Political Space Research Articles

Autonomization in the management of the region of the Russian Empire on the example of the Caucasian territories in the second half of the XIX century

The article, primarily on the basis of legislation and archival materials, consistently examines the conditions, ideas, directions and means of autonomy in the management of the Caucasus region. Maintaining the stability of the unified political and legal space of the imperial state required the authorities to carry out systematic measures taking into account the socio-political and legal traditions of the local multi-ethnic population. The author analyzes various kinds of legislative acts regulating the features of the official status of the governor in the Caucasian territories of the Russian Empire. The military-people’s administration, the predominant role in the local administrative system of the Ministry of War led to the subordination of the administration of the region to a predominant extent directly to the emperor.

The Form and Character of Circulating Governing Elite in Nigeria: Past and Present

Abstract This paper is basically an application of the famous elite perspective to the Nigerian government and politics to test whether it is a theory that can be confirmed or infirmed. The observable phenomenon which is similar to virtually all regions and climes of the world is the emergence of very few people circulating in the political space over time. From pre-colonial, to colonial and post-colonial Nigerian state, a number of elites from diverse sectors of the society – the military, politicians, civil society, business tycoons, religious leaders and traditional elites kept circulating in the political firmament of Nigeria. The paper is a confirmation of the elite theory paradigm or construct to the understanding of Nigerian government and politics. The paper, however, noted that if nothing changes the required leap from a developing status of Nigeria as a country to developed one may take time after all.

Multidimensional political polarization in online social networks

Political polarization in online social platforms is a rapidly growing phenomenon worldwide. Despite their relevance to modern-day politics, the structure and dynamics of polarized states in digital spaces are still poorly understood. We analyze the community structure of a two-layer, interconnected network of French Twitter users, where one layer contains members of Parliament and the other one regular users. We obtain an optimal representation of the network in a four-dimensional political opinion space by combining network embedding methods and political survey data. We find structurally cohesive groups sharing common political attitudes and relate them to the political party landscape in France. The distribution of opinions of professional politicians is narrower than that of regular users, indicating the presence of more extreme attitudes in the general population. We find that politically extreme communities interact less with other groups as compared to more centrist groups. We apply an empirically tested social influence model to the two-layer network to pinpoint interaction mechanisms that can describe the political polarization seen in data, particularly for centrist groups. Our results shed light on the social behaviors that drive digital platforms towards polarization and uncover an informative multidimensional space to assess political attitudes online. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

#BeatThePot: Strategies and Discourses of Women’s Protests in Zimbabwe

This paper focuses on strategies deployed by women and discourses of women’s collective action in the #BeatThePot strike which took place alongside popular protests against Mugabe and the failures of ZANU-PF led government in Zimbabwe. Using Judith Butler’s ideas on “bodies in alliance and the politics of the street,” I theorize how women as gendered “bodies congregate, move, speak and strike together as they claim public space into political spaces” (2015, 70). I interrogate women’s use of embodiment as a strategy involving the metaphor of both the “labouring mothering body” and as “bodies that strike,” which demonstrates how women in Zimbabwe confronted violent political, economic, and socio-cultural limits imposed on their bodies. In this strike, women challenged the silencing of women’s public political work and refused to be relegated to the invisible margins of domesticized and undervalued reproductive labour. Thus, through the #BeatThePot protest, I demonstrate how women in Zimbabwe have engaged in body work to a confront violent regime and how they have borne on their bodies violent reprisal through sexual attacks, abductions, incarcerations, torture, and even loss of life. The paper concludes that the feminized body is a site of violent struggle for autonomy and that through collective action women in Zimbabwe have sought to confront and transform the repressive state.

Leaving post-industrial urban studies behind?

In this forum paper, we question the lasting utility of the framework and language of urban post-industrialism. We suggest that, while such conceptual metaphors are useful to understand economic, social and cultural change at specific times, post-industrial may obscure more nuanced explorations of the realities of today's multi-faceted, planetary, and digitally-mediated urban processes and socio-spatialities. Post-industrial speaks primarily to dramatic and violent changes that happened in the twentieth century, and continue to happen today, but, we suggest, the story is more complex. Specifically, we bring forward a few critiques of the post-industrial, that a revitalized agenda might begin to move beyond. Firstly, is that industrialisation is always-ongoing, and not something that can be fixed into place. Where it is absent, it continues to haunt. Second, is that over-use of post-industrial as a descriptor and critical lens can lead to territorial, class, racial/ethnic, political, and world-regional stigmatizations. In particular, it can reinforce colonialist hierarchies of prototype Northern/Western cities versus those in the majority world, and certain assumptions about linearity and path dependencies about industrial trajectories. Thirdly, we suggest post-industrial frameworks can calcify gender binaries and obscure counterhegemonies and fluidities, especially given the realities of global urban industrial labour today. Finally, we propose that moving beyond the post-industrial might open more radical space for vibrant art and politics, from cross-spectrum alliances and solidarities (like revitalized labour movements), to joyful artistic expression that transcends rust, decay, and ruin. We do not propose throwing away post-industrialism, but rather, to invite other possibilities to coexist.

Dynamics of American Political Discourse of the 20th – Early 21st Centuries

The article addresses dynamics of conceptual space and communicative organization of the American political discourse in the 20 th – early 21 st centuries. The research objective is to identify transformations in the content of universal and nationally-marked concepts, as well as verbal modification of communicative strategies and tactics in the American political discourse of the periods under study. The main research methods applied are discourse, conceptual, semantic, and contextual analysis. The sampling corpus incorporates 662 public speeches of American presidents. The speeches under analysis belong to the ritual, orientational, and agonal genres of the political discourse. The main discourse-forming and nationally-marked concepts, features of the communicative structure of the American political discourse are established. The analysis of the metaphorical system as a way of realizing the intention in the American political discourse is carried out. The main types of conceptual metaphor, representing the discourse-forming concepts of the American political discourse are considered. The American political discourse conceptual space is more prone to transformations than its communicative structure in the studied timeframe. The nationally-marked concepts tend to be more dynamic than the universal discourse-forming concepts. The conceptual dynamism of the nationally-marked concepts manifests itself in the prevalence of the dominant features and the lacunarity at different stages of the American linguo-cultural community existence. The nationally-marked concepts components related to the historical and socio-cultural aspects of the speaking community life are brought into the open in the speeches of American presidents as transmitters of the national cultural values and role-status configurations in the political discourse of the 20 th – early 21 st centuries.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and its role in developing Africa’s economies. Case study: Kenya’s Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), Kenya

The main purpose of this paper is to study the potential economic benefits of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to Africa’s economies with case study of Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project in Kenya. China has become an important factor in African development. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), it is reorganizing the geographical and political space in the Africa, first, by heavily investing in regional connectivity projects, and second, by promoting alternative ideas and concepts of development favourable to a Chinese-centric order in the region. The paper also argues that the BRI is actively shaping a new spatial order in Africa by influencing key stakeholders’ perspectives and preferences. China’s particular visions of global and regional development through the BRI are gaining traction in Africa, making it an indispensable actor with considerable political and economic influence – and thereby challenging the role of traditional development partners in the global south region. China’s engagement with Kenya is a good example of how Beijing approaches economic diplomacy in Africa. Moreover, it’s a revealing case study of how BRI works on the continent. Kenya needs better infrastructure to meet its development needs, and China has been willing to help. The project to upgrade the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is China’s flagship investment project in Kenya. The SGR connects Mombasa, the largest port city in Kenya, to its capital, Nairobi. The Export-Import Bank of China financed 90 percent of the SGR project, while the Kenyan Government contributed the other 10 percent. The China Road and Bridge Corporation led the SGR installation process. This was supposed to signal a contribution to Kenya’s developmental goals and directly spur growth in the construction sector. The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) is a mega project that the Kenyan Government has invested in after freedom from the colonial rule. The SGR created around 30,000 new jobs for locals and, in the first year, transported 5.4 million passengers and 1.3 million twenty-foot equivalent units (known as TEUs) of shipments across Kenya. If this performance had continued African exports would have increased significantly. The chief economist in the State Department of Infrastructure in the Kenyan Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure claimed that the SGR would increase trade and investment and further employment opportunities to enhance the people’s livelihoods in the East African Community. The paper will analyze how the BRI through SGR has enhanced economy and trade for Africa with a case study of Kenya, how the SGR has reduced unemployment, how the SGR has enhanced both the social aspects and environmental conservation in Kenya. This paper will also reveal that the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and BRI have massive economic value to Africa and beyond and are crucial to development. The study recommends the completion of the remaining SGR phases in Kenya in the projected time frame for the railway industry to play a positive role in national and continental development.

Political Public Space In The 2024 Election Social Media Platform; Between Expectations And Reality

Political public space in social media platforms the 2024 election will be attention Lots circles. Conflict discourse in room public political via social media platforms of course is something common and significant in context modern democracy. However when blunt make room public in social media disturbing or not Healthy. Social media has become receptacle for individual, group and society for convey opinion, discourse, opinion, information, interact in a way wide and others. Social Media has significant role in shape, influence opinions and choices political in election. Moment election is notes important in system democracy in Indonesia. Study This aim for analyze phenomenon conflict political public space in social media platforms. Use approach qualitative descriptive with analyze various source news, reports, public opinion and social media realit. Research result show that discourse conflict public space in social media the 2024 election occurs in a number of aspect among others; conflict between party politics, team success, conflict support and inter supporters. Social media often present incident violence and provocation. Even conflict between social media platforms That Alone. Competition business and interests politics. Conflict This can influence content, discourse and narrative. Study this is also revealing that phenomenon conflict public space in social media own significant impact to the public and the democratic process. Conflict can increase polarization and strengthening extreme attitudes between public. Besides Therefore, conflict can also occur obscure issue substance and diversion attention public of the important agendas that must be done discussed in election. Needed social media literacy, digital literacy and politics No only for public, also share party politics, the government is also a social media activist. Guard ethics, politeness and present regulations media social in every elections in Indonesia. In context this is important collaboration in a way harmonious both media platforms, actors capital business, government, party politics, organizer elections, and the public for you're welcome responsible answer presents a step-by-step process the 2024 election will mature, educate, give birth to an aura of harmonization.

Introducción de los editores a la revista

We, SKRIB: Critical Studies in Writing Programs and Pedagogy co-editors, and the editorial board are pleased to provide a space for multilingual, international writing scholars and practitioners. As we wrote on the founding of the journal, our hope for SKRIB is to facilitate “intercultural dialogue around the development of writing programmes, writing centres, and writing pedagogy in post-secondary institutions of higher learning around the world.” As a forum for intercultural discourse, SKRIB draws attention to the ways in which the writing at the core of our work is not neutral, but rather deeply personal, and it resides in an inherently politicized space. Our work is always necessarily caught up in globalization processes and global contestations of power between nation states, ideologies, cultures, communities, and languages. SKRIB invites scholars to centre this conception of writing as inherently political in the ways they critically reflect on their writing programs, pedagogies, and initiatives, and, especially, in how they contribute to the development of writing studies; decolonization, equity, inclusion, and diversity are fundamental responsibilities of writing teachers, scholars, and administrators.

Junior allies in wars of choice: Party politics and role conceptions in Danish and Romanian decisions on the Iraq War

Abstract When and how do party politics matter in junior allies’ decisions to engage in multinational military operations? Developing a new role theory model of party politics and multinational military operations, we put forward a two-level argument. First, we argue that the rationale for military action is defined in a contest between political parties with expectations of what constitutes the proper purpose (constitutive roles) and functions (functional roles) of the state. Second, we hold that material and ontological insecurities reduce political space for contestation and debate, but that junior allies tend to focus on role demands for ‘good states’ and ‘good allies’ rather than the nature and aim of the military operation. To unpack our argument, we analyse the debate among political parties in Romania and Denmark leading up to the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Concluding our analysis, we outline the implications for the changing security order and current debates in NATO member states on how to respond to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

MOTIVATION FOR EDUCATIONAL AND RESEARCH ACTIVITIES AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF ANDRAGOGICAL SUBJECTIVITY OF UNDERGRADUATES

In the modern changing world, the goal that all universities set for themselves is to focus on the development of individual psychological qualities, cognitive skills, reasoning and needs to achieve success in the profession, social values of professional activity and internal motivation for it. Now, the quality of education, training of graduates in a higher education institution should allow to eliminate the discrepancy between the requirements of production and employers, the current changing society. This is due to the fact that undergraduates should have the opportunity to develop their subject qualities beyond professional skills in accordance with the chosen specialty.The integration of our country into the world political and economic space is a natural process of rapid response to the radical changes taking place. For the reform of education, it is important to update the principles of communication in the multi-level system of training specialists. Changes in the system of higher education should begin primarily with the training of specialists. Under the word training is not only the deepening of academic knowledge, but also the ability to apply the acquired knowledge in life. The use it is primarily associated with intrinsic motivation that is, with motivation and subjectivity. That is, such a system, which has been modernized, will be aimed at creating conditions and opportunities for the holistic development of a person, professional and social adaptation of an individual in society. Keywords: Personality, subject, undergraduate, motivation, training, skill, education, skills

Particulate Matters: Air Pollution and the Political Ecology of a Boundary Object

Air pollution now affects 92 percent of the global population and is responsible for one out of nine deaths, nearly two thirds of which occur in Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Emerging work on the political ecology of air pollution examines how its noxious effects are unevenly distributed across social categories such as race and class. Geographers know much less about the social mechanisms through which air pollution and its risks and mitigation efforts are calculated, however. Situated within northern Thailand’s haze crisis and its broader agrarian transitions, we employ ethnographic and geospatial methods to theorize air pollution as a boundary object. Throughout the region, uncertainty over the causes and constitution of air pollution and its flexible interpretation have driven the development of civil society sensor networks and the adoption of portable Air Quality Index monitors and hot spot locating apps. These increasingly widespread technologies not only democratize data but also play a growing role in shifting environmental narratives of seasonal air pollution. By homing in on the boundary work of air pollution, however, we argue that although new, more widely accessible modes of knowledge production can seemingly reduce uncertainty and shift environmental policy, they can also obscure the long-standing political-economic inequalities on which environmental problems are based. This article advances current debates at the nexus of political ecology and science and technology by demonstrating how particulate matter matters differently within and between social groups and the role of sociality in environmental change and the production of political space.

Critical geopolitics in the era of identitarian populism

The transformation of the current world paradigm is generating new, strong stimuli for geopolitical knowledge. The sharpened geopolitical competition grows from colorful mix of postmodern instruments, modern motivation, premodern and hybrid methods, clearly territorialized and deterritorialized threats, state-centric and diffusion processes. Identitarian populism, which restores the boundaries that have been pushed out of the political space by integration and globalization, is getting in the forefront of geopolitical discourse. In international relations, the clash of identities, their instrumentalization and revival of imperial dreams extend the area of critical geopolitics, which has instruments for exploring geographic permanence of power as well as identity discourse, and whose cognitive apparatus is therefore an attractive analysis tool. The article contributes to a debate about options for greater usability of sub-discipline in the new context, proposes arguments for depoliticization of critical geopolitics in the right-left plane, discusses possibilities for complementary, synthetic deployment of neoclassical and critical geopolitics in exploring new context and argues in favour of even closer cooperation with the international relations theory.

The role of Magdeburg law for the political, economic and cultural formation of Ostroh in the XVI-XVII centuries

The article examines the impact of the concept of Magdeburglawontheeconomic, political and cultural development of Ostrohin the 16th-17th centuries. The author establishes that today there are many issues which require through research and resolution, inparticular, the introduction of a clear division of administrative functions between state authorities and local self-government bodies, improvement of the system and structure of local self-government bodies, and creation of an appropriate legislative framework. It is believed that it is impossible to solve these problems without a clear and systematic analysis of the mainstages of formation of local self-government in the contex to historical data on Magdeburg law.
 The author establishes that Magdeburg law is a medieval type of law under which cities were partially exempted from the power of the central royal administration or the power of a feudal lord and, as a result, were able to self-governon a corporate basis. Thanks to the privileges of Magdeburg law, cities for the first time received self-government, their own mayor, mayor, councilors, shopkeepers, their own courts, and the right to create their own craftsmen’s shops.
 The article confirms the idea that Magdeburg law is perhaps the clearest evidence that Ukrainian cities form any centuries were in a single political, cultural and economic space on a par with the leading cities of Europe. This thesis is confirmed by the history of the Magdeburg in many centers of our country, including the largest educational center of sixteenth-century Volhynia, the legendary city of Ostroh. Despite the outstanding importance of Ostroh in the socio-political and cultural life of Ukraine at the turn of the Middle Agesand the Modernera, the formation of the Magdeburg in this city has long been misinterpreted due to the lack of historical sources. The adoption of the concept of Magdeburg law provided Ostroh with a unique opportunity to develop local trade and, most importantly, the educational sphere. A characteristic feature of Magdeburg law in Ukrainian cities at the end of the sixteenth century was the transformation of its norms due to the influence of current factors of socio-economic development, as well as ancient Russian traditions of urban organization and law. Thus, the Magdeburg law did not initiate a new process of establishing local government in Ukraine, but only modified to a certain extent the existing norms of life and management of local affairs.

Politicising and depoliticising metropolitan governance in France: the case of Bordeaux Métropole

ABSTRACT The institutions of metropolitan governance have often been analysed as emblematic cases of depoliticisation mechanisms at play in contemporary political systems. Based on the French case, and more specifically on an analysis of metropolitan governance in Bordeaux, this article puts forward two types of proposals that nuance and refine this diagnosis of depoliticisation. First, it challenges the idea of an inexorable and linear trend towards depoliticisation. The processes and strategies of depoliticisation are inextricably linked to parallel processes and strategies of politicisation. It is far from certain that the logic of depoliticisation always prevails. The article, therefore, argues for a ‘symmetrical’ and ‘dialectical’ reading of these processes. Second, it proposes a reading that distinguishes between two distinct but complementary dimensions of the processes of de/politicisation: the de/politicisation of the metropolitan institution as a political space, on the one hand, and the de/politicisation of the metropolitan bureaucracy, on the other.

Women and Power in Zimbabwe: The Need for Feminist Approaches in Considerations of Political Elites

Women politicians in Africa often find themselves in precarious positions as they negotiate their place in men-dominated environments. Their positions are further complicated because political power remains weakly institutionalised in most parts of Africa and highly dependent on informal links between individuals/groups and their respective networks. Given this, this paper looks at both formal and informal networks and relationships, as shaped by local political culture and contexts, to advance the search for a way to provide a more reliable picture of the realities of women politicians within the African context. It advances the elite theory by demonstrating how a feminist approach helps provide a way of understanding political elites that accounts for contextualised gendered power dynamics and experiences. It does so using Zimbabwe’s Joice Mujuru as a case study. The paper combines an African feminist approach and discourse analysis to trace the various debates and discourses around Joice Mujuru’s power to influence policies and decisions, her reputation, and her precarious position in Zimbabwe’s men-dominated political spaces. The paper concludes that a feminist perspective in considerations of political elites helps to better comprehend how various political cultures and contexts shape the understanding of women’s roles and positions in political groups and networks and their relationship to power centres. Such comprehension can shed light on contextual factors to take into account when considering effective ways of promoting women’s political leadership. Ultimately, the paper proposes an African feminist method to help create a path to further explorations of African elite groups and networks in gender-sensitive and context-based ways.

A critical review of the significance of elitism and pluralism to disaster risk management

AbstractDisasters and disaster risks are social phenomena that take place in a political space shaped by different political ideologies. Despite this connection, the field of disaster risk management has been developed without a deliberate incorporation of political theories. Using a narrative literature review methodology, this paper sought to elucidate the significance of political theory in shaping both the policy and practice of disaster risk management. The review reveals notable intersections between political theories, such as elitism and pluralism, and established disaster risk management paradigms, specifically objectivism and constructivism. Notably, elitism and objectivism tend to promote expertise, marginalize citizen participation, and emphasize centralized disaster management, whereas pluralism and constructivism advocate for diversity, tolerance, and competition, aligning with the concept of disaster risk management. The paper argues that ignoring political theories in disaster risk management can conceal a deeper understanding of the power relations between different stakeholders, as well as the historical, economic, social, and political characteristics of a society. It advocates for future studies to examine the contributions of political theories explicitly and critically to disaster risk policies and practices. This call highlights the need for a deeper understanding of how political theories impact the effectiveness and equity of disaster risk management.

They shall not pass? The role of supply-side factors in the electoral breakthrough of VOX and Chega

ABSTRACT No country is immune to the electoral success of populist radical right (PRR) parties: Spain and Portugal seemed to be the exception to this rule because, for decades, PRR parties remained relegated to the margins of the Iberian political systems. However, in 2019 VOX and Chega gained parliamentary representation: how did they manage to obtain their historic electoral breakthrough? From a supply-side perspective, we use the Party Manifesto dataset to show that VOX and Chega chose to position themselves within the existing political space and cleavages in ways that set them apart from the competition. VOX exploited the Spanish centre-periphery cleavage insisting on strong nationalist elements while advocating for increased centralization, while Chega insisted on personal freedom and welfare limitation to break the ties with the political system born out of the Carnation Revolution.

Nigerian identity crisis: what’s behind the growing insecurity and separatism?

ABSTRACT There is a debate on whether ethnicity is a tool or the driver of intergroup conflict. Arguably, African ethnic conflicts emerge from colonization, struggle for political power and resources, lack of shared national values and identity. Conceptually, this article analyzes how colonization is linked to African ethnic crisis, how ‘ethno-social identity’ is conceptualized as well as the relationship between ethnic polarization, ‘ethnocorruption’, insecurity, and separatism, with a focus on Nigeria. The article evaluates the causes of state dysfunctionality and identity dilemma of the ethnocentric federalism reflected in the ‘Who I am of the population’. There is a crisis related to the state of origin (indigenes and non-indigenes), as well as the ethnicity identity dilemma of ‘I am Hausa’, ‘I am Fulani’, ‘I am Yoruba’, ‘I am Igbo’, etc. A minority which can be classified as ‘tribeless elites’ dominate the political space. In recent times, the country has become embroiled in kidnapped democracy, insecurity, and corruption. There are more worrying conflicts – Fulani herders and non-Fulani farmers’ clashes over arable land, banditry, kidnapping for ransom, and Unknown Gunmen occurrences – which threaten the unity of the country. The socio-economic underdevelopment and breakdown of moral values have forced thousands of young people to join the Obidient movement or ‘Japa’ overseas.

The closer, the better – How perceived ideological proximity between parties affects the emergence of coalition preferences

ABSTRACT While coalition governments have been studied extensively, there remains a lack of understanding of how coalition preferences emerge and what factors are the most influential. Utilising coalition formation theories, this study posits that voters tend to prefer coalitions with a narrower range of ideological differences between 1.) the parties involved and 2.) between the voter and the party perceived to have the greatest ideological distance from the individual. Previous studies have mainly concentrated on a general left-right ideological dimension or specific issue dimensions, despite the fact that some of the countries analysed are characterized by a two-dimensional political space. Using Germany as a case study that exemplifies this inherent two-dimensionality, this analysis adopts a nuanced approach by employing the calculation of Euclidean distance based on socio-economic and socio-cultural measures. This approach aims to explain the formation of coalition preferences leading up to the federal election in 2021. Our results show how strongly the perceived ideological distance of parties contributes to developing preferences for a specific coalition option, even when controlling for party evaluation and socio-demographics. For this reason, they have important implications for the understanding of the emergence of coalition preferences and party competition.