machiavelli, Max Weber and Michael Walzer with regards to the possibility of a Christian politician keeping his/her hands clean.

Germany and security transformation processes: challenges facing the Bundeswehr in the context of political dilemmas

Germany and security transformation processes: challenges facing the Bundeswehr in the context of political dilemmas

Features of cyber security policy formation of the European Union: legal aspects

The article deals with the current legal and organizational principles of the European Union`s cybersecurity, the problems and prospects for the development of the relevant EU mechanism in the context of modern cyber threats. The evolution and qualitative dynamics of the EU cyber policy from the adoption of the first legal acts in the early 2000s to the publication of the second EU Security Strategy draft in December 2020 are analyzed. The study found that the European Union has the potential to achieve strategic autonomy in cyberpolitics. However, it needs a more coherent policy of coordination, further increase of funding and building of institutional capacity of the EU, equalization of member states possibilities. The conclusions state that Europe is interested in the comprehensive development of EU cybersecurity policy. The cross-border nature of cyber threats means that the EU's resilience in this matter directly affects its security. The current direction of the EU's capacity building and especially close cooperation with NATO provide a chance to avoid difficult political dilemmas. Official data from the European Union's Cyber Security Agency show that the number of violations of privacy is growing among the types of cyber attacks. This puts on the agenda the activities of EU structures and Member States the need to develop a system of human rights protection in the field of cybersecurity. One of its basic elements should be updated legislation, in particular, the new EU Cyber Security Strategy. The European Union does not stop there and constantly strives to develop opportunities to counter and prevent cyber threats in order to achieve strategic autonomy of the organization. The EU needs to overcome its excessive bureaucratization and imbalance in the funding of cyber policy management programs and the practical development of cyber attack protection, prevention and repulsion systems. The EU’s place in the future global cybersecurity system will depend on the real strengthening of this second segment of programs.

Libertad espiritual y libertades civiles en la narrativa y la dramaturgia de Griselda Gambaro

This paper approaches the novels and plays created by the contemporary Argentine writer Griselda Gambaro (born in Buenos Aires, in 1928). In particular, it reviews how some of her characters deal with the issue of freedom of choice in the face of moral, ethical and political dilemmas, as well as their attitude towards the lack of civil rights in the context in which each story takes place. The protagonists of her novels Ganarse la muerte and Dios no nos quiere contentos, and of her plays La malasangre, Real envido, Del sol naciente, and Antígona furiosa are put into close consideration. In these narrative and dramatic texts, the author argues that even in the face of the worst adversities, in the private or public sphere, the essential freedom of the human being is preserved and allows him/her to choose his/her own unique attitude in situations of helplessness, oppression or violence. It is a spiritual freedom that is sustained even in the most terrible circumstances of psychic and physical suffering. The conclusion is that these characters represent a worldview in which the human being can be deprived of everything, except the most essential of human liberties, that is the free will to choose a personal attitude to a set of circumstances and decide his/her own path.

‘How much can one argue within a couple of seconds?’: an interview with Roberto Simanoswki

Focusing mostly on Roberto Simanowski's recent work, this interview addresses ethical and political dilemmas posed by forms of digital automation and control.

¡Abajo el secreto, viva la privacidad! Dilemas mediáticos en el asunto Snowden

Este artículo es un análisis de tres relatos periodísticos de la filtración de documentos de la Agencia Nacional de Seguridad (NSA) de Estados Unidos, llevada a cabo por Edward Snowden: un libro, una película y una entrevista. El objetivo es sacar a la luz algunos dilemas éticos y políticos que subyacen al caso. Primero, una tensión paradójica entre la exigencia de transparencia frente al secreto estatal y la necesidad del secreto personal para el derecho a la privacidad, que refleja en nuestros tiempos la dialéctica publicidad / secreto en la modernidad temprana. Segundo, la ética hack-activista enfrenta los conflictos entre anonimato y visibilidad. Tercero, los periodistas en que Snowden confía afrontan el dilema entre los deberes de la información y la protección de la confidencialidad de las fuentes. El asunto Snowden es, pues, una oportunidad para extraer algunas lecciones sobre la ética de la comunicación en la era digital.

HealthLit4Kids: Dilemmas associated with student health literacy development in the primary school setting

Objective:To ascertain teachers’ articulation and experiences of navigating dilemmas that inhibit and/or enable the fostering of health literacy in primary school settings.Design:Qualitative analysis of teachers’ written reflections on introducing health literacy into their school and classroom.Setting:Tasmania, Australia.Method:Eighty-four teachers in five primary schools participated in the HealthLit4Kids programme. Teacher reflections were collected at the conclusion of the first year of the programme and assessed using Windschitl’s Dilemmas to identify recurrent themes raised by the conceptual, pedagogic, cultural and political dilemmas teachers faced.Results:Key dilemmas faced by teachers concerned the development of a whole-of-school approach, student engagement and professional development.Conclusion:Internationally few health literacy programmes for primary schools exist. The theory developed from the themes identified in this study will inform future health literacy programme design and implementation strategies. Purposeful consideration of each theme will guide their success, scalability and sustainability. Future research on the role of constructivist teaching styles in health literacy development in the school setting is urgently required.

DINAMIKA POLITIK LOKAL PROVINSI RIAU DALAM SUKSESI KEMENANGAN ANNAS MAAMUN DAN ARSYADJULIANDI RACHMAN TAHUN 2013


 
 Abstrak
 Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana dinamika politik lokal dalam suksesi kepemimpinan kepala daerah di Provinsi Riau dengan mengambil studi kasus kemenangan Anas Maamun dan Arsyajuliandi Rahman dalam Pemilihan Kepala Daerah Provinsi Riau Tahun 2013. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dan jenis deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dalam penelitian ini menggunakan teknik studi literatur yang dimana penulis mengambil data dari buku, jurnal, dokumen, situs pemerintahan yang relevan terhadap penelitian ini. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan adanya dilematika politik yaitu ditemukan banyaknya masyarakat yang tidak menggunakan hak pilihnya sehingga pasangan Annas Maamun dan Arsyadjuliandi Rachman terpilih sebagai Gubernur Provinsi Riau.
 Kata Kunci:
 Dinamika Politik, Provinsi Riau, Pemilihan Kepala Daerah, Golput

Bringing Morgenthau’s ethics in: pluralism, incommensurability and the turn from fragmentation to dialogue in IR

Why did IR pluralism end with so many incommensurable camps? (How) can IR be demarcated as a discipline where these camps can find common ground for dialogue without glossing over theoretical pluralism? To answer the first question, the paper argues that Morgenthau’s critique of IR as social science can explain the proliferation of camps in IR pluralism that are incommensurable and cannot engage in dialogue. By transcending the dilemma of politics as highlighted in Morgenthau’s critique of social science, theories today are ideological camps that bestow on morality an ideological function that justifies their powers-that-be that serve particular means/ends hierarchies. This leads to the proliferation of empirical causal analyses that cannot be debated, since they rely on political interests that theory ideologically justifies and offers internal validation. To avoid this problem, the paper answers the second question by proposing to demarcate the discipline through Morgenthau’s concept of ‘interest defined as power’. It argues that demarcating the discipline on the basis of this concept opens room for engaging in dialogue in IR through leaving open the normative debate of means and ends, and thus acts as a bulwark against the proliferation of ideological camps, while promoting theoretical pluralism.