Political Marginalization Research Articles

Representing London: making and claiming the city

What does it mean to represent a city? We examine this question through drawing from and seeking to read across two somewhat distinct meanings of representation, stemming from cultural theory and political studies. The reason for approaching representation in this way is an interest in how elected representatives claim the city. Based on interviews with members of the London Assembly, we take a transversal cut across party and geographical lines to analyse the nature and content of their representative claims, identifying two main types: the city as an identity and as a place or a collection of places. The politicians invoke cultural and institutional dimensions of representation and representativeness. The usefulness of employing both senses of representation is that through its representatives, the city—and urban democratic representation—is more than a discrete object or even a multiplicity of viewpoints, but rather a process continually made and remade through practices and claims, even as these slide across scales. These repertoires of representation, of the city as is and as it could be, signal how even from a place of seeming political marginality, the city is open to multiple imagined ideals that are shared and cut across conventional political lines.

Dis/incremental Dwelling and the Right to the Beach in Jamestown, Accra, Ghana

AbstractIn mid‐2020, the municipal authority of Accra, Ghana levelled the dwellings of approximately 450 residents remaining in an informal beach settlement in Jamestown, long the centre of an artisanal fishing economy. The destruction marked the culmination of at least four demolition cycles to clear ground for a Chinese‐financed commercial harbour. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted between demolitions, we demonstrate how residents erected smaller, more precarious structures designed for ease of disassembly/reassembly using cheaper, salvaged building materials—a tactic we term dis/incremental dwelling. We interpret these practices of everyday refusal as asserting residents’ “right to the beach”—a claim to access beach and marine space, to participate in convivial associative life and the informal fishing economy, and to resist political marginalisation from infrastructure development and ocean grabbing. The right to the beach provides a conceptual and political vocabulary to centre just coastal futures in urban West Africa and beyond.

Policy engagement as ‘empowered representation’: democratic mediation through a participatory research project on climate resilience

Background: The article analyses the policy engagement component of a research project on climate resilience in vulnerable communities that took place in Cape Town, South Africa. Conducted in 2022, the engagement included community and stakeholder events in three research sites, and a cross-cutting policy event with municipal officials, held at the end of the project. Importantly, this policy engagement process occurred in a context of political marginalisation, that is, one characterised by low trust, and little meaningful representation or even communication between these vulnerable communities and the city. Aims and objectives: This article examines the impact of policy engagement on political relations between local government and vulnerable communities. Methods: The overall methodology of the article is qualitative, using an illustrative case-study research design to unpack the subjective experiences of both government officials and residents of vulnerable communities. Primary data included many primary documents, direct observation of the engagements and post-event interviews. Findings: First, the engagement process created new ‘invented’ spaces for the representation of community perspectives to the city, and the city’s perspective to the community. Second, the engagement facilitated community self-representation through educating community members to advocate for their ideas in these new invented spaces. Third, this engagement tended to be more constructive and deliberative than polarising and confrontational. Discussion and conclusions: Drawing on the theoretical framework of ‘political mediation’, the policy engagement process is characterised as a positive instance of democratic mediation through ‘empowered representation’, with some specified limitations.

The Business of Governing Penang: Workarounds as Remedy?

The state of Penang, including city councils for island Pulau Pinang (with urban-core George Town) and mainland Seberang Perai, has negotiated at least a degree of political marginalisation since independence. Ruled previously by a secondary partner in the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front), and since 2008, by the Democratic Action Party and its coalition partners, the economically powerful state has negotiated constrained autonomy and resources. While to some extent, these governing challenges are common to all states in Malaysia's highly centralised federation, in other ways, they reflect Penang's specific political position. Penang's leadership has sought in particular ways to circumvent inertia or divided loyalties among bureaucrats from the federal, rather than a state-level, civil service. Central to that solution has been reliance on an array of state government-linked corporations, facilitating administration, but at possible cost to clear accountability, transparency, and promised empowerment of civil society.

Edward W. Said: Not so lost reflections On Lost Causes such as the one-state solution

ABSTRACT The article examines the enduring relevance of Edward Said's perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, juxtaposing contemporary challenges with Said's visionary advocacy for a one-state solution. The analysis delves into the complexities of the evolving Middle East dynamics, emphasising the need to reconsider alternative frameworks. Central to our analysis is Said's intellectual ethos, which champions the role of secular intellectuals and profoundly influences his democratic values, his defence of a binational state, and his staunch support for academic freedom. Said's legacy serves as a guiding beacon, stressing the moral imperative to challenge entrenched power structures and advocate for truth. The article explores Said's arguments for a binational state rooted in democratic principles and universal values, arguing that despite scepticism and political marginalisation, his vision offers a compelling pathway toward reconciliation and peace, transcending conventional paradigms and amplifying marginalised voices. This approach highlights how Said's commitment to democracy and intellectual freedom shapes his support for causes other believe to be hopeless and continues to inspire contemporary discourse.

Listening the Echoes of Silence

Abstract This scholarly article examines the intricate layers of social, economic, and political marginalisation experienced by the ‘Negede Weyto’ minority and elucidates its impacts on their psychological well-being. Employing a qualitative research approach, the study synthesised primary and secondary data sources. Primary data collection methods included in-depth interviews, informant interviews, and focus group discussions, complemented by meticulous analysis of relevant documents. The findings reveal that socially, the ‘Negede Weyto’ face marginalisation and restrictions in societal interactions, local associations, and religious events due to stereotyped and prejudiced perceptions. Economically, the minority group encounters challenges such as land eviction, limited opportunities, and exclusion from the job market, exacerbated by perceived educational and competence deficiencies. Politically, the ‘Negede Weytos’ are marginalised from local governance, with limited participation in elections and decision-making processes. Consequently, the ‘Negede Weyto’ minority experiences detrimental effects on their psychological well-being due to the cumulative impact of enduring marginalisation.

CLIMATE‐JUST HOUSING: A Socio‐spatial Perspective on Climate Policy and Housing

AbstractFocusing on the nexus of climate and housing policy, this article analyzes the socio‐spatial consequences of urban climate mitigation policies and the resultant need to broaden the concept of climate justice. By using the example of energy retrofitting in a low‐income district in Kiel, Germany, the article examines cities’ dependence on real estate companies to reach low‐carbon goals in a privatized housing market and the (potential) need to provide incentives for investment. As the case study shows, this can lead to a highly sensitive confluence of climate policy, private real estate investment and neighborhood development policy, which leads to a higher financial burden as well as the potential displacement and further political marginalization of current tenants. In light of these results, the article argues for the application of a climate justice frame in analyses of urban climate policies that integrates housing justice with spatial justice. Specifically, it calls for the right to climate‐just housing; that is, for the right to affordable housing to be connected with the right to energy‐efficient housing in one's own neighborhood. This implies the right to information and to urban space as political space, which in turn means the politicization of the targets, strategies and, not least, spaces of urban climate policy.

The Unknown Gunmen and National Security in Nigeria

The study critically examines the notorious and anonymous armed group called the “Unknown gunmen” in relation to Nigeria’s national security. The study utilizes three sociological theories as tools of analysis in understanding the reasons for the emergence of this group, their motivations and consequences of their actions on national security as well as on the overall development of Nigeria. Consequently, the study reveals various reasons responsible for the emergence of this armed group, of which political marginalization and inequitable distribution of economic resources to sections of the Nigerian state, take preeminence. The study recommends, inter alia, the political inclusion of all component units in the Nigerian state as a way to foster a sense of belonging in Nigeria’s federal structure. Also, government policies at both the states and federal levels should address issues of unemployment and unequal distribution and access to economic resources of the nation among the citizenry. By this, we believe the monstrous problem of the unknown gunmen and its negative impacts on Nigeria’s national security would be drastically reduced if not eradicated.

Groundwater overdraft is water dispossession

The Coachella Valley sits at the geographic periphery of Los Angeles. Despite its physical and political marginality, the Coachella Valley is a key site of agricultural production in Southern California. Access to water is essential for ensuring the region's centrality in economic and social reproduction. Today, access to water for industrial production is primarily achieved through ongoing water dispossession. Using archival and policy documents, I analyze how United States settlers leveraged multiple mechanisms for water dispossession to expand the region's growth. Literature on water dispossession focuses on forms (water rights, grabbing, allocation, diversion, or contamination) that advance either settler colonialism or capitalism. This article demonstrates how successful white settlement in the Coachella Valley could only happen through Indigenous water dispossession. I identify an understudied form of water dispossession: groundwater overdraft. I illustrate that groundwater overdraft is not just a characteristic of early U.S. settler colonialism in the Coachella Valley; it is ongoing. In addition, the economic and environmental drawbacks to overdraft are resolved by expanding water dispossession. Analyzing groundwater overdraft as water dispossession, questions this premise. Illuminating the structural processes at play in water dispossession exposes the need to address dispossession, rather than simply overdraft, through both policy and cultural changes.

Community perception of climate events as a security issue: the case of Hatiya Island, Bangladesh

This study delves into the multifaceted dynamics linking climate change and conflict on Hatiya Island, Bangladesh. Examining perceptions and responses to climate-induced stress, insecurity and potential conflicts, our research draws insights from literature reviews and focus group discussions. Despite the heightened stress resulting from unpredictable climate events, islanders perceive recent improvements in food security. They continue to struggle with periodic shortages and inaccessible health care and education. Many are entrapped in a cycle of poverty, debt and political marginalisation, further compounded by exploitative economic relations, power dynamics and government policies that intensify grievances. Climate change impacts are not perceived locally as an (immediate) threat: other issues seem to have more priority. Our findings emphasise the importance of prioritising social and political dynamics, alongside structural constraints, in understanding the climate–conflict nexus. This should not be taken to mean that climate change is irrelevant, though, as it has an impact on the bedrock of long-term poverty and distress. This article was published open access under a CC BY licence: https://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0 .

Excluding through inclusion: managerial practices in the era of multistakeholder governance

Managerial practices underpin most global policy agendas. Existing research shows how these practices have reshaped the public sector, facilitated the marketization of problems, and altered organizational structures. This article highlights that managerial practices are also a central driver of political marginalization. When incorporated into multistakeholder processes, managerial practices engender two exclusionary processes: the accommodation of dissent and the uniformization of political subjects. They do so by making consensus an organizational goal and by treating politics as a marketplace. Through an examination of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, the article shows how, within multistakeholder models, managerialism sidelines critical voices by invoking ideals of openness, spontaneity, and the absence of rule, rather than traditional principles of ‘command and control’. Additionally, it unpacks the novel roles assumed by private consultancy firms, which are nowadays not only tasked with implementing weighty bureaucratic reforms but are also increasingly involved in ‘optimizing’ political struggles and shaping debates on how societies ought to be governed.

ASSESSMENT OF PUBLIC PERCEPTION ON THE CAUSES OF ACTS OF TERRORISM IN JOS NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

Nowadays, terrorism is one of the biggest problems confronting the world. Terrorism and insecurity pose significant global concerns and Nigeria has been bedeviled by a number of security challenges, the most prominent being that of Boko Haram. Worldwide, terrorism continues to become more concentrated, with 57 countries reporting a terror attack in 2022, compared to 59 in 2021 and 74 in 2015 when terrorism reached its peak. Terrorism was most concentrated in the Sahel region of sub-Saharan Africa, where 65 per cent of attacks in the region took place in the ten countries in the region. In Nigeria, the impact of terrorism, however, witnessed a temporal decline; with total deaths falling by 23 per cent, decreasing from 497 in 2021 to 385 in 2022.This study assessed public perception on the causes of acts of terrorism in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. In Jos North, a combination of factors-economic, political and identity - has instigated violence over the years, producing segregation in the city mainly along ethnic lines. The sample for this study is made up of four hundred and twenty (420) respondents drawn from a total population of 917,000, using a combination of probability and non-probability sampling techniques. The study sample was determined using the sample size determination table by Krejcie and Morgan. The survey gathered responses from 403 out of 420, with a response rate of 96%. Data were analyzed through the use of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 29. The study was guided by the social structure and anomie theory. It was found from this study that respondents attributed the causes of acts of terrorism in the study area to political marginalization, injustice, poverty, unemployment, and negative religious teaching. The consequences of terrorism are significant and have wide-ranging impacts on the community by way of economic and social disruption. In light of the above findings, the study recommends the need to address political marginalization through inclusive governance, tackling injustice through fair legal systems, implementing policies to mitigate poverty, reduce unemployment and promote positive teachings to counteract negative influences. Additionally, there is the need to encourage community engagement and education, to mitigate the root causes of terrorism.

Introduction

With the establishment of communism in Eastern Europe, the churches found themselves in a precarious situation after the traumatic experiences of the Second World War. The churches were challenged to coexist with autocratic regimes. Institutionally weakened by the attempts of political power to limit their autonomy, the churches were confronted with the overthrow of the socio-political order by the Soviet-backed installation of communist regimes. The Soviet model of the communisation of societies was also adopted by the regimes loyal to Moscow in terms of religious policy, which for most churches, it meant public and political marginalisation in exchange for limited autonomy. Thus, the regimes’ religious policies, which were not aimed at the total elimination of religious life and, implicitly, of the churches, included a range of practices and instruments that involved institutional control, informational surveillance and political repression. A special case was the Greek Catholic Church, which was abolished and its clergy and bishops repressed. These methodological premises served as the basis for organising the international conference “Churches and Political Power During Communism. Individual Biographies and Institutional Mechanisms”, which brought together leading scholars from Poland, Hungary, the Republic of Moldova and Romania in Alba Iulia from 21 to 23 September 2023. This academic meeting resulted in the publication of the present volume, which includes the most representative contributions. This volume is the result of a collaboration between the LIT publishing house and Annales Universitatis Apulensis (Alba Iulia), which publishes the volume as a special issue of this journal.

Understanding complex causes of suicidal behaviour among graduates in Bangladesh

This study utilizes both fieldwork and desk-based discourse analysis of newspaper reports to investigate the concerning number of suicides among graduates in Bangladesh. According to some reports, a majority of suicide cases involve young adults who are either currently studying at university or have recently completed their degree (between the ages of 20 and 32). This research contends that patriarchal social expectations in Bangladesh place significant pressure on young adults to secure well-paying jobs to support their families and uphold their family’s status, which can have a negative impact on their mental health. Furthermore, this article identifies additional risk factors that contribute to the high suicide rates among graduates in Bangladesh. These factors include unemployment, poverty, relationship problems, drug addiction, political marginalization, and the stigma of shame, all of which can cause low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. Moreover, the research suggests that families in Bangladesh have not been providing adequate support to their young members when facing challenges in life. On the contrary, families have added to the pressure on young adults, which can be attributed to joiner’s theory of the effect of industrialization on family norms and values.

Judiciary: The Protector of the Tribal Rights

Since its emergence after independence, the judiciary has played the role of protector of the Constitution. The framers of the Constitution have also made provision for the judiciary to discharge this role through various writs under Articles 32 and 226. To protect, promote and preserve the rights of the tribal communities various provisions are enacted in the Indian Constitution. The development of tools like Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by the judiciary in the late 70s has significantly contributed to the protection of public interests. In protecting the constitutional and fundamental rights of the helpless, deprived and displaced tribals, the judiciary has interpreted the constitution's right to equality under Article 14-18, right to liberty and livelihood under Article 19, right to life under Article 21, right to religious freedom under Article 25-28 etc. according to the times and circumstances. Through judicial activism and public interest litigation, the judiciary has provided justice to all the underprivileged, exploited, victims and poor of the country who did not have access to the courts. According to the 2011 census, there are about 8% tribal communities in the country. This community is not only uneducated but also an economically weaker section of the society. Most importantly, this tribal community is also the most affected by liberalisation and developmental works. Governments not only displace this community to exploit natural resources but in many cases neglect to allocate compensation. There are many cases where even after decades, the work of rehabilitation and resettlement has not been completed. In such cases, it is only due to the intervention of the judiciary that the deprived and displaced people can get justice. In many cases, after the decision of the judiciary, the development projects have been stopped and the rehabilitation works of the displaced people have been completed. Due to the socio-economic, cultural and political marginalisation of the tribal communities, the Judiciary has adopted a positive approach towards these people while delivering the judgement according to the provisions made in the constitution. In this research paper, I will look into the cases related to the tribals with non-tribals, civil society organisations, the state which are called in the context while dealing with the tensions and conflicts by the judiciary in its judgements in the tribal areas.

Repressing the Voice, Increasing the Noise: The Imperative for Negotiation as a Panacea to Security Crisis in the South East, Nigeria (PART I)

This article is divided into two parts: Part I and II. This part I discusses the provenance of insecurity in Nigeria, the theories explaining its emergence and the birth of militant groups in the region. Though there is no part of Nigeria that is immune to infectious insecurity, the case of South East is more worrisome. The security crisis in the region has been worsened by the intractable and complex secessionist agitation that started immediately after Nigeria’s independence. Common theories for explaining the situation have been long-term political marginalization of the region, state fragility to manage diversities and bad governance from the Igbo political elites. The conclusion of this part, therefore, is that insecurity in the South East Nigeria can be analyzed from these theories.

Local studies provide a global perspective of the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples and local communities

Indigenous Peoples and local communities with nature-dependent livelihoods are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts, but their experience, knowledge and needs receive inadequate attention in climate research and policy. Here, we discuss three key findings of a collaborative research consortium arising from the Local Indicators of Climate Change Impacts project. First, reports of environmental change by Indigenous Peoples and local communities provide holistic, relational, placed-based, culturally-grounded and multi-causal understandings of change, largely focused on processes and elements that are relevant to local livelihoods and cultures. These reports demonstrate that the impacts of climate change intersect with and exacerbate historical effects of socioeconomic and political marginalization. Second, drawing on rich bodies of inter-generational knowledge, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have developed context-specific responses to environmental change grounded in local resources and strategies that often absorb the impacts of multiple drivers of change. Indigenous Peoples and local communities adjust in diverse ways to impacts on their livelihoods, but the adoption of responses often comes at a significant cost due to economic, political, and socio-cultural barriers operating at societal, community, household, and individual levels. Finally, divergent understandings of change challenge generalizations in research examining the human dimensions of climate change. Evidence from Indigenous and local knowledge systems is context-dependent and not always aligned with scientific evidence. Exploring divergent understandings of the concept of change derived from different knowledge systems can yield new insights which may help prioritize research and policy actions to address local needs and priorities.

Perilous Journeys Across the Sea in Search of Prosperity: Causes of Illegal Migration from Sri Lanka and Present Trends (A Case Study of Illegal Immigration to Australia

Illegal migration is a vexing contemporary issue for the countries from which these illegal travelers originate as well as the destination countries where they hope to settle. Therefore, countries now struggle to curb illegal migration across the world. After the end of the civil war in 2009, the favorite destination of Sri Lankans planning to migrate illegally has turned out to be Australia. Attempts by people from Sri Lanka to travel to Australia illegally have turned out to be a veritable phenomenon in recent years. This is mainly attributed to certain causes and trends that have prompted people to make attempts to reach Australia illegally. The research problem of this study is to figure out why people try to migrate to Australia by illegal means. The main objective of this study is to propose a feasible solution to mitigate the negative impacts of illegal migration to Australia. To answer these questions, this study has used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. In addition to the secondary data collected from written sources, 10 case studies were undertaken, in which in-depth interviews were carried out using open-ended and unstructured questions. Discourse analysis and phenomenological data analysis tools were used to analyze the data. Findings of the research showed that a variety of causes, such as poor economic prospects, social problems, and political marginalization, were responsible for the increasing trend towards illegal migration to other countries. This study also found a paradigm shift in the illegal migration of Sri Lankans from Australia to New Zealand.

ההבניה הקהילתית של קריית הבבא סאלי בנתיבות

Studies that have focused on the expanding phenomenon of the popular veneration of holy leaders in Israel in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, have indicated the various factors at its core: the unique ethnic tradition of believers, the underlying historical-political currents, and class struggles for dominance-hegemony at an international level. In this study, which centers on a distinct and popular site – Kiryat Baba Sali in Netivot – I will turn the spotlight on additional influence factors: 1. Urban political culture; 2. Spontaneous, bottom-up development of heritage communities; 3. Initiatives by higher-ups in the government and business world. Results show that all actors in the abovementioned categories (most of whom born and grew up in a specific area in Morocco) share separate spatial cells and yet all work in synergy and orbit the same shared circle – the legacy of the Abuhatzeira family. Unlike the central theme of the studies that were held at that time, which attributed the veneration of holy leaders with underprivileged believers, in this case, the actors come from the top of the political, civil, and business worlds, whether national or local. Moreover, in contrast to traditional explanations that emphasized the power relations, status, ethnicity, and geographic and political marginality as the foundations of this phenomenon, this study will expose (through a biographic-interpretive examination) a different, more 'human', source of influence: values, collective memory, identity, sentiments, childhood experiences, reflexivity, tradition, family. The human factor caused internal combustion and brought about a mobilization that is very much voluntary-authentic, toward the renewal and restoration of the heritage.

The Intersection of Sustainable Development and Ethno-Religious Conflict in Nigeria

Nigeria is now facing the complex issue of ethno-religious conflicts, which have significantly affected its socio-economic structure. This study investigates these conflicts' multifaceted and intricate impacts on Nigeria's pursuit of sustainable development. This research examines the historical context, economic disruptions, educational barriers, and political ramifications of ethno-religious contests. The examination explores prominent ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria, including the Jos Crisis, the Boko Haram Insurgency, the Kaduna Religious Crisis, and the tensions in the Middle Belt region. The study highlights many reasons that contribute to the intensification of these conflicts, including religious extremism, economic inequality, and political marginalisation. In addition, the article examines the core principles of sustainable development and the consequences of ethno-religious conflicts on environmental sustainability, social advancement, governance, humanitarian crises, economic activities, population displacement, and infrastructure devastation. Utilising conflict resolution strategies, such as interfaith dialogue, inclusive policies, community engagement, security sector reform, good governance, economic diversification, and investment in education, is recommended to mitigate the negative impacts of ethnoreligious conflicts on attaining sustainable development. The report emphasises the need to address the root issues and implement proactive methods to create a sustainable and harmonious future in Nigeria.