Political Views Research Articles

Changing Political Identities of the Iranian Kurdish Left in Europe

Abstract This article examines the tendency towards political individualism and its impact among first-generation political immigrants with a leftist political background from Iran/Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhelat) living in Western Europe, from the perspective of individuals’ political identity in terms of relations with political organizations and their ideological stance. Following a qualitative approach, data was collected through semi-structured in-depth and focus group interviews with members and ex-members of political parties. The findings show that, as a result of leaving Iran’s political climate as well as Kurdish political organizations, and with the influence of a new political culture, many interviewees have adopted individualized politics based on their own opinions and self-interest. The immigrants have found a multi-dimensional political view that simultaneously pays attention to the ethno-national, class, and gender issues of Kurdish society.

Diasporas during conflict: A mixed‐method analysis of attitudes of the Russian‐speaking community in Finland towards the Russia‐Ukraine war

AbstractThis mixed‐method study of 1,374 Russian‐speaking immigrants living in Finland investigated how different characteristics of their socio‐political integration are reflected in their attitudes towards supporting Ukraine during the war. The results of survey responses showed that trust in Finnish media and engagement with Finnish societal issues predicted stronger ‘pro‐Ukraine’ attitudes (i.e., support for Finland's aid for Ukraine and condemning of Russia's invasion), while experiences of increased hate speech or discrimination of Russian speakers in Finland were related to weaker ‘pro‐Ukraine’ attitudes. Next, person‐centred analysis identified three socio‐political integration clusters. High Integration cluster respondents highly supported Ukraine as compared to Critical and Low Integration clusters. Critical Integration respondents were somewhat more integrated than Low Integration respondents, except they felt that discrimination towards Russian speakers had increased due to the war. Analyses of open‐ended responses confirmed that Critical Integration respondents were most likely concerned with discrimination. Low integration respondents had ambivalent attitudes in that many were opposed to the war but felt that Western countries were also responsible. Our findings highlight the role of socio‐political integration – and especially perceived discrimination – in shaping immigrants' political views during political turmoil. Receiving societies should promote non‐discrimination and inclusiveness to mitigate intergroup conflicts in societies with significant diasporic communities. Please refer to the Supplementary Material section to find this article's Community and Social Impact Statement.

Children and their environment in Estonian working-class literature at the turn of the twentieth century

ABSTRACT The living environments of children in Estonian working-class literature are depicted in a way that would lead the reader to support certain political views and sympathize with the working classes. The political effect distinguishes the depictions of the children’s environments in working-class literature from naturalist descriptions, which, albeit still gruesome, are more neutral. It also sets it apart from the Soviet proletarian approach, in which Soviet propaganda was always at the forefront. This article analyses fictional works by Estonian working-class authors to demonstrate how children’s environments were used to promote the working-class movement that took hold in Europe in the beginning of the twentieth century and considers the intentions of these authors.

"Untrustworthy" Stories - аn Аrchival Reading of Personnel Files of 'Oppositional' Employees of the Bulgarian Cinematography State Company in the Period 1948-1958

The political change that occurred in Bulgaria in the middle of the 20th century had a serious impact on administrative practices for personnel selection in various professional fields. In culture and the arts, it becomes especially important to attract people with appropriate political views and behavior corresponding to the imposed party criteria, goals and values. At the same time, the totalitarian machine worked mercilessly against any form of difference, whether it is a matter of lifestyle, character traits or simple expression of disagreement. Diverse information is duly collected for anyone who starts work in important spheres for the new government, such as cinema. By studying the personnel files of candidates for certain positions or employees who are inconvenient to the authorities, trends can be discovered in the way personnel are selected in the Bulgarian cinematography. This would allow for inferences to be made about the practices of enforcing the new political doctrine on the 'cultural front' by minimizing or eliminating opportunities for divergent thinking, individualism, innovation or cultural pluralism. The effects of this ideological and cultural recoding have a tangible impact on entire cultural and professional fields, but also on the development of cultural industries in Bulgaria and their ability to adapt to subsequent changes. Мoreover, studying and rationalizing the past could help us make visible causality obscured by historical time in order to find more effective solutions to some problems of the present.

Scenario-Based Approach to AI’s Agency to Perform Human-Specific Tasks

Abstract The development of service robots and chatbots has changed the way companies interact with their customers. Several automated tasks have been taken over by AI, such as communication with customers, processing of orders and also other automated tasks. To measure the impact AI will have on our society, we have analyzed AI’s agency by testing different scenarios of AI’s ability to perform human-specific tasks such as having own political opinions, religious beliefs and other situations which go beyond the simple execution of tasks. The results show that consumers perceive a low probability that AI has such thoughts. However, AI with stronger anthropomorphic characteristics is more likely to have agency to perform these types of tasks. According to our study, a human-like appearance enhances the perception that AI can have political views, religious beliefs and an own identity. Moreover, people consider that AI with anthropomorphic characteristics should be responsible for their mistakes and punished if they do something wrong. In spite of this, AI, independent of its anthropomorphic characteristics, is not believed to have the ability to solve mankind problems such as reducing pollution, stabilizing the world economy or to ensure world peace. Our research also shows that men are more inclined to attribute agency to AI compared to women, which perceive a lower AI agency.

Reputational costs of receptiveness: When and why being receptive to opposing political views backfires.

A fast-growing body of research finds that receptiveness to opposing political views carries reputational benefits. A different body of research finds that opposing political views and the people who hold them are seen as repugnant. How could it be that people receptive to opposing political ideas are viewed positively when the political opponents they are receptive to are seen negatively? In seven main (N = 5,286) and nine supplemental studies (N = 3,983 participants in online studies; N = 124,493 observations in field data), we reconcile this tension by arguing that the identity of the person one is receptive to determines whether receptiveness carries reputational benefits or costs. When the information source belongs to the opposing party, receptiveness to opposing political views often carries reputational costs. We find these reputational costs across both strong and weak signals of receptiveness, eight different political and social issues, and multiple types of prototypical out-party sources. We argue that these costs arise because members of the opposing party are frequently stereotyped as immoral, and thus receptiveness to their ideas is seen negatively. As a boundary condition, we find that the costs of receptiveness are pronounced for sources who are prototypical of the out-party and attenuate (or even reverse) for sources who are nonprototypical. These findings resolve a seeming contradiction between two distinct literatures in psychology, contribute to a rapidly expanding literature on the interpersonal consequences of receptiveness, and lay the groundwork for understanding novel barriers to, and ultimately solutions for, the lack of cross-party openness and political polarization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Milton and the Republican Politics of Paradise Lost

Milton was both a great poet and in his own time a well-known political writer. Reading Paradise Lost in the light of his republican political writings, however, presents a serious problem because it is Satan and his confederates who speak and act like republicans in that epic poem, as would have been obvious to his contemporary readers. Rather than try to explain this problem away as others have done, this paper argues that Paradise Lost advances a powerful republican argument continuous with Milton’s earlier political views. Specifically, Paradise Lost shows that monarchy and other artificial hierarchies are evil because they contradict the natural and equal right to freedom of all human beings.

Using social networks to study the political culture of modern China

The article systematizes the main approaches adopted by a group of researchers from MGIMO University, HSE University and the Institute of China and Modern Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences, united within the framework of the ”Moscow Project for the Study of Chinese Political Culture”, to investigate the political culture of modern China through the monitoring of social networks. The authors analyze the existing ideas about political culture in the Chinese academic discourse, identify problems in studying the political views of Chinese citizens by traditional sociological methods (surveys, questionnaires). They further explain the relevance of using social network analysis in modern studies of Chinese society, and also describe the methodology they developed for studying social networks using sentiment analysis. The article lays the theoretical and methodological basis for further research on modern Chinese society based on an array of data from Chinese social networks.

ChatGPT-4 as a journalist: Whose perspectives is it reproducing?

The rapid emergence of generative AI models in the media sector demands a critical examination of the narratives these models produce, particularly in relation to sensitive topics, such as politics, racism, immigration, public health, gender and violence, among others. The ease with which generative AI can produce narratives on sensitive topics raises concerns about potential harms, such as amplifying biases or spreading misinformation. Our study juxtaposes the content generated by a state-of-the-art generative AI, specifically ChatGPT-4, with actual articles from leading UK media outlets on the topic of immigration. Our specific case study focusses on the representation of Eastern European Roma migrants in the context of the 2016 UK Referendum on EU membership. Through a comparative critical discourse analysis, we uncover patterns of representation, inherent biases and potential discrepancies in representation between AI-generated narratives and mainstream media discourse with different political views. Preliminary findings suggest that ChatGPT-4 exhibits a remarkable degree of objectivity in its reporting and demonstrates heightened racial awareness in the content it produces. Moreover, it appears to consistently prioritise factual accuracy over sensationalism. All these features set it apart from right-wing media articles in our sample. This is further evidenced by the fact that, in most instances, ChatGPT-4 refrains from generating text or does so only after considerable adjustments when prompted with headlines that the model deems inflammatory. While these features can be attributed to the model’s diverse training data and model architecture, the findings invite further examination to determine the full scope of ChatGPT-4’s capabilities and its potential shortcomings in representing the full spectrum of social and political perspectives prevalent in society.

White Nationalism, Politically Motivated Reasoning and Americans’ Attitudes About Criminally Charging Donald Trump

Abstract On 19 December 2022, the United States House Select Committee referred former president Donald Trump to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution. Subsequently, Mr. Trump was indicted four times and charged with 91 felonies. Nevertheless, some Americans have remained steadfast in supporting him. Observers theorize that indifference to Mr. Trump’s wrongdoing reflects white nationalism and politically motivated reasoning. We test this theory using experimental data from a national survey fielded before any public hearings or charges. Our analyses reveal that Americans who endorse white nationalism and those who hold right-wing political views are more likely to oppose criminal charges. Furthermore, the relationship between white nationalism and attitudes about criminally charging Mr. Trump is indirect, through identification with the political right.

Behavioral Patterns of Social Media Users toward Policy: A Scientometric Analysis

This research explores the behavioural patterns of social media users in response to policies, bridging a gap in the literature by providing in-depth insights into the interaction between user behaviour and public policies relating to social media. An important contribution of this research lies in its holistic approach to understanding how social media users respond to various public policies and their impact on their behaviour. This research aims to explore the influence of the interaction between social media and public policy, understanding how user behaviour on these platforms affects responses to government policies. This study uses qualitative research methods with a scientometric approach. The main results underline the crucial role of social media not only as a communication channel but also as a significant influence tool in shaping public opinion and policy. These studies show that social media has a dual potential, which can support professional and community development, as well as influence government policies and actions through social interaction and information dissemination. However, negative impacts are also evident, such as in the spread of fake news that can significantly alter political views. The practical implications of this research emphasise the need for proactive and systematic government strategies in using social media for the dissemination of accurate information and combating fake news, thereby improving the effectiveness of policy communication and responsiveness to public needs.

ZWEI ‘ACHTUNDVIERZIGER VON ALTEM SCHROT UND KORNʼ SCHREIBEN ÜBER DEN VÖLKERFRÜHLING: LOUISE ASTON, MAX RING UND IHRE DARSTELLUNG DER MÄRZREVOLUTION

AbstractThe following article compares two novels whose plots are set during the March Revolution of 1848. Berlin und Breslau, 1847–49 is the novel debut of Max Ring, a now largely forgotten writer and doctor of Jewish origin who came from Upper Silesia and became the author of numerous stories, novels and non‐fiction books in the second half of the nineteenth century. He often uses the location of Berlin. In the novel Revolution und Contrerevolution, Louise Aston – poet, author and women's rights activist from Gröningen – deals with revolutionary issues. Both books were published in 1849, at a time when the consequences of these events for the future were not yet entirely foreseeable. Both Aston and Ring were supporters of the revolution. In this paper, the perspectives and views of their characters or narrators as well as the issues of narrative strategies and focalisation are analysed and discussed. Of importance here are not only the gender‐specific differences between Louise Aston and Max Ring, but primarily, in addition to similarities such as generational affiliation, the differences in their literary expression and the articulation of their political views.

The Impact of The Parliamentary Threshold Policy On Small Parties: The Failure of The Partai Persatuan Pembangunan To Meet The Parliamentary Threshold In The 2024 Election

The implementation of the parliamentary threshold policy poses significant challenges for small parties or new parties to gain representation in the legislature. This case study examines the impact of the parliamentary threshold policy on small parties, focusing on the failure of the Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP) to meet the parliamentary threshold in the 2024 elections. The research highlights that small parties face difficulties in reaching the threshold, which results in their failure to gain seats in parliament. This situation affects political pluralism by limiting the diversity of political views represented in the legislature, potentially reducing inclusive and fair representation for different groups of voters. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of a mature political system in addressing the challenges of democracy, accommodating diverse political views, including from small parties, to ensure fair and inclusive representation for all citizens. In this research, the method used is normative qualitative, which describes information obtained from legal standards, theories, and legal principles and rules related to the core of the problem by collecting data through interviews. Parliamentary thresholds in fact put pressure on small parties to remain in parliament as the threshold numbers get higher. Thresholds that aim to simplify parties turn out to be a barrier to the represented and the represented, as well as political dissatisfaction and undermine the legitimacy of the political system.

The Decline in Professional Organization Growth Has Accompanied the Decline of Physician Influence on Healthcare

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. There is little doubt that most professional organizations are experiencing a failure to grow. For example, in the early 1950’s, about 75% of US physicians were American Medical Association (AMA) members (1). That percentage has steadily decreased over the years. In 2019 there were only 132,133 practicing physicians or about 12.1% of physicians who are AMA members (2). According to Kevin Campbell (2) there are many reasons for this decline including: • The AMA touts itself as speaking for all of us (physicians) -- but rarely listens to any of us -- they work to fill their own pockets with dollars from big pharma and government. • The AMA tends to have a narrow-minded political view and works to stifle any dissenting opinions (in an effort to continue to align with the government agencies that line the pockets of AMA executives with taxpayer money). • The AMA has collaborated with the government to …

Oligarchia Revisited

Summary This article revisits an ostensibly important monument in Classical Attic historiography: the so-called Tomb of Critias, as preserved in a scholium note in Aeschines’ “Against Timarchus” (1.39). We survey prior scholarly positions on the realia of this monument, suggest it is a fiction, and consider the possible sources for the hexameter verse associated with it. We argue that the poetic composition from which the entire tradition derives, rather than being an inscription on a tomb, may in fact be an oligarchic commemoration, perhaps an encomium or epitaphios logos recited at Eleusis in the aftermath of the fall of the Thirty. As such, the verse composition may allude to a historiographical tradition that viewed the Thirty as a subversive hetaireia/kōmos group led out to govern the unruly dēmos. The reception of this composition generates a ‘lieu de mémoire’ in the historical imagination of later readers. The composition offers a piece of comparanda for the political views expressed by other Athenians with pro-oligarchic tendencies, an extreme formulation that strongly contrasts with the extant writings of Critias, Plato, and Xenophon. In revisiting this short anecdote we highlight the relevance of both scholia and monuments in our understanding of Attic historiography.

Trust in the Food and Drug Administration: ANational Survey Study.

Building trust in public health agencies like the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has become a key government priority. Understanding the roots of FDA mistrust is important if the agency is to develop targeted messaging and reforms aimed at building confidence in the agency. We conducted a survey of 2,021 respondents in the US probing attitudes toward the FDA. The primary outcome was FDA trust, defined as the mean score that each respondent assigned to the FDA across four prespecified axes: (1) competence and effectiveness; (2) commitment to acting in the best interests of the American public; (3) abiding by the rules and regulations set forth by policy or law; and (4) expertise in health, science, and medicine. On multivariableordinal logistic regression, FDA mistrust was associated with female gender (odds ratio [OR] = 0.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.62-0.88), rural community (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.75-0.96), conservative political views (OR 0.77, 95% CI 0.74-0.81), worse self-reported health (OR 0.89, 95% CI 0.80-0.98), lower satisfaction with health care received (OR 0.63, 95% CI 0.56-0.71), less attention to health and science news (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.64-0.80), and not having children under the age of 18 (OR 0.72, 95% CI 0.60-0.86). These findings underscore the challenges faced by US political leaders in convincing a heterogeneous American public to trust the FDA. The FDA should develop and deploy targeted outreach strategies to populations with lower levels of trust and strengthen internal processes that minimize biases and ensure sound decision-making.

CONTINUITY IN POLITICAL AUTHORITY OF THE PRC: FEATURES OF THE FIRST GENERATION FOREIGN POLICY

The issue of succession to political power in the People's Republic of China is a frequently discussed topic in academic research. The fifth generation of Chinese power, the Xi Jinping administration, without opposing the political views of previous generations, continues its political course adhering to the basic foreign policy principles since the time of Mao Zedong. Therefore, the issue of continuity of China's foreign policy concepts is of particular interest. The main goal of the work is to consider the conceptual foundations of the foreign policy of the first generation of Chinese power and its evolution of development associated with changes in international relations of that time. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that foreign policy concepts formed during the time of Mao Zedong create optimal conditions for rationalizing the foreign policy of today's China. Objectives include assessing certain historical events in Chinese foreign policy and diplomacy and determining how they influenced the subsequent development of Chinese foreign policy. The research topic was considered based on the theory of political realism using methods of historical-comparative, structural, content analysis, and systematization methods. These methods helped to consider the problem and systematize the research results comprehensively. The results of the study provide an opportunity to deeply understand the issues of succession of Chinese political power and China's current foreign policy positions in a historical context. In addition, the results of the study can be widely used in research in the field of international relations, political science, Chinese studies, and history.

The Enforcement of Political Norms

Abstract Democracies generate norms prescribing what behaviours and preferences are deemed acceptable. But what keeps these political norms in place? We expect that they are enforced by observers who disapprove of norm-breaching behaviour and are willing to apply sanctions that make it socially costly. We test this expectation with a survey in Spain, where respondents were shown pictures of individuals with different political views. We focus on norms against radical-right preferences, one of the most established political norms. In line with our expectations, individuals disapprove of radical-right preferences more than other political preferences. This makes them more likely to socially sanction those preferences, which they do mainly in indirect ways that do not force interaction with the person breaching the norm. We provide evidence on the individual-level predictors of norm enforcement. Our findings highlight the micro-level mechanisms by which social influence affects the behaviour of democratic citizens.

The Novel by Patricio de la Escosura "The Patriarch of the Valley" in the Context of the Spanish Political Discourse of the 19<sup>th</sup> Century

The article presents the results of a study dedicated to the novel by the Spanish writer P. de la Escosura "The Patriarch of the Valley", first published in 1846. The novel is analyzed in the context of the Spanish political discourse of the 1830s-1840s. In the course of the study, the 2009 edition of “The Patriarch of the Valley” was used. The historical approach to the study of political discourse was used in the work. The characters in the novel were divided into 4 groups depending on their political views: (1) right-wing Carlists (conservatives); (2) moderate Carlists; (3) moderate liberals; (4) radical liberals. A comparative analysis of the images of characters belonging to different groups has been carried out. The tendencies of displaying real historical figures in the novel are considered. An analysis of the intertext of "The Patriarch of the Valley" is made. P. de la Escosura included in his novel references to the literary works of contemporary Spanish writers who were on the same ideological positions as the author of "The Patriarch of the Valley". It is concluded that "The Patriarch of the Valley" was not an ordinary serial, but was used by the author as a tool of political propaganda.

A Contribution to the Study of Violence Against Women in Politics

This chapter addresses various aspects of the emerging research area, exploring concepts, theories, and data related to the study of violence against women in politics. It occurs within the political sphere but specifically targets women. It is used to reinforce traditional social and political structures by targeting women leaders who challenge patriarchy and the prevailing social expectations and norms. In many societies, such practices are marginalized, naturalized, depoliticized, and remain invisible. When female politicians are attacked for their political views alone, this is not necessarily a case of violence against women in politics. Ambiguity emerges, however, due to the fact that the means for attacking female politicians often rely on gendered scripts, focusing on women’s bodies and their traditional social roles, primarily as mothers and wives, to deny or undercut women’s competence in the political sphere. Symbolic and semiotic violence in politics can be effective in sustaining women’s oppression because it is subtle, euphemized, and invisible. Even if women recognize these acts as exercises of power, they still do not name it violence, even in societies with greater levels of gender equality. The concept of semiotic violence refers to the use of language, images and symbols as a means to marginalize and disqualify women as political actors. Often normalized, these dynamics serve to maintain gender hierarchies, undermining democracy and eroding the possibilities for women’s political empowerment. In response to the question of how to solve the problem of violence against women in politics, researchers offer a solution in the form of a comprehensive approach to addressing this sort of violence.