Political Theory Research Articles

The Role of UK Communities and Leadership in Tackling Female Genital Mutilation

Female Genital Mutilation is the act of removing part or all of a woman's external genitalia, including the act of injuring a woman's genitals without medical reasons. It is estimated that more than 200 million women have undergone Female Genital Mutilation procedures. This is an international problem and concern. The practice of Female Genital Mutilation in England emerged due to the arrival of immigrants who brought this culture. The efforts made by the British government in dealing with Female Genital Mutilation are by enforcing the law in the form of creating anti-Female Genital Mutilation laws and educating the public through campaigns and community empowerment. This research was created to try to see the role of British communities and leadership in dealing with Female Genital Mutilation using comparative feminist political theory and the concept of women's rights. This research will use a qualitative descriptive research methodology. The results of this research are in the form of political policy analysis using four approaches, namely gender; policy; and welfare states, state feminism, policy implementation and making, women's movements. As well as the emergence of obstacles in handling efforts which are influenced by various factors.

The Potential Impact of Demographic Changes in Geopolitical Landscape

In an era marked by swift demographic changes, the population of a country emerges as a crucial source of power and progress, shaping the future geopolitical landscape. This paper explores the dynamic interplay between evolving demographic elements and their intricate relationship with geopolitics. Through a synthesis of compelling cases and data-driven analysis, the paper provides fresh perspectives on the geopolitical ramifications of demographic transitions. The research incorporates a literature review, establishing the significance of population as a determinant of national power, offering a comprehensive overview of global demographic changes, and presenting an empirical analysis that underscores the role of demographic shifts as catalysts for geopolitical consequences. The study, grounded in political demography theory, integrates demographic aspects with geopolitical implications. Employing qualitative analysis, the research utilizes both numerical and non-numerical data from secondary sources to establish connections among variables. Overall, the discussion underscores that demographic shifts, ranging from declining population growth in certain nations to youth bulges in others, will exert profound impacts on the worldwide geopolitical landscape. It emphasises the necessity for nations to proactively address demographic challenges, through strategic policies that prioritize workforce development, social welfare, and international alliances. This proactive approach is deemed essential for ensuring sustained economic and military capabilities amidst the evolving geopolitical scenario.

Gelasius I and the Political Theory of Authority

Este artículo parte de las reflexiones contemporáneas sobre la autoridad e identifica la relevancia del antecedente del papa Gelasio I, primero en establecer la distinción entre la autoridad papal y el poder imperial. Hecho esto, se recurre a los enfoques de la historia intelectual, la historia de las ideas, de la hermenéutica y la arqueología a efectos de la comprensión de la aportación gelasiana. Hecho esto, se evalúa la relevancia de la distinción gelasiana al momento de estudiar la formación discursiva de la cristiandad latina así como la teoría política contemporánea.

Implementasi Kebijakan Simantri dan Sipadu dalam Kajian Green Politics

The empowerment of the agricultural sector in accelerating technology transfer through the SIMANTRI program in Bali has been ongoing for over ten years and has been further developed into the SIPADU program, which has been fully handed over to the Gapoktan as the implementer. Field facts indicate that there are still challenges in optimizing the program, such as undernourished breeding cows, suboptimal processing of cattle waste into solid and liquid organic fertilizers, conflicts of interest among other agricultural institutions, and the failure of Gapoktan to maintain its existence. The research objective is to analyze the extent to which the implementation of Gapoktan 356 Sari Buana aligns with the SIMANTRI and SIPADU policies in the context of green politics, as well as the impact on the traditional subak organization. This research adopts a descriptive qualitative approach. The analysis process utilizes John Barry's Green Politics theory, focusing on aspects of distributive justice, democratization process, and ecological sustainability. The study is conducted in Antapan Village, Baturiti District, Bali. The research participants consist of 9 individuals selected through purposive sampling. Data collection techniques include interviews, observations, and documentation. The research analysis reveals that, theoretically, the SIMANTRI and SIPADU program policies have implemented the concepts of Green Politics, aiming towards sustainable agricultural development in Bali. However, in the program implementation phase, the analysis of Gapoktan 356 Sari Buana, in terms of distributive justice, democratization process, and ecological sustainability, cannot be deemed successful as it has not fulfilled the elements of sustainable societies and a symbiotic moral relationship with the environment. The presence of Gapoktan 356 Sari Buana has demonstrated a positive impact on the subak institution.

Effective tax rate, board diversity, and firm performance: Evidence from the electric and electronic industry

This study examines the effect of effective tax rate (ETR) and board diversity on the performance of Malaysian public-listed companies (PLCs) in the electric and electronic (E&E) industry. The sample of this study comprised 51 E&E public companies listed in the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia during the financial periods 2018 and 2022. This study documents a significant positive relationship between firm performance and ETR, consistent with the political cost theory, suggesting that high-performing industries such as E&E are more at risk of political scrutiny and, hence, tend to pay higher amounts of tax despite the tax incentives provided by the government. Interestingly, foreign directors are negatively related to a firm’s performance. The possible explanation for this is that the E&E industry is highly regulated by the Malaysian government; hence, foreign directors’ contribution and authority to make independent strategic changes to drive the firm’s performance are limited. Finally, the effect of female directors on firm performance is found to be insignificant, possibly because, on average, only 10% of women are represented on the board of the E&E PLCs. The study findings are of significant interest and beneficial to policymakers, the government, and tax authorities in trying to understand the implications, assess the effectiveness, and tightly monitor the tax incentives and board diversity policy of the E&E companies.

Making sense of Ethiopian journalists’ prison experiences during Meles Zenawi’s administration: a phenomenological inquiry

This study investigated the agony, tribulations, and trials that private press journalists in Ethiopia experienced firsthand in several detention facilities in Ethiopia for engaging in journalistic activity. The study used the period of the late Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s administration, and it employed a qualitative phenomenological research approach to examine the lived experiences of 12 private press journalists. Alfred Schutz’s “Life World” theory and the Italian fascist political theorist Giovanni Gentile’s Authoritarian Democracy theory were used as lenses to provide a “pure” description of the subject under study. Qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured in-depth interviews. The data were examined using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis as the participants shared their narratives. The main finding indicates that journalists lacked professional and civic freedoms to carry out their duties since the government interjected into their daily lives, imprisoning them and limiting their capacity to have the ultimate say over their work and lives. We suggest that the government should revise impending laws and regulations that hamper freedom of expression in Ethiopia and create a policy requiring its officials to provide information to journalists without regard to their political, social, or other relationships with the media.

Held in trust: How political elites are ignoring the public over federal supremacy of public lands

ABSTRACT Public lands in the American West have remained a contested resource since their formation, particularly in the 11 westernmost states where public lands are in abundance. These lands are held in trust by the federal government for all Americans and have consistently been reaffirmed as the domain of the federal government to own and manage. Even so, there are continued efforts to transfer public lands or management of public lands to the states. These efforts are predominantly proposed by Republican legislators in both state and federal governments. However, these legislative efforts are unpopular among residents of the American West, regardless of partisanship, defying the theory of majoritarianism. By investigating state-level legislation from 2012 to 2022 which aimed to reduce federal control over public lands, this paper will explore efforts of legislators supporting these unpopular measures. Utilizing the subconstituency politics theory, this study examines the potential motivations of Western legislators attempting repeatedly to nullify the will of the majority on federal supremacy and management of public lands. Specifically, we examine the proximity of legislative districts to public lands, election results, and partisanship.

Moderate realist ideology critique

AbstractRealist ideology critique (RIC) is a strand of political realism recently developed in response to concerns that realism is biased toward the status quo. RIC aims to debunk an individual's belief that a social institution is legitimate by revealing that the belief is caused by that very same institution. Despite its growing prominence, RIC has received little critical attention. In this article, I buck this trend. First, I improve on contemporary accounts of RIC by clarifying its status and the role of motivated reasoning. Second, I show that realist ideology critics face a dilemma: either their account makes deeply implausible epistemological assumptions, or they temper its epistemology at the expense of rendering it toothless. I argue for each horn in turn before revealing the dilemma to be a false one by making a novel distinction between varying strengths of RIC based on their underlying epistemological assumptions. I propose Moderate RIC as a solution: upon discovering that one reason for your belief that a social institution is legitimate is likely malignantly epistemically circular, the belief should undergo further epistemic testing. I respond to three potential objections and suggest that Moderate RIC would make a fruitful addition to political theorists' methodological toolkit.

The Right to Higher Education: A Political Theory

Abstract This review provides a summary of the argument made by Christopher Martin in his book “The Right to Higher Education: A Political theory.” It outlines how Martin makes a unique and in many ways compelling argument, but argues that a significant weakness of the book is that there is a lack of clarity around the concept of ‘higher education’ as Martin conceives it.

Recognising the newcomer: education policy and teaching practices in Norway and England

Education policies in different countries recognise the needs and abilities of newcomer students in different ways, with consequences for their social inclusion and academic progress at school. We highlight the importance of context to debates around the politics of recognition in newcomer education by drawing on qualitative research in Norwegian and English secondary schools. Taylor’s (1994) political theory of “recognition” provides the analytical lens through which we explore how teachers perceive newcomer students to be recognised (or not) in national education policies in each country. We underscore teachers’ agency in responding to these policies through their own politics of recognition at school.

Enhancing Deliberation with Digital Democratic Innovations

Democratic innovations have been widely presented by both academics and practitioners as a potential remedy to the crisis of representative democracy. Many argue that deliberation should play a pivotal role in these innovations, fostering greater citizen participation and political influence. However, it remains unclear how digitalization affects the quality of deliberation—whether digital democratic innovations (DDIs) undermine or enhance deliberation. This paper takes an inductive approach in political theory to critically examine three features of online deliberation that matter for deliberative democracy: scale, transparency, and the facilitation of equality. It argues that the enhancement of equality should be given special attention when designing and implementing deliberative DDIs. Equality is a basic democratic value that is crucial for the intrinsic quality of deliberation. One way of enhancing equality through digital deliberative practices is via AI facilitation, which can assist human facilitators and help mitigate power dynamics, often present in non-digital settings.

Rethinking freedom for contemporary psychology

The purpose of this paper is to rethink the topic of freedom for contemporary psychology. Freedom, within psychological research today, is a neglected, even slightly old-fashioned term. In this paper, we explore the practical, normative, and political dimensions of freedom as a psychological concept. We begin by tracing out key understandings of freedom from political theory, before discussing how thinkers such as Skinner, Maslow, Fromm, and May understood the different dimensions of freedom. We then discuss a governmental perspective on freedom, drawn from the work of Nikolas Rose, before finally turning to the sociocultural psychology of L. S. Vygotsky. We contend that freedom is not merely the absence of constraints but a complex interplay between agency, responsibility, and social connections. Our paper argues that the modern emphasis on negative freedom, characterized by reduced interference and obligations, has resulted in a paradoxical situation where individuals feel overwhelmed and seek escape from freedom. By revisiting the insights of Erich Fromm and other scholars, we emphasize the need for positive freedom, which involves voluntary connections with others and active participation in shaping society. We argue that psychology’s mandate should be to facilitate the exploration of alternative avenues that lead to flourishing and self-actualization.

Vision and Exemplarity: Political Thinking Between History and Theory

This article is concerned with the relationship between political theory, history, and methodology. It cautions against a further ‘methodologization’ of political theory. The article argues against what recently has been called the ‘methodological militancy’ within political theory, which on methodological grounds seeks to keep history and theory strictly apart from each other. Instead, the article argues that political thinking ought to combine untimely resources with timely concerns into a distinct political practice entailing both history, theory and politics. Moreover, the article contends that thinking politically from the outset of historical examples has not only been the modus operandi of most classical political thinkers, but that historical examples are particularly well-suited as raw materials for political thinking. Finally, the article argues that vision and imagination – rather than objectivity and detachment – are the defining intellectual capacities of the political thinker.

Influencing factors of spatial conflicts in the Chinese urban environment from the perspective of spatial politics: empirical study based on NCA and fsQCA

In the ‘environmental era,’ the ubiquitous spatial conflicts in the urban environment have become a typical dilemma hindering sustainable urban development and inhibiting local governance. Based on the theory of spatial politics, with the use of Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), this article analyzes empirically 40 typical cases of spatial conflicts in the Chinese urban environment, to examine what conditions and their combinations contribute to the occurrence of environmental conflicts. It is found that a ‘lack of communicative space’ and a ‘lack of government trust’ are the sine qua non for urban environmental spatial conflict and that the existence of ‘spatial cognition differences,’ the use of ‘discourse framework,’ ‘technological power,’ ‘organizational strategies,’ and ‘social actors’ are found to be sufficient causes for the occurrence of spatial conflict in urban environments. Accordingly, the article constructs five contextualized models to explain the formation of spatial conflict in urban environments. In contrast to the traditional ‘institution-centered,’ ‘culture-centered,’ ‘identity-centered,’ and ‘media-centered’ approaches to the study of environmental resistance, this study based on the theory of spatial conflicts shall enhance our knowledge and understanding of the ‘spatial dimension’ in the phenomenon of environmental resistance. They reveal the political and social nature of the spatial production of urban environments, thus providing a theoretical framework for understanding the occurrence of environmental resistance from a spatial perspective, while providing a compatible and holistic insight into the ‘politics of elite resistance’ and the ‘politics of subaltern resistance,’ and outlining the possibility of bridging the theoretical differences.

The tragedy of the commodity and the state: a comparative case study of the Atlantic bluefin tuna and Newfoundland cod fishery collapses

The world’s oceans face total ecological collapse by 2048 if the fishing industries’ extraction is not reined in. At the helm of the ocean crisis have been fisheries management regimes built upon the logic of the tragedy of the commons, which interpret resource depletion as being driven by human self-interest, and then ­propose market-based policy solutions. This comparative case study tests the generalizability of the tragedy of the commodity, a political economic theory of fishery collapse that challenges the tragedy of the commons by applying it to the case of the 1992 Newfoundland cod fishery collapse. A model for incorporating a distinct analysis of state structures, actions, and interests is then proposed.

“A paradigm shift in normative political theory: grappling with Mills’s the racial contract 25 Years Later”

“A paradigm shift in normative political theory: grappling with Mills’s the racial contract 25 Years Later”

VẬN DỤNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP DỰ ÁN TRONG DẠY HỌC LỊCH SỬ ĐẢNG CỘNG SẢN VIỆT NAM CHO SINH VIÊN THEO HƯỚNG PHÁT TRIỂN NĂNG LỰC

The research purpose is to clarify the relationship between using Project Based Learning (PBL) and developing learning capacity for students and to design the process of implementing PBL in teaching the History of the Communist Party of Vietnam. Theoretical and pedagogical experimental research methods are used in the research process. The findings show that, for the History of the Communist Party of Vietnam module, the PBL is an active teaching method, contributing to the development of problemsolving skills, communication skills, collaboration skills, and self-study competencies for students, with the potential for wide application in similar teaching contexts in political theory programs

Comparative political theory and Gandhi: A systematic review

Comparative political theory epitomizes the use of the comparative method in political theory, by calling for the inclusion of non-western traditions of political thought in (re)thinking political theory. Based on the premise that political theory so far has been Eurocentric with a focus on the Western political canon, it seeks to foster inclusivity and relativity in theorizing politics, thereby leading to a dialectical development of theory itself. In this cognate subdiscipline, Mahatma Gandhi's moral and political thought has become a central component.This systematic review of the Comparative Political Theory-Gandhi relationship has two main aims. Firstly, it critically summarizes the methodological and epistemological insights that Gandhi provides in the pursuit of the comparative in Comparative Political Theory. Secondly, it encapsulates the insights that Gandhi provides for rethinking some core concepts in modern political theory: democracy, liberalism, nationalism, secularism, and the post-colonial. It concludes by identifying directions of further research at the Gandhi-Comparative Political Theory interface; all the while reiterating that Gandhi's philosophy of truth provides a doctrinal justification of the pursuit of the comparative method in political theory and consequently, the sustenance of comparative political theory as a subdiscipline.

Some Reflections on Theunis Roux’s Grand Narratives of Transition and the Quest for Democratic Constitutionalism in India and South Africa

Theunis Roux’s “Grand Narratives of Transition and the Quest for Democratic Constitutionalism in India and South Africa” is an important piece of comparative constitutional scholarship that will be of interest not only to scholars of the Indian and South African constitutional experience, but to all who are interested in the global practice of constitutionalism. It displays Roux’s rare ability to traverse history, politics, social and political theory, and legal doctrine and to produce a thought-provoking argument that calls for engagement.

Research on Curriculum Standards Establishment for Ideological and Political Theory Courses in Higher Vocational Colleges in the New Era —A Case Analysis of Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

The development of curriculum standards for ideological and political theory courses in higher vocational education should be grounded in the distinctive characteristics and attributes of vocational education and the specialized talent training programs the institution offers to establish tailored curriculum standards. As an illustrative case, the course titled “Introduction to Mao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics” at Dalian Vocational Technical College serves as a compulsory course for students across all majors. Three-dimensional objectives have been delineated to align with professional ideological and political education demands. Emphasis is placed on the specific traits of higher vocational students, the unique features of their respective disciplines, and the contextual circumstances prevalent within the local environment. The objective is to investigate a comprehensive evaluation index system and an augmented assessment process that places student involvement at its core. This endeavor aims to foster a collaborative space for ideological and political education, integrating these principles into the curriculum while fully harnessing the potential of local and institutional environment and individual student circumstances, ultimately driving the innovative advancement of ideological and political theory courses in higher vocational education in the new era.