Political Side Research Articles

Two worlds, one nation? Comparing the political spaces of Flanders and Francophone Belgium

Abstract The transformation of the Belgian party system has unfolded asymmetrically: while conservative and far-right parties have thrived in Flanders, the populist right vote has not (yet) been mobilized in Francophone Belgium. Focusing on the demand side of electoral politics, this article explores whether these disparities on the supply side mirror distinct political dimensions and cleavages in both regions. By using an innovative methodology of (class-specific) multiple correspondence analysis, we find that the Flemish and the Francophone political space are largely alike – both in terms of the composition of their political dimensions as in their cleavage structure. However, we also find that Francophones adhere to a distinctive welfare consensus, which prevents working-class embourgeoisement and likely moderates the electoral fortunes of the far right. Overall, our results challenge the common stereotypes of a ‘conservative Flanders’ and a ‘progressive Wallonia’.

Public debate about the model change in Hungarian higher education: The representation of radical changes in university governance in Hungary in politically opposing online newspapers between 2019 and 2021

The Hungarian higher education (HE) system went through a transformation, the so-called “model change” in the last years. During this process, the majority of public HE institutions were transformed into institutions maintained by private foundations. This paper focuses on the media representation of this transformation by analysing all relevant articles about the transformation (169 in total), published between 2019 and 2021 from two of the most active online journals on the topic representing the main opposite political sides (mno.hu and hvg.hu). Our analysis reveals the main actors as well as the arguments for and against the model change. The media representation in the Hungarian context is particularly important because there was not any governmental White Paper about the process. Therefore, Hungarian media served as the primary source of information to the public about the goals (and later the critiques) of the model change. However, the inner structures of the pros and cons expose how the two sides talk at cross-purposes, with minimal reactions to the arguments of the ‘other side’. This resulted in „monologizing” instead of any real dialogue.

When politics trumps truth: Political concordance versus veracity as a determinant of believing, sharing, and recalling the news.

Resistance to truth and susceptibility to falsehood threaten democracies around the globe. The present research assesses the magnitude, manifestations, and predictors of these phenomena, while addressing methodological concerns in past research. We conducted a preregistered study with a split-sample design (discovery sample N = 630, validation sample N = 1,100) of U.S. Census-matched online adults. Proponents and opponents of 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump were presented with fake and real political headlines ahead of the election. The political concordance of the headlines determined participants' belief in and intention to share news more than the truth of the headlines. This "concordance-over-truth" bias persisted across education levels, analytic reasoning ability, and partisan groups, with some evidence of a stronger effect among Trump supporters. Resistance to true news was stronger than susceptibility to fake news. The most robust predictors of the bias were participants' belief in the relative objectivity of their political side, extreme views about Trump, and the extent of their one-sided media consumption. Interestingly, participants stronger in analytic reasoning, measured with the Cognitive Reflection Task, were more accurate in discerning real from fake headlines when accurate conclusions aligned with their ideology. Finally, participants remembered fake headlines more than real ones regardless of the political concordance of the news story. Discussion explores why the concordance-over-truth bias observed in our study is more pronounced than previous research suggests, and examines its causes, consequences, and potential remedies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

К вопросу о понятии национальной идентичности

Introduction. The article is devoted to the analysis of national identity as a socio-political phenomenon. The problem under study is the conceptual ambiguity of the content of the concept of «national identity», significant discrepancies in its interpretation. Theoretical analysis. The purpose of the work is to analyze the content of this concept and to study its essential features. The use of logical and critical methods in the analysis of the concept of «national identity» allows us to identify its important features and analyze its dual nature. The theoretical significance of the work consists in the conceptual analysis of the scientific concept of «national identity». Conclusion. The scientific novelty lies in the formation of the author’s interpretation of the concept of «national identity»: it is the result of achieving a stable relationship between a person and a national community, the acquisition of a set of signs that allow a person to realize his belonging to the ideals, norms and principles of the existence of the nation. The image of a collective «we» is being formed, supported by the institution of the state. The political side of national identity objectifies the properties of the nation as a collective «we». The dual nature of national identity includes a combination of the activity of state institutions and the free, active nature of a man as a citizen. The presented understanding of national identity can be used in the process of formation and practical implementation of the state identity policy.

The Political Side of Social Enterprises: A Phenomenon‐Based Study of Sociocultural and Policy Advocacy

AbstractThis study explores the often‐overlooked political dimension of social enterprises, particularly their advocacy activities aimed at influencing public policy, legislation, norms, attitudes, and behaviour. While traditional management research has focused on commercial activity and the beneficiary‐oriented aspects of social enterprises, this paper considers their upstream political activity. Using a phenomenon‐based approach, we analyse original survey data from 718 social enterprises across seven countries and six problem domains to identify factors associated with their engagement in advocacy. Our findings reveal that public spending and competition in social enterprises’ problem domains, as well as their governance choices – legal form, sources of income, and collaborations – are significantly associated with advocacy activities. We propose a new theoretical framework to understand these dynamics, positioning social enterprises as key players in markets for public purpose. This research underscores the importance of recognizing the political activities of social enterprises and offers new insights for studying hybrid organizing and organizations that address complex societal challenges. By highlighting the integral role of advocacy, our study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of how social enterprises drive social change, not only through direct service provision but also by shaping the broader sociopolitical environment.

The other side of platform politics. Law‐making and online participatory democracy in the Five Star Movement

AbstractBetween 2013 and 2021, the Italian Five Star Movement implemented an advanced tool, Lex Eletti, to enhance citizens' online participation in law‐making. Elected representatives had to present their draft bills on the party's platform before introducing them in Parliament, allowing ordinary party members to discuss them and suggest modifications. This paper investigates the impact of the Lex Eletti platform on participatory democracy in law‐making using text analysis and sentence embeddings to compare draft bills and their parliamentary counterparts. Our analysis of a comprehensive dataset, also including statistics about MPs' and party members' online interactions and MPs' legislative activity in Parliament, reveals that the platform had minimal impact: only a few MPs engaged with it, and user attention for bills on Lex Eletti decreased over time. Interaction between platform users and MPs was also limited. Most bills reached Parliament with little to no modifications, irrespective of platform engagement levels. The Five Star Movement's attempt to foster democratic participation through this platform did not significantly affect law‐making activity.

The catholic society facing the delegated decrees

The law 477/1973 was approved in a moment in which the Italian catholic society was facing a hard inner crisis, emerged in the post-Council season: the Catholic Action, the Italian catholic laity biggest aggregation, suffered a drastic drop in affiliations and its choice to give up the political side mobilisation was subject of incomprehensions and conflicts, that divided catholic people into tendencies, both expressions of different ways to live their faith witness and of different political positions. The collegial boards elections made evident these cleavages also in school.

THE POLICY OF GOOD KING AND THE POLICY OF THE GREAT BY IBN RUSHUD (AL-THARWRY FI AL-SIYASA)(D595/1198)

Abu Al- Walid Muhammad Ibn Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Rushusd Al- Andalusy, known IbnRushud Al-Hafid(grandson) was a famous muslim philosopher in Al-Andalus with his special thoughts specificaly the political sides, he was born in (520/1126) and learned many science in(jurisprudence, medicin, mathematics and astronomy) , he wrote books like (Tahafut Al-Tahafut, Fasil Al Maqal Fima ben Al Hikma WalShariya Min Alitisal). Some people wonders from those who spending their times in reading and studying history or ancient history like the past of some nations and its political life as its over and no worthless in these kind of studies while it’s a real treasure helps to know and understand your present more clearly by applying the researchers with more specific information like Ibn Rushud s book(Al-Tharwry Fi Alsyasa) which its first print was in 1988 in Beruit and completed its copy by the Moroccan Author(Muhammad Hamid Al-Jabiry), it was pretty famous in the end of the sixth century till now, Ibn Rushud used mental analyze and proves in this book and approved cure for political issue by showing the political diversity and its terms for equal and justice with peoples. Its reflecting the improving in political history of the nations which spread in Europe with some scientific debate till now cause his thoughts was for some societies which lead them to translated to their language

Distinct But Not Separate: Rethinking Maritain’s Distinction of Planes to Recover his Democratic Potential

Few Catholic theologians wielded as much influence over the Twentieth-Century Catholic Church as Jacques Maritain. Furthermore, few have stirred as much global controversy in the realm of theological politics (especially in the area of global affairs). Considered treasonous by Latin American conservatives and impractical by those arguing for a politically active church, Maritain’s work touts a contemplative moderation that frustrates all political sides. Maritain’s canon daunts even the best readers and often breeds practical misinterpretation of his own philosophy. Using primary sources from Argentina and Brazil, this article reexamines Maritain’s distinction of the spiritual and worldly planes and its application of Maritain’s political thought during both the Spanish Civil War period and Brazil’s 21-year dictatorship (1964-1986). It thereby pushes back on longstanding theological critiques of this distinction. Far from advocating a church aloof from the political sphere, Maritain advocated for a vigorous engagement with it while maintaining the church’s spiritual integrity.

The Norwegian Medical Association’s unilateral condemnation of Israel – choice of a political side

The Norwegian Medical Association’s unilateral condemnation of Israel – choice of a political side

Introduction to the Triple Special Issue “The Emotional Side of Populist Support: Key Affective Mechanisms at Test”

Although research on populism has gained traction as an established field of inquiry, its affective underpinnings remain a puzzle. A relatively underexplored area of study, now garnering attention, is the intricate relationship between populism and emotions. This Triple Special Issue focuses on the demand side of populist politics, delving into populist attitudes and the role emotions play in their activation. Articles in this collection address three overarching research questions, which we explore in this Introduction: What are the primary emotional drivers of populist attitudes? Which emotions are evoked in audiences by populist communication and framing? What is the significance of exploring complex emotions and moving beyond “thin ideology” in the study of emotions and populism? In this Introduction, we assess the current state of the art and highlight the contributions of our collection to ongoing theoretical and empirical debates.

Growth models and social blocs: Taking Gramsci seriously

While the recent extension of the Growth Models perspective to advanced peripheral economies is a laudable endeavor, we argue that the utilization of the social bloc concept needs conceptual refining. We contribute to this debate by drawing explicitly on the writings of Antonio Gramsci. First, we demonstrate that Gramsci differentiated between different forms of state-society complexes in peripheral countries vis-à-vis Western core countries. From a Gramscian perspective, therefore, one might need very different analytical instruments when dealing with the political side of growth models in advanced peripheral economies. Secondly, the widely used notion of intellectual hegemony in civil society—very often associated with Gramsci—refers to the state-society complexes of established capitalist countries and may not necessarily be applied with the same analytical currency in more statist state-society complexes. Our analysis of a variety of Gramscian concepts, which are often overlooked, contributes not only to the study of advanced peripheral economies from a growth model perspective but also to the study of the politics of growth models in general.

Indonesian Political Populism in the Agrarian Sector

This article seeks to understand the role of populist ideology in marginalizing the agrarian sector and the agrarian populism movement in Indonesia in the Reformation Era. Indonesia is an agricultural country, so such marginalization and the limited involvement of the agrarian movement is ironic. Development studies see the marginalization of the agrarian sector as a consequence of the reorientation of economic development towards the industrial and service sectors, mostly in urban areas. Studies like this often do not look at the political side of the marginalization. This study aims to fill this gap by analyzing the phenomenon in Indonesia utilizing Margaret Canovan’s populist approach. The findings show the influence of political populism on the marginalization of the agrarian sector in the reformation era in Indonesia. Pragmatic, populist leaders exploited ‘the people’ as a political rhetorical tool to gain power without touching the agricultural sector where ‘the people’ reside.

ХАЛЫҚАРАЛЫҚ МЕДИАЦИЯНЫ ЗЕРТТЕУДІҢ КЕЙБІР АСПЕКТІЛЕРІ

Geopolitical changes and growing conflicts in the 21st century are of particular concern to the entire world community. After the end of World War II, European countries found it impossible to endanger the national sovereignty and security of the continent. Against the background of growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, we wonder if any country can become a mediator and whether this will be able to stop the bloodshed. Today, the conflict in Ukraine has shown all the vulnerable sides of international law and world politics in general. Most attempts by third countries to play the role of mediator between rival parties have failed in practice. Traditional mediators on behalf of Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom are becoming indirect participants in the conflict, and their possible mediation role is being questioned. Today, Ukraine is trying to convene a wide-ranging conference around the world without inviting the other side of the conflict in Russia. Most of the so-called countries of the global South either do not actively participate or refuse to go to Switzerland at all. The crisis of mediation is the core of the modern world. In this regard, disputes are growing around the idea and theory of mediation. The purpose of this article is to analyze some aspects of mediation in the modern world.

Exploring Autoethnographic and Arts-Based Approaches to Planetary Health: Honoring Diversity through Creativity, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Loving Relationships

The complexity of contemporary global challenges concerning biosocial–political wellbeing comprises humanity’s actions on many scales. Planetary Health and One Health are examples of broad fields emerging in the last decade to address these complexities. Scientific research has been focusing mainly on the biological aspect of the problem, and the role of indigenous knowledge systems (IKS) as drivers of change in Planetary Health is poorly explored. Transdisciplinary approaches are needed, and, thus, it is essential to highlight the social–political side of this reality by integrating social sciences and humanities in these research communities. The Africa Community of Planetary Partners for Health and Environment (ACOPPHE), through its Art and Indigenous action team, seeks to explore this integration by interrogating and engaging in research using self-study methodologies and arts-based research methods. In traditional scientific research, it is common practice that the researcher is positioned outside of their research. The results are expected to offer complex scientific answers that are often not useful for communities in need of solutions. Frequently, the arts have not received sufficient exploration as a means for research. Another aspect of this problem is that the indigenous peoples of many places in the world have often had their knowledge of human and planet health marginalized because it was practice-based and passed down through the embodiment of knowledge and not through modern-day written knowledge. Autoethnographic and arts-based methodologies have great potential here in bridging the communication between the scientific world and the lived experience of the communities through their cultural and traditional practices. They make room for intersectionality, as well as making the knowledge from research findings valuable and explicit to the layman. Self-study methodologies offer the space for sharing lived experiences, critical dialogue, and possible solutions for the biosocial and political issues that our world faces today.

Public-private partnership in the Russian Federation at the present stage: Trends and problems of development

Aim. To generalize the trends and problems of public-private partnership (PPP) development in the Russian Federation (RF) at the present stage.Objectives. To perform a brief review of the history of PPP development in Russia; to disclose the essence of theoretical provisions regarding the features and principles of PPP; to analyze the data characterizing the development of PPP in 2018–2022 in terms of the number and types of projects, the amount of financing raised, the levels of their implementation (federal, regional, municipal); to study the features of the implementation of the concept of “PPP for the benefit of people” in modern Russian practice.Methods. With the help of general methods of scientific cognition in various aspects, the authors have considered the features, trends and problems of PPP development in Russia, characteristic of the current state, as well as determined the general directions of their solution.Results. PPP is a modern method of attracting private capital to solve socio-economic problems of development of industries and territories. Its features are revealed through economic, social, financial, legal, managerial, political sides. The actual set of principles includes expediency, efficiency, legality, priority of public interests, responsibility of the parties to obligations, information transparency. The world practice has accumulated experience in the use of various PPP projects. The modern trend is the inclusion of sustainable development goals in the PPP development concept, which significantly modernizes approaches to the selection of PPP projects. The main trends of PPP development in Russia include the predominance of PPP projects implemented by type (concession agreements), number (municipal level projects), financing volumes (regional level projects), specific financial capacity (federal level projects); expansion of the range of sectors, objects, introduction of new measures, tools and mechanisms for the development and modernization of social infrastructure, ensuring technological sovereignty. The multiplicity of problems of PPP development in Russia is caused by legal, macroeconomic, personnel, political, managerial factors, which determines the need for continuous improvement of organizational, legal, financial and economic mechanisms.Conclusions. The study of trends and problems of PPP development in Russia allows not only to identify the national specifics of attracting private capital to solve problems of socio-economic development, but also to identify ways, directions of improving the welfare of the population, the growth of competitiveness of individual territories on the basis of a fuller use of entrepreneurial potential of regions.

Electoral Messiah or Party Label? Quantifying and Investigating Leader-Party Relationships in German Federal Elections 1998–2021

While the personalization of politics thesis has received support when exploring the supply side of politics and the media's coverage of elections and campaigns, the unmediated impact of leaders on vote choice (demand-side behavioral personalization) is debated. Most scholars agree that leaders can and do influence the vote, but the extent, circumstances, and pathways for this to occur, notably distinct from voter assessments of the party, remains contested. Using data from the German Longitudinal Election Study (GLES) and the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems (CSES), we explore demand-side behavioral personalization in German Federal elections between 1998–2021, with a particular focus on the 2021 contest, where leadership was arguably an especially salient feature of the campaign. We offer a quantification of the phenomenon – first in the form of a vote-leader/party favorite alignment index and second by separating the impact of leader and party popularity on the vote in the 2021 contest, including provision for temporal and reciprocal dynamics. In doing so, we comprehensively examine leader-inclined voting while testing whether the 2021 contest represented a “Crossroads” contest on this dimension. Our results show leaders directly influenced vote choice in 2021, support for leader-inclined voting. Nevertheless, we find little evidence that 2021 marked a “Crossroads,” with few voters aligning their vote solely with their favorite leader, a pattern detected in all German elections between 1998 and 2021. Conspicuously, substantially more voters report aligning their vote with their favorite party. Further, our analysis illustrates that the association between leader popularity and the vote mostly trails the impact of party popularity’s connection with the vote. These results align more with the leaders minimalist school of demand-side behavioral personalization.

The Rekindling of the Clash of Civilizations A Debate on Immigration Policy Standing

Supposedly, migrants migrate to a host nation and would become a member of the host nation as they acquire citizenship or residency in the host nation. There shall be no distinction between migrant citizens and non-migrant citizens in the host nations, as they share the same rights and civil responsibilities. Migrant citizens and non-migrant citizens would blend together into the community and society. However, the reality is that migration becomes a social issue as there are debates between political sides in host nations and conflicts between migrants and non-migrants. In order to explore solutions to migration conflicts, this research aims to analyze Huntingtons Clash of Civilizations theory in an immigration setting to argue why a more thoughtful immigration approach based on the culture of the host and guest is suitable in the current world setting, instead of a liberal approach like Derridas cosmopolitanism, and how to execute a thoughtful immigration approach.

Arab Sunni-Wahhâbism and Shia Iran: From Sectarian Conflict, to the Domination of the Gulf Region

Discussions regarding the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East have always been framed as a sectarian conflict between Sunni-Wahhābism and Shia. The study data presented in this article provide a distinct, exhaustive empirical picture. This study aims to present a conceptual framework for the relationship between religious theology in Islam (Sunni Wahhābi and Shia-ism) and the competitive conflict in the Gulf region, the struggle for dominance in the Middle East region, as a variable for the protracted conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and to predict the future of relations between the two countries following the foreign policy of Muhammad bin Salman. A review of the discussion employing an inductive library research methodology. To generalize a deviation from purely accidental phenomena. In order to analyze this topic in greater depth, the author borrows theory from Max Weber regarding the protestant ethic and spirit of capitalism by placing religion as a belief system and state conflict as a structure of social group action. This study's findings assume that the issue of Sunni-Shia sectarianism is religious propaganda used to win the hegemonic competition in the struggle for territory and dominance in the Gulf region of the Middle East. Before the reign of Muhammad bin Salman, this condition had not changed substantially. In Weber's framework, there has been a distinction known as "ethical inter-minism" between two ethics. On the one hand, the structure of moral ethics is founded on the moral values of Sunni and Shia Islam. But on the political side, moral responsibility confronts the obligation to maintain the disintegration of the nation and state, which is a means to wage war.

Exoneration clause as limitation of criminal liability in digital business in Indonesia

Digital business in Indonesia is developing very rapidly, many new business actors have emerged with various types of businesses. The development of this digital business cannot be separated from the condition of society as a market, where it is recorded that the majority of Indonesian people are active internet users. The frame of the legal relationship between business actors and the community with a position as a consumer is based on an agreement in which exoneration clauses are commonly found. Given the condition of the Indonesian people with a low level of literacy, the existence of the agreement clause is less scrutinized or not properly understood. On the other hand, many business actors are of the view that the existence of this clause has caused their position to become superior. So that it can ignore all objections raised by consumers, and even avoid criminal liability. The exoneration clause is the cause, so this legal research explores whether the exoneration clause can indeed limit digital business actors in Indonesia from criminal liability. The method used is the Statute Approach, which explores related laws and regulations. However, the depth of this research which is supported by the expertise of each researcher also reveals the Anthropological, Social, and Political sides. The results of the study show that the exoneration clause does not absolutely provide limitations on criminal liability for business actors or digital businesses.