Political Foundations Research Articles

Conspiracy Theories Left, Right and...Centre: Political Disinformation and Liberal Media Discourse

We are living in a time when conspiracy theories have never been more maligned by those who occupy the centre ground of politics. Liberal critics and journalists accuse conspiracy theorists to their left and right of paranoia, irresponsibly excessive rhetoric, and fallacies such as strawtargeting, 'anomaly hunting' and 'determined flexibility'. At the same time, major liberal institutions from the BBC to CNN emphasise the risks that such conspiracy theories pose to public order, safety and trust – and to the very future of what they call 'our democracy'. However, we argue that many of the same threats, flaws and fallacies have characterised hegemonic liberal analyses of contentious recent political events in the West from Trumpgate to the British Labour Party's anti-Semitism 'crisis'. With a proclivity for ad hominems, deliberate misrepresentations of evidence and other dubious methods, liberal conspiracy theories have had harmful societal impacts such as discrediting progressive political movements and fanning the flames of war. These are arguably consequences of greater magnitude than those resulting from right-wing conspiracism. Moreover, we show that centrist conspiracy theories often involve the implementation of genuine conspiracies against anti-establishment figures such as Donald Trump and Jeremy Corbyn. Despite the empirical existence of such conspiracies, we conclude by suggesting that the historical materialist critique of social reality has considerably more explanatory power than the conspiracist analytic. To demonstrate this we point to an epistemological weakness at the heart of liberal thought dating back at least to Thomas Carlyle's 'Great Man Theory of History' that, much like the marginal conspiracy theories liberals condemn, involves a vast exaggeration of the role of individual agency and intentionality – and covert interpersonal relationships particularly – in determining social, economic and political affairs.

The political foundation of mainstream media trust in East and Southeast Asia: A cross‐national analysis

AbstractDeclining levels of trust in the media in Western democracies have drawn the attention of political scientists, but much less attention has been paid to East Asia. This paper sets out to examine the logic behind media trust in three different types of regimes in East and Southeast Asia: countries with, partial, and no press freedom, respectively. Our findings show that while respondents' trust in government and support for socioideological control of the government have consistent and significant associations with their media trust across all 12 countries, Internet usage, online political participation, support for media censorship, and patriotic belief have different associations with the variable being studied as the degree of press freedom varies. The findings indicate that citizens are well aware of the role mass media plays in the political system and thus their trust in the media reflects the expectation‐perception gap of the government‐media relationship accordingly.

Soft Power in a Multipolar World - Philosophical Reflections on Cultural Diplomacy

This article provides a philosophical overview of the foundations of the new political and cultural principles of international relations and is supported by an approach to returning to the idea of "Homo culturalis" - man as a cultural being serving as a new conceptual core and context of culture. The pursuit of the hegemony of a world filled with conflicts has again and again put the multipolar world in a dead end. Joseph Nye's concept of "soft power", based on the article, played an important role in achieving a peaceful life and using the means to maintain a normal life by promoting the principles of soft power underlying public diplomacy. Political phenomena, which represent the most important prerequisites for the transition to a changeable future in order to form a peaceful life, can become the basis for the development of mutually beneficial socio-cultural co-evolution on a global scale.

A Revolution in Property: Tocqueville and Beaumont on Democratic Inheritance Reform

Abstract Among the most controversial reforms investigated by Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont was the idea of using inheritance as an instrument to diffuse property ownership. This article offers the first comparative account of the development of this concept across each of their major works. By situating their interventions within wider inheritance law debates, it is demonstrated how their evolving visions of democracy forced them to innovatively combine two normative arguments: (i) diffusing property ownership via inheritance was a precondition for placing democracy upon stable political foundations, and (ii) this could counter the rise of pauperism and the extreme wealth inequality of nineteenth-century industrial society. Far from being an anachronistic republican notion, such reforms were long considered too radical to be implemented in England and Ireland.

Democracy Assistance to Global South: A Case Study of Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) Freedom Agenda in Indonesia

This paper aims to investigate and analyze the democracy promotion carried out by Konrad-Adanauer Stiftung (KAS) in Indonesia. Our provisional findings on the case show that the hegemony of the North over the South is also perpetuated through political and economic assistance. Through the German political foundation of KAS, Germany seeks to foster a Western "better democracy" in Indonesia through several programs in collaboration with local actors. These "Freedom Agenda '' include training for civil apparatus and legal drafting training for national legislation. The Freedom Agenda carried out by KAS in Indonesia is associated with Germany's pursuit of democracy promotion policy. This study utilizes Neo-Gramscian Approach by Coxian Critical Theory (CCT) to investigate the role of KAS in maintaining the hegemonic order of Western Democracy in Indonesia through Cox's historical structure. By using library research, this study seeks to explain the reciprocal relationship between Cox's social forces in hegemony structure of Western democracy.Keywords: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung; democracy promotion; hegemony; social forces

ראשיתה של המסורת העיתונאית האנגלו-אמריקנית בארץ ישראל

Throughout the 19th century, a distinctive journalistic tradition emerged simultaneously in Britain and the United States, emphasizing norms and practices such as fact-based reporting, a clear separation between news and opinion, and objectivity. The Anglo-American tradition gradually spread to other locations including Continental Europe and Israel, becoming paradigmatic in the 1970s. However, the earliest manifestations of this were already noticeable in British-ruled Palestine in the 1920s and 1930s, mainly in the two Jerusalem-based media outlets reviewed in this article: the Palestine Telegraphic Agency (PTA), a local subsidiary of the international Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), headquartered in New York; and the Palestine Post newspaper. These two English-language news organizations catered to Palestine’s English readers (predominantly members of the Mandatory administration) and adhered perforce to the Anglo-American journalistic tradition to which their readers had been accustomed. Jacob Landau and Gershon Agronsky, the American founders of the two companies championed Anglo-American journalism on a variety of financial, political, and professional grounds.

소수자 인권에 있어 Dobbs 판결의 의미와 반향

On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court effectively removed the right to abortion from the list of fundamental rights under the U.S. Constitution in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization. The right to abortion had been considered a core right, derived from the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment since its affirmation in Roe v. Wade in 1973, but it lost its constitutional value and stature in the U.S. federal legal system nearly half a century later. The debate and conflict surrounding the Dobbs decision echo the social unrest that the Roe decision, which first recognized abortion rights, initially induced.
 This article does not engage directly with the varied and contentious positions on abortion that rest on religious, moral, and political grounds. Rather, it seeks to discuss the impact of the Dobbs decision on the rights of minorities from the perspective of constitutional theory and judicial policy. The Dobbs decision not only directly affects the lives and rights of women in the United States, but it also potentially represents a critical turning point in the rights of minorities in general when viewed in light of the legal principles it espoused. Based on the Fourteenth Amendment (Due Process Clause, Equal Protection Clause), the U.S. Supreme Court has discovered a series of individual liberties and rights that are not explicitly stipulated in the constitutional text through interpretation, recognizing these as fundamental rights deserving of special constitutional protection. Restrictions or discrimination relating to fundamental rights are subjected to a high-intensity judicial review standard and are strictly controlled. The method and criteria for recognizing fundamental rights are extremely important in activating the human rights advocacy function of the U.S. Supreme Court and have a profound impact on minorities, who can only expect judicial protection as they cannot secure respect for their values and lifestyles in the political process governed by majority rule. The Supreme Court has long used ‘history and tradition’ as a key criterion in confirming fundamental rights, but the Dobbs decision applied this criterion in a more conservative direction. As a result, the decision curtailed the progressive trend observed in the fundamental rights analysis in the 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision, leading to what can be seen as a counter-revolutionary conclusion - ‘evicting’ the right to abortion from the list of fundamental rights. From this point, the Dobbs decision can be assessed as a rupture in the constitutional progress that the Supreme Court has made based on the Fourteenth Amendment's fundamental rights analysis, as well as a fracture in the role and function of advocating for minority rights that the Supreme Court has emphasized.

Criminal Responsibilities Or Political Partners As Corporations In Corruption Criminal Action And Money Laundering Criminal Acts

The existence of political parties plays a strategic role in the development of democracy and the nation is faced with a number of issues that create a negative impression on these organs, some of which include; first, the problem of involvement of political parties in various cases of corruption and money laundering crimes that have an impact on the fall of public image and trust in the organization; second, the problem of pro and contra accountability of political parties involved in cases of corruption and criminal acts of money laundering before the law; and third, the issue of imposing criminal sanctions on political parties as the subject of corporate offenses known in corruption and money laundering. This research belongs to the typology of juridical normative legal research with secondary data types in the form of primary, secondary and tertiary legal materials. The approach taken includes the comparison, conceptual, statutory, and philosophical approaches, and analyzed descriptively qualitatively through literature. The results of the study show that; first, the justification of political parties as corporations in criminal acts of corruption and criminal acts of money laundering can be seen in five basic perspectives, namely philosophical foundation, juridical basis, historical basis, sociological basis, and political foundation of criminal law; second, the ideal concept of political party punishment as a corporation is carried out with a reconceptualization of the subject of corporate delictions in the affirmation of two types of corporations, namely corporations in the form of private and special corporations or in the form of public with different provisions on punishment arrangements. The need for an amendment to some provisions of the Corruption Law and the TPPU Law related to corporations in accommodating the two types of corporations into a forum for the implementation of ideas, of course issuing a law that contains specific provisions regarding special corporate punishment can be the answer to a myriad of issues regarding criminalization

Development of civil society in the context of implementation of the principle of democracy

Introduction. The full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation caused an unprecedented strengthening of the role of civil society in all areas of state activity. In particular, the activity of citizens in the country’s defense system and volunteer activities has increased. This could be traced in the context of the adoption and implementation of state decisions during the implementation of a number of reformsand in the fight against corruption, control over the actions of authorities, and so on. The aim of the article. The purpose of the article is the scientific and theoretical substantiation of the development of civil society in the context of the implementation of the principle of democracy already in the post-war period. Results. Speaking about the principle of democracy, which is realized through the participation of the people in the formation of state authorities, in the implementation of legal policy, in the creation and improvement of the legislative body, we inextricably link it with civil society as a form of development of democracy. The historical origins of civil society are characterized. It is noted that the historical stages of the formation of the idea and institutions of civil society in Ukraine largely coincide with the periods of growth in the political activity of society and the periods of state formation and restoration of statehood. It is emphasized that, on the one hand, civil society is an important condition for the functioning of democracy, on the other hand, democracy constitutes a certain political foundation for the development of civil society, which contributes to its normal functioning. However, there are a number of problems in this direction that need to be solved. In particular, it is lobbying, strong alienation of citizens from the authorities, corruption, etc. And despite the significant steps taken to correct this situation (in particular, a number of anticorruption bodies have been created), one gets the impression that these are more formal steps needed to fulfill the conditions for European integration, while in practice nothing changes. It is proposed to pay attention to the following directions in the concept of the development of civil society in the context of the implementation of the principle of democracy: 1) creation of civil organizations based on interests, charitable funds, societies, associations (for example, focused on solving the problems of victims of war, social and psychological rehabilitation of combatants) and development of various forms of public self-government and self-activity; 2) improvement of the political and legal culture of the population, formation of civic competences, creation of new opportunities for citizens’ participation in the management of state and public aff airs, adoption of foreign experience in this field; 3) raising the level of social consciousness, overcoming the phenomena of social passivity, since it is not only about the presence of democratic institutions and procedures and awareness of the population, but also about the ability of this population to live in the conditions of democracy, to use its benefits, in readiness for constant improvement of the political system in accordance with changes in specific historical conditions and social transformations;4) strengthening of freedom of information and publicity, openness of society with the involvement of the widest possible connections with the foreign world. Conclusions. It was found that the greatest integration potential for the successful completion of democratic development in Ukraine after the end of the war is civil society, which is based on a high level of civic competences and civic responsibility. Civil society should become a reliable foundation of human rights and freedoms, contribute to the development of the democratic principle of unification and consolidation around the European civilizational choice of Ukraine. Key words: civil society, democracy, power, state, civil responsibility, civilcompetences, political system.

Authentic context as educational object and green spaces as pedagogical environment: the approach to outdoor learning in the practice of Sreten Adžić (1856–1933)

ABSTRACT The study deals with the outdoor learning approach developed by Sreten Adžić (1856–1933), who is considered the founder of the outdoor learning movement in Serbia. He greatly influenced pedagogical practice as a primary-school teacher, professor, and teacher-training school manager. According to this approach, the term outdoor learning had two meanings: learning through exploring the local environment and staying outside the school building in green spaces during regular classes. This paper deals with the questions related to the theoretical and political foundations of that approach, its didactic characteristics, possible pedagogical, social, political and economic scope, and its position and role in the circulation of knowledge about the international context. The first part of the paper deals with the Pestalozzianism and socialism foundations of Adžić’s practice at the beginning of his professional career. The second and third parts thematise outdoor learning as student-centred learning in an authentic context based on sense perception and students’ self-activity. The local environment is interpreted as an educational object. This approach aimed to develop students’ critical thinking and civic education. The fourth part presents the realisation of Adžić’s project of outdoor classrooms as green spaces for learning and explains their pedagogical meaning. Key findings presented in the final part are those encouraging teachers to come outdoors contributed to rethinking the traditional teaching model and school education in giving a background for the new school movement, which was widely accepted in Yugoslavia between the two world wars.

Anti-corruption policy of Ukraine in the context of war

The article examines the peculiarities of national anti-corruption policy in the light of European integration processes, civil society development and full-scale war.
 It is noted that the negative impact of corruption is additionally manifested in the decline of the authority of the country, state authorities, moral values ​in society, it causes the penetration of a criminal component into state-management and social relations, as well as undermines the economic and political foundations of the state, blocks the inflow of foreign investments, which leads to shadowing of the economy.
 The concept of the index of perception of corruption and anti-corruption policy, its normative basis and institutional support are characterized. Comprehensive approaches to the development and implementation of changes to reduce the level of corruption in certain spheres of the state's life have been analyzed. The key shortcomings of the modern anti-corruption policy are outlined.It is substantiated that the important conditions for preserving the sovereignty of the state and restoring its territorial integrity are the proper armed repulsion of the invaders' encroachments, the provision of socio-economic foundations and political stability in the country. In these conditions, combating corruption continues to be a priority area of ​state policy and requires the state leadership to implement further radical anti-corruption measures in the state administration system. It has been proven that, along with repelling military aggression, the fight against corruption should be an equally urgent priority for all state authorities todayIt is emphasized that the issue of preventing and countering corruption, the formation of anti-corruption state policy does not lose its relevance neither during martial law nor in the post-war period. It was noted that Ukraine shows significant changes in this regard, despite the fact that almost all the resources of the state and society are now directed to the protection against unprovoked military aggression of the Russian Federation.Ways of improving the methodology of development and implementation of anti-corruption policy, taking into account the corruption perception index, are proposed.

Václav Havel’s Search for Emancipatory Governmentality

ABSTRACT This paper deals with the political philosophy of Václav Havel, mainly its relation to ethics and what Michel Foucault called governmentality. Besides using his analytical framework, Foucault’s politics are engaged with to highlight similar trajectories of two intellectuals dealing with related dilemmas of ethics and politics. As a dissident of communist Czechoslovakia Havel, developed a profound critique of modernity, but also discovered technologies of the self, exclusive to dissidents, which empowered them in their moral struggle against the regime. The Velvet Revolution in 1989 ascended Havel to the presidency of the republic, a position from which he quickly embraced and disseminated neoliberal governmentality. The final section deals with Havel’s use of human rights in the later years of his presidency, being a justification for military interventions and comparing them to Foucault’s conceptualisation of rights. Human rights discourse is the culmination of Havel’s lifelong quest for the ethical foundation of politics and it is the source of most difficulties and potentialities associated with this project.

“The Law of the Politics - When Creating Something New, One Should Rely on What Has Been Achieved, Not Diminish the Old”: for the 100th Anniversary of A.M. Kovalev

The study analyzes the contribution of Alexander Kovalev to science and education, who stood at the origins of political science since its institutionalization in Russia. The contours of his general political and philosophical concept of social development are determined, original approaches to the interpretation of the categories “power” and “politics”, the laws of politics and political activity, and a number of basic concepts of political science are reconstructed. The role of A. Kovalev in substantiating the importance of political science, its structure and its place in the system of social and humanitarian sciences is highlighted. His persistent desire to establish the foundations of politics with the way of production of public life is noted and thereby more fully highlight the ideological and methodological aspects of political science knowledge, to link the philosophy and theory of political science with the variety of its instrumental dimensions. A. Kovalev’s interpretation of the problem of interrelation and interdependence of system-wide and individual needs and interests in public life, natural and spontaneous in the political process, the importance of the moral principle in politics is revealed. The question is raised about his development of the problem of the correlation of natural and social, the dialectics of civilizational and formational in social development, the correlation of innovations and traditions in political life, the scientific responsibility of a political scientist. Particular attention is paid to the qualities of A. Kovalev as an organizer of science, teacher and mentor, who educated many dozens and even hundreds of political scientists who confidently took their place in the formation and development of political science in the country. It is emphasized that the scientific merits of A. Kovalev are inseparable from his highly moral civil position, responsibility for the fate of the Motherland.

Locke, Morality, and the Pragmatic Ground of Politics

Locke, Morality, and the Pragmatic Ground of Politics

Re-Annexation of Indian Occupied Kashmir: Challenges and Options for Pakistan

This paper intends to evaluate the Kashmir issue in the backdrop of the Indian actions of 5th August, 2019. Firstly, some basics of the State of Kashmir and the Kashmir issue have been narrated. Thereafter, an in-depth analysis of the Indian perfidy terming “annexation” as “accession”, elaborating the characteristics of the special status given to the occupied state, has been made. The actions of 5th August, 2019 whereby that status was completely revoked, “re-annexing” and dividing the state into two union territories, unilaterally, has been detailed. The impact of the “reannexation” has been framed, duly highlighting the plight of Kashmiris and lack of preparedness on the part of the State of Pakistan. However, some of the noteworthy initiatives by Pakistan after the Indian move have been underscored. Indian actions have resulted into various anticipated threats and opportunities for Pakistan which have been discussed in detail keeping in view the geo-strategic and internal and external socio-economic and political ground realities; some of which had compelled Modi to choose this particular point in time to realize the long-standing dream of BJP. It has been maintained that Pakistan needs to stick to its principled stand and concluded that Pakistan must take certain actions to minimize the threats and make best use of the opportunities coming its way. The recommendations have been made with a view to initiate a well-meaning effort in a systematic way through an institutionalized action plan to end the pain and suffering of the incarcerated people and to get Kashmir liberated from India in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiris.

Empowering Women in the Social Context of India: problems and Possibilities

The main aims and objectives of this article are to explore the nature of empowering women in the social economical and political ground and to know what problems are faced by all concerned and to realize the role of the Government of India in empowering women by eliminating the problems. Gender discrimination in Indian social system exists from the days of immemorial. Naturally discrimination and injustice to women are very common in India in the third decade of the 21st century. In ancient Indian society the role of men was given importance but on the contrary no importance was given to the women. However,now we can notice a radical change of the women in Indian society.Like all the developed and developing country, India too is empowering women to bring back them to the mainstream of the society. It is known to all that the role of women in the progress and prosperity of a nation is not less. It is quite impossible to develop India if we cannot solve the problems related to gender discrimination.Naturally after independence; the social, political and economical aspects of the women were given importance to build a strong nation. Now equal importance is given to them in the fields of education and politics. As a result women literacy rate is increasing day by day and they are working as a decession maker in the various fields of our society. Now in our Indian social system women avail their law abiding rights in marriage, succession, politics, education and so on. Women are strengthening democracy by taking participation actively in national politics.

CONTEMPORARY POLITICS IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: HISTORICAL DETERMINANTS AND POLITICAL EXPERIENCES

The original foundations of democratic politics in Bosnia and Herzegovina were developed during the period of Austro-Hungarian occupation, and political pluralism was institutionalized in an incomplete form in 1910. The monarchical regime in the first Yugoslav state did not stimulate political development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, because fictitious political pluralism was introduced in political practice. It was not possible to achieve enviable political development not even in a second Yugoslav state, because it was built on the principles of socialist monism. The independent and sovereign existence of the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is limited by ethnocracy and imposed stabilocracy. First, this article will investigate to what extent the post-socialist development of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which takes place in the stages after the multi-party elections in 1990, is determined by earlier political experiences, and above all by the original concept of incomplete democratic politics founded during the Austro-Hungarian occupation government.

Recontesting the Sacred: political theology as ideological method

ABSTRACT In this paper, we explore the contribution that political theology can make to the study of political ideologies. In foregrounding the interaction between theological and political ways of thinking, political theology traces the lingering presence of the sacred in secular politics. It refers not merely to religious doctrines but also to a variety of ways of registering the ‘extraordinary’ dimension in modern political orders. We sketch the development of political theological analysis from the sovereign-centric account famously proffered by Carl Schmitt to more recent versions that identify the sacred with a plurality of struggles against secular power. New types of ideological formation, we argue, can be interpreted as instances of this latter political theology, particularly those expressing what we call a radical politics of redemption that recontests the moral foundations of politics. Although highly divergent, these typically underscore the threat to a specified sacred source, make appeals to the lived experience of suffering and mobilize supporters as a model of communion seeking moral healing. We consider the example of contemporary populism to illustrate this redemptive mode of theological politics and recommend political theology, a method that can supplement the study of political ideology.

Between Asylum and Liberation: The New Palestinian Refugees

Abstract Contemporary Palestinian asylum seekers raise fundamental questions regarding the relationship between the institution of asylum and struggles for national liberation. Underlying the legal framework that applies to them is an assumption of inverse correlation: the more Palestinians obtain access to individual asylum claims, the less secure are the fundamental Palestinian claims of self-determination and return. But is this trade-off acceptable today? Comparable dilemmas animate other large-scale displacements, but scholars seldom discuss their full implications for international legal theory. Rather than providing a definite answer to the question, this article maps out four major aspects of how individual protection and self-determination are interrelated, or, indeed, bifurcated, in international law. The new Palestinian refugees are important to consider not only because their continued displacement is foreseeable but also because their exceptional plight invites a reconsideration of the political foundations of refugee law. How can policy makers and legal interpreters uphold principles of both individual and collective protection, preventing the two from cutting against each other?

The transformation of foundation law in Hungary, with particular regard to private foundations

Abstract The article provides an overview of the system of regulation of Hungarian foundations, the individual types of foundations and their characteristics. It provides an overview of the features of public foundations and political foundations operating in the public sector, as well as the general rules applicable to private foundations and family foundations. The author pays special attention to the asset management foundations, analysing in detail the peculiarities of the public interest and private interest versions, with particular regard to their outstanding advantages in the international context.