Political Tool Research Articles

Interaction of public administration and mass media in the context of digitalisation: problem statement

The article considers the current topic of interaction between public administration and mass media in the context of digitalisation. Digitalisation is defined as a glob -al trend changing socio-political reality. The concepts of “mass media” and “mass communication” are analysed in detail, and the features of their cooperation while expanding digital audience are revealed. In the realities of the 21st century, when digita lisation has a significant impact, the state transforms its functions, starting to actively interact with society and citizens, creating equal relations in the updated political system. An important link that unites information is mass media which closely cooperates with state authorities and the entire management system. Through the media, government agencies coordinate the efforts of various social groups and organisations without coercion, defining the main directions and strategies of socio-political initiatives and actions. The article highlights the use of the mass media as a political tool and a way to organise a dialogue between the state and civil society. It also analyses the influence of the mass media as the fourth branch of government. The author concludes that it is necessary to comprehensively study the problem of interaction between public administration and mass media for more effective functioning of both institutions. This means that in the context of digitalisation, there is a need to consider changes in the media sphere and develop new approaches to media policy, given modern challenges and trends.

The Politics of Ambiguous Loss: Missing Persons and Social Ecologies after Armed Conflict

Abstract This article seeks to understand how the concept of ambiguous loss can help explain why and how the issue of missing persons becomes a tool of politics, in terms of being instrumentalized to advance particular political agendas. Ambiguous loss is constructed relationally within the social systems that family members of the missing occupy and, as a result, social and political contexts play a crucial role in both defining ambiguity and in mediating the impacts of ambiguous loss. Because ambiguity is discursively and relationally constructed and meaning made from it subject to existing power relations, it is inherently political. The extreme and chronic trauma of ambiguous loss reshapes individuals’, families’ and, potentially, communities’ perspectives on events in which people have gone missing, making the trauma of ambiguous loss one that lends itself to being framed as a collective trauma with impacts for the entire group. More than this, the impacts of ambiguous loss resonate with what have been called ‘chosen traumas’, used to create group identities in the light of extreme experiences. In particular, the importance in ambiguous loss of meaning making and of the challenge of forgetting resonates with what makes collective traumas effective tools of politics.

Censoring Palestine: human rights, academic freedom and the IHRA

ABSTRACT This piece focuses on the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism and the campaigns to label Palestine scholarship, teaching, and activism on campuses as antisemitic, and their impact of on academic freedom and the rights of scholars and students. It places Australian universities in a larger transnational context and demonstrates, through a focus on the environment in which academics and students operate—especially in the aftermath of Israel's 2023 War on Gaza—how the IHRA is a political tool used to censor speech on Palestine and shield Israel from criticism by labelling critical perspectives on Palestine as antisemitic.

“It's very much part of this movement to undermine democracy”: A qualitative study of European Union level opposition strategies against reproductive health and rights

Despite increasing contestations of agreed global commitments on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR), our understanding of strategies of opposition in global health policymaking remains limited. This article explores the opposition to SRHR at the European level focusing on the decision-making institutions of the European Union (EU). The central research questions ask i) how SRHR opposition actors seek to influence EU institutions and ii) what challenges their actions pose for health policymaking at the EU level. Our empirical focus is based on the qualitative method of framework analysis, with data collected from multiple sources, including documentary data on European Parliamentary debates, Council conclusions of the European Union, reports of nongovernmental organisations, and key informant interviews. Our study is in line with observations on globally coordinated efforts to restrict access to SRH services. This is a challenge for specific forums and countries, but as well for European Union's wider internal and external policies. We present a toolbox of strategies and actors operational at the European Union level. Our findings on opposition to SRHR indicate that it can be seen as a political tool that is part of a broader anti-democratic movement. Understanding strategies of anti-SRHR opposition is important for health policymakers as it shapes debates and the achievement of universal health coverage (UHC).

Family, politics and media

Abstract In this paper, we utilise the Nineteenth Century Newspaper Corpus to examine reporting surrounding William Gladstone’s Midlothian campaign, a key point in the democratization of British politics where a politician not only communicated with ordinary people through hustings but indirectly to a wider electorate via media reporting of those hustings. With the use of social actor analysis (van Leeuwen 2008), approached through collocation, we find that a distinctive feature of media reporting was a focus on Gladstone’s family. This surprising intersection of family and electioneering reveals a powerful hierarchy of social relationships in terms of gender and seniority, which became an effective propaganda strategy as Gladstone, enabled by Liberal-supporting newspapers, utilised his family as a political tool.

Changing Identity in Chinese Fashion: Self-Choice and Preference During Late Qing Dynasty and Republican China

Fashion is now seen as a form of identity associated with everyday life in human society. However, it did not originate as a term with this definition. Instead the concept has been polished through the course of history. The transition from clothing as political tool, to fashion as identity, in the Chinese context did not happen overnight. This study unpacks the complex transition that not only unfolded through vital periods and various iconic events in China, but also involved and impacted upon individuals in their daily lives. Drawing on historical records in clothing/costume museums in Beijing and Shanghai, the study investigates the shift from premodern clothing toward an understanding of modern Chinese identity and clothing. In particular, the article focuses on the multiple interpretations of hybrid dress in Shanghai during the transitional period from late Qing to Republican China. The research finds that the evolving of identity of fashion was embedded in the changing identity of wearers as well as other participants in the fashion chain, which are interlocked and mutually reinforced each other in this socio-political cultural environment.

Militarization of containment policy

The author makes an attempt to explore the interdependence between military and nonforce forms and methods of imposing one’s will on the enemy in the process of escalating military conflicts of our time. Important attention is paid to comparing the likely results of the use of tactical nuclear weapons as a tool of deterrence and hybrid warfare technologies as a new type of interstate confrontation. It is shown that hybrid warfare is a powerful means of infl uencing the enemy when solving complex problems of ensuring national security and turns into the most important factor in political and diplomatic influence and achieving national goals, without resorting to destructive nuclear influences. In the context of the transformation of the world order, new acute challenges and threats are emerging today, the response to which leads to powerful geopolitical shifts on all continents. In these conditions, the complexity of strategic forecasting and planning the actions of individual states and their coalitions requires serious collective eff orts to maintain stability and ensure sustainable development of the world, and the use of a full range of political, diplomatic, economic and information tools to influence the situation. An important condition for the successful solution of such a task is the coordination of national approaches to the development of philosophy and technologies for resolving modern military conflicts,the use for these purposes of the potential of international security organizations, the transformation of educational programs and the direction of scientific research. The primary tasks are to bring them into line with the realities of our time and improve the quality of Russia’s strategic planning documents, taking into account the experience of the Northern Military District.

Assessment of Factors Influencing the Development of Inland Navigation in Poland

The presented article concerns the development of inland navigation in Poland. The aim is to determine and analyse factors that influence the development of this branch of transportation. To determine the parameters that are subject to further analysis, the author analysed publications on the development of inland waterway transport. Then, three groups of respondents (scientists, shipping administration employees, and inland navigation captains) evaluated seven selected factors (demand, operational parameters, ports, service, waterways improvement, fleet, and crew) and their mutual influence. Responses were analysed using the Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. According to the results, the factors influencing inland navigation to the greatest extent are demand, operational parameters, and waterways improvement; at the same time, all these factors were evaluated as influencing the other factors. This means that by modelling these factors, e.g., through political tools, one can achieve the fastest and greatest impact on the development of inland navigation in Poland. The factors assessed as the most important, at the same time being identified as influencing others (not being their effect), are the factors that should be taken into account first, because they can have the fastest and greatest impact on the development of inland navigation in Poland.

The Influence of Ideology on Translation: A Study of The Russia-Ukraine War

Ideology plays a huge role in translation, and it does affect the end product. The study shows that the influence of translation is influenced by the translator's ideology, the institution's ideology, or even the government's ideology. The study aims to investigate the influence of ideology on the translated text and the nature of ideology's function in translation, particularly during wartime. The study focuses on manipulated texts, headlines, and strategies used by translators as they change or rewrite the product of translation to reflect specific beliefs and viewpoints. The study is restricted to texts about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine; the source texts are in English, and the translations are in Arabic. The researcher applies Lefevere's model (1992) by comparing the source texts with their translations. Additionally, the analysis of the translations in the study makes use of critical discourse analysis following Fairclough's (1995) model. The strategies that were used by the translators to manipulate the texts were omission, addition, and lexicalization. The translators interfere in the ST by changing the intent of the original author without maintaining equivalence. The translations of the examples, taken from the RT Arabic Website, Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)website, and Al Emarat Alyoum website, reflect points of view about the Russia-Ukraine war in the countries where they are produced; these websites adopted the official government's statements and the position these governments take from the Russia-Ukraine war. As a result, translation can be used and seen as a political tool to accomplish certain objectives. It is advised to conduct more research to look into additional factors influencing translation as well as the authors' intentions.

A review of railway transportation in Central Asia for corridors and the revival of the Great Silk Road

This review examines the state of railway transportation in Central Asia within the context of the Silk Road initiative, tracing its origins from the United States' New Silk Road strategy. Despite recent setbacks, the Silk Route has become a crucial geopolitical tool for military, political, and economic interests, with corridors like Kazakhstan's Terminal and the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan-Afghanistan route identified for potential revitalization. Uzbekistan, particularly in the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan corridor, emerges as pivotal for advancing the Silk Road initiative. A comprehensive analysis of data collection methodologies employed in studying these corridors is also included to ensure the reliability and validity of the findings. Employing a multifaceted methodology, including quantitative analysis of infrastructure metrics, case studies of specific projects, a literature review synthesizing existing knowledge, and comparative analysis drawing parallels and contrasts, this study explores opportunities and challenges in enhancing these corridors, aiming to contribute to the broader strategy's rejuvenation in Central Asia. By analyzing current conditions and proposing improvements, the research seeks to optimize railway transport, aligning with the Silk Road's historical significance in the contemporary geopolitical landscape.

The narcissistic celebrity leader: Berlusconi’s communication style and its impact on Italian leadership

ABSTRACT Among the many facets of Silvio Berlusconi’s extensive political career, his communication strategies and techniques stand out as particularly significant. This prominence is largely due to his dual role as a media tycoon and a flamboyant, narcissistic figure, both of which heavily influenced his public communication style. This article delves into Berlusconi’s communication approach as a critical element of his leadership. It examines how Berlusconi shaped his leadership image over the decades, focusing on his personality, storytelling, and the media and political marketing tools he employed to project his persona. Furthermore, in its concluding part, it investigates whether recent Italian leaders, particularly those who emerged in the 2010s after Berlusconi’s tenure, exhibit traits traceable to Berlusconi’s innovations. The article’s initial sections explore Berlusconi’s personality profile, his narrative techniques, and the media and political marketing strategies he used. The penultimate section highlights the interplay of these elements, showing how they created a distinctive, innovative leadership style linked to various facets of celebrity politics, sometimes in extreme forms. This section also addresses the legacy of Berlusconi’s leadership style, proposing that it served as a model for later Italian leaders, influencing their communication and image-building strategies. The article concludes by noting how, as a consequence, Berlusconi’s leadership model has been a transformative factor in Italian politics.

Linguistic landscape as a tool of identity negotiation: The case of the Nepali ethnic communities in West Bengal

Ethnic identity is dynamic and hence mutable concerning time and place. It is a social construction that involves society and its actors. Ethnic identity as a social construction is not free from the negotiation process. Such negotiations occur through various tools, the linguistic landscape being one of them. Despite the plethora of literature on identity negotiation in a multicultural and multilingual context, the linguistic landscape has not been sufficiently explored, especially considering it a tool in the ethnic identity negotiation process. Thus, how an ethnic community negotiates identity through linguistic landscape has been the major quest of the research. Therefore, the research tries to empirically examine the process of identity negotiation among the Nepali ethnic communities of Siliguri in the Darjeeling district of the state of West Bengal, India. 60 shop signs of the Nepali ethnic communities were photographed, applying the photographic data collection method. Unstructured interviews with each Nepali shop owner (ethnic sign producer) were also conducted. Photographic data were analyzed semiotically, and thematic and narrative analysis methods were adopted to interpret the interview data. In general, a mixed-method approach was used to analyze the data. The findings suggest that ethnic members symbolically ethnicize their shop signs to negotiate identity. The study shows how LL can be a tool of ethnic identity politics in India. The study signifies how ethnic communities assert identity through LL signage and how LL acts as an effective tool for identity negotiation in contemporary multicultural and multilingual Indian society. Also, this study contends that ethnicity is a relevant aspect of contemporary society and a political resource to ethnic communities.

Traumy i chwały: polityka, narracje i pamięć pod rządami Partii Sprawiedliwości i Rozwoju w Turcji

This paper examines the use of memory as a political tool by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, emphasising the impact of the official historical narrative on commemoration of selected historical traumas and glories, in addition to its influence on collective identity. Over the last two decades, Turkey has undergone a cultural transformation under the rule of the AKP. This transformation has taken place through reevaluation of the Islamic-Ottoman past while distancing itself from Kemalist secularism. Adhering to the principles of Islam, the AKP has articulated its political agenda through a cultural initiative inspired by Turgut Özal’s Neo-Ottomanism. To this end, a series of narratives was developed under a cultural programme based on nostalgia for the Ottoman while scrutinising different aspects of the country’s secular paradigm. The programme was carried out through the commemoration of identity, including the Conquest of Constantinople in 1453 as well as the construction of ‘sites of memory’, such as museums, theme parks or mosques. The establishment of ‘sites of memory’ around these selected narratives allows for an in-depth exploration of how political ideology intersects with memory, contributing to the ongoing transformation of Turkey’s cultural and political landscape.

Econometric Determinants of Chinese Developmental Finance in Sub-Saharan Africa; Further Evidence using a Flow-Type Decomposed Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood Model

Chinese “aid” has long engendered criticism. Western pundits and policymakers posit it as a political tool employed by Beijing to asway foreign policy concessions and secure natural resources access for its domestic industries, often atthe expense of the recipient country. However, we argue that large amounts of these claims lack empirical scrutiny or have been hindered by enduring conceptual, methodological, and data-centric constraints. This paper thus aims to refine and integrate prevailing methodological practices to produce a more nuanced understanding of Chinese motivations. Using empirical regression analysis and a newly released granular dataset spanning 48 Sub-Saharan African countries from 2000-2021, we: (1) decompose Chinese “aid” into flow types of relative concessionality; (2) utilize a Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) estimator to mitigate log-transformation and heteroskedasticity concerns present within traditional modeling of zero-inflated datasets; (3) retain a subset of contemporary values to deal with issues related to simultaneity in our regressors. Our findings suggest that while developmental goals primarily drive concessional aid, commercial lending is moreso influenced by economic self-interest, which is often incorrectly conflated with “aid” in the traditional sense. Further, Chinese “aid” does not flow disproportionately to corrupt or authoritarian regimes. This challenges the dominant “rogue donor” narrative and contributes to a more comprehensive perspective on China's emerging role in global developmental finance.

Trial of Memory: Legal Regulation as a Tool of Memory Politics in Contemporary Russia

The article examines how law enforcement sanctions, typically applied to real-life actions, are being transferred to online activities. Building on François Hartog’s ideas, the study links memorial legislation to a new “regime of historicity,” highlighting its unique role in commemoration. By examining relevant laws and media discussions, the study follows the evolution of memorial legislation, demonstrating its importance in commemorating the Great Patriotic War in post-Soviet symbolic politics. Analysis of the amendments to Article 354.1 of Russia’s Criminal Code from its original formulation in 2014 to the revisions in 2021 reveals the shifting legal landscape surrounding online commemorative practices. As virtual spaces are gaining prominence in public discourse and legal interpretations, the boundaries between online activities and real-world actions are becoming increasingly blurred. The key trends in this process include the growing reliance on virtual platforms for information dissemination, the evolving notion of publicity in legal contexts pertaining to online behavior, and the broadening enforcement of Article 354.1. This research sheds light on the intricate interplay between memory politics, virtual spaces, and legal frameworks, reflecting broader societal shifts in information consumption and expression.

Civilizations at Odds: The Persistent Conflict Between Israel and Palestine

The question whether the issues in the Middle East stem from a clash of values or from Western imperialist intervention has long been a subject of scholarly discourse. This article posits around the discourse of ‘clash of civilizations’, which is an endeavor to uphold Western hegemony in the Middle East. Furthermore, it contends the narrative, that it functions as a self-fulfilling prophecy, exacerbating ongoing conflicts within the region. A complex interplay of factors encompassing ethnic, national, historical, and religious shapes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The degree to which religion influences non-religious players, the identities of conflicting parties, the practical issues at hand, the relevant legislation, and their attitudes are not well acknowledged. This paper explains why West uses a distorted portrayal of conflicting civilizations as a powerful political tool and the risk of this narrative becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy that reshapes modern politics.

Анархическая этничность

The chapter “Anarchist Ethnicity” makes an attempt to consider the concept of ethnicity as part of the modern politics of values. The topic of ethnicity, which arose as a scientific response to a politically discredited racial theory, nevertheless, as the author shows, does not leave the political space. Both primordialist and constructivist concepts of ethnicity retain the priority of ethnic identity (separation of oneself from another, and in political form, attitude towards the enemy) in relation to that archaic (pre-political) community, which can also be extracted from the very idea of ​​ethnos. The author proposes to consider ethnicity not as a tool for dividing communities, but as one of the forces of bringing together the weak, different, and incapable of political solidarity and mobilization. This reveals a unique ethics of ethnicity, which the author calls “ethical mythology,” since here the action of myth and ethics are inseparable. Using the example of the polemics of Derrida and Lévi-Strauss regarding preliterate societies, it is shown that the myth in which a community manifests itself in opposition to various forms of imposed political community (be it a people, a nation or an ethnic group) is a variant of arche-writing in the form in which it described in the concept of deconstruction. In fact, ethnicity contains signs of resistance to the “common meaning” and “political will”, peculiar traces of ritual, non-government practices of heterogeneous communities. The attempt made in this chapter to present such communities as the elusive source of ethnicity and as a distinguishing unit of modern political thinking, like a phoneme in linguistics, reveals the anti-authority and anti-social layer of ethnicity, which is therefore called here “anarchic”. In the chapter “Maidan: Redefining Democracy,” through an analysis of the events that occurred in Ukraine in 2013, which resulted in a change in political power in the country, the author attempts to offer a different version of democracy. It was on the Kiev Maidan, in his opinion, that the event of depoliticization of protest took place, as a result of which many words, such as “freedom”, “justice”, “trust”, “dignity”, ceased to be moral and political tools for manipulating society, but they acquired the concreteness of practical action, not reducible to politics, morality, or economics. The article shows the Maidan effect from the side of its resistance to politics, where the dominance of affective trust exceeds possible political disagreements. It is this that Spinoza, and later Antonio Negri, describes as the “multitude” (multitudo) that underlies democracy. It is this kind of democracy that realizes “freedom”, “equality” and “justice” not as political concepts, but as affects of community, allowing for the realization of both trust and risk in a world filled with political falsehood and disinformation.

A Policy Analysis of the Temporary Protection Statute for Venezuelans in Colombia: Normalising Exceptionality using Humanitarian Discourses

Abstract The Venezuelan crisis has led to over three million people crossing into Colombia. One strategy to address this situation is the Temporary Protection Statute (TPS), aimed at granting migrants legal status and responsibilities without providing them refugee status. Critics argue that portraying this solution as humanitarian might undermine its role as a protective measure. Additionally, there is a lack of understanding of the TPS as a political tool and the problems it aims to tackle. Using a Post-structural Policy Analysis (PPA), this article unpacks the TPS as a political device and the driving forces behind its development. Through text analysis and qualitative semi-structured interviews, the PPA reveals how the TPS in Colombia can be seen as a multifaceted legal and political tool bridging short-term humanitarian needs (primarily protection, healthcare, and labour market access) and long-term development practices (such as integration through ensuring economic, social, and environmental rights), within a complex political landscape hindering long-term solutions. Its legal text epitomises political drivers and discourses shaping migration governance and international protection. This study also shows PPA’s effectiveness in revealing these political factors and the policy-problem-making justifying the TPS as a solution, and offers case-based insights to enhance comparative migration studies.

LGBTQ and Politics: China and Japan Compared

This article explores the impact of state politics on LGBTQ individuals through a comparative study of LGBTQ groups in China and Japan. Despite both countries sharing similar cultural and demographic backgrounds, there is a great divergence in the political status of LGBTQ individuals in these two countries. Previous studies have highlighted cultural reasons for this divergence, but political factors are seldom examined. This article aims to analyze the political logic of China and Japan to explain the great divergence and examine the political mechanisms of their respective political systems. It argues that in China, the suppression of LGBTQ individuals is a complementary action towards the Second-Child/Third-Child Policy, due to the potential exacerbation of demographic challenges. Ideologically, this suppression is a form of Chinese anti-Westernism. On the other hand, in Japan, promoting LGBTQ activism is beneficial since it aligns the country with the global trend. Domestically, the LGBTQ population is considered a crucial political tool for elections, as public sentiment is influenced by a teleological social progressiveness that sees the U.S. as a model. In general, this article elucidates that authoritarian regimes tend to eradicate potential political threats by directly suppressing LGBTQ activism, which holds progressive or subversive ideologies and spreads them through various movements to avoid political instability. In contrast, democratic governments are more “short-sighted”, and tend to align with LGBTQ activism by following current influential ideologies to secure voting blocs.

The Usage of Twitter (Now 𝕏) Amplifiers in the European Elections of 2019

The aim of this study is to investigate how amplifiers are used in Twitter (now called “X”) during election campaigns. Specifically, the main purpose is to identify the role and engagement of Twitter amplifiers in the 2019 European elections, the visibility of political parties and leaders, and the way in which automated tools are used to manipulate public opinion by influencing voting decisions. The countries considered in the study are two economic powers of Western Europe, France and Germany, as well as two countries of the European South, which are affected by the economic and financial crisis, Greece and Italy. The countries from Southern Europe were included in the sample as they are often used by mass media as political campaign tools. This paper emphasizes the Twitter platform through which the data collection was implemented using the official API of the social networking tool, focusing on the 2019 European elections. We collected data on 88 party leaders and MEP candidates between 10 May and 30 May 2019, as well as on 44,651 accounts that retweeted them. We concluded using 237,813 election-related tweets and used network theory to analyze and visualize the data. The results demonstrate that all political parties use amplifiers to promote their tweets, and some use the same amplifiers between different countries.