Repressive Policies Research Articles

WARS, GENOCIDE, BLOCKADES

The examples described here show that wars not only provide occasions and camouflage for carrying out genocidal intentions, but degenerate into wars of extermination when intentions of conquest and subjugation merge with intentions of extermination. Military defeats do not diminish the intentions of annihilation, but even increase them. On the other hand, military interventions can serve to prevent genocide or to liberate threatened groups, if carried out in time. However, it is often the fear of states of becoming involved in armed conflicts that prevents such timely interventions. In the case of starvation blockades during and after wars, it can be seen that there are factors that reinforce this crime: In the German case, the famine of the German and Ottoman populations was exacerbated by organizational incompetence in the German case and genocidal intent in the Ottoman; in the Ottoman example, Ahmet Cemal, as governor of Syria, prevented crops from being brought into ‘his’ province affected by the blockade. In the case of the Leningrad blockade, it was the continued Stalinist policy of repression and the enrichment of the functionary caste that added to Nazi Germany’s genocide.

WARS, GENOCIDE, BLOCKADES

The examples described here show that wars not only provide occasions and camouflage for carrying out genocidal intentions, but degenerate into wars of extermination when intentions of conquest and subjugation merge with intentions of extermination. Military defeats do not diminish the intentions of annihilation, but even increase them. On the other hand, military interventions can serve to prevent genocide or to liberate threatened groups, if carried out in time. However, it is often the fear of states of becoming involved in armed conflicts that prevents such timely interventions. In the case of starvation blockades during and after wars, it can be seen that there are factors that reinforce this crime: In the German case, the famine of the German and Ottoman populations was exacerbated by organizational incompetence in the German case and genocidal intent in the Ottoman; in the Ottoman example, Ahmet Cemal, as governor of Syria, prevented crops from being brought into ‘his’ province affected by the blockade. In the case of the Leningrad blockade, it was the continued Stalinist policy of repression and the enrichment of the functionary caste that added to Nazi Germany’s genocide.

Aleksander Łappa, ostatni miński gubernialny marszałek szlachty z wyboru: aresztowanie, zesłanie, śmierć (1863–1869)

The article is devoted to the repressive policy of the Governor General of Vilna Mikhail Muravyov against the officials of the gentry’s self-government of the Belarusian-Lithuanian Governorates during the January Uprising. Using the example of Alexander Łappa, Marshal of the Nobility of the Minsk Governorate, the author shows how a prominent noble official and loyal patrial of the Empire became an accidental victim of the „Muravyov’s system”. The connection between Łappa’s voluntary resignation and his arrest by Muravyov’s personal order is emphasized. A detailed reconstruction of the chronology of events related to Łappa’s arrest and exile allows a deeper understanding of the nature and mechanisms of tsarist repression in the Belarusian lands. Łappa’s removal from the socio-political arena marked the end of the institution for electing marshals of the nobility in the western region of the Empire and initiated the violent weakening of the role of the Polish landowning.

The Intersection of Religion, Public Policy, and Women's Online Activism in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan: A Comparative Analysis

Research Problem: Women’s activism through social media in South Asia, particularly in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, is shaped by a complex interplay of religion, public policy, and socio-political contexts. While social media offers opportunities for empowerment and advocacy, its role remains contested due to societal barriers, political constraints, and religious influences. Research Purposes: This study aims to explore the dynamics of women’s online activism in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, examining how socio-economic, political, and religious factors influence their digital engagement. It seeks to identify key challenges and highlight the comparative impact of social media on women’s advocacy in these two countries. Research Methods: The study employs a qualitative approach, using content analysis of secondary data, including reports, academic studies, and media articles. Comparative analysis is applied to evaluate the socio-political and religious factors shaping women’s digital activism in Sri Lanka and Afghanistan. Results and Discussion: In Sri Lanka, women benefit from higher literacy rates and a relatively open societal structure, enabling them to use social media effectively for addressing issues like corruption and economic mismanagement. However, ethnic and religious divisions limit cohesive activism. In Afghanistan, women demonstrate resilience by leveraging platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp despite facing severe socio-religious constraints and the Taliban’s repressive policies. The analysis underscores the critical role of social media as both a tool for advocacy and a contested space for control and suppression. Research Implications and Contributions: The study highlights the necessity of addressing structural barriers to enhance women’s digital participation. Regional collaboration, improved digital literacy, and international advocacy are recommended to amplify women’s voices in both countries. The findings contribute to the broader discourse on the intersection of religion, public policy, and digital activism, providing insights for policymakers and activists working toward inclusive social progress.

REPRESSIONS OF THE KAZAKH INTELLIGENTSIA IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM (1920-30)

The article is devoted to the study of the history of repression of the Kazakh intelligentsia in the educational system in the 1920s and 30s. A new look at the level of his historiographical study and sources of facts defines the main purpose of this article. This policy in this period is especially cruelly expressed in the form of a campaign with the intervention of a superficial, hasty policy of repression on the part of individuals in the education system. We all know that since our country gained sovereignty, intensive research has been conducted on various areas of the history of the Fatherland. However, there are topics that have not yet become the subject of research, waiting for their turn. One of them is the activity, fate, and history of repressed persons in the education system. Based on the principles of "there is no future without the past" or "from history", we must look for the causes and consequences of all phenomena in the life of society in the history of the past. One of the main conditions for preserving the historical consciousness of a nation as a nation in the context of the deepening globalization process is the presence of a genuine and informative written history written on a scientific and theoretical basis. After all, history is the memory of a nation. Only a history written both systematically and objectively, if possible on a scientific basis, can carry a historical memory that preserves the nationality of the KL. Only from a history written on a scientific and theoretical basis does a nation draw knowledge from its past and draw lessons from it from the future.

QUESTÕES SOCIOLÓGICAS E SEGURANÇA PÚBLICA NO BRASIL ATUAL: ENTRE DESAFIOS E ALTERNATIVAS”

This article analyzes the intersections between sociological issues and public security in contemporary Brazil, highlighting structural challenges and potential alternatives to address urban violence. Through a bibliographic review, the study explores factors such as structural racism, gender inequalities, and repressive practices within the public security system. The research revealed that racial profiling and gender-based violence are recurring manifestations of exclusion dynamics, placing vulnerable populations in greater insecurity. Additionally, alternative policies such as conflict mediation, community policing, and restorative justice were analyzed as more inclusive and effective approaches. The results indicate that traditional repressive policies perpetuate cycles of exclusion and violence, whereas alternatives focusing on prevention and social inclusion have the potential to transform the public security system. However, institutional barriers such as fragmentation and resource scarcity hinder the implementation of these strategies in Brazil. The conclusion emphasizes the need to integrate sociological perspectives into public policy planning, recognizing the intersections between race, gender, and class. The study contributes to academic and social debate by proposing solutions based on the promotion of social justice and the construction of a public security model that prioritizes prevention and inclusion. Future research should deepen the analysis of successful experiences, adapting strategies to local specificities.

THE ECONOMIC FACTOR IN REPRESSIVE MEASURES AGAINST GERMAN COLONISTS OF THE VOLHYNIA PROVINCE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

The purpose of the article is to analyze the content of the Russian government's repressive policy (with a particular focus on a specific region and the economic aspect) during the First World War and its consequences for the empire's subjects of German origin. The methodology of the study is based on the application of historiographical and source study methods, as well as tools from national and imperial studies, and economic history. The scientific novelty is that the issues of implementing the mechanism of expropriation of German colonists’ property in the Volhynia province and the inability of the authorities to utilize it rationally for the benefit of the state are revealed for the first time. Conclusions. With the outbreak of the First World War, the Russian government launched a large-scale external and internal anti-German campaign. Through propaganda, it created a hostile image of Russian citizens of German origin, thereby justifying the deprivation of their civil and property rights to the public. In the Right-Bank Ukraine, the German community of the Volhynia province suffered the most, with the majority residing in hundreds of agricultural German colonies across the region. The property and lands of approximately 150 000 – 160 000 Volhynian German colonists were sequestered, and they were deported deeper into Russia. The sequestration of property from the German colonists later transformed into an outright redistribution of wealth in favor of those who called themselves representatives of «Russian interests». The properties of the deported colonists were largely used by local authorities to house refugees from the occupied districts of the province and Galicians, as well as for the needs of the army and government structures. There were also recorded instances of unauthorized settlement of residents in the colonists’ buildings and the use of German farms for the personal interests of officials. The irrational use of the sequestered property and lands of the German community, amidst the war, further deepened the socio-economic crisis in the region. Failures in the imperial government’s policies could not be quickly overcome, even by the representatives of the Ukrainian government, which closely collaborated with the Provisional Government. By the end of 1917, the exiled Germans began returning to their destroyed houses and devastated farms, most of which were inhabited by refugees. This situation contributed to the spread of emigration sentiments among the Volhynian Germans, significantly reducing their number in the region.

Trends in Reprisals and the Persecution of Opponents of the Regime in Lithuania after 1954

The article analyses trends in the repressive policy against opponents of the regime in Lithuania between 1954 and 1990, identifies events and processes which determined changes in this policy, and describes methods applied by the KGB, by paying particular attention to the persecution and reprisals which best reflect developments in the repressive policy. The article specifies activities and the legal basis for imposing punishment by imprisonment or other types of punishment for these activities. Trends in Soviet repressive policy after 1954 were determined by changes in the domestic and international political situation and in the principles of anti-Soviet resistance. The status of Lithuania as a country occupied by the Soviet Union determined the key guideline of the activities of the Lithuanian Communist Party and the KGB of the Lithuanian SSR – to persecute and carry out reprisals against individuals who wished to declare the statehood of Lithuania. The KGB used prevention, discrediting, and propaganda methods in order to discredit, depoliticise, and criminalise this idea and to make it easier to prosecute the said people. This gives us some understanding why certain groups of society – associated with the wish for an independent Lithuania – were distinguished and deliberately persecuted. While the essential features of the repressive policies during the period considered remained the same, there were some obvious differences. Reprisals became selective, i.e. punishment was imposed for certain specific activities. The intensity of reprisals was also salutatory and depended on trends in domestic and international politics and the party position. Although prevention was applied more frequently (statistical data attest to this) as if to show that the regime had changed, this measure was applied as a form of punishment, rather than as a form of re-education. In addition, in this period, the placement of people in psychiatric hospitals was applied as an alternative to imprisonment; death penalties were also carried out. By creating a fictitious legality, the KGB indeed committed crimes against the Lithuanian people, because they implemented the law and interpretations of the law imposed by occupational authorities. Although the government declared that the KGB was changing their working methods and operational principles, the suppressive nature of the KGB did not change, it was only better concealed.

The Effect of Changes in Communist Ideology after 1953 on repressive Policies and KGB Operations

Communist ideology and its changes after 1953 were an important indicator of internal developments in the Soviet Union and its repressive policies. The ideology legitimated persecution of dissenters and established the use of specific methods against them. The new ideological concepts concealed reprisals against resistance fighters, because anti-Soviet activities were criminalised or portrayed as acts of mentally ill people. Perhaps the most important concept of the Communist ideology having an effect on the repressive policies of the Soviet Union was the so-called Western ideological sabotage, which was considered to be the source of all manifestations of anti- Soviet activity. All contacts with the West were therefore perceived as threatening to the socialist system and became a special focus for the KGB. Even the improved relations with the West did not prevent the continued offensive of propaganda, intelligence work, and disinformation against the West. The concept of “dictatorship of the proletariat” was replaced with the concept of the “all-people’s state”, which was concealed Russification leading to the destruction of national aspirations.

Repression Without Compassion: Forced Migration Governance at the EU’s Southern Frontier

People arriving by boat to Malta during the COVID-19 pandemic were singled out as a threat to the nation and as less worthy of assistance. Their rights were curtailed making material and physical survival difficult. This article traces forced migration governance in Malta, a member state located on the EU’s southern frontier, showing how seamlessly humanitarian elements were eliminated from the system. Theoretically, this is conceptualized as a case of “compassionate repression” shifting to a system here characterized as one of “repression without compassion,” where both makeshift practices and discursive portrayals of repressive policies as humane are eliminated.

ВСПОМОГАТЕЛЬНАЯ ПОЛИЦИЯ В СИСТЕМЕ НАЦИСТСКОГО ОККУПАЦИОННОГО РЕЖИМА НА СОВЕТСКИХ ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ (НА ПРИМЕРЕ БЕЛОРУССКОЙ ССР)

This article is devoted to the study of the role and place of the collaborationist auxiliary police, which was an important part of the Nazi security forces during the occupation of Soviet territories. The reasons for the appearance and genesis of such police formations are shown on the example of the Belarusian SSR. Their typology is considered, with the help of which it was possible to establish that the main types of police in the territory of this Soviet republic were the «service of order», «self-defense» and Auxiliary Police of order, the reasons for the creation of which directly depended from the increase in the level of partisan danger in the occupied territories. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that the auxiliary police were the most massive collaborationist formations in the occupied Soviet territories, and their role in Nazi repressive policies (for example, participation in the Holocaust) is quite significant. Nevertheless, the level of combat capability of the police remained low for a number of reasons and only decreased with the course of the occupation, which forced the Nazi administration to look for other forms of military collaboration. One of these reasons was the interethnic relations on the territory of the Belarusian SSR, which allows us to call the auxiliary police an essential factor in the dynamics, for example, of Belarusian-Polish and Belarusian-Russian relations.

Zakonšpirované Slovensko 1938 – 1945. Niekoľko úvah nad tvárami neviditeľného spiritus movens ľudáckeho režimu

The paradigm of Hlinka’s Slovak People’s Party (HSĽS) regime, as well as the persecutory measures implemented against fabricated “enemies of the nation” during its reign (October 1938 – April 1945), were based on conspiracy theories. This essay identifies the main ones, pointing out their genesis, intentionality, and ways of operating with them in political practice. The analysis shows that although many conspiracy frames used in wartime Slovakia correlated with narratives in other countries of the fascist Axis, they cannot be considered copypastes of rhetoric popularized mostly by Nazi Germany. The text promotes the idea that the conspiratorial thinking of the HSĽS already formed in the late Habsburg monarchy at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and the changes in international politics in the 1930s only had an effect on their firmer establishment in the political culture of the party and political preferences of its supporters. The basis of this conspiratorial thinking was the fear of liberalism, of the threat to the Christian faith and the Slovak nation by a group of highly sophisticated interconnected “pests” with destructive intentions. Until 1918, it primarily included the Marxist left, capitalists, freemasons, and liberals in general, and after the creation of Czechoslovakia, Czechs, and Jews to an increased extent. The essay emphasizes that precisely the argumentation of conspiracy theories (“imperialism of Prague against Slovakia/Slovaks”, “Jewish Bolshevism”) provided the legitimizing platform for the repressive policy of the HSĽS regime and authorized violence against entire groups of the population that did not belong to the “ingroup”.

The Expanding Carceral Geography of Sweden and Counter-politics of Care

Abstract This essay explores the entanglement of racial capitalism, carceral geographies, and counter-politics of care within the sociopolitical landscape of Sweden. It analyzes the government's response to gang violence in 2023, which mobilized the figure of a “racial threat” in advocating for the creation of “security zones” and militarized interventions. This approach, rooted in a so-called caring racism, argues for the protection of the welfare state by excluding and expelling racialized others. Understanding capitalism as requiring inequality, sustained by racism, Sweden's expansion of carceral geographies must arguably be read through a racial capitalism lens—where policing and border regimes are necessary to produce and control surplus populations. Through ethnographic engagements and social media interactions, the essay examines how marginalized communities navigate economies of dispossession, focusing on the resistance mounted by urban social justice movements against austerity measures and repressive policies—for a counter-politics of care rooted in abolitionism. Situating these developments within a broader political economy framework, the essay underscores the role of carceral geographies in perpetuating capitalist exploitation and authoritarian rule, while calling for a reevaluation of care as a site of resis- tance against state-sanctioned violence, offering insights into avenues for radical change amid growing precarity and injustice.

Political Soldiers of the Party: A Political and Social Portrait of the KGB Cadre

The KGB cadres are undeservedly left in the shadow of the agents, even though they were the ones who implemented the repressive policy, persecuted and interrogated individuals, and recruited agents and formed assignments for them. The Soviet security worker before and after 1953 differed, because the new challenges did not require the brutality characteristic of the Stalinist period, but rather – greater intellectual capacities, so the number of Lithuanians and people with high educational attainment on the staff increased. However, the social and political portrait of a member of the Cheka was no less influenced by the status of this structure itself, because a job with the KGB was prestigious and privileged, and formed a certain status of secretiveness and exclusiveness.

Authoritarian cue effect of state repression

AbstractState repression in autocracies has long been assumed to elicit explicit or implicit disapproval from citizens. Recent studies suggest that authoritarian governments can garner support for repressive policies through active information manipulation or exploiting social cleavages. However, is it possible for citizens to support repression even without government manipulation? We propose the “authoritarian cue effect,” arguing that citizens’ attitudes toward state repression can be endogenously shaped by instances of state repression, which may be interpreted as cueing messages signaling the regime's disapproval of the punished behaviors. Using a novel belief correction survey experiment, we empirically demonstrate that state repression can induce the public to pick up on cues and automatically adopt the state's stance, perceiving repressed behavior as having more negative externalities and supporting state repression more. This cue effect suggests that authoritarian state repression can self‐legitimize and evade public opinion backlash in a less costly manner than previously presumed.

Honour Killing in India and role of Khap Panchayats

A horrific example of cultural customs and society standards that put family honour ahead of personal freedom and rights are honour murders. throughout spite of societal disapproval and legal restrictions, these heinous crimes—which are mostly committed against women—recur throughout India. Examining the issue of honour murders in India, this study focuses especially on the important role that traditional caste-based councils known as Khap Panchayats play in rural areas. Honour murders are first contextualised in the study within the larger framework of patriarchal systems and deeply ingrained gender norms that characterise Indian culture. It also emphasises how political and law enforcement officials in the area have allowed honour killing offenders to operate with impunity, therefore highlighting the systemic character of the issue. The report also looks at community-based awareness programmes, grassroots activity, and legislative actions meant to stop honour murders and question Khap Panchayat power. It underlines the need of confronting underlying sociocultural beliefs and enabling underprivileged people—women in particular—to stand up for their rights and oppose repressive policies. This study emphasises how urgently multidimensional approaches—including legislative changes, societal mobilisation, and educational programmes meant to question regressive norms and undermine caste-based oppressive systems—are needed to end honour murders in India. It urges coordinated measures to hold offenders and their supporters responsible and to promote gender equality and human dignity.

Mismanagement and misinterpretations in asylum interviews: Perspectives from South Africa and Sweden

Abstract This article explores the interactions between key actors in asylum interviews in South Africa and Sweden. It is based on forty-one interviews with asylum seekers, interpreters, state officials, and legal representatives. The analysis is guided by theories on professional encounters, bureaucratic violence, and interdependence. The result is presented in two themes: the emergence of mismanagement due to repressive policies and cost-cutting measures, and misinterpretation due to poor interpretation services and failure to recognize the hermeneutic aspects of asylum seekers’ claims. These issues lead to mistrust in the asylum system and in each other’s capacities, as key actors fail to take joint responsibility for the interview act and its outcome. The conclusion is that all key actors operate within a destructive process of mistrust, reinforced by an increasingly repressive political framework as its strongest driving force.

Organization and activities of emergency institutions in Crimea in 1921 in conditions of geopolitical tension

The article analyzes the political institutions, processes, technologies characteristic of the period of formation of Soviet power in Crimea after the end of the large-scale Civil War. The phenomenon of the Civil War, from the author’s point of view, was expressed in an irreconcilable struggle between the centers of power that emerged from the ruins of the empire, with the geopolitical factor itself playing an important role. The article notes that in Crimea in 1921, emissaries of British and German intelligence services were actively working, that is, those forces that had previously made considerable efforts to overthrow the monarchy and unleash a Civil War in the Russian Empire. The formation of the Crimean ASSR as part of Soviet Russia in the fall of 1921, as well as the creation of a new powerful state of the USSR with its own social project in December 1922, was not at all part of their plans. Therefore, Western opponents tried as much as possible to use the inertia of the Civil War to destabilize one of the key regions of the RSFSR. Under the current conditions, it was quite logical that a number of leaders of the anti-bolshevik underground wanted to establish close contacts with opponents of Soviet power abroad in order to combine efforts in the fight against it, which objectively became a factor of geopolitical tension in the Soviet Republic in general, and in Crimea in particular. In conditions of increasing conflict in Crimea, a system of emergency institutions is being formed. This system included the Crimean Revolutionary Committee and its local bodies, the establishment of the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission, Special Purpose Units, and revolutionary tribunals under the general ideological leadership of party bodies. The author comes to the conclusion that emergency institutions objectively opposed the implementation of projects of Western powers to destabilize the situation in Crimea and contributed to a certain ethnopolitical stabilization of the situation in the region. On the other hand, their activities were characterized by a class approach, which led to thoughtless repressive policies and inevitable “excesses” in their work, aggravated by weak coordination of actions and the lack of strict control at the first stage.

Estimating The Financial Repression Index for The Economy of Bangladesh: A Principal Component Analysis

Financial repression was a common practice in the past, but it became less common during the liberalization era of the 1980s and 1990s. With the rise in financial sector vulnerability following the Asian financial crisis, the Global Financial Crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic, repressive policies have once again become popular. Bangladesh, for instance, has imposed administrative interest rate ceilings. This study aims to assess the extent of financial repression on the economy of Bangladesh, using annual time series data spanning from 1973 to 2022. An aggregate financial repression index was calculated using the principal component analytical method, including the major policy variables such as real deposit rates, interest rate restrictions, capital account restrictions, the share of state-owned commercial banks in total loans, and statutory liquidity ratio. The reliability and validity of the results were tested by comparing them with the index calculated using different policy variables. The index of financial repression indicates that Bangladesh’s financial sector has undergone considerable liberalization, yet it remains subject to some degree of repression. In recent times, financial repression has intensified, particularly following the imposition of lending rate ceilings in the wake of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Policymakers are in a position to take proper measures to liberalize the financial sector and ensure financial stability.

The Popular Movement in Algeria (Causes and Consequences)

Algeria has witnessed an important popular movement since the beginning of2019 in response to the announcement of former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika his candidacy for a fifth term. Due to the health condition that the president suffers from after suffering a stroke, the movement has been affected by several factors, including political, which included a popular demand for free and fair elections and change the system of government in the country. Also, many Algerian political elites felt that power in the country has become the monopoly of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, in addition to the economic reasons that revolved around the deepening state of administrative and financial corruption, high unemployment rates and economic decline. Also, the social and psychological reasons focused on the absence of civil rights and freedoms, in addition to the psychological collapse and social repression and the alienation of the Algerian citizen as a result of the repressive policies of the ruling regime. It did not provide citizens with the simplest requirements for a decent living, and thus this movement resulted in the emergence of several results, including the resignation of Abdelaziz Bouteflika, changes in power and the formation of a National rescue body. This body runs the affairs of the country until new elections are held to form a government to lead the country in the next stage.