Political Crisis Research Articles

Lost in Translation; The Evolution of Spanish Translations and the Black Legend in England from 1578 to 1740

This paper traces the evolution of the Black Legend using Spanish accounts of the colonization of the Americas published in English from 1578 to 1740. The Black Legend, largely spread by English, Dutch, and German Protestants, was an anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish narrative demonizing the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Relying in particular on the English appropriation of Spanish Friar Bartolomé de las Casas’s Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, originally published in Spanish in 1552, the thesis argues that English editions of the text reflect England's political and religious turmoil in the 16th and 18th centuries. Previous work on the Black Legend centered on how the authors of New World accounts intended to have their work received in Europe. By studying printed paratexts, including dedicatory letters to patrons, letters to the readers, and the translations themselves, I show how English publishers and translators, and the statesmen who sponsored these publications sought to use Bartolomé de Las Casas's accounts as political. The conquest of the New World brought enormous wealth and power to Spain. At the same time, throughout this period, England suffered religious and political conflicts that boiled over into civil war in the mid-17th century. Many in England feared being overrun by a Catholic Empire or overthrown by Catholics from within. Facing various religious and political crises at home English leaders and booksellers used translations of Las Casas's work to advance their own hopes of British imperial expansion in the New World and to encourage the English to unite in the face of the Spanish threats, such as the Netherlands Civil War and Spanish Armada.

An Efficient Deep Learning Framework for Optimized Event Forecasting

There have been several catastrophic events that have impacted multiple economies and resulted in thousands of fatalities, and violence has generated a severe political and financial crisis. Multiple studies have been centered around the artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) approaches that are most widely used in practice to detect or forecast violent activities. However, machine learning algorithms become less accurate in identifying and forecasting violent activity as data volume and complexity increase. For the prediction of future events, we propose a hybrid deep learning (DL)-based model that is composed of a convolutional neural network (CNN), long short-term memory (LSTM), and an attention layer to learn temporal features from the benchmark the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD is an internationally recognized database that includes around 190,000 violent events and occurrences worldwide from 1970 to 2020. We took into account two factors for this experimental work: the type of event and the type of object used. The LSTM model takes these complex feature extractions from the CNN first to determine the chronological link between data points, whereas the attention model is used for the time series prediction of an event. The results show that the proposed model achieved good accuracies for both cases—type of event and type of object—compared to benchmark studies using the same dataset (98.1% and 97.6%, respectively).

Rethinking the theory of quiet politics: bad corporate behavior and the failure of quiet politics in the east coast gas crisis in Australia, 2022

Abstract The theory of quiet politics has two propositions; first, that business interests prefer to engage with governments in ‘quiet’ arenas shielded from the media and the day-to-day political fray, and second that business interests exert power over governments in quiet politics. We counter the second proposition, arguing that business generally exercises influence rather than power in quiet politics. One precondition for the successful exercise of influence is the acceptance by business of certain protocols of behavior in interactions with governments. In this paper we underline the importance of such protocols by exploring the dynamics of a conflict between the east coast gas industry and the federal government in Australia amidst steep rises in domestic gas prices and supply restrictions in 2022. The gas industry behaved badly in the economy and in politics and did not abide by the relevant protocols of engagement with the government. The government responded aggressively and quiet politics failed. The paper underlines the importance of the behavioral pre-conditions for business influence in quiet politics and what can go wrong if this fails.

Silencing the Guns: African Traditional Proverbs and Aphorisms for Peace and Security in 21st Century Africa

Africa is yet entangled with some Western modernity responsible for their political crises and incessant insecurity. Insecurity in Africa has historical roots from pre-colonial to post-colonial periods. The continent's hosting of the seventh United Nations Peace Support mission and over 60 percent of the UN Security Council's agenda addresses African insecurity underscore the urgent need to tackle these challenges. This paper examines insecurity in Africa and advocates for reviving African traditional methods to restore peace, utilizing proverbs and wisdom. Through analysis, criticism, and prescription, it explores the inherent insecurity problems and argues that African proverbs offer valuable insights for fostering unity. The study compares Western crisis resolution methods with African approaches, concluding that traditional African means are a more effective alternative. It highlights Africa as a potential solution to its own insecurity while recognizing the benefits of Western methods. The paper concluded that Africa has strong indigenous values and security systems capable of addressing insecurity even before colonialism. The paper recommended that African traditional security outfits are more efficient and better considered as alternative measures to solving the problems of peace and insecurity in Africa rather than adopting the Western war-war method.

Political ideology shapes support for the use of AI in policy-making

In a world grappling with technological advancements, the concept of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in governance is becoming increasingly realistic. While some may find this possibility incredibly alluring, others may see it as dystopian. Society must account for these varied opinions when implementing new technologies or regulating and limiting them. This study (N = 703) explored Leftists’ (liberals) and Rightists’ (conservatives) support for using AI in governance decision-making amidst an unprecedented political crisis that washed through Israel shortly after the proclamation of the government’s intentions to initiate reform. Results indicate that Leftists are more favorable toward AI in governance. While legitimacy is tied to support for using AI in governance among both, Rightists’ acceptance is also tied to perceived norms, whereas Leftists’ approval is linked to perceived utility, political efficacy, and warmth. Understanding these ideological differences is crucial, both theoretically and for practical policy formulation regarding AI’s integration into governance.

Populist and Crisis Communication during Political Crisis: Thematic Content Analysis of Pakistani Politicians’ Speeches

Populist and Crisis Communication during Political Crisis: Thematic Content Analysis of Pakistani Politicians’ Speeches

Raging Ennui: On Boredom, History, and the Collapse of Liberal Time

Abstract This article aims to outline a theory of political boredom based on the concept of the liberal temporal dispositive. According to this concept, modern politics is characterized by the reduction of political time consumption to enable the growing temporal autonomy of the individual. However, individuals may experience considerable stress in their pursuit to utilize this free time effectively. Boredom arises when individuals fail to “fill” their available time with meaningful actions. Political crises of boredom occur as attempts by individuals to relieve the pressures accompanying temporal autonomy, sometimes restarting political temporality on a new, massive scale. Furthermore, the article examines modern political philosophy as inherently rooted in the liberal temporal dispositive. Through several historical examples, it is discussed how political philosophy may either contribute to imbuing politics with a desire for meaning or abstain from it in an attitude of serene resignation. It is proposed that liberal democracy requires a temporal ethics based on the latter.

The Office of Shaykh al-‘Aql of the Druze in Lebanon

This book forum centers on Said Abou Zaki's Arabic book, “The Office of Shaykh al-‘Aql of the Druze in Lebanon.” It includes contributions from various scholars, each offering a unique perspective on the historical and institutional analysis of Druze religious leadership in Lebanon: Tuba Yildiz, Yusri Hazran, Akram Khater, and Abdul Rahman M. Chamseddine. Yildiz acknowledges the lack of historical readings and erroneous information in early 20th-century works on the Druze. She appreciates Abou Zaki's comprehensive study of Lebanese and Ottoman perspectives, offering a broader understanding of the Druze religious institution's development and its connection with the Ottoman Empire's socio-religious policies. Hazran commends the book for providing a comprehensive historical study of the Druze community's religious and spiritual leadership, shedding light on its evolution from the 11th century through to the Ottoman Empire's fall. Although the book excels in its research methods and historical insights, Hazran suggests strengthening it by addressing specific methodological and historical issues, such as placing the discussion on existing narratives and substantiating Emir Bashir Shihab II's role in the schism. Khater highlights the internal tensions in Abou Zaki's book arising from its threefold goals: serving as a historiographical essay, an origins story, and a history of Mashyakhat al-‘Aql. Khater commends the work's critical review of existing literature and acknowledges the book's significant contribution to understanding the position of Shaykh al-‘Aql amidst political crises. Chamseddine praised Abou Zaki's critical historiographical approach and genealogical method. Chamseddine highlights the importance of integrating oral histories and local traditions into academic research. He notes that Abou Zaki's work sheds light on the Druze community's religious evolution, although he critiques the book's occasional lack of coherence due to abrupt transitions and unexplained terminology. The reviewers concluded that the book constitutes a significant contribution to Druze Studies.

Humanitarian Architecture in Service of Children: Designing an Orphanage for Vulnerable Children in Yaoundé

This research explores the impact of humanitarian architecture in designing an orphanage for vulnerable children in Yaoundé, Cameroon. In a context where millions of children are affected by social, economic, and political crises, particularly in Sub- Saharan Africa, humanitarian architecture emerges as a viable response to ensure their protection and well-being. The literature review highlights the key principles of humanitarian architecture, such as user-centered design, the use of local and sustainable materials, and the creation of resilient spaces in times of crisis. Through case studies, including projects in Burkina Faso and Mali, this research examines how architectural approaches can be integrated into educational and care facilities to improve the living environment of vulnerable children. The work concludes with design proposals for an orphanage in Yaoundé, focusing on adaptation to the local climate, material sustainability, and community participation, aiming to strengthen the resilience and autonomy of children.

Explaining the Taliban’s Revival: Thomas Spragens’s Crisis Theory

The revival of the Taliban and their rapid domination of Afghanistan shocked the world. It is a response to the chronic historical, political and social crises of the Afghan society, which is still in geopolitical and strategic confusion and disorder. Using the analytical descriptive method, the present study attempts to answer the question related to the causes of the reemergence of the Taliban based on Thomas Spragens’ crisis theory. The research hypothesis states that the conflict between political actors and the creation of a political deadlock has caused successive crises and political, social and security disintegration in the society. Accepting the Taliban, the Afghan people seek to solve the crisis and restore, peace, stability, order and security for themselves and their descendants. It seems that the occupation of the country, nonimplementation of Sharia laws and spread of corruption are signs of a brewing crisis caused by the weakness of the central government, lack of nation-state agreement, the spread of ethnocentrism and overdependence on America. To address these challenges, Afghans increasingly resort to Jihad and the formation of an Islamic Emirate as a possible solution.

Extending the multiculturalism metaphors: state identity in Nasarawa State’s Su-dir dance theatre as fruit salad juice

The robust multiculturalism debate and its attendant metaphors have paid little attention to the peculiar realities of managing the inherent cultural diversity in Africa. This paper opens up the existing debate on multiculturalism, and offers an option of the Fruit Salad Juice as the identity produced through the active cultural interactions within a typical African multi-ethnic state. The Fruit Salad Juice alternative specifically applies to the theatrical performances that emanate from these multicultural collaborations. The paper examines Su-dir dance theatre being one of the products of the Let’s Sheathe Our Swords (LSOS) project launched by the Nasarawa State government of Nigeria to facilitate social therapy and cultural integration after a protracted period of inter-ethnic, religious and political crises in the state. Data for this study was collated through the participant observation and interview methods. At various points, I conducted interviews with the administrators, consultants, and artistes of the Nasarawa State Performing Troupe, as well as some members of the Su-Dir audience. Nasarawa state is conceptualized as a fruit salad bowl, and the LSOS theatrical pieces as juice produced thereof. The idea of Fruit Salad Juice is demonstrated in the evidence of inclusivity and state identity found in the compositional elements of the Su-dir dance theatre and other outcomes of the LSOS project.

The J. Carter's administration's perception of Kurdish problem in the context of the Turkish political crisis of 1977–1980

The article is devoted to the administration's perception of J. Carter of the Kurdish problem within the framework of US-Turkish relations during the political crisis in Turkey in the second half of the 1970s and early 1980s. In the first months of his tenure, the administration of J. Carter faced a number of serious problems in bilateral relations with Turkey. The political crisis that began in Turkey became one of the challenges for the entire American policy in the Middle East, which coincided with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the American-Iranian confrontation and the entry of Soviet troops into Afghanistan. Under these conditions, the American leadership sought to maintain the previous level of allied relations with Ankara and ensure the functioning of American military facilities in the country. One of the key factors in the destabilization of Turkey during this period was the national liberation struggle of the Turkish Kurds. Based on the assumption that the Soviet Union was behind the activation of the Kurds in Turkey, Washington sought to establish cooperation with the changing Turkish governments and neutralize rumors circulating among the Turkish establishment about American support for the Kurdish movement, and since 1980, to achieve coordinated American-Turkish actions against the potential Soviet threat. The purpose of the article is to determine the place of the Kurdish component in the Turkish policy of the administration of J. Carter in 1977–1980. Based on the materials of the US Department of State and intelligence agencies, the dynamics of perception of the Turkish Kurdish movement in the United States has been traced from ignoring and suspicion to opposition as a potential tool for advancing Soviet interests. Статья посвящена восприятию администрацией Дж. Картера курдской проблемы в рамках американо-турецких взаимоотношений во время политического кризиса в Турции во второй половине 1970-х – начале 1980-х гг. В первые месяцы пребывания у власти администрация Дж. Картера столкнулась с рядом серьезных проблем в двусторонних отношениях с Турцией. Начавшийся политической кризис в Турции стал одним из вызовов для всей американской политики на Ближнем и Среднем Востоке, который по времени совпал с исламской революцией в Иране, американо-иранским противостояниям и вводом советских войск в Афганистан. В этих условиях американское руководство стремилось сохранить прежний уровень союзнических отношений с Анкарой и обеспечить функционирование американских военных объектов на территории страны. Одним из ключевых факторов дестабилизации Турции в этот период стала национально-освободительная борьба турецких курдов. Исходя из предположения, что за активизацией курдов в Турции стоит Советский Союз, Вашингтон стремился наладить взаимодействие со сменяющимися турецкими правительствами и нивелировать циркулировавшие среди турецкого истеблишмента слухи об американской поддержке курдского движения, а начиная с 1980 г., – добиться согласованных американо-турецких действий против потенциальной советской угрозы. Целью статьи является определение места курдской составляющей в турецкой политике администрации Дж. Картера в 1977–1980 гг. На материалах Государственного департамента США и разведывательных ведомств прослежена динамика восприятия в США движения турецких курдов от игнорирования и подозрительности до противодействия как потенциальному орудию продвижения советских интересов.

Political Culture and Cyclical Conflict in Ethiopia: Exploring the Generative Dynamics of Political Crisis in the 2020s

Ethiopia is frequently facing serious political–communal conflict. Prevailing narratives attempting to identify causes often focus on presumed ‘ethnic’ groups and inequalities – a perspective crystallized especially in the past ca. 30 years. While Ethiopia as a socio-political domain existed for ages before the Emperor Menilik period (1889–1913) of incorporation of adjacent territories, the question emerges whether the ‘roots’ of recent armed conflicts are as much contemporary-political as historical, and related to an established political culture, based on resilient authoritarian values among both elites and the wider population. Ethiopia’s current unresolved conflict dynamics need a renewed analysis of not only history and ‘political economy’ but also of recent constitutional features and group politics, which strongly impacted on its political culture. On the basis of document study and interviews, I examine crucial features of such recent processes so as to re-evaluate the specific articulations of ethno-regionally based governance in Ethiopia in recent years to find causal elements fuelling the repetitive cycles of conflict.

Food security status of Zimbabwean immigrants living in Msunduzi municipality, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study aims to examine food security status of Zimbabwean immigrants living in Msundizi municipality, South Africa, during the COV-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study design using a mixed-methods approach was adopted to collect data from 379 randomly selected Zimbabwean immigrants. Food security status was assessed using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression models. Most immigrants were males (66%), 52.2% were 18–38 years old, and 91.4% were employed. Most respondents (51%) had a tertiary education, and 35.9% earned between R3001 and R4500. The majority of immigrants (75%) were food insecure. Food insecurity was perceived to be due to reduced/loss of employment, socio-political factors such as theft, insecurity/violence, political crisis, lack of land ownership, and high food prices. The age, immigration status, and type of employment were associated with food insecurity. Food insecurity is prevalent among Zimbabwean immigrants living in Msunduzi municipality. There is a need for targeted food security policies that are aimed at increasing availability and access to food among immigrants. The SA government should extend food safety nets to all, regardless of citizen status.

A Detailed Case Study of Human Rights Violation in Chennai Region with Reference of Union Carbide Corporation Vs Union of India

Human rights include the expression of the need for people to be treated in a fair, decent and humane manner regardless of their ethnic, religious or racial profile. Violation of human rights involves denying human beings their basic moral rights. These violations have been part of human history, and only in the last century has a general consensus emerged that they are absolutely wrong. Perpetrators of human rights abuses range from governments, corporations and organized crime rings to communities and individuals. There are many underlying causes that lead people to violate human rights. There is a temptation to view human rights violations in a one-dimensional construct involving a very simplistic spectrum of evil versus good. The first part of this article examines the view that "human rights violators are not necessarily just evil, but may also be themselves forced into ways of behaving by external circumstances". Violations of human rights are a result of the innate evil nature of the perpetrators, who argue that there are other environmental and biological factors that drive people to commit such crimes. The second part of the paper examines the extent to which fear of the "other" drives the desire to commit war crimes against a perceived rival group. The study is based on a systematic content analysis of official documents, press releases, newspapers, articles and interviews. I quantitatively collected all available information and also identified the most frequently recurring terminology and key words, which were graphically represented whenever possible. It also consists of articles and sections as well as various steps taken as a whole or generally or individually with developments and human rights issues from time to time that help in the violation and protection of people around the world. You will find here a discussion of the issue of Kashmir, humanitarian crises during and after the conflict in Gaza between Israeli forces and Hamas in 2008-2009, the UN's view of human rights violations, the crises caused by the 2006 Lebanon war, the humanitarian disaster in the Darfur province of Sudan (2003- 2010); and finally the political, social and economic crisis in Zimbabwe (2001–2010). The case studies analyzed in this research report reveal a number of similar trends as well as some notable differences. As such, they restrict civil liberties to prevent the emergence and mobilization of dissent in society. Moreover, human rights are at the heart of the European integration process (which was built on the ashes of civil war and genocide) and its long-term aspirations. The fundamental recognition of human rights is therefore always reflected in the EU's foreign policy and external relations.

Embedding Sustainability across a Teacher Education Course: Teacher Educator Experiences

Abstract Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) remains an urgent priority to combat the numerous social, environmental and political crises prominent in the 21st century. This article shares the experiences of teacher educators who integrated ESD into discipline-specific units of study for pre-service teachers. Using a collaborative auto-ethnographic approach, we explore how curriculum change for ESD was navigated and discuss how institutional support was essential for providing legitimacy and necessary resources. Drawing on Noddings’ approach to ethics of care, we emphasise the significance of valuing the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders involved in curriculum change and advocate for inclusive and responsive approaches that engage individuals meaningfully throughout the process.

Dynamics of persistence in Brazilian economic uncertainty, expectation, and confidence indexes

This study examines the persistence dynamics in Brazilian economic uncertainty, confidence, and expectation indexes, in both business and consumer sides of the economy. Using rolling window estimations of the fractional integration parameter, we assess how economic turbulence influences the persistence of these indexes. We find that economic uncertainty in Brazil is non-stationary but mean-reverting, with its persistence only transitorily affected by economic and political crises. Interestingly, confidence and expectation indexes displayed hysteretic behavior, with multiple persistence regimes linked to crises. These results may be informative for policymakers about the perceptions of the public and businessmen to economic shocks and crises.

Political Repression, Refugee Crises and Labor Migration from Post-Colonial Mali

This article zooms in on the ways in which forced migration articulates with labor migration in urban West Africa. Precisely, it reflects on how the refugee crisis contributes to labor migration and, inversely, how labor migration is used as a strategy to respond to the predicament induced by the adverse and often deeply humiliating living conditions of exile. To this end, we situate the article within broader scholarly debates on migration categories. We use the notion “exile” to refer to the social conditions induced by political persecution-related relocations from Mali to Niger and Senegal. Our discussion draws on data collected from freeborn Tuareg from Mali in Niamey and former Malian students who fled the dictatorship of Moussa Traoré. The results prompt a reflection that prioritizes the empirical connections between forced and labor migrations over their differences, something that is often taken for granted in the academic literature and in political narratives.

Chronicity, Women’s Suffering, and Prayer: a Budding Prayer Group’s Response to Chronic Developmental Crises in Zimbabwe

Abstract This paper uses textual analysis of an audio note that circulated on WhatsApp in 2018 presenting the founder of a rapidly growing predominantly women-only Zimbabwean prayer group. The audio note’s content is taken as an emergent ethnography exposing emic views of women’s lived realities. The analysis uses notions of ‘chronicity’, (Vigh 2008, 10–15) and ‘women’s suffering’ (Cole 2012, 384–6) to ground the audio note’s content in Zimbabwe’s prolonged socioeconomic and political crises. Chronic crises produce unique social actions (Vigh 2008), such as popular religious practices and theologies (Miller-McLemore 2018). The group prefers do-it-yourself (DIY) prayers which demand constant environmental and self-assessment, and comparing with peers. The group’s construction of women’s suffering as anathema to ideal Pentecostal personhoods discussed in four themes discernible from the audio note is revealing (Harnisch 2000). Techniques of DIY prayers echo the feminist notion that ‘the personal is political’. Thus, the group potentially contributes to gender transformation.

Overcoming barriers to cervical cancer prevention in Afghanistan: The imperative for an HPV vaccination and screening program.

SynopsisUrgent action is required to implement cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination programs in Afghanistan to address rising incidence and fatalities amidst political and humanitarian crises.