Political Dimensions Research Articles

Infrastructural entanglements: the Autobahnüberbauung Schlangenbader Straße in Berlin-Wilmersdorf

This paper puts forward the Autobahnüberbauung Schlangenbader Straße development, constructed in Berlin-Wilmersdorf during the 1970s, as a compelling juxtaposition of architecture and urban infrastructure. To that end, it draws from both Science and Technology Studies (STS) and urban-architectural scholarship to unpack some of the intertwined technical, social, political, and aesthetic dimensions of urban infrastructures. Subsequently, it examines the role that architecture might play in integrating the diverse solicitations of these dimensions in the city. Positing the notion of ‘entanglement’ to characterise the unique form of infrastructural integration afforded by the Schlangenbader Straße complex, the argument proceeds to consider this integration from three different angles. First, it positions the development in relation to the emergence of West Berlin's urban motorcar infrastructure throughout the twentieth century, exploring its technical and socio-political aspirations. Second, it presents two sets of architectural imaginaries (dating from the 1920s and 60s, respectively) that articulated preceding — yet unrealised — narratives of mass transit integration and extended urban connectivity. Third, it scrutinises the specific infrastructural dimensions of the Schlangenbader Straße complex by identifying the main technical, social, and political aspects that informed its development and construction, delving into the roles and attitudes of key participants in the process. The conclusion reinforces the position of the Autobahnüberbauung Schlangenbader Straße as a socio-technical artefact, deeply ‘entangled’ with Berlin's urban infrastructure.

Mekong Multi-Cooperation Frameworks: States, Regional Institutions, Private Sectors and Elites

Conflict and cooperation are key governance challenges in transboundary river basin governance. Hydropower has been at the center of conflict and cooperation in the transboundary river basin governance. Over time, hydropower produces a sort of material geopolitics within regions. Technological changes and the changing regional geopolitics create different power relations over hydropower. One of the gaps in current research seems to be about how technological and material transformations of hydropower have affected the transboundary river cooperation in the post-Cold War era.The paper uses a literature review and a case study of the Lower Sasan 2 (LS2) Dam to to study the changing political dimensions of the Mekong region from a confronting platform to multi-regional cooperation frameworks; and how powerful actors such as states, regional institutions, private sectors, and elites shape regional cooperations and produce competing programs and projects in the Mekong region.. It concludes that hydropower has been politicized and technologically manipulated by powerful actors in the last five decades of the Mekong River Cooperation. Cambodia has positioned itself strategically in its relationships with these hydro-hegemons to compete for hydropower dam projects and protect its interests but runs a significant risk of increased social and environmental impacts along with local resistances.

Disentangling the effects of globalization on growth: Evidence from Ethiopia using an ARDL approach

Globalization is a complex phenomenon with far-reaching and multidimensional influences on national growth trajectories. Previous studies examining these effects have often relied on overly simplistic measures that mask heterogeneity across contexts. This paper aims to overcome such limitations by disentangling the impacts of different globalization dimensions on Ethiopia’s economic development over 1981–2021 using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach in order to assess the long-term and short-term effects of Ethiopia’s economic growth rates and a comprehensive globalization index encompassing the economic, social, and political dimensions of globalization. Long-run and short-run relationships are estimated via ARDL to analyze these relationships in the context of factors like investment, workforce, trade, and capital stock, while the robustness of findings is ensured through dynamic ordinary least squares, fully modified ordinary least squares, and canonical cointegrating regression techniques. Key results indicate that overall and economic globalization exhibit negative long-term associations with growth when analyzing these relationships taking into account other factors, suggesting a need for a cautious, sequenced approach to integration to optimize benefits as local capacities develop over time. However, political globalization carries positive long-run effects. Social globalization displays no clear linkage. Short-run impacts also differ by dimension. Gross capital formation, trade openness, and capital stock remain consistently growth-enhancing. The negative correlation in the labor force likely reflects structural challenges. Robustness analyses substantiate these conclusions, enhancing confidence. Findings imply a cautious, sequenced approach to integration may optimize potential benefits as local adaptive capacities develop over time. This investigation’s tailored nature provides contextually grounded empirical knowledge with broader policy applications. More refinement of country-level analyses remains warranted to fully uncover globalization’s complexity. Overall, incremental global ties alone proved insufficient for development acceleration. Findings carry relevance for managing integration strategies towards inclusive, sustainable development nationally and beyond.

Analisis Pendidikan Agama Kristen Terhadap Paham Radikalisme Dalam Konteks Indonesia

This article offers an analysis of the role of Christian religious education in overcoming radicalism in the Indonesian context. Radicalism in Indonesia is multifaceted, and religious, political, social, and ethnic factors contribute to its prevalence. Religious differences often give rise to misunderstandings and violence which then occurs. Political radicalism stems from power dynamics, including state-sponsored oppression or interstate conflict. Social radicalism manifests through extreme tactics aimed at societal transformation, sometimes ignoring legal norms. Ethnic radicalism promotes a supremacist ideology, justifying violence or discrimination against other ethnic groups. Using qualitative research and literature analysis, this research explores the intersection between Christian education, radicalism, and diversity. The results of research on Christian religious education in Indonesia emphasize values such as diversity, tolerance and peace, which provide a counterweight to radical ideology. By prioritizing these values, Christian education fosters stability across religious, political, social and ethnic dimensions, thereby reducing the risks posed by radicalism. This research underlines the importance of Christian religious education in cultivating a society that is cohesive and tolerant of radical influences.

Socially engaged art proposals: between collaboration, affect, and the commons

This paper presents some aspects of socially engaged art proposals, such as collaborative methods, affective relationships, and the production of the common. Currently, we observe in transdisciplinary projects and collective actions a growing focus on collaborative practices as attempts to go beyond practices strictly engrained in established institutional spaces such as museums, universities, and governmental or private spaces. With the perspective of a certain local activation of collective pieces of knowledge and practices, these artistic proposals aim at the circulation of knowledge, its integration and contamination by unusual places, narratives and methodologies belonging to each daily life. Therefore, we find in socially engaged artistic practices artistic interventions that highlight the power of affects for the production of knowledge managed in communities, making us think about what relationships consist of and how they may or may not give space for the common. We understand that by considering the power of affects and art in their political and social dimensions, we incorporate a discourse of difference that allows for other possible forms of communal living.

Study on the Impact and Mechanism of the Quality of Host Country Institutions on China's OFDI

In recent years, the scale of China's Outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has grown rapidly, but with the increasingly complex and changeable international environment, China's OFDI is facing great pressure. Taking 159 countries as samples, this paper selects 10 secondary indicators from the three dimensions of politics, economy, and law to construct the evaluation system of host country institutional quality, and measures the host country institutional quality from 2011 to 2021, studies the influence of host country institutional quality on China's OFDI and the intermediary mechanism, and conducts heterogeneity test. The conclusion shows that the improvement of host country's institutional quality significantly promotes the inflow of China's OFDI, and at the same time, the improvement of host country's institutional quality can improve the country's scientific and technological innovation ability and infrastructure construction level, and ultimately promote the increase of China's OFDI. This promoting effect is more obvious in low-middle-income countries and countries that have signed the Belt and Road agreements. Finally, suggestions are put forward based on the conclusions.

Re-Think Migration in Africa: The Current Geopolitical Challenges of Migration

This study is part of the field of political and social geography and African studies. Its aim is to address the current geopolitical issues (migration policies, migration systems and dynamics, forms of otherness, clandestine migration and different routes, the role of borders in migration as a geostrategic tool) of migration in Africa. To bring scientific rigor and clarity to our study, we draw on both methodical approaches from social and political geography, life stories, ethnographic observation and various documentary sources. Reflection on the current migratory situation in Africa leads us to discuss the impact of the colonial era on the continent through colonial economies centered essentially on the exploitation of African natural resources such as minerals, rubber and cotton. This reality has engendered, on the one hand, an African migratory system represented by the migration of labor from rural regions to economic centers, creating demographic and economic imbalances within African countries; and on the other hand, a migratory system between colonizing countries and colonized countries. It's true that Africa is a continent of glaring disparities. It's a multi-ethnic, plural space that conceals flagrant socio-spatial inequalities, which are becoming increasingly acute. This area of the world becomes a space of paradoxes par excellence, insofar as wealth and poverty are intertwined. As a result, the spatial injustice between North and South generates a great deal of frustration among Africans, and has an impact on the construction of a hopeful migration project. Moving elsewhere offers would-be migrants the right to dream, rebuild their lives and shape their values. This ultimate goal is made possible by cosmopolitanism and the desire to discover a different culture. In the current context, Morocco is becoming a new frontier for Europe. Its geographical and geostrategic position makes it both a place of transit and residence. Indeed, moving there or leaving generates new urban dynamics in Moroccan cities, creating new forms of otherness between migrants and locals. Such mobility generates ephemeral, relocated territorialities that shape the urban landscape of African cities, in this case Moroccan cities. Migration is a highly complex phenomenon, involving individuals and their societal lives on the one hand, and states and their integration policies on the other. Indeed, dealing with the issue of migration in its political, economic, social, cultural and diplomatic dimensions is a necessity, and raises a legitimate question: how can we think about the geopolitical stakes of migration in Africa? To answer this major question, we propose a two-point plan. The first section will address current migration dynamics in Africa. The second deals with migration policies in Africa and future challenges in Africa and in third section, we will look at the future challenges of migration in Africa.

The complex networks of an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem: proposal for a representation model

This article presents a proposal for a representation model of entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems, based on the Theory of Complex Networks, in order to understand the complexity of the relationships between its actors. The methodology used was a qualitative approach, of a bibliographic and documentary nature, which defined categorized axes based on the dimensions of politics, economy, culture, support institutions, human capital and access to the market, present in an entrepreneur. The model that will contribute to supporting the connections and dissemination of knowledge in an entrepreneurial innovation ecosystem, providing insights for its actors to analyze public policies based on their impact in terms of multidimensional development was applied in the city of Salvador/BA, as proof concept. Its application allowed the collection of mapping results from the main actors in the ecosystem of the capital of Bahia, in addition to identifying the dissemination of knowledge as an important dimension for the development of new actions and partnerships between them to foster innovation.

Foreign aid: An agent for socioeconomic development? A case study from an emerging economy: Pakistan

AbstractPakistan's economy since its creation has remained heavily dependent on foreign aid, especially to manage the ever‐widening gap between the available financial resources, development expenditure, fiscal deficit, and current account deficit. This article critically evaluates the effectiveness of foreign aid in Pakistan from 2000 to 2022 via an in‐depth literature review and the rational actor model (RAM). Furthermore, a mixed‐method approach based on descriptive quantitative and in‐depth qualitative research methods was adopted for this study. The article demonstrates that RAM can assist policy makers, enabling them to make decisions vis‐à‐vis foreign aid while safeguarding national interests, particularly economic interests. However, this study finds that for Pakistan to achieve sustainable economic growth, increasing exports and attracting more foreign direct investment hold greater potential than continued reliance on foreign aid. In conclusion, the article prescribes policy measures to restructure Pakistan's political system to foster socioeconomic development through trade liberalization and good governance.Related ArticlesAsongu, Simplice A., and Joseph Nnanna. 2019. “Foreign Aid, Instability, and Governance in Africa.” Politics & Policy 47(4): 807–48. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12320.Dobransky, Steve. 2014. “Violators amongst Us: International Regimes and the Role of Compliance, a Case Study on Official Development Assistance.” Politics & Policy 42(4): 593–634. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12082.Scarlato, Margherita, and Giorgio d'Agostino. 2019. “The Political Dimension of Cash Transfers in Latin America and Sub‐Saharan Africa: A Comparative Perspective.” Politics & Policy 47(6): 1125–55. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12332.

A Re-Examination of Earthquakes in Mediterranean Archaeology in Light of Historical Sources

Interest in earthquakes in Mediterranean archaeology has distinct disciplinary origins. Since the inception of archaeoseismology—earthquake archaeology—in the 1980s, approaches to earthquake factors have been characterized by reliance on ancient historical sources. However, although texts have supported the identification of earthquake disasters in material destruction, documentary records extend far beyond particular events and experiences of disaster; diverse cultural perceptions of earthquakes as expressed in ancient textual sources also offer an alternative interpretation for Mediterranean archaeology. This study reviews the material-geological record of Helike in Greece—the victim of an infamous major earthquake in 373 BC—in order to assess the impact of seismic activity on the site from the third millennium BC to the fifth century AD. Evidence for such an impact includes archaeoseismic types of destruction, anti-seismic construction in architecture and stratigraphically associated soil micromorphological evidence of seismically triggered soft sediment deformation structures (SSDS). A reassessment of ancient accounts of the 373 BC event to explore Graeco-Roman cultural perceptions of earthquakes provides a new interpretive frame for the material-geological record of Helike. This alternative interpretation repositions earthquakes, traditionally perceived as ‘natural’ disasters implicated in ‘collapse’ and ‘catastrophe’, as social phenomena. The case of Helike demonstrates the value of documentary records for reframing the complex social and political dimensions of recurrent earthquakes and persistent geological hazards.

Persistent and implications of Changing Livelihood in Hill Setting of Nepal: A Qualitative Inquiry of Vyas-10 of Tanahun

Nepal has witnessed rapid change in political and socioeconomic dimensions in the last three decades. Migration and remittance are key factors for the changing livelihoods and it implies various forms of Hill settings in Nepal. The aim of the study is to identify the persistence and implications of livelihood changes in the Hill setting of Nepal from the emic perspective. As per the requirement of the study, 30 in-depth interviews were conducted Dumsi village of Vyas-10 of Tanahun district. The study identified that remittance is the key driver of the livelihood change in the Hill setting. The changing livelihood of the village people also changes the gender roles, the age structure of the working age population, change in the caste-based occupation and structural change of the caste-based system and the diversification of the income sources. Agriculture was seen as the main occupation three decades ago, it is a secondary source of livelihood in the villages due to migration and remittances.

Political Skill of Employees Working in Halal Concept Hotels and A Research

The ability to manage relationships between individuals on a sensible basis depends on mutual understanding and management of this process. One of the basic concepts that explains this relationship is political skill. The fact that both guests and employees represent a certain profile in halal concept hotels will increase the need for political skills. In this context, the main purpose of this study is to investigate the political skill levels of the employees in halal concept hotels and reveal whether employees’ political skill levels differ in the context of different demographic characteristics. Using a questionnaire, the research data were collected from 278 employees working in halal concept hotels operating in Istanbul. The findings revealed that the general political skill levels of the employees are high, and the highest political skill dimension is apparent sincerity. In addition, it was determined that there are differences in terms of age, marital status, educational status and professional experience dimensions according to the demographic characteristics of employees. The findings are discussed in the last part of the study, and suggestions for future research are presented.

The Unchanging Representation of the 1956 Revolution in Public Art in Budapest

Hungary, and especially its capital, Budapest, is famous for its vast number of public artworks. Unlike their impressive quantity and diversity, their representation techniques are rather monotonous. Apart from nostalgia apparent in those works that represent emotionally charged narratives about the past, we can also trace the anxiety of new forms and interpretations, manifesting itself in the constant over-repetition of well-known symbols and representations. The article investigates possible reasons behind the unchanging character of these public artworks despite the increasing number and variety of procures. In terms of methodology, this paper follows the author’s work on numerous smaller projects and draws on secondary literature, case studies, and content analysis of policy documents and media coverage of particular events. The article presents the memorials dedicated to the 1956 revolution erected in Budapest between 1989 and 2019, focusing on their symbolic and political dimensions as well as physical context. The investigation points out that the range of procurers of public art in Budapest is still not varied, and the lack of expert assessment also prevents contemporary representations. Moreover, the general public does not and cannot play a role in memorialization processes. The observations made in this paper suggest how this particular public art genre manifests nostalgia about the glorious (but failed) historical moment and anxiety of newforms and interpretations.

Law, Colonial-Capitalist Floods, and the Production of Injustices in Eastern India: Insights for Climate Adaptation

AbstractFloods are not merely ‘natural’ disasters; rather, they emerge as socio-natural phenomena shaped by political, social, and economic processes. Law plays a pivotal role in producing and sustaining these processes and contributes to the creation of unjust environments. Drawing on political ecology and environmental history, this article analyzes the role of law and its interactions with colonialism and capitalism in the Damodar river valley in Eastern India. The Damodar river valley is an intensely engineered and hazardous region, a site of multiple interventions and developmental and ecological experiments for over a century. Colonial and post-colonial legacies have left a lasting imprint on legal, policy, and institutional frameworks, establishing a path-dependent trajectory for addressing future climate change adaptation challenges. While focusing on a specific case study, the article's approach and findings have broader significance, especially in the context of climate adaptation. The central argument underscores the need to understand the political and legal dimensions of flooding, and reinforces the need for a shift beyond incremental adjustments that do not tackle the underlying structures that produce the injustices associated with floods. It highlights the importance of ‘transformative adaptation’ approaches that address the root causes of climate-related disasters, such as restructuring power relations between actors, reconfiguring governance structures, and scrutinizing ideologies that mediate how water is used and distributed.

Mainstreaming gender in agroecology: coffee cropping systems in Veracruz, Mexico

ABSTRACT The objective of this paper is to mainstream gender in agroecology, using VIDA’s coffee systems as a case study. Data were collected through a mixed, participatory approach, combining qualitative (participant observation, interviews, workshops) and quantitative methods (a census of 24 men and 26 women). Results reveal gender differences across environmental, economic, social, and political dimensions. Women prioritize plant diversity, while men focus on coffee varieties and farm conditions. Both sexes emphasize economic and social sustainability, with women advocating for greater access to resources and benefits. VIDA has a gender-parity leadership promoting territorial defense and youth visibility to mitigate outmigration.

‘On the frontline’: gangs, teachers, and the ethics of care

Knife crime in the UK is on the increase, prompting an emphasis in education policy on the role of secondary schools in addressing gang violence. Very little is known, however, about how teachers in secondary schools experience this new role. This article helps to fill this gap in the literature by foregrounding teachers’ perspectives on gang violence in an East London secondary school. It analyses their teaching practices through an ‘ethics of care’ lens, understanding ‘care’ as an inherently relational practice based on mutuality and trust. The article shows how these qualities are being subverted by individualised approaches to care in education, which reproduce rather than challenge the violent care offered by gangs. It argues that the political dimensions of care must be reclaimed if efforts by schools to address gang violence are to be effective.

Reclaiming public spaces: experiences of social exclusion of female sanitary workers in public spaces in Lahore, Pakistan

ABSTRACT This research explores the challenges faced by female Christian sanitary workers in the public spaces of Lahore, Pakistan, utilising Nancy Fraser’s analytical framework of redistribution, recognition, and representation to uncover multifaceted factors contributing to their societal marginalisation. Through in-depth interviews with 19 participants, the study sheds light on significant economic, sociocultural, and political barriers, including exploitative working conditions religious discrimination, and societal attitudes deeming sanitation labour as inferior. The findings reveal that workers endure exploitative work devoid of protections, heightened by enduring religious discrimination and caste hierarchies fostering disrespect towards sanitation labour as polluting and lowly. This situation induces anxiety amongst sanitation workers when accessing shared amenities, visceral harassment during housing searches, everyday humiliation while using public transport, and internalisation of shame even when accessing health-care facilities. The absence of workplace contracts, bargaining powers, or avenues to advocate for needs-based policy changes leaves workers politically marginalised, intensifying the precarity faced by multiple generations undertaking hazardous manual roles in urban waste management. Consequently, this engenders socio-spatial exclusion of female sanitation workers across economic, sociocultural, and political dimensions. This exclusion challenges prevailing state narratives celebrating cleanliness initiatives while perpetuating hardships for those contributing to waste management. The research emphasises the urgent need for targeted policy interventions, calling for a reassessment of administrative and planning approaches governing public spaces to foster inclusivity, challenge societal hierarchies, and ensure adequate representation for marginalised women amidst Lahore’s ongoing urbanisation.

Civilisational Conflict

China’s self-identification as a ‘civilisational-state’ poses a strategic challenge. The characterisation contests the liberal-international order’s values and norms, potentially fragmenting global standards. A strategic reassessment will require considering not only the political and economic dimensions of international relations, but also the cultural and ideological aspects that define the identities of nations and their people. The key task is to discern what is non-negotiable for both China and the West, and to avoid obliging either to compromise on what it considers its core identity.

Storying My Body in Bits and Bytes

ABSTRACT This study shows how cyberautoethnography can be used to critically interrogate and make sense of how technology and attendant artifacts shape our understanding of embodiment. Specifically, this goal is achieved by applying cyberautoethnography to study Bitmoji avatars, a digital artifact, as a type of digital embodiment. Users can personalize Bitmoji avatars by choosing from a variety of skin tones, body sizes, and other physical characteristics. Thus, similar to the creation of other avatars (such as those in social media and gaming environments), creating and circulating these digital artifacts can be understood as acts of strategic digital (re)presentation and embodiment. Here, I reflect on the process of creating my Bitmoji avatar and analyze conversations using Bitmojis to discuss how I use my Bitmoji to make my body hypervisible in a context that’s typically understood as disembodied. I conclude that the seemingly mundane use of Bitmojis can be understood as a feminist practice that marginalized individuals might engage with in order to extend the political dimensions of everyday, lived experiences into the digital realm. Thus, this critical cyberautoethnography showcases the value of autoethnography for understanding how agency is claimed and limited by contemporary forms of technology-mediated embodiment.

Territorial design: ethological design or political design or both?

AbstractBased on 4 codesign cases and 15 designer interviews, this article presents how territorial design serves as a catalyst for shared values in community living. Examining user experience and design goals, it reveals how ethological and political values shape territories and the design process. Participants explore new work methodologies, redefine collective activities and navigate in tensions, power issues and political dimensions. The codesign space transforms political interactions, shifting from controversy to conception, offering a new experience and perspective on territorial discussions.