Political Pressure Research Articles

The main stages in the development of Western European diplomacy in the early Modern period

The author relies on the thesis that the main factor in the development of Western European diplomacy in the early Modern period was the emergence and formation of the resident diplomacy. The article proposes a periodization of the development of diplomacy, based on an understanding of the development of Western European diplomacy in the 15th –16th centuries in the context of the transformation of the medieval socio-political model.Under the conditions of permanent internal and external political pressure, the medieval hierarchical model of the socio-political structure did not fulfill the function of legitimizing the new regimes on the Apennine peninsula. The peace of Lodi in 1454 consolidated the heterarchical or polycentric model of the socio-political structure, which assumed mutual recognition of the subjects of interstate relations as a source of legitimacy.In the second half of the 15th century this model, based on a network of stable diplomatic relations, was adopted by most of the major Italian states. Italian wars of 1494–1559 influenced the spread of the new style of diplomacy with its resident envoys to the leading states of Western Europe.Despite the crisis of the second half of the 16th century the model of a resident diplomatic representation has become the basic one in the European diplomacy of Modern age.

Less Livestock in North‐western Europe? Discourses and Drivers Behind Livestock Buyout Policies

SummaryDirect intervention in the size of livestock numbers is not considered a main option in European agri‐environmental policies nor in policy studies. Nevertheless, the governments of the Netherlands and Flanders (Belgium) have announced livestock buyout schemes. This article contributes to the scarce literature on this policy instrument by sketching the characteristics of different types of buyout schemes. We analyse how the issue of reducing livestock numbers is being framed in four EU Member States with high livestock dense regions: the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders), Denmark and Germany. While the debate on ‘technology versus volume’ can be observed in all four countries, the ‘nitrogen crises’ in the first two has led to a reframing of concerns over livestock numbers in relation to place‐based deterioration of habitats and the possibility of granting permits for new economic activities, rather than as a global issue of mitigating climate change. Pre‐existing institutional frameworks influence the introduction and design of new buyout policies. In the context of high political pressure, existing policies to close down farms were reinforced and nutrient emission rights systems offered the opportunity to take production rights out of the market. Notwithstanding the policies and available budgets, the issue of direct intervention to reduce livestock numbers remains controversial.

Resisting “Liberal Values”

During the previous decade (2012–2021), in Ukraine, political pressure from the European Union combined with the efforts of the local civil society resulted in the adoption of legislation to prevent and eliminate discrimination, protect women from domestic violence, and promote LGBT people’s rights. Nevertheless, these changes were met by the opposition from various conservative and religious groups that have, over time, become more sophisticated in their resistance strategies. The present article applies the concept of heteroactivism to examine the role of women within such groups in Ukraine. It argues that Ukrainian heteroactivism is a product of the “clash of values” largely influenced by the geopolitical position of Ukraine and its historical and cultural context. Studying the cases of the Sisterhood of St. Olga, the Association of Sexologists and Sexual Therapists of Ukraine (ASSU), and several prominent scholarly figures, the article identifies the mobilization frames these activists use, specifically, Women as Wives and Mothers, Protection of Family and Minors, and Religion (heteroactivism as martyrdom). This study shows that in attempts to influence national policymaking, Ukrainian women heteroactivists set rigid standards of “proper” Ukrainian femininity and the role of women (that of a mother and wife staying outside of politics) within a “proper” Ukrainian family, which must be heterosexual, Christian, and monogamous.

Some Economic Aspects of Sugar as a Strategic Commodity in Egypt

The research aims mainly to study Egyptian food security of sugar through studying of several sub-objectives represented in: estimating some economic indicators of sugar in Egypt during the period (2008- 2020), studying of the most important indicators of food security of sugar, estimating the size of the food gap of sugar and knowledge of the most important factors responsible for, and studying the policies and means to achieve food security of sugar in Egypt. Descriptive and quantitative analysis were used. The study depends on secondary data, which collected from local and foreign sources during the period (2008- 2020). The conduct study shows that the most important variables specific to the food gap of sugar are all from the local production of sugar and domestic consumption of sugar where it was found that the impact of each of these two variables on sugar gap be negative. The study showed that the strategic stock of sugar is estimated at 1.15 million tons and the average national consumption of sugar is estimated at 2.17 million tons during the study period (2008-2020) with an annual average during that period , therefore, coefficient of sugar food security estimated at about 0.37, therefore it requires to take various actions that would lead to increase the size of the sugar strategic stock to enough half of it needs for domestic consumption even come close to the value of coefficient of food security, from suitable coefficient of sugar food security. The study showed that the policies and means to achieve sugar food security include horizontal agricultural development policy, vertical agricultural development policy, the policy of rationalizing the consumption of sugar, policy of consumer subsidy of sugar, and the policy of diversifying sources of imported sugar. In the light of the results of the study illustrated by research it has been possible to reach some of the following recommendations: 1- It is necessary to intensify efforts to agricultural extension and agricultural research centers in collaboration with factories engineers and agriculture departments and supervisors agricultural awareness of the importance of agriculture resistance to pests and diseases that affect the crop, and help them get on pesticides is harmful to the environment to do so. 2- Increasing of sugar production through the expansion of sugar crops, particularly sugar beet to the lack of water needs compared to sugar cane harvest in the new land. 3- Increasing of sugar productivity crops through dissemination of sugar varieties of high productivity and to suit every center of administrative centers in Egypt. 4- Rationalizing the consumption of sugar during dismiss the size of the loss of sugar. 5- to achieve food security has to be the need to develop awareness programs for the application of planning policy breeds where it is one of the most important determinants of the demand for i Egyptian imports of sugar. 6- it is important to put a national strategy to increase the self-sufficiency ratio of sugar with the need to import and distribute the amounts of diversification between different sources in order to avoid what might happen from political pressure in favor of the Egyptian economy is in the case of international political conditions change. 7- It is necessary to study the reduction commitments of support granted to the production and export in the sugar-exporting countries in order to reduce the negative effects on the Egyptian Saving.

Doing primary care integration: a qualitative study of meso-level collaborative practices

BackgroundThe integration of Primary Care (PC) into broader health systems has been a goal in jurisdictions around the world. Efforts to achieve integration at the meso-level have drawn particular attention, but there are few actionable recommendations for how to enact a ‘pro-integration culture’ amongst government and PC governance bodies. This paper describes pragmatic integration activity undertaken by meso-level participants in Alberta, Canada, and suggests ways this activity may be generalizable to other health systems.Methods11 semi-structured interviews with nine key informants from meso-level organizations were selected from a larger qualitative study examining healthcare policy development and implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Selected interviews focused on participants’ experiences and efforts to ‘do’ integration as they responded to Alberta’s first wave of the Omicron variant in September 2021. An interpretive descriptive approach was used to identify repeating cycles in the integration context, and pragmatic integration activities.ResultsAs Omicron arrived in Alberta, integration and relations between meso-level PC and central health system participants were tense, but efforts to improve the situation were successfully made. In this context of cycling relationships, staffing changes made in reaction to exogenous shocks and political pressures were clear influences on integration. However, participants also engaged in specific behaviours that advanced a pro-integration culture. They did so by: signaling value through staffing and resource choices; speaking and enacting personal and group commitments to collaboration; persevering; and practicing bi-directional communication through formal and informal channels.ConclusionsAchieving PC integration involves not just the reactive work of responding to exogenous factors, but also the proactive work of enacting cultural, relationship, and communication behaviors. These behaviors may support integration regardless of the shocks, staff turnover, and relational freeze-thaw cycles experienced by any health system.

Informality as a safety net: civic agency and the crisis of local governments in Hungary

ABSTRACT Most research on post-socialist civil society has focused on analysing the characteristics that explain (the lack of) civic strength. Although recent research has highlighted the rise of urban activism, it has failed to look more closely at the agency of actors. By focusing on informal groups and their engagement in public affairs in the aftermath of the 2019 local elections in Hungary, this paper seeks to unravel the civic strategies and narratives that underpin informal civic resistance to political and institutional pressures at a time when both local municipalities and civil society are experiencing a gradual loss of autonomy.

РАЗВИТИЕ СЕЛЬСКОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА РОССИИ И НАПРАВЛЕНИЯ ПОВЫШЕНИЯ ЕГО КОНКУРЕНТОСПОСОБНОСТИ НА МЕЖДУНАРОДНОМ РЫНКЕ

The agriculture of the Russian Federation is an important part of the national economy, the basis for ensuring the country’s food security. The development of agriculture is influenced by both internal factors (climate, economy, labor resources, state support for the industry, etc.) and external factors (sanctions from unfriendly countries, world market prices, etc.). The importance of increasing the competitiveness of the Russian agricultural industry in the international market has increased with the launch of a special military operation in 2022, as it has faced new challenges. As a result of large-scale political pressure from unfriendly states, the country was cut off from imports of equipment, spare parts, technologies and seeds necessary for the agro-industrial sector, supply chains were disrupted, prices for imported goods increased, and problems arose with exports. Despite these difficulties, Russian agriculture, despite the decline in crop production, due to the growth of indicators in dairy and meat animal husbandry, shows a steady increase in total production. So, in comparison with 2017, the volume of milk production by 2021 increased by 7%, and meat of all types - by 10%. The level of self-sufficiency of the Russian Federation in 2021 exceeded the threshold levels of the Food Security Doctrine for the production of grain, sugar, meat and meat products; below the threshold level was the production of potatoes, milk and dairy products, vegetables and gourds, fruits and berries. Also, a positive moment in the development of the agricultural sector is the increase in the volume of exports of the industry’s products both in kind and in monetary terms, the structure of exports has improved, where there are more and more products of processed agricultural raw materials. However, at present, the sanctions of unfriendly countries have a negative impact on the development of agriculture in the Russian Federation and on its competitiveness in the international market. To solve the problems of the industry, it is necessary to strengthen state support for agricultural producers, aimed at increasing investment and innovation activity in the industry, developing import substitution (creating new industries) and ensuring food security.

Environment‐specific political risk mitigation: Political lobbying versus green innovation

AbstractGreater political pressure to improve corporate environmental performance and mitigate climate change impact leads firms to operate under greater political risk and uncertainty, affecting productivity and firm value. Using a panel of 3255 US firms from 2002 to 2020, this research tests the effectiveness of two environment‐specific political risk (EPR) mitigation approaches: political lobbying and green innovation. The results suggest that while both approaches mitigate EPR of the current year, only green innovation reduces future EPR. By mitigating EPR, green innovation increases firm value to a greater degree than political lobbying. This study also shows that political lobbying has a larger effect on EPR mitigation for the leaders than the laggards in green innovation. The results are robust to alternative specifications of green innovation, political lobbying and potential endogeneity concerns. Overall, this study supports the value‐enhancing role of green innovation as an effective political risk mitigation strategy.

When identity meets strategy: The development of British and German anti-torture policies since 9/11

Since 9/11, considerable research has been done on US interrogation and detention operations, but comparatively little is known about the involvement of other traditionally liberal states’ intelligence agencies and their evolving perspectives on torture-related policies for foreigners abroad. Particularly, the United Kingdom and Germany provide interesting cases; despite similar levels of public and political pressure regarding their indirect involvement in Central Intelligence Agency’s operations, the two states took different strategic decisions in 2010 on whether to implement new extraterritorial human rights safeguards. While the United Kingdom introduced a new intelligence guidance for interrogations overseas, the German government opted for policy-continuance, which raises the question why the two states embarked on different policy trajectories, even if they found themselves in contextually similar situations and were subjected to the comparable accountability measures. By bridging insights from Rationalist and normative literature, the article addresses this conundrum by clearly outlining the states’ differing strategic preferences, and by dissecting the multi-layered composition of these interests. As a result, the article delineates how strategic constraints pertaining to the states’ national, international, or political elite level affect decision-makers’ policy responses.

Political Barriers to Abortion Access in New Brunswick: A Qualitative Exploration of a Political Hot Potato

New Brunswick has been an outlier concerning abortion access for decades. In 2015, the Liberal government under Premier Brian Gallant made significant legislative changes to regulation 84–20 to make abortions more easily accessible in the province. Despite these changes, the Liberal government fell short of publicly funding community-based abortions outside hospitals. This qualitative study aimed to examine the political dynamic and pressures explaining why New Brunswick remains behind on abortion access compared to other Canadian provinces. From September until November 2020, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 22 participants. Participants were a mix of past and present politicians, health care leaders, and high-ranking public officials identified as key stakeholders in the abortion debate in New Brunswick. Some participants shared their challenges separating their personal views on abortions and admitted wanting to limit access to make it difficult for people to get an abortion. At the same time, other participants described concern for the most vulnerable segments of the New Brunswick population who may struggle with accessing abortions, leading to undue stress and anxiety levels. Ultimately, this article describes the challenges politicians face with power dynamics within their parties and the balance between managing political risks to maintain popularity within the New Brunswick electorate without infringing on people’s right to medical care.

(Why) Do Central Banks Care about Their Profits?

ABSTRACTWe document that central banks are discontinuously more likely to report slightly positive profits than slightly negative profits, especially when political pressure is greater, the public is more receptive to extreme political views, and central bank governors are eligible for reappointment. The propensity to report small profits over small losses is correlated with higher inflation and lower interest rates. We conclude that there are agency problems at central banks, which give rise to discontinuous profit incentives that correlate with central banks’ policy choices and outcomes. These findings inform the debate about the political economy of central banking and central bank design.

Policy Note: Mental Accounts and Water Prices

Raising the price of municipal water services is highly fraught in many countries due to the political pressures to keep water bills affordable. As a result, most countries fail to recover the full costs of water provision, a problem made worse by an underestimation of the real cost of providing water. The case of Singapore illustrates that this problem is in part due to “mental accounting,” which is consistent with Lasswell’s concept of an “intelligence function.” Situating an understanding of this intelligence function within the Singapore water case gives a better understanding of the reluctance to raise water prices.

Introduction: boom, crisis and politics of Swiss franc mortgages in Eastern Europe: comparing trajectories of dependent financialization of housing

This Special Feature is the first regional and holistic comparative study of Swiss franc (CHF) mortgages in Eastern Europe from the mid-2000s up to now. We examine this form of lending as a critical mechanism of the dependent financialization of housing in the region and look at its political and class-based repercussions in the four most significant national cases: Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Serbia. This introduction reviews and connects the so far largely separate threads of research on CHF lending (on its political economy, partisan and movement politics, and debtors’ experiences), summarizes the case studies, and draws out their key comparative insights. While lending waves originated in the same macrostructural relations and produced similar booms and crises, the management of the crises diverged significantly, depending on macroeconomic conditions, the projects of political elites, and debtors’ class background and modes of contestation. The two main openings for contestation were litigation and political pressure, with varied limitations and results across national contexts. While delivering some important achievements, the politics of debtors’ movements remained limited to a single-issue and legalistic contestation of specific predatory lending practices, which ultimately defended mortgaged homeownership from excessive financial predation. This reflects middle-class debtors’ position in the multi-scalar hierarchies of dependent financialization, and the fact that litigation was the main state infrastructure available for their contestation. We argue that more progressive reactions to housing financialization would require movement infrastructures that are able to address the multiple scales of dependent financialization, and forms of cross-class local organization that are able to pursue agendas beyond available state infrastructures.

From decolonisation to authoritarianism: the co-option of the decolonial agenda in higher education by right-wing nationalist elites in Russia and India

This article discusses how the critique of the monopoly of Western liberal thought through the decolonisation movement that was intended to increase the number of voices heard has been co-opted by nationalist politics in India and Russia. The debates in higher education in these countries reflect current key questions on the nature of the Indian and Russian nations—both under respective nationalist governments—where both are advocating a cutting off from Western modernity. Using Mignolo’s concept of “de-linking” that was intended to raise up non-Western ways of thinking, the article shows that India and Russia have adapted and simplified decolonial discourse to reject “Western-influenced” critiques of development, inequality, and authoritarianism. Under political pressure from these authoritarian regimes, universities have helped to embed repressive majoritarian politics through anti-Western rhetoric disguised as de-linking, enabling democratic backsliding by discrediting opposition. This is done to protect a new identity based upon state conceptions of traditional values, paradoxically erasing minority voices that do not fit neatly into the unified national narrative. When universities are branded as Western agents for being critical of local traditions and schools of thought, the space for critical thinking and democratic debate is ultimately removed, leaving those who oppose Putin and Modi with no safe way to engage with political discourse, and this actually undermines the intentions of decolonial philosophy.

Water for Life Versus Water for Development

At ancient times, when the population on planet Earth was scarce, there was little friction over water resources. This has changed over the past few decades with the exponential growth of population with no corresponding increase of water revenue from nature. Compounding the problem is the construction of dams on almost every river in the world. Dams are used to regulate water flow, store water for use in dry seasons, eliminate or moderate flood hazards, generate hydropower, or control navigation. Dams may also have negative side effects. Dams constructed on international trans-boundary rivers can be extremely controversial. International conventions regulate the exploitation of the water of trans-boundary rivers. There have been violations to these conventions. These violations were done in the name of development. The results were disastrous for downstream riparian countries. In addition to the socio-economic effects, environmental, political, and massive migratory pressures have also been observed. At issue is the question of survival versus development, and which one should have higher priority. Examples will be given of development projects constructed by Ethiopia on the Nile River, which impacted Sudan and Egypt, and of development projects constructed by Turkey on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which impacted Iraq and Syria.

Os comentários políticos comandam? O caso do Banco Central do Brasil

ABSTRACT This paper investigates whether political pressure affects the conduct of monetary policy in Brazil. For the period between January 2010 and August 2020, we estimate a modified Taylor rule to empirically test whether the calls for lower interest rates by presidents induce Central Bank of Brazil (BCB) to lower the policy rate. We document that BCB is more likely to set the policy rate in line with the preferences of political leaders. We also show that the response of BCB to political pressure remained significant even though political pressure diminished in recent years.

Can Institutional Reform Protect Election Certification?

After the 2020 presidential election, some state-level officials endorsed antidemocratic rhetoric, and a smaller faction took action against the election results. To fortify American democracy, safeguarding election certification from politically motivated interference is imperative. We explore the potential of nonpartisan certification of elections for mitigating antidemocratic actions, arguing that such a practice would shield the certification process from political pressures that might compel politicians to attempt election overturns. Through an original survey experiment on a nationally representative sample of Americans, we analyze how nonpartisan certification impacts elected officials’ public approval. The results indicate that our proposed reform is an incentive-compatible solution by which elites in government can maintain support without acting against the electoral process. Furthermore, we demonstrate that there is broad support among all segments of the public for empowering nonpartisan commissions to certify elections.

Strategies for Enhancing Governmental Public Health Workforce Well-being and Retention.

Strategies for Enhancing Governmental Public Health Workforce Well-being and Retention.

Colonial Policy of Russia and Samachablo

The political history of Samachablo (Didi Liakhvi Gorge) is closely related to the fight of the representatives of the Georgian Royal House and the feudal aristocracy against the Russian authorities that had become active since 1802. Although several members of the clan of the Machabeli feudal lords were in the service of the Russian government, their overall attitude was sharply anti-Russian. The Machabels took an active position in the actions against Russia’s colonial policy and fought in support of members of the Kartli-Kakheti Royal House. The rebellious Georgian princes tried to form a united front against the Russians. In the pursuit of the common goal of the Caucasians, they also relied on the support of the Ossetians, which were loyal to the Royal House. Georgian historical sources have retained a lot of information on the active relations of the Georgian kings with the Ossetians living in the North Caucasus, which often fought side by side with the Georgians during the invasions of foreign enemies. The Emperor’s Court of Russia exerted a political pressure on the small nations in the Caucasus region. Ossetians also could not escape the Russian aggression. The German traveller Güldenstädt narrates of the Ossetian population's confrontation with Russian troops that often resulted in casualties on the part of the Ossetians. The support from Ossetians for Georgia occupied by Russia soon became evident. Vakhtang Batonishvili, who rebelled in 1802, was actively assisted by Ossetians from Tagauri, because of which, Russian General Tuchkov imposed economic sanctions on the Ossetians. This meant that the Ossetians were prevented from importing grains from the lowland. This was, of course, a major blow to the Ossetians living in the mountains. In 1804, Governor-General Tsitsianov also tried to block the road for the Ossetians from Tagauri in order to prevent them from connecting further to Georgia. Russia had become a common enemy for the peoples living in the Caucasus. Therefore, the representatives of the Court of the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti tried to take mutual efforts against Russia. Georgian princes placed special hopes on the Ossetians, which were their historical allies.

Impact of administrative state capacity determinants on sustainable healthcare

Public administration implements government policies through prudent administrative practices and state capacity. Based on Asia's political and administrative proficiency and paradox, this study explores the administrative state capacity determinants—bureaucratic quality (BQ) and military in politics (MP)—and their interaction with sustainable public health quality (PHQ) in Asia from 2006 to 2020. With its focus on the scenario and Asian state administrative issues, Goal 04: Health and Well-being of Sustainable Development Goals has been the core aspect of state capacity and sustainable development. Applying the generalized method of moments (GMM) econometric estimation, the study finds that the high risk of poor BQ due to political pressures and policy inconsistency has significantly and negatively impacted PHQ in Asia. In contrast, by overtaking the administration, a high degree of MP and military dominancy has been a progressive force for PHQ in Asia. The interaction of BQ and MP negatively affects the state's social development due to conflict of interest and shredding policy outcomes. This is the first study that deals with the nexus between sustainable development and administrative state capacity determinants of Asia's public sector. The paper finds that an effective and prudent administrative collaboration and expertise-sharing between the bureaucracy and the military accelerates sustainable healthcare in Asia. Furthermore, the study believes that a healthy institutional collaboration will help overcome the development loopholes in Asia, promote PHQ, and accelerate regional development.