Political Role Research Articles

Understanding the Dynamics of the Political Use of Religion in Bangladesh: Causes, Process, and Consequences

This paper attempts to understand how religion plays a pivotal role in politics with a focus on the process through which amalgamation of religion and politics usually takes place, and how such amalgamation impacts the political sphere in Bangladesh. By using Riaz’s political expediency theory, this paper argues that the political use of religion was institutionalized by the military regimes to consolidate their power base and while for democratic governments, the primary reason to use religion as a political agenda was to gain mass popularity. However, this tendency always possesses the risk of falling out of balance and creating communal tension. The purpose led to materializing drastic steps such as state- sponsored patronization, constitutional modification, depiction of religious attitudes by political leaders, political expediency, and application of digital platforms for political purpose, that eventually caused the amalgamation of religion and politics. The impact of such amalgamation is found primarily negative, including restricting attitude toward liberal ideology and threat to minorities. Social Science Review, Vol. 41(1), June 2024, Page 39-56.

The Role of Emotions, Power, and Politics in Setting Policy Agenda: A Theoretical Analysis of Policy Inaction in the Shipbreaking Industries in Bangladesh

Agenda-setting may not always be a rational process and depends mostly on the perception of the policy problem made by the policy entrepreneurs to the decision-makers where ‘non-decision’ or ‘policy-inaction’ is also a kind of decision to avoid certain issues. Taking the existing ship-breaking policy of Bangladesh as a case study, this study tries to theoretically analyze how the level of public emotions and exercise of political power impact policy-making in a policy domain that resulted in no policy change. The study applies mainly two theories of public policy: the threshold model of the policy process by Christopher Pepin-Neff and the theory of three faces of power by Lukes which relates public emotions and political power with policy formulations. The study argues that, according to these theories, the case study is an example of high emotion policy threshold (HEHP) issue where, despite the initiatives by some policy actors to open a new policy window and the demands of the advocacy coalition consisting of International Labour Organization (ILO) and non-government organizations (NGO), the government used covert power to establish the preference of employment generation, national GDP and GNP and exclude the demand of policy-redesign from policy-agenda. The objective of this study is not to establish a new proposition of policy discussion but rather to discuss policy inaction or agenda-setting in an existing problem from a new perspective, theoretically from two distinct points of view: emotions and political power.

The Political Role of Jordan in the Arab League, 1946-1951 (on materials of Egyptian Press)

The Political Role of Jordan in the Arab League, 1946-1951 (on materials of Egyptian Press)

Textual Variations and Historical Context: Revisiting the Kaicheng Era Poetic Examination in Yunxi Youyi

This paper examines the historical and cultural significance of the record Reviving Ancient Practices in Yunxi Youyi. It focuses on the Kaicheng-era poetic examination, during which Li Hong's poem The Dance of the Feathered Garments earned top honors. The imperial edict by Emperor Wenzong sought to revive traditional cultural practices by emphasizing the stylistic norms of the Qi and Liang dynasties in poetry. Li Hong's achievements, rooted in his imperial lineage and poetic excellence, exemplify the interplay between political patronage and literary merit. The study also explores the textual variations across primary sources, including Records of Tang Poetry and Taiping Guangji, analyzing their implications for reconstructing the examination's historical context. Additional evidence from epitaphs and literary connections with figures such as Li Shangyin further sheds light on Li Hong's life and career, suggesting his prominence in the Tang intellectual milieu. Finally, the study highlights Emperor Wenzong's broader cultural aspirations, including the reconstruction of Kaiyuan-era music and dance, as reflected in the examination's themes. This analysis underscores the intertwined roles of politics, culture, and literature in Tang Dynasty examinations, offering fresh insights into the period's intellectual and cultural landscape.

Do women commemorate women? How gender and ideology affect decisions on naming female streets

Street names are not neutral identifiers to navigate through cities but are charged with strong symbolic connotations and reflect power relations within society. A growing body of geographic scholarship documents a strong gender bias in the urban namespace, where women only represent a small fraction of streets named after people. This article investigates whether the lack of women in political decision-making roles contributes to explaining their marginalization in urban toponyms. More specifically, we study the impact of the gender and ideology of town mayors on their decisions to commemorate women in the street map. Focusing on the universe of Spanish towns during the period 2001–2023, we find through fixed effects panel data models and regression discontinuity design that the mayor's gender does not affect the percentage of female-named streets, while the ideology of the governing party does. Our findings thus indicate that it is ideology rather than gender what shapes politicians' preferences regarding the commemoration of women in the street map. We argue that this is because, on the one hand, strong political parties can impose their agenda on local leaders, making irrelevant differences in their gender and, on the other, the ideological cleavage is more relevant than the gender one to account for differences in attitudes towards symbolic gender policies. A natural implication of our results is that simply having more female politicians will hardly suffice to address the gender gap in street names and in other symbolically charged policies.

Quest for Governance in the Philippiines: Opportunities and Challenges

This qualitative case study examines the governance journey of a female mayor, focusing on her efforts to promote women’s empowerment and gender equality within her leadership role. The study aims to describe her experiences, the opportunities and challenges she encountered, and the initiatives she implemented to support women in her community. Data collection involved in-depth interviews and participant observations, offering a comprehensive view of the mayor’s political career and leadership style. The study reveals that the mayor’s professional background, educational experiences, and personal qualities—such as her passion, commitment, and sense of excellence shaped her approach to governance. These attributes, coupled with her strong sense of public service, enabled her to introduce and execute programs that increased women’s participation in socio-political and economic spheres, thus elevating their status within the community. This case study serves as an inspiring example, challenging the prevailing notion that gender should limit women’s involvement in politics and public service. The findings underscore the importance of supportive frameworks that enable women’s leadership and empowerment. Hence, the paper recommends the expansion of government initiatives and programs focused on enhancing women’s political and leadership roles, as a means to further promote gender equality and contribute to national development.

KH Mohammad Cholil Bisri's Da’wah in the Field of Islamic Politics in Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the political da’wah activities of KH Mohammad Cholil Bisri in Indonesia and its impact on the development of Islamic politics. Using descriptive qualitative methods and political approaches. Data collection techniques through interviews and documentation. The study results indicate that KH Cholil Bisri plays an important role in Islamic politics in Indonesia, especially through preaching that integrates Islamic values with national life. Since the 1971 to 1992 elections, he has been active in voicing the importance of Islamic morality in politics while overseeing the birth of the National Awakening Party (PKB). His political da’wah paved the way for inclusive and moderate Islam in national politics. The impact of KH Cholil Bisri's political da’wah is the creation of a strengthening of moderate Islamic politics by Indonesian national values, making him an important figure in formulating fair and just state policies. The implications of this study suggest that KH Mohammad Cholil Bisri's political da’wah significantly contributed to the shaping of inclusive and moderate Islamic politics in Indonesia, offering valuable insights for future political leaders in integrating Islamic values with national governance to promote justice, unity, and social harmony.

Gender Equality in The Higher Education Workforce in Nepal

This article focuses on the challenges of achieving gender quality that led to gender well being in the workforce in the Higher Education sector in Nepal. Well-being by gender refers to the overall health and quality of life seen from a gender perspective. It includes physical and mental health, while from a quality-of-life perspective it includes social, psychological, cultural, political and environmental aspects. This principle says that everyone, regard less of their gender, should be treated fairly and equally in all aspects of their lives. This includes equal access to high-quality education, employment opportunities, and a role in politics and social life. In addition, gender equality in education means ensuring that men, women, marginalized community and LGBTQI+ have equal opportunities to obtain high quality education without facing any barriers or discrimination. Similarly, gender equality in employment requires that men, women, marginalized community and LGBTQI+ receive equal opportunities to work, receive equal pay and progress in their careers regardless of their gender. Gender equality in politics aims to ensure that men and women have the same right to be involved and contribute to the political process and decision-making. The involvement of women in employment must consider the implementation of strategies regard less of gender and must be fair in offering employment. Previously, women in the employment sector were quite marginalized from the current state of national development. The research method used is a qualitative study that uses document content analysis using secondary data, namely journals and scholarly writing, library research and previous research by previous researchers. This study found some challenges that women face to become leaders in the higher education sector. Including prejudice and stereotypes against women’s ability, gender-based pay disparities, occupational segregation and work-life balance

Unsovereign democracy: why imagination matters in modern politics (and makes religion still relevant)

The essay articulates the insight that the current crisis of liberal democracies is also a problem of cramped political imagination, which can benefit from the resources of religious imagination, particularly of Christian theological imaginary. If there is a truth emerging from the long history of democratic régimes is that a healthy democracy cannot survive for long without citizen empowerment. Put otherwise, precisely because democracy is a demanding form of self-government, democratic citizens must periodically be fortified in their belief that they have an influence on the direction of their lives. Famously, mass mobilization and protest are among the most effective ways in which this sense of citizen-empowerment is engrained in people’s hearts and minds. This has led some thinkers to stress the role of contestatory politics in that “mise en forme de la société” (C. Lefort), which is ultimately what democracy is all about. Protest, however, needs political institutional channels and outlets in order not to lose its thrust. And it needs as well a coherent social imaginary capable of nourishing the subtle practices of self-government. What happens, then, when its advocates find their main source of motivation and commitment in the rejection of politics or in the problematic allure of a sovereign self? What consequences has this distinctive double bind? And what does it tell us about the future of democracy? Precisely because figuring out an effective form of democratic self-government in modern hyperdiverse societies is hard and embarking in its actualization is a risky, almost utopian enterprise, it makes sense to ask whether there may be an overlap between democratic political imagination and religious imagination in this field. More specifically, the underlying question is whether Christian theological imaginary can bolster people’s trust in human ethical growth and deep transformative potential beyond the model of contestatory democracy as an empowering egalitarian form of self-rule.

Политические функции Банка России

This paper examines the political role that the Bank of Russia plays in its activities and its impact on the economy of the country and the welfare of the population. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the political functions of the Bank of Russia with a focus on its key rate, both domestically and externally, and to consider domestic and foreign policy cases related to this issue. An analytical and empirical approach is used to achieve this goal. Academic research, theoretical models and practical examples related to the policy of the Bank of Russia and its impact on the economy are analyzed. The experience of other countries, especially those that apply key rate instruments in their policies, is also considered. The study reveals that the Bank of Russia key rate has an important political importance both inside and outside the country. As a domestic policy instrument, the rate is used as a tool to achieve domestic policy goals, such as controlling inflation, stimulating economic growth, and supporting financial stability. As a foreign policy tool, the rate is a means of soft power and political influence, especially in the context of global financial markets, where global actors are guided by the actions of the Bank of Russia. The results of the study emphasize the importance of understanding the Bank of Russia's political functions and its impact on the economy and public welfare. This is essential for developing effective economic policy and making informed monetary policy decisions. Thus, this article contributes to the expansion of knowledge about the Bank of Russia's political functions and its role in economic development. It offers an analytical view of the key rate and explores domestic and foreign policy cases in order to cover more fully the issues related to the policy of the Bank of Russia and its impact on various aspects of public life.

Party politics across levels of governance: relational dynamics of immigrant integration policy making in Belgian cities

ABSTRACT Whereas authors have increasingly studied immigrant integration policies across governance levels, little has been done to explore how relations between actors at different levels of governance shape immigrant integration policies. This paper examines how a relational approach can shed light on the role of party politics in shaping immigrant integration policies. We explore whether party (in)congruence between the regional and local levels can explain the convergence or divergence of policy frames in four Belgian towns. Our findings indicate that in Flanders – where migration is highly politicised – party (in)congruence plays a role in explaining the convergence and divergence of immigrant integration policy frames, while in Wallonia – where migration is little politicised – party (in)congruence cannot explain divergent policy frames. We argue that the degree of politicisation of migration might impact the extent to which party (in)congruence can explain the consistency of immigrant integration policy frames across governance levels.

The Jesuit China Mission in an Italian Frame

Abstract In recent decades, global history studies devoted specifically to the Society of Jesus have contributed significantly to research on missions and the emergence of the concept of global Christianity. In the absence of a prevailing political and economic role played by the Italian Peninsula in the Early Modern Age, the Papacy acted with its universal body and offshoots consisting of missionaries; through these, Rome projected itself into the spaces of global politics and intellectual discussions. The Papacy and Society of Jesus, both global institutions based in Rome, found themselves at odds in dealing with many of the issues raised by journeys in other continents. These include the controversy of Chinese rites, a question this article addresses once again setting off from Rome and the debates that took place as the Papacy prepared to condemn these rites.

Pozycja pierwszych wojewodów lubelskich w polskiej elicie władzy (druga połowa XV– początek XVI wieku)

The first voivodes of Lublin (from 1474 to the beginning of the sixteenth century) were members of the ruling elite and active, although not leading, participants in political life in Poland. They achieved their position in the service of Polish kings. They gained access to them mainly owing to family connections with people who played or used to play an important political role. Appointments to the Lublin office were received by candidates who had previously held castellan offices. They were in their fifties or older, but by the categories of the day they were approaching old age and did not have much prospect for further career advancement. Although four of the discussed voivodes were promoted to the voivodship of Sandomierz, this was rather a gesture to honour them as people who were already leaving the political scene. Nevertheless, the elevation of the highest Lublin land office from castellan to voivode increased the importance of those who held it in the decisionmaking circles of the Kingdom of Poland. This happened at a time when a new political system developed, one in which the parliament played a key role.

About Actors of the Global South: Trajectories, Continuities, and Futures*

The premise of this article is that the concept of the Global South cannot be solely analyzed based on economic factors. Instead, it encompasses a wide range of aspects, including political, economic, historical, identity based, and epistemic factors. This article aims to provide a comprehensive and multidimensional approach to identifying and acknowledging the actors of the Global South through three axes: its political, economic, and cooperative role. It takes into account the dynamic nature of the term and emphasizes its heuristic relevance as a valuable tool for understanding the current power dynamics.

‘Good’ citizens or ‘faithful’ Muslims? Contested narratives for citizenship education in Pakistan

ABSTRACT One of the key objectives of citizenship education is to prepare future citizens who will meet the needs and the vision of their respective nations. In Pakistan, state-developed curricula are suffused with aspirations for developing both faithful Muslims and good citizens. This article is concerned with the ways teachers make sense of this official discourse equating faithful Muslims with good citizens. It uses thematic analysis to explore the in-depth perspectives of sixteen teachers of Pakistan Studies concerning the dominant state narrative. The findings show that teachers’ conceptualization of being a ‘good’ citizen is not consistent with the state narrative. Instead, the idea of a ‘good’ citizen is understood in a secular sense by many teachers. The focus is on developing personally responsible citizens albeit with little consideration for an explicit political role.

The Religious Attitude of the Druze Towards Violence: A Study Based on Oral Sources

Since its rise in the 11th century AD, the Druze community has distinguished itself from its surroundings by its unique religious identity. This religious identity has given rise to social and political behaviors that have, over time, formed the collective character of the Druze. The Druze who upheld their religious identity were known as the ʿuqqāl, while others were called juhhāl. Historically, the ʿuqqāl have played vital social and political roles within their community, the most prominent of which has been preserving the Druze identity and the social and political behaviors arising from it. On the other hand, Druze history in the Levant—particularly in Lebanon—is marked by wars and armed uprisings, which have imparted a warlike character on the Druze that often overshadowed their other collective traits, despite their commitment to nonviolent principles. For these reasons, understanding the ʿuqqāl's religious stance on the use of violence and their conduct in conflicts is of clear historical importance. This study investigates oral narratives about notable Druze ʿuqqāl in Lebanon during the past century, employing a rigorous methodology to reveal a consistent, comprehensive behavioral pattern grounded in fundamental religious principles. This behavior is characterized by a rejection of violence and aggression, an effort to prevent such acts, a condemnation of those who engage in them, and retribution where necessary. From a broader perspective, the ethical stance of religious adherents on violence is a contentious issue today and is receiving intense attention from research institutions and both governmental and non-governmental organizations, particularly given the global impact of religiously motivated violence. Consequently, this research carries significance beyond the Druze demographic presence in the Levant, as it offers principles and behavioral patterns that may contribute to fostering peaceful religious leadership on an international level.

Mommy in the kitchen, Daddy in politics? The influence of parental labour division on children’s political gender role attitudes

According to research on gendered political socialisation, children internalise political gender role attitudes by observing gender-specific behaviour in their environment. Since children’s experiences at home are crucial in this context, this article investigates the effect of the parental division of labour on children’s political gender role attitudes. For analyses, a unique data set from the ‘Learning to Live Democracy 2.0: Political Socialisation at the Beginning of Lower Secondary School’ research project with more than 1,000 German fifth-graders is used. The study reveals that children who perceive a traditional division of labour at home are more likely to have traditional political gender role attitudes. By means of mediation analysis, it is also found that the effect of the parental division of labour on children’s political gender role attitudes is mediated by their general gender role attitudes. These results underline the presumed close relationship between political and gender socialisation.

Exploring Women's Roles, Contributions, and Challenges in Medieval India from the 10th to 18th Century

This paper explores the roles that women portrayed, the contributions they made, and the obstacles encountered during the medieval period in India, from the 10th to the 18th century. Drawing light on the status of women and the complex forces in that life, the analysis done above tries to unfold the socio-political, cultural, and economic background of the period under consideration. This research studies the social and cultural landscape, assessing how the caste system, religious practices, and gender norms have affected the roles that women have played out in various diverse places. Added to this in the study is further looking into the various ways through which the very significant dynasties of Rajputs, Mughals, and Deccan Sultanates were influencing the experiences of women. Therefore, a special focus would be placed on the roles women assume in political and administrative roles, particular to their involvement in specific positions like being rulers, regent moms, military leaders, and ambassadors. In addition, the influence of royal women in courts and assemblies and their contributions to governance and strategy is also probed, which essentially provides a comprehensive knowledge of the agency that the royal women possessed throughout this period and the problems that they encountered.

Analysis of settlement patterns of the Upper Zarrineh River Basin in the Iron Age III

The archaeological site of Ziwiye in the upper Zarrineh River basin is considered one of the key sites for understanding the cultural and political developments of Iron Age III societies of the northwest Iran. However, despite years of excavation at Ziwiye, key questions about this area still remain unanswered. It seems that sites such as Ziwiye, Qalaichi, Zandan-Soleimian, Rabat and Hasanlu indicate a widespread settlement pattern with a political centrality role in the northwestern Iran during the late Iron Age. The pattern in which the local states centered on these sites dominated the entire cultural and geographical area through regional interaction. Therefore, in the present research, with the archaeological survey of the Upper Zarrineh River Basin, focusing on the role and significance of Ziwiye in the political and cultural structure of this region, an attempt has been made to provide a model of regio­- nal-political development to understand the developments of the late Iron Age in this region. The studied pottery from the field survey indicates that Ziwiye was not an isolated castle and had an organized cultural and political interaction with the surroun­ding archaeological sites. In order to understand the status of sites like Ziwiye in the geographical region of the northwestern Iran, in the first step it is necessary to determine its position in the more limited cultural area around it, in the Upper Zarrineh River basin, so that it is possible to recognize the status of Ziwiye in the area of complex cultural–political geography of northwestern Iran in the Iron Age III. Based on this, the study of the Upper Zarrineh River basin was undertaken. Although some studies had previously been conducted in this basin, to understand the settlement position of Ziwiye in relation to its surrounding sites, an archaeological survey around Hasanlu was carried out within a radius of 15 km in the mountains and 30 km in the plains, which is the same distance a horse rider could travel per day. The results of this research indicate that the Ziwiye site was the most important settlement in the upper Zarrineh River basin, which had political, military and cultural dominance over the surrounding area.

Գևորգ Ղուկասյան, Եվրոպայի հայկական լոբբին․էթնիկ լոբբինգի էությունը և գործառնման համատեքստը

The purpose of the work is to highlight the transnational political role of ethnic lobbying in modern political processes, assess the structural-operational possibilities of the European Armenian lobby, the characteristics of its activities, identify lobbying entities and understand the scope of their influence and the possibility of role in RA-EU relations. The role of the institution of ethnic lobbying in the process of political modernization was evaluated. At the same time, the possibilities of ethnic lobbying to act as an operator of "soft power" were considered, the possibilities of lobbying in the conditions of the value system of multiculturalism were revealed, the chain of interaction and interaction of the "homeland-diaspora-host state" triangle was systematically characterized. The lobbying structures of the Armenian diaspora in Europe and the main directions and tools of their activities were identified, and the political behavior of the EU regarding the Karabakh problem was revealed. The intra-European perception of ethnic lobbying, the institutional and legislative possibilities of lobbying and its variety of ethnic lobbying in the EU have been analyzed. The monograph is intended for political scientists, historians, Armenologists, the governing body, professors and students of RA higher educational institutions, as well as the general reading public.