Activism Research Articles

Merging the interests of governments and Western monopolies in the field of ICT: modern geopolitical models

The events in Ukraine have become evidence of a radical transformation of ideas about what armed conflicts are and who participates in them. The issue of the legal and political status of technology companies as participants in armed conflicts and actors in international politics has become especially acute. Unfortunately, in the modern scientific literature, this issue is not only not resolved, but also not properly posed. The exponential growth of the foreign policy influence of large IT enterprises leaves no doubt that they are closely merging with the public sector and at the same time developing their own geopolitical agenda. In the context of the active development of the digital economy and the formation of a global information field of non-governmental actors, there is a demand for an analysis of the synergy of states and corporations with an outlet for forecasts of the development of various strategies for merging governments with technology giants. In the dialectic of relations between Western public authorities and IT giants, both sides have effective resources to contain each other. However, much more valuable and important for political analysis is the search for their “common interests” and an assessment of the prospects for cooperation within the framework of the “win/win” strategy. Such an analysis allows not only to assess the “boundaries of friendship” between Western business and government, but also to use the contradictions in their geopolitical rhetoric to promote the Russian international digital agenda. The author analyzes various concepts of public authority transformation in the context of the digital economy, offers an original vision of strategies for merging the interests of Western IT giants and governments both in areas of activity and in geopolitical tasks, and predicts possible scenarios for such cooperation.

Strategic collective action and the proportionality of reasons to expected benefits

ABSTRACT We argue that, in order to explain the relative strengths of our reasons to contribute to different collective endeavours, approaches to the ethics of collective action must understand the strengths of our reasons to make a given contribution as proportional to its expected benefits, or its chances of bringing about benefits in proportion to their magnitudes. The view that most clearly meets this proportionality requirement is the expected consequences approach, which identifies our reasons to perform an act with its expected benefits. We contend that views other than the expected consequences approach must similarly proportion the expected degrees of what they take to be reason-giving features of a contribution – such as its virtuousness, appropriate expression, support by considerations of fairness, or helping without making a difference – to the contribution’s expected benefits. The proportionality requirement explains why we should spend more time participating in strategic social, political, and labour movement activities, while avoiding unproductive conflicts and merely performative activities. We conclude that the proportionality requirement, and the ability of views other than the expected consequences approach to meet it, are important for thinking and communicating about the ethics of collective action in ways that are simultaneously most compelling and most strategic.

The concept of humanitarian intervention in ancient Chinese philosophy and contemporary Chinese discourse

This paper, for the first time in Russian science, outlines the evolution of ancient Chinese views on humanitarian intervention and their potential use in Beijing’s modification of the contemporary concept of humanitarian intervention and the ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) initiative. There are good reasons to believe that the concept of humanitarian intervention was formulated for the first time in the world history of thought in China during the Warring States period (5th–3rd centuries BC). Its functional equivalents were the terms zhū 誅 ‘judgement/punishment’ and zhēng 征 ‘expedition,’ used in the discussions of the ‘sage kings of antiquity’ (gǔ-zhī shèng wáng 古之聖王, semi-legendary exemplary cultural heroes and dynastic founders) and in the discourse on the ‘proper [use of] military force’ (yì-bīng 義兵), an ancient Chinese equivalent of the just war theory. The views on humanitarian intervention evolved from ‘divine intervention’ (i.e. military actions as the execution of heavenly judgment, till the beginning of the 3rd century BC) to ‘humanitarian intervention’ (military actions as a means for rescuing the people from the villainous government, by the end of the 3rd century BC). Beijing’s use of this tradition might create a greater scope for legitimizing political actions that meet the interests and values of the PRC, thus raising the legitimacy bar of humanitarian intervention, and helping to specify the methods and mechanisms of peaceful conflict resolution under the R2P. The main aspects of the ‘sinicization’ of modern humanitarian intervention, taking into account the ancient Chinese ethics of war, can be an alternative conceptualization of the political space, an emphasis on the morality of a legitimate actor, a criterion of popular approval, a rethinking of jus in bello and jus post bellum as verifiers of jus ad bellum, the distinction between a regime change and a ruler change, and a focus on intervention as the last resort.

KGB propaganda actions against political activity of lithuanians émigré in 1970s–1990s.

One of the main tasks of Lithuanian KGB was to weaken, discredit and suppress political activity of Lithuanian émigrés to liberate Lithuania, to change their attitude toward Soviet Lithuania. Propaganda, the formation of positive public opinion about the Soviet system, politics, achievements and a negative opinion about émigrés were one of the main weapons against the political activity of émigrés. To form such public opinion, the KGB used mass media, tourism, and the Lithuanian language and literature courses at Vilnius University, science exchange, cultural activity, tours of Lithuanian artists to Western countries. Speeches of famous Lithuanians (some of them were forced to speak positively about Soviet achievements) and émigrés were also used by the Soviets as a means of propaganda. The return of the valuables of art was also used as propaganda, to set at variance the émigrés and to break their isolation policy toward Soviet Lithuania. Propaganda actions were politicized and used against the émigrés, since the time of their implementation coincided with the important émigrés events. KGB developed wide propaganda actions against the world Lithuanian youth congress and the Baltic cruise of freedom and peace. It is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of KGB actions due to the lack of objective sources. Although KGB paid great attention to propaganda activity, the results, however, were inadequate to their efforts.

Lithuania’s Liberation Movement in the West in the Seventh Decade of the 20th Century: A New Generation Came Forth

The article reviews the political activities of the main Lithuanian liberation organisations in the West in the 1960s – the Lithuanian American Council, the Supreme Committee for the Liberation of Lithuania, the Committee for a Free Lithuania, and the Lithuanian World Community. During this period, relations between the West and the East softened and the status quo seemed to be settling in Eastern Europe. However, the Lithuanian diaspora, the free Lithuanian people, continued to strengthen the movement for the liberation of Lithuania by uniting the political forces of all the Baltic diaspora through concrete actions.

Enhancing the Public-Private-Community Partnerships in the Banana Value Chain in Mutasa District, Zimbabwe

The paradigm shift from the New Public Administration to the New Public Governance underlines the significance of multi-stakeholder collaborations in attending to complex societal challenges. In this vein, Public-Private-Community Partnerships are a feasible mechanism for enhancing the banana value chain in Mutasa District of Zimbabwe. Bananas are extensively eaten fruits in the world with smallholder farmers playing a vital role in production, particularly in developing nations like Zimbabwe. Yet smallholder farmers’ economic returns in the banana value chain are a cause of concern. Thus, this study focuses on enhancing Public-Private-Community Partnerships in the smallholder banana value chain. A concurrent mixed methods research design allowed for both objectivity and detailed analysis. The target population comprised public, private, and community stakeholders in the banana value chain. The multiplicity of stakeholders motivated a mixture of quota, purposive, and snowball sampling techniques to ensure representation. Questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions were the data collection methods. There was descriptive analysis of quantitative data, while qualitative data were analyzed thematically, and related findings were grouped together. Public-Private-Community Partnerships are attractive because they reduce information asymmetry, enhance transparency, ensure fairness in pricing, facilitate risk sharing, increase productivity, and enhance value addition. Public-Private-Community Partnerships are not “magic bullets”, necessitating attention to their potential deficits, which include power imbalances, conflicts of interest among partners, and challenges associated with ensuring active participation by diverse stakeholder groups. Pathways for strengthening Public-Private-Community Partnerships include consensus building, clear definition of partners’ roles, fair sharing of risks and benefits, monitoring and evaluation, selection of competent actors, and farmer capacity building. Effective Public-Private-Community Partnerships facilitate active participation among the public, private, and community actors along the entire value chain.

A Mathematical Model for Estimating Carbon Storage Dynamics of Forest Communities

Using the JABOWA single-tree growth model, a program was designed to estimate carbon storage dynamics in the aboveground biomass of a mixed forest community. The developed model incorporates the parameters of tree species that are common to the forests of Central Russia: pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.), silver birch (Betula pendula Roth), common aspen (Populus tremula L.), small-leaved lime (Tilia cordata Mill.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), and fir (Abies Mill.). A differential equation for tree diameter at breast height (D) was solved. The results were compared with the forest inventory data. The amount of carbon stored in the aboveground biomass of trees was calculated following the methodology suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The dynamics of tree volume were analyzed. An analytical formula was proposed to describe the dependence of tree volume and stored carbon on tree age. The differences in the rates of tree volume growth and carbon accumulation were identified among the species studied. The analytical and numerical results on stored carbon and tree age showed a good agreement for a test plot with the known species composition and tree count, which is located within the forest part of the carbon polygon of Kazan Federal University. The formula offers an accurate estimation and prediction of carbon storage dynamics in mixed forest communities with trees varying in age and, hence, is a valuable tool for managing forestry activities. However, when predicting tree biomass growth and carbon storage dynamics, one should also consider forest site quality classes reflecting the actual growth conditions of trees. Developing a mathematical model based on forest site quality classes as a key variable would help increase the reliability of biomass growth and carbon storage predictions for forest communities. Notably, the obtained model applies to actual forest communities with known species composition and fails to account for natural regeneration. To incorporate this parameter, spatial diffusion models that describe forest regeneration in non-forest areas should be utilized.

How to avoid constitutional court-packing in an era of democratic backsliding: Reflections on the appointment of constitutional judges

AbstractAny struggles in the nomination and appointment of constitutional justices and failed renewal of the composition of the constitutional court might corrupt the perception of the independence of the guardian of constitutionality. The recent wave of impropriate renewals of constitutional courts throughout Europe leads to substantial concern. There are numerous more or less serious examples, including the well-known cases of Poland and Hungary, but alongside with them Latvia, Lithuania, the Slovak Republic, etc. In an era of democratic back-sliding more significant in some countries and less in others, it leads to wondering whether the influence of politics in power could be the critical factor distorting the composition of constitutional courts and whether this can be seen as a new virus infecting new democracies. After analyzing the recent failures to appoint constitutional justices, caused essentially by malfunction due to political actors participating in the process, the paper argues that in the selection, nomination, and appointment of constitutional justices, ensuring the depoliticization of this procedure is not the best choice, because the participation of democratically elected institutions in the formation of the constitutional courts enhances their legitimacy and credibility. The former, entrusted with the power to adopt erga omnes decisions, desperately need this legitimation. Different political cultures and contrasts in states' constitutional orders suggest that there is hardly one recipe that fits all. However, some universal and fundamental criteria stemming from the principle of the rule of law intended to ensure the independence of constitutional justice could bind the discretion of political actors participating in the nomination and appointment of constitutional judges and contribute to preventing constitutional crises.

“Settler Maintenance” and Migrant Domestic Worker Ecologies of Care

Oral histories of Latina domestic workers in the United States feature hybrid narratives combining accounts of illness and “toxic discourse”. We approach domestic workers’ illnesses and disabilities in a capacious, extra-medical context that registers multiple axes of precarity (economic, racial, and migratory). We are naming this context “settler maintenance”. Riffing on the specific and general valences of “maintenance” (i.e., as a synonym for cleaning work, and as a term for the practices and ideologies involved in a structure’s upkeep), this term has multiple meanings. First, it describes U.S. domestic workers’ often-compulsory use of hazardous chemical agents that promise to remove dirt speedily, yet that imperil domestic workers’ health. The use of these chemicals perpetuates two other, more abstract kinds of settler maintenance: (1) the continuation of socioeconomic hierarchies between immigrant domestic workers and settler employers, and (2) the continuation of (white) settlers’ extractive relationship to the land qua private property. To challenge this logic of settler maintenance, which is predicated on a lack of care for care workers, Latina domestic workers have developed alternative forms of care via lateral networks and political activism.

Patterns and Factors of Political Disconnection on Social Media: A Cross-Platform Comparison

There is a growing body of literature on the use and selection of social media platforms for political activism. However, less attention has been given to identifying citizens who are politically disconnected—those registered on social media platforms but not engaging in political activities. Additionally, whether patterns of non-use of social media for politics vary across different platforms remains understudied. Based on an online survey of 1,978 respondents conducted after the 2022 French presidential election campaign, this article aims to address these questions by examining the patterns and factors contributing to political disconnection from social media, particularly across six platforms: Facebook, private social networks, Instagram, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok. Our findings indicate that three main factors explain political disconnection: digital skills, interest in politics (except for platforms less frequently used for politics), and social media efficacy. These results provide significant and original contributions to the broader debate on how and why individuals disconnect socially and technologically on social media platforms. While many studies focus on the variables that account for political participation in the age of social media, ours examines the conditions that explain non-use in the context of political disconnection. We also contribute to the existing literature by analysing the phenomenon of non-use holistically, addressing platform type, demographics, digital literacy, and political traits (e.g., interest and competence).

Navigating Adversity: Revisiting Entrepreneurial Theories in the Context of the Occupied Palestinian Territories

This paper examines how political conflict shapes entrepreneurial activities, with a particular focus on Occupied Palestinian Territories. It focuses on the resilience and adaptability of entrepreneurs in conflict zones and the dual role of entrepreneurship in potentially exacerbating or alleviating conflicts. This paper adopts an integrative literature review with a structured approach. It combines elements of both systematic and integrative reviews to survey and synthesize the management and entrepreneurship literature to assess the impact of political conflict on entrepreneurial activity and vice versa, necessity versus opportunity entrepreneurship, and the role of entrepreneurship in peacebuilding. The findings reveal that while entrepreneurship can be a powerful engine for growth and innovation, its role in conflict settings is complex and requires careful consideration of the sociopolitical context. The paper concludes with policy recommendations for supporting entrepreneurship in conflict-affected regions and suggests directions for future research to inform practices and contribute to sustainable peace and economic development.

The Role of the Constitution in Sweden: Addressing its Patchy Legal Legitimacy and the (Half-Way) Transition from Political to Legal Constitutionalism

Abstract The constitution holds unparalleled importance in a well-established democracy, serving as the foremost legal, political, and social document that molds the life of the entire national community. Beyond structuring the fundamental components of a state, constitutions also articulate the core values guiding both public and private actors. However, upon closer examination of realities, the idealized concept of constitutions reveals a divergence in many contemporary democracies, including Sweden. Despite aspiring to the ideal-typical model, Sweden showcases a divergence in its constitutional landscape. Certain constitutional documents in the Scandinavian country are deemed ‘fully constitutional,’ providing a solid and stable legal foundation acknowledged by both legal and political actors to shape and limit their work. On the contrary, substantial portions of Sweden’s constitutional charters appear less stable, lacking essential support within the legal discourse of the nation. This work aims to present the varying perception and utilization of constitutional charters in Sweden, exploring the factors contributing to their “political” role rather than a purely legal one in the national discourse. Additionally, it highlights recent shifts in these factors, suggesting emerging tendencies that may guide major legal actors in Sweden toward a more inherently ‘legal’ vision of the constitution as a fundamental framework for all legal and political discourse.

Pensamento social latinoamericano em três momentos fundacionais da sua história: Bolívar, Mariátegui e os teóricos descoloniais

In the formation of Latin America, culture, politics, economy, and society were shaped according to European standards as hegemonic values, which destroyed, modified, and violated the ancient traditions of indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, there have always been political ruptures and shifts in the ways of interpreting local reality, offering alternatives and political projects for the structural transformation of society. In this article, we present three moments of Latin American social thought that were counter-hegemonic and foundational for future lines of political action and interpretation of reality, with a focus on overcoming primarily colonial status and heritage. We analyze the pioneering propositions of Simón Bolívar and his utopias of liberation, delve into the critical deepening of José Carlos Mariátegui's thought, based on an unorthodox reading of Marxism, and conclude with the political and epistemic proposal of decolonial thinkers from the Modernity/Coloniality group. We will observe that, although they were very different authors, the theoretical and political challenges they posed focused on overcoming the colonial legacy in politics, knowledge, and the very existence of being.

Tactics of Political Violence in the 2019 Bolivian Crisis

During Bolivia’s 2019 political crisis, reactivated modes of political violence occurred within and alongside familiar forms of mass mobilization. In Bolivia’s recent history, this period is most comparable to the 2006–2009 partisan conflict over constitutional reform and departmental autonomy known by the Gramscian term empate catastrófico, or catastrophic stalemate. Although there are many similarities between the two periods, both social movement and institutional norms limiting violence were weakened between the two, resulting in more rapid deployment of destructive tactics and deadlier violence by security forces. As Gramsci’s model argues, greater deployment of force was no guarantee of political success in either crisis. This article examines three extraordinary and destructive tactics: partisan street clashes, sometimes involving firearms; arson attacks on electoral authorities, party offices, politicians’ homes, and police stations; and mass shootings of demonstrators. I describe these three tactics as part of Bolivia’s repertoire of contention—that is, as routinized forms of political action with commonly understood meanings—and compare their use in both the 2006–2009 stalemate and the 2019 crisis. Quantitatively, I analyze the deadly violence in 2019 by drawing on Ultimate Consequences, a comprehensive database of nearly six hundred deaths in Bolivian political conflict since 1982. In the final weeks of Morales’s presidency, violence between opposed civilian groups accounted for all four deaths, whereas several incidents of partisan street clashes involved potentially lethal force. Following Morales’s ouster, however, the security forces became the central violent actor, perpetrating at least twenty-nine of the thirty-four violent deaths.

The Role of Programme “Facing Lithuania” in the KGB Action Plans against “Santara-Šviesa“

Struggle with Lithuanians émigré political activity was one of the main targets and aims of the Soviet occupational regime. KGB used a wide range of methods from agent activity to slander actions in the press against the main émigré organizations, their press and the most active personalities. Liberal émigré organization in the USA “Santara-Šviesa”, established in 1957, wished to apply the milder rules for traveling to and back from the Soviet Union as the opportunity for cultural and personal contacts, first of all making closer contacts with the Lithuanian intelligentsia, to know better a situation in Lithuania and to use those connections for transporting illegal literature. Soviet government and KGB wanted to use those connections for neutralisation of political émigré activity, to legalise their power and enlarge the number of their supporters. That is why those contacts were controlled and dictated by the Soviet side, and emigrants, understanding this, tried to escape those traps. KGB saw “Santara-Šviesa” as a threat to the Soviet system, as another organization, however, wanted to use their contacts with the Lithuanians against “Santara-Šviesa”, to split the emigrant organizations and cause damage to the émigré activity. To implement that task, it used such measures like: recruitment of agents, infiltration of agents into the organization, to discredit “Santara-Šviesa” using mass media, propaganda of Soviet achievements as a discredit of émigré activity. Tourism, cultural exchange, personal contacts and other means were used to achieve those targets. Although emigrants stated that they understood and saw the danger and declared that they could resist Soviet propaganda, this research states that it is true just in part, however, KGB could not manage to implement all their tasks.

To trust or not to trust? How Hong Kong protesters build and maintain trust in a leaderless movement

Protesters in leaderless movements face serious challenges when searching for reliable and trustworthy information in risky environments. Without formal structures to validate information, protestors are left to their own to evaluate the trustworthiness of information in a context where fake social media accounts and deception is possible. We interview protesters from the Hong Kong Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill movement to uncover how they develop trust in fellow protesters and information channels. We find that trust in collective political actions goes beyond the idea of social trust and include the concept of informational trust. Social and informational trust are intertwined with social media as well as with actual practices online and offline. In addition, the so-called ‘sentinel’ structure emerged organically. Information appears to be verified by multiple anonymous and independent sentinels for protestors to believe it. This is a sophisticated attendance to structural information source dependencies. Protestors use a mixture of social, communicative, and dependency cues to decide who and what to trust. They also use social media that has a dual role – simultaneously a community-building information space and a space for misinformation. The paper provides qualitative insight into how protesters deal with social and informational trust in leaderless movements.

The Effect of Media Framing on Public Perception of Political Financing in Kisii County, Kenya

Political financing involves using financial resources to influence the political process and election dimension. The media has been at the forefront of shaping how the public perceives political financing and attitudes. The aim of political financing is to balance the imperative of maintaining fairness and integrity in a political process aimed at gaining the trust of the voters. The current study therefore seeks to examine the effect of media framing on political financing in Kisii County, Kenya. The study objectives were; to assess the media definitions of the use of Money for Political activities in Kisii County, Kenya; to explore the communicative framing patterns that influence political financing in Kisii, County, Kenya; to examine media proposals on strategies used by politicians to finance in their political campaigns in Kisii County; to assess the implication of media framing on political financing in Kisii County, Kenya. The study was anchored on the agenda-setting theory, cultivation theory and framing theory. The current study employed a descriptive research design which accommodate both quantitative and quantitative data to carry out this study. The target population, were total of 155 respondents including ({(Governor (1), MPs (9), MCAs (45), two members of the community from each of the 45 wards (90), and media personnel operating within the county (8)). The study employed a purposive sampling technique, given that the data required is based on the specific respondent. Additionally, given the small target population of 155 respondents the study employed census method. The study employed both a structured questionnaire for quantitative data collection and interview schedule qualitative data. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and inferential statistics while for qualitative analysis study used thematic analysis and findings presented in terms of tables, charts and graphs as well as quotes from your participants respectively. The results of the regression analysis reveal that all the media-related factors examined have a positive and statistically significant impact on political financing in Kisii County. The unstandardized beta coefficients indicate that the Implication of Media Framing has the largest effect on political financing (0.297), followed by the Media Definition of Politician’s Use of Finance for Political Gain (0.347). The Communicative Framing Patterns Used by Media and the Media Proposal on Strategies Used also have depicted a positive influence, with coefficients of 0.109 and 0.231, respectively. In conclusion, the findings underscore the central role of media in shaping political financing in Kisii County. The study recommended that media outlets in Kisii County adopt more transparent and informative framing when discussing political financing.

The “April” Dictatorship’s Policy in Universities and Students’ Activism and Resistance against the Dictatorship, in Greece

This paper analyzes the main components, ideological features and practices that constitute the (overall) educational and specifically, the higher education policy of the “April” Dictatorship in Greece (1967–1974). The analysis of the relevant research material shows that this policy was characterized by: • the intention to redefine the relations of the Universities with the (“occupied”) State,• the coordinated effort to insert specific ideological authoritarian interpretations in the discourses and policies for higher education and consequently, in the reform efforts of the Dictatorship, • the institutionalization of a new economy of power based on control technologies which favored the formation of (ideologically over-determined) discipline and extended state intervention into every aspect of the Higher Education Institutions, • the construction of a surveillance, punishment, control and discipline framework, strictly demarcated and authoritarian. Simultaneously, the above-mentioned policy aimed a) at the extensive criminalization of behavior, as well as of the “non-nationalistic” and ideologically “un-orthodox” thinking in universities and in other Educational Institutions, b) at the reduction of any degree of teaching staff and students autonomy, and c) at the promotion of some alleged- ostensible, seemingly “liberal”, measures and proposals. The ultimate objective was both these specific measures and the overall (authoritarian) higher education policy to become feasible (legitimizing-permissible strategy) and subsequently implemented. In addition, students’ (persistent, influential and multi-level) resistance (at the level of both discourse and political action) to the higher education “reforms” attempted by the April Dictatorship, as well as against the Dictatorship per se and subsequently against the state and constitutional infringement, will be also analytically examined and contextualized.

The Concept of Republic in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the Epoch of the First Statuteof Lithuania

The Renaissance in Europe is associated with new achievements not just in culture, art and economic life, but also in the field of political thought, where there was a return to examples of political theory and action from the times of Antiquity. The reception of Western ideas can also be noticed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the late 15th and mid-16th centuries, where, in addition to the state’s official title, general concepts such as res publica, dominium and patria were also used. In this paper, the author analyses these concepts in public and private texts in order to answer the following questions: what meaning did the words Rech’ Pospolitaya and res publica have in 16th-century written records (primarily the First Statute and Second Statute of Lithuania)? How were these concepts perceived by the authors of the mentioned documents; is their depiction as venerators of Antique ideals warranted? And finally, to what extent are the ideas mentioned reflected in the actual state order in place in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania at the turn of the 16th century, independent of the rhetoric being used in public texts and other documents?

‘A person of greater calmness, but less caution’: Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun’s republican militia (1697–1703)

ABSTRACT This article offers a revised interpretation of the Scottish republican thinker and political activist Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun’s views on the issue of militias and standing armies. Reconstructing both its English and Scottish contexts, it is shown that Fletcher’s republicanism incorporated strong constitutionalist elements by engaging with several forms of political discourses and practices. On the one hand, his Discourse concerning Militias (1697) issued in London went much further than the moderate neo-Harringtonian propaganda of the anti-army camp, arguing for delivering the right to use arms to the parliaments instead of the king. On the other, the second version of Fletcher’s tract published in Edinburgh in 1698 and his 1703 parliamentary ‘limitations’ enlarged the participation in the militia to landless subjects, transcending both the Buchananite ethos of the nobility in arms and James Harrington’s original agrarian model. As a result of this study, Fletcher’s idea of government emerges as much closer to English Civil War authors and the likes of Algernon Sidney and Henry Neville than to any of his contemporaries. The conclusions stress how Fletcher’s radical stance should be considered as the most important facet of his legacy, presenting some cases of reception in the age of revolutions.