Political Objectives Research Articles

Cross-culture analysis of batik sub-culture Pekalongan: A case study on the complexity dimensions of representation, diversity and conflict

Pekalongan batik sub-culture development is influenced by three cultures namely Javanese, Chinese and Arabic. Most studies of batik use a cultural and socioeconomic analysis by focusing mainly its cultural aspects. This research aims to analysis transformation of social and economic assets, by using a different perspective namely cross-cultural theory and democratization framework in order to explain the political economic contestation among the entrepreneurs. This research uses Robert Dahl’s conceptual framework regarding the development of democracy and only uses three of the seven relevant aspects, namely: (a) representation, (b) diversity, and (c) conflict. Case studies as a qualitative methodology are used with in-depth interview techniques, observation and literature reviews as data collection tools. The results of this study are, Pekalongan batik sub-culture has formed a kind of long acculturation formation in the cultural perspective, but secondly it also contributes to develop a kind of political contestation, conflicts and gender-bias political practices This study concludes that regional autonomy and decentralization policies have created space for political contestation and opened up opportunities to transform the social/economic capital of batik entrepreneurs as assets for political contestation and have even raised the issue of identity politics.

Data and statecraft: why and how states localize data

AbstractThis paper explores the motives and mechanisms behind data localization implemented by states to protect data, which is essential to emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. Despite the significant negative aspects of data localization for states, the practice has become increasingly prevalent, leading to the unexplored question of why states choose to implement it. This suggests that data localization is a form of economic means derived from digital technologies and employed by states to serve political objectives. Focusing on the data in platforms, the theoretical mechanism of data localization is captured in light of two factors: network perception and security externality. Network perception pertains to a state’s perception of the positive network effect generated by platforms, while security externality refers to a state’s consideration of the security implications in relation to the economic benefits derived from the positive network effect, serving the national interest in domestic and/or international contexts. To substantiate these theoretical propositions, the paper employs a comparative case study approach where Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia have been chosen as empirical cases based on the selection strategy. The paper bridges the concept of economic statecraft with digital technologies, fosters interdisciplinary discussions, and offers policy implications.

More than Just a Business: Recasting Literary Publishing in Postwar Germany, 1945–1949

Like other creative industries emerging in mid-1945 from 12 years of Nazi rule, including six years of war, German publishing was ideologically suspect, internationally isolated, and insular. By the 1950s, however, the book trade in the two German successor states was once again varied and vibrant. And it was also tightly integrated into the international publishing business, within which it had become an increasingly active and important presence. This article analyzes the development of the German book publishing industry during the Allied occupation, 1945-1949, through the lens of knowledge transfer. It was a time during which capital-starved German publishers harnessed the political and ideological objectives of the occupiers and their prewar contacts to achieve their own commercial and cultural ambitions, including taking initial steps toward internationalization. The focus is on literary fiction, a genre that constituted a minority of all published output in the postwar period, but which also included all top bestsellers. Literature in translation, moreover, accounted for a substantial proportion of those bestselling books, and at the same time represented a key vehicle for internationalization. Two case studies, one drawn from the Soviet zone of occupation, the later East Germany, and one from the western zones that came to be dominated by the Americans, the later West Germany, illustrate two different, yet remarkably similar paths through which this interplay of ideological alignment and commerce played out among a range of actors and laid the basis for the subsequent development of the industry.

Dislocations of empire: colonies de vacances and estivage in Protectorate Morocco, 1912–1956

ABSTRACT This article considers the origins and evolution of colonies de vacances and childhood and youth estivage (summer leisure) in Morocco, over the lifespan of the French Protectorate. It will show how these practices manifested, and sometimes challenged, the social and spatial separations that were inherent to the Moroccan colonial order. The colonies served as enclaves of a kind in the earlier period of the Protectorate, designed to secure European ‘childhood’ amidst purportedly adverse climatic and social/political conditions. Over time, the colonies and estivage became the object of new investments, in line with the broader historical conversion of childhood and youth into a ‘field of action’ and arena of political contestation. In the post-1945 period, incipient colonial crisis compelled a greater opening of these sites and practices to under-represented categories of young people–Muslim, Jewish, female. Conflicts arising from this inclusion reveal how the dislocation that was inherent to colonies and estivage practices hadn't – and really couldn't – be reconciled with the prevailing social order, as happened in France.

The fog of war: development, conflict narratives, and civilian victimisation in Colombia

Conflict generates uncertainty and a supply of violent actors willing to contract their services to third parties that makes identifying motivation for civilian victimisation difficult. In this paper, I examine how elites not only have opportunities to capitalise on violence during war for developmental interests, but also take advantage of the fog of war to lump all cases of victimisation under a clear overarching narrative of political contestation rather than repression for economic interests. I build on the literature of developmental violence in conflict to assess two cases of dam construction by the Public Enterprises of Medellin (EPM) in Antioquia, Colombia between 1995 and 2018: Hidroituango and Porce II. I argue that civilians opposing the dams were associated with one of the armed groups in the territory and elites dismissed their victimisation as a product of competition between insurgents and counterinsurgents. This conflict narrative obscures other potential realities and precludes deeper investigation into the ambiguous motivations behind attacks, even as the victims themselves may challenge and present counternarratives of developmental violence.

Entering the Unknown

Studying ‘youth’ confronts researchers with a critical predicament. How to study a social category that is constantly unfolding anew and that means such varied things in different places? This article addresses these methodological challenges based on qualitative research about youth and political contestation in Conakry, Guinea and Kampala, Uganda. Situating this comparative work within youth scholarship in African studies, the author describes his failure to come to terms with the differences between the two cases, especially because it remained unclear whether these differences emerged from the cases themselves or from his ethnographic access. Drawing on AbdouMaliq Simone’s concept of the “surrounds” (2022), the article suggests approaching youth as an elusive category that is not to be exclusively defined and captured, but that also stands for new ways of navigating the world that may elude present modes of detection. The meanings attached to youth in academic research are thus conceptualized as relational and contingent on who is researching whom under what conditions and in what contexts.

The Politics of Secularism in Ethiopia: Repression and/or Co-option towards EOTC

Secularism in Ethiopia has not been practiced as stipulated in the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) constitution, separation of state and religion. Instead consecutive regimes since the introduction of secularism employed a tactic of co-option and repression towards the Ethiopia Orthodox Tewahido Church (EOTC) to meet their political objectives. This paper thus tried to address the nature and manifestation of government intervention in the EOTC through either cooption and/or repression with a special emphasis on the post 2018 regime. The study argues de-facto secularism in Ethiopia is far from the essence of separation of state and religion; it is a new version of religion industriously implemented by governments to upgrade the Orthodox Church in a way that fits with the political system. The secular regimes co-opted and repressed the church conditionally at any cost of the institution through Machiavellian approach. The study also finds that the Prosperity led regime was actively involved in the internal affairs of the church; in early days through co-option in the name of reconciliation with the exile synod. And in the later days via repression; massive killing of orthodox followers, burning of churches and restriction on church’s annual ceremony the like epiphany are the manifestations.

Studying Disability: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective on Requesting Accommodation in Higher Education

Including students with disabilities in higher education is a global political objective and is considered a human right. However, many students do not feel included and hesitate to ask for the help they need to succeed in their education. This study aims to investigate the processes of requesting accommodation for students with disabilities in higher education from the perspectives of both students and support providers. Six co-creation workshops were held, with a total of 46 participants from various backgrounds relevant to exploring pathways for students with disabilities in higher education and into the workforce. The audio recordings of the workshops were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory approach to identify and explore processes. Three interconnected processes were identified: determining whether to disclose, asking for accommodations, and studying disability. The analysis showed that these processes could be time-consuming and riddled with barriers, and they did not always result in granted accommodations. Some students ended up using their study time to research their disability and potential accommodations instead of studying their subject matter. To eliminate barriers and promote disclosure, universities should ensure a universally designed education and that staff have the necessary knowledge to assist students in obtaining accommodations.

Domination criticism and freedom criticism on flood news in online media from a Foucauldian view

This article discusses the issue of flood disaster polemics in online media using McKerrow’s critical rhetorical theory analysis, with the main aim of getting closer to discourse formations that have not been discussed in previous research on political interest contestation. This research uses Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis method to reveal flood news articles from 2019-2021 on Tirto.id. Meanwhile, the Foucauldian perspective in this study is used as a review of McKerrow’s critical rhetoric to analyze power, right and truth. Furthermore, this triangulation is explained in two criticisms, namely, criticism of domination and freedom in the online media Tirto.id in reporting on the flood. This study found that in terms of power, Tirto.id discusses criticism of power as a struggle for power in the social status of the upper and lower middle classes. Dominance tends to appear in social disparities and discrepancies in the effects of development on poor communities and the surrounding ecosystem. In terms of rights, Tirto.id discusses demands for ecological justice for lower middle class society. Finally, in terms of truth, the discourse about flood victims includes the lower classes as a result of land grabbing. This study concludes that criticism of domination shows that the government is not very serious about the concept of ecological justice for all groups. Criticism of freedom shows that Tirto.id expresses satire that floods are only suffered by poor people, not rich people.

The Role of Women in Political Contestation in Indonesia: An Analysis of the Political Ideas of Ali Abdur-Raziq

This article discusses the potential of women in political contestation from the perspective of Ali Abdur Raziq, a leading Islamic thinker and reformer. The growth of the population, which is dominated by women, makes them a force in their own right. However, awareness of women's contributions to politics is still minimal. This view is supported by historical facts which show men as characters who dominate all aspects of life, so that narrating women and politics in the same conversation is almost considered something taboo. The purpose of writing this article is to re-present women as figures who stand the same as men, having the same opportunities in every matter. By using literature research, this article hypothesizes that women, while still carrying their religious awareness, have the potential to help change the country and society's views through political aspects

The Ukraine War and nuclear sharing in NATO

Abstract Russian nuclear sabre-rattling following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine has reinvigorated debates over NATO deterrence. One of its key components—nuclear sharing—has been in place since September 1954, but support for it within the alliance has varied over time. Indeed, although Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey host American gravity bombs on their territory, there were fears during the 2010s that some of them would follow Canada, Greece and the United Kingdom's example and withdraw from the scheme. By examining why and how NATO's nuclear-sharing arrangements have changed since inception, we argue that they consistently serve deterrence, signalling, alliance cohesion and burden-sharing goals, which make them hard to dismantle. However, we also demonstrate, through our survey of post-Cold War policies, official statements and public debates, that there is more room in a low threat environment for political contestation within host states. Accordingly, nuclear sharing requires a high threat environment to escape domestic opposition, which effectively returned in 2022, cementing the nuclear status quo.

DIGITAL BORDERS: RUSSIA’S APPROACH TO RUNET REGULATION

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of Russia’s nuanced approach to internet governance, focusing particularly on its management of the Runet (Russian Internet). Through an in-depth exploration, the article examines the intricate strategies and tools employed by the Russian government to regulate online content and control the dissemination of information. Central to this analysis are the surveillance mechanisms of SORM (System for Operative Investigative Activities) and DPI (Deep Packet Inspection) technology, which the article meticulously scrutinizes to elucidate their role in enabling state censorship and surveillance. Moreover, the article delves into the multifaceted implications of Russia’s internet governance tactics. It explores how these strategies impact civil liberties, political dissent, and the overall landscape of online expression within Russia. Additionally, the article investigates the effects on technological innovation, considering how stringent internet regulations may stifle the growth of Russian internet giants and impede the development of innovative digital solutions. By navigating the complexities of Russia’s digital governance landscape, this article aims to provide a nuanced understanding of the broader implications for global internet governance norms and practices. Through its detailed examination and analysis, the article sheds light on the evolving dynamics of internet regulation and the challenges posed by authoritarian control in the digital age.

The politics of IO authority transfers: explaining informal internationalisation and unilateral renationalisation

ABSTRACT In the wake of international organisations’ (IOs) politicisation, treaty-based transfers of authority to or from IOs have virtually come to a standstill. Instead, we increasingly see instances of informal internationalisation and unilateral renationalisation of IO authority. In this article, we introduce a Political Contest Theory (PCT) that explains both phenomena at the same time. PCT builds on the postfunctionalist assumption that, in the age of politicisation, IO authority transfers activate a transnational cleavage between communitarian and cosmopolitan factions fighting over the ‘right’ locus of political authority. Yet, beyond extant postfunctional theorising, PCT specifies the mechanisms through and the conditions under which either the one or the other faction may prevail. We argue that communitarians can rely on a structural mobilisation advantage which allows them to assert unilateral renationalisations, whereas cosmopolitans can rely on an institutional power advantage which allows them to push through informal internationalisations. Moreover, PCT highlights a pattern of mutual reinforcement between the systematic advantages enjoyed by the opposing factions that is likely to exacerbate the polarisation over IO authority transfers in the future.

From Human Rights to Citizens' Rights? Democratic Framing Contests and Refugee Politics in South Korea

In 2018, the South Korean government denied refugee status to all but two of the almost 500 Yemenis who, fleeing civil war in their home country, had arrived earlier in the year on the resort island of Jeju. This decision was made in the context of a short-lived but intense public backlash, even though the overall number of refugees has remained consistently low. Three years later, nearly 400 Afghans were evacuated to South Korea with government support and little controversy. What explains these different patterns of refugee politicization in South Korea? I argue that the 2018 episode of anti-refugee activism in South Korea does not follow the typical script in immigration politics which pits "natives" against "outsiders"; rather, it is a reflection of internal political divisions. In this article, I focus on political framing contests involving governmental and non-governmental actors that draw upon prior rhetorical frames of political mobilization which had developed in a broader context of state-building, development, and democratization. The 2018 Jeju "crisis" was partially a reaction against state-led multiculturalism (damunhwa), which had gained momentum since the 2000s. It also signalled a political backlash against previous decades of social and political movements that framed labour rights, migrant workers' rights, and other minority rights as a necessary expansion of human rights befitting a responsible "advanced nation." At the same time, the varied responses to the arrival of Yemenis in 2018 and Afghans in 2021 show that the coherence and resonance of competing political frames during key moments can help explain the type and degree of political mobilization on refugee policy. Furthermore, these comparative case studies show that South Korean attitudes toward refugees have not settled into stable political-economic coalitions and remain contested and in flux.

The Intimacy of Held Solidarity: A Joint Memoir of Activism

This work reflects the slow intimacy of solidarity over time. We uncover some of what we know and have known with examples from anti-apartheid activism and the women’s health movement in South Africa. Solidarity is an expression of knowing trust. Knowing that you are often on each other’s side and leaning towards justice, demanding a relationship of knowing in instances of vulnerability. Being held in solidarity is a gesture of engaging in a shared humanity that at times gives the comfort of familiarity. In spaces where there are shared feminist and political goals and objectives, we assume safety and belonging only to find this is not to be true. Acting in solidarity demands consideration and risk. In moving towards solidarity, one turns one’s body and face towards the other. Solidarity at times demands resistance and speaking truths to power. An engagement of solidarity is conscious and intentional. We reflect engaging with each other over four decades, lessons on listening deeply, hearing seasons of life’s celebrations, joys, questions, and struggles. In this process, questions surface, asking for more on consideration. Our reflection is of collective experiences of slow intimacy, of soft and hard boundaries, remembering and longing as we hold each other in solidarity. We use our individual voices to show specific angles to these collective experiences.

Prefigurative Politics at Bread and Puppet Theater

Abstract Bread and Puppet (B&P) Theater is one of the oldest, most influential, and well-known puppet theaters both in the United States and abroad and has been at the forefront of puppetry, performance, and political protest for more than half a century. B&P also functions as a site of tension in prefigurative political theory, between creative world building and alternative decision-making structures. B&P fosters a powerful lived experience of prefigurative politics. The political process of envisioning alternative realities took place through performance, puppets, and the shifting sense of temporality in an isolated location. At the same time, B&P operates in a state of flux, at the center of a constant stream of apprentices, volunteers, and audience members. They rely on hierarchical decision-making to facilitate order, which challenges the prefigurative ideal of a democratic community. B&P models a mediated form of prefigurative politics in which a hierarchical governance structure and creative world building exist in tension with one another. The theater has worked within this tension to survive and even flourish. B&P complicates prefigurative politics in social movement theory and practice, as the hierarchy helps preserve some sense of order but conflicts with the more egalitarian vision of the world represented in their performances. B&P's intervention in prefigurative politics offers lessons to social movements and artistic practices in the contemporary resurgence of prefigurative politics.

Membangun Budaya Dialog, Menjadi Semakin Manusiawi Belajar dari Perspektif Personalisme Karol Wojtyla

Diversity is convinced as one of the essential elements of the community, especially in Indonesia. The Indonesian had chosen Bhinneka Tunggal Ika as a slogan to build their unity for realizing their common good. Nevertheless, it is not easy to make a harmony in a multidiversity of Indonesia. The threat of segregation is increasingly strengthening along with the advances of information and communication technology which have a strong influence of capitalistic culture which tends to be pragmatic and individualistic. The rise in political contestation ahead of PEMILU 2024 also shows the strengthening of differentiation and separation of political identities and choices in Indonesian society from the grassroots to the government elites. Politics as a means for human beings to achieve a bonum commune which covers all aspects of human life in living together, is increasingly interpreted narrowly as a mere technique for seizing power. Living together, in society, as a nation and as a state is very likely to be further away from the ideals of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, gotong royong, tepa selira, and other noble values that characterize our Indonesianness. Starting from this major threat Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, various efforts must be optimized to build new cultures of living together. It is very possible that these new cultures are a confirmation or strengthening of the Indonesian noble values which are believed to be deeply rooted in our national identity. One of the cultures that needs to be built is dialogue. In this paper, dialogue is generally understood as the interpersonal en-counters from different backgrounds who together want to be involved in some concrete efforts to achieve the common good. Karol Wojtyla's personalist perspective is used to un-derstand dialogue from its personalistic roots and how can probably be actualized to build a culture of dialogue in the context of Indonesia's diversity. In particular, it is a proof that Wojtyla's thoughts on dialogue were concretely real-ized throughout his pontificate as Pope John Paul II.

Party Political Contestation over Macroeconomic Policy After NextGenerationEU: Throwing Away Their Shot?

Party Political Contestation over Macroeconomic Policy After NextGenerationEU: Throwing Away Their Shot?

Tensions between the political, institutional, and project levels when developing professional digital competence in teacher education. A cultural historical activity theory analysis of inhibiting and facilitating factors

ABSTRACT This study is a Cultural Historical Activity Theory analysis of the tensions between object and motive at the political, institutional and project management levels for five digitalisation projects aimed at integrating professional digital competence (PDC) in Norwegian teacher education (TE). The study is inspired by ethnography and builds on a variety of qualitative data (including qualitative interviews (N = 14)) gathered through the author’s participation in different roles (2017–2021). Identifying objects and motives across levels allows for the identification of factors inhibiting and facilitating factors the development of PDC in TE. An analytical model was developed to identify the objects and motives at each level, showing a political object of preparing for the future, an institutional object of creating high quality TE, and a project management object of delivering a lasting impact on TE. These differing objects and motives guide the activities at each level and reveal tension, including between the political push for change, project management’s attempts to deliver impact, and a culture built on academic freedom which seems counterproductive by slowing things down. The study also reveals facilitating factors, such as funding and relevance in collaboration with schools, and inhibiting factors like academic freedom and the expected speed of change.

Rural Radicalism in the Capital City: The Impact of Histories of Inequitable Safety on Patterns of Violence

AbstractAround the world, armed conflict is increasingly occurring in capital cities and governments are relying on pro-government, rurally recruited, militia to suppress anti-government political violence. Pendle and Maror draw lessons from South Sudan where recruits from rural areas were brought to Juba to help defend the government. Drawing on ethnographic observations and qualitative interviews with combatants, this article uses “rural radicalism” to argue that patterns of violence by these rurally recruited forces were shaped by histories of rural violence over previous decades and can be read to include a political objective that challenges the inequities in safety and security between rural areas and the capital city.