Social Democracy Research Articles

Repetition in Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Selected Speeches Against Social Injustice: A Contrastive Critical Discourse Analysis

This paper conducts a contrastive critical discourse analysis to examine the role of repetition in selected speeches delivered by Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) and Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) against social injustice. The study aims to examine repetition as a rhetorical and linguistic device through a contrastive lens, presenting its divergent usage and impact on framing these significant speeches. Along with this, the study tries to highlight the underpinning ideologies through the used types of repetition. By adopting Cockcroft and Cockcroft’s (2014) framework and by following a mixed method of research analysis, the study has found that RFK’s speeches employ certain types of repetition, namely, random repletion, initial repetition, stop-and-start, and full circle so that to emphasise key points, ideas, actions in order to make the speeches memorable and give them variety as well as to impact emotions. Concerning MLK’s speeches, the study has found that repetition, through its various types, is used to emphasise and to ensure key messages about social injustice and allow the audience to reinforce these messages. The study has also revealed that types of repetition are interrelated and could be used interchangeably; thus, a repeated phrase of initial repetition could be repeated in random, stop-and-start, full-circle types. It has been identified that repetition is a powerful device in uncovering ideology, by repeating certain words, phrases, ideologies become apparent. Accordingly, RFK’s ideologies are: social justice, liberalism and democracy, resistance and humanitarianism, while, MLK’s ideologies are: progress and change, non-violence and justice, civil rights and racial equality.

From communism to 'American-made socialism': Focused on on the reception of John Strachey's democratic socialism in the 1960s.

From communism to 'American-made socialism': Focused on on the reception of John Strachey's democratic socialism in the 1960s.

A Comparison of Shura and Deliberative Democracy Decision-Making Methods: Similarities and Differences

Shura is a decision-making model in Islamic governance that aims to make the right decisions for society in general and inclusively. While Allah has established the general framework for various issues, particularly administrative matters, the specific details are left to human discretion, to be determined through Shura and consultation. The significance of Shura is underscored in verse 38 of Surah Ash-Shura, where it is mentioned alongside fundamental Islamic principles such as prayer and zakat. Conversely, the democratic management model, a human construct, has evolved since ancient Greece, undergoing transformations resulting in diverse forms such as direct, representative, liberal, social, radical, dialogic, agonistic, and deliberative democracy. This study aims to compare the principles of Islamic governance with those of deliberative democracy. By analyzing their similarities and differences, this research seeks to evaluate the compatibility of these two governance frameworks. The findings provide insights into their potential alignment or divergence, contributing to a broader understanding of decision-making practices in diverse cultural and philosophical contexts.

Analysis and evaluation of the effectiveness of organizational and instructional guidance of teaching and learning in Russian within the Sri Lankan education system

Introduction. The article examines the problem of promoting Russian as a foreign language in educational institutions in Sri Lanka. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of organizational and instructional guidance of teaching and learning in Russian in the Sri Lankan education system. Materials and Methods. The main research methods are the analysis of the educational system of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the collection and generalization of data on the organizational and instructional support of teaching Russian as a foreign language in the schools of the country. At the diagnostic stage, questionnaires and interviews were conducted, which allowed to identify professional deficiencies and assess the professional level of Russian language teachers. Results. The authors identified key problems in the organization of Russian-language education in Sri Lanka. The results of the survey indicate the need to develop the material and technical equipment for teaching and learning at schools, develop effective organizational mechanisms, and provide instructional support for Russian language teachers. The analysis of existing methods of teaching Russian in Sri Lankan schools shows a low level of students’ language competencies, which is due to an insufficient number of qualified Russian teachers, the lack of a system for improving their qualifications and limited access to specialized teaching materials and educational resources. The expediency of updating the existing educational program for teaching the Russian language, taking into account the cultural and educational characteristics of the country, is substantiated. Conclusions. The research confirms the need to create a system of organizational and instructional support for teaching Russian as a foreign language in secondary schools in Sri Lanka, which will improve the quality of teaching and learning in the country and will contribute to strengthening bilateral humanitarian cooperation.

French socialism and Austromarxism: archaeology of a failed transfer (1904–1934)

Abstract From the end of the nineteenth century onwards, Austrian socialism was characterized by the development of specific theories and practices, known as Austromarxism, building an original way of constructing socialism. This article looks at the reception in France of these theories and experiments initiated within Austrian social democracy. The Austromarxist path aroused an interest in French socialism that, although limited, was nonetheless recurrent from before the First World War. The inclusion of French socialism, marked by a certain theoretical weakness, in the doctrinal debates that agitated international socialism is essential to understanding its evolution from the end of the nineteenth century onwards. The aim of this contribution is therefore to highlight the development of this Austromarxist reference within French socialism, and the influence it may have had on certain tendencies within the French Socialist Party, particularly during the interwar period marked by various attempts at ideological and political renewal.

Метаморфозы библейских образов в романе-эпопее М. Горького «Жизнь Клима Самгина» (Вавилон и Вавилонская башня)

The purpose of the research is to comprehend the metamorphoses of the symbol image of Babylon and the winged expression "Tower of Babel" in M. Gorky's epic novel "The Life of Klim Samgin". The article examines the metamorphoses of images of Babylon and the Tower of Babel in the context of the narrative, analyzes associations, interpretations of the "Babylonian microtext" in the complex figurative system of the novel. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time it interprets the meanings of the inclusion of the biblical expression "The Tower of Babel" in the novel "The Life of Klim Samgin", taking into account the results of the latest literary works of the 21st century devoted to the biblical text, in the light of the leitmotif "the sacrifice of Abraham" (E. R. Matevosyan). As a result of the research, it was found that in the context of the events, the writer used the catch phrase "Tower of Babel" in the episode "destruction of the artillery barracks" to translate the narrative into a "utopian discourse." In the socio-cultural situation depicted by the author at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the symbol "Tower of Babel" reveals its meanings in contact with the theories of the Social Democrats (Kutuzov and his like-minded Marxists) who replaced the narodniks. The reader gets the meaning of this popular expression as the illusory nature of humanity's "utopian projects" and can predict the outcome of the plot, anticipating the logic of its development and the logic of the actions of the characters associated with the "Babylonian text".

Courage and Charm: Annedore Leber, German Resistance, and Memory Activism, 1946–9

Interest in memory activism is the methodological starting point for this account of Annedore Leber, Social Democratic politician in post-1945 Berlin and surviving member of the resistance group that plotted the assassination attempt of 20 July 1944 on Adolf Hitler. Beginning in 1946, her memory work entailed a narrative to influence Germans, prone to view that plot as treasonous, to reconsider the resistance. Initially, her often-articulated contempt for the nation that had backed Hitler made this effort problematic: which Germans comprised her intended audience? The Cold War gave her an opening. She compared Nazi Germany to the Soviet Union. She called on Germans who opposed communism to appreciate the courage and love of freedom that informed anti-Nazi resistance. She re-enacted those resistance values by confronting the communists publicly. The other methodological angle regarding this research comes from awareness that the German patriarchy, despite defeat, was largely intact. Comments on Annedore Leber as a woman appeared in press coverage of her confrontation of communist leaders; men challenged her version of the resistance. How she met those challenges, assumed her stance as a politically active woman and expressed the necessity for women to engage in politics are key to understanding her activism.

The success of the Eurosceptic opposition forces in the European Parliament deputies’ elections 2024: causes and consequences

The article examines the results of the elections of deputies of the European Parliament, which took place on June 6-9, 2024 in all 27 member states of the European Union. Ten mains officially registered European parties participating in these elections are represented, including six so-called Euro-optimistic ones supporting the EU, and three Eurosceptic ones criticizing the current state of the Union. The analysis of the main results of the activities of the European Parliament of the previous IX convocation from 2019 to 2024, including the results of the activities of all parliamentary groups operating in it and representing eight leading European parties, was carried out. The key trends in the transformation of the European party and political system over the past five years are considered, including the decline in popularity of the leading European parties and their member parties: Conservatives, Social Democrats, Liberals and Greens, and the growing attractiveness of Eurosceptic and populist parties in many EU member states, electoral successes in national elections of representatives of the right, including right-wing radicals the parties that have been in opposition for many years and the aggravation of problems related to the security and defense capability of the EU. The electoral positions of the leading European parties, as well as the forecast estimates of their participation in the Eurovision 2024. The results of these European elections are considered and the results of the formation of a new structure of the European Parliament are analyzed, including the formation of new opposition Eurosceptic right-wing groups: Patriots for Europe, formed by the Hungarian Fidesz party of V. Orban, the French National Rally party of M. Le Pen, the Czech ANO party of A. Babiash, etc., and the Europe of Sovereign Nations, which arose on the initiative of the Alternative for Germany party.

Islamic Populism and Its Effects on Social Capital and Democracy: Evidence from Indonesian Presidential Elections

Islamic Populism and Its Effects on Social Capital and Democracy: Evidence from Indonesian Presidential Elections

Word embeddings on ideology and issues from Swedish parliamentarians’ motions: a comparative approach

ABSTRACT Quantitative analysis of large-scale political text data in the form of word embeddings has great potential for systematising differences between political parties. We examine the differences between embeddings obtained from speakers from the two competitors for the PM position in Sweden (Social Democrats and Moderates) over a 30-year period. The goal is to compare how off-the-shelf general pre-trained models perform relative to pre-training on a smaller dataset from the same domain. In the analysis, we focus on two types of concepts: issues and ideological terms. We find that generally, the off-the-shelf pre-trained models lead to more reliable results and greater emphasis on ideological differences between the studied parties.

The Documents and Memories of Bronislava Klionskaya, a Secretary the Tsaritsyn Organization of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1917–1919

The Documents and Memories of Bronislava Klionskaya, a Secretary the Tsaritsyn Organization of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1917–1919

Success or Failure of a Newcomer? The Hlas-SD Party as a New Player in the Slovak Party System

This article is an analysis of the establishment and subsequent role of the HLAS-Social Democracy (HLAS-SD) party on the Slovak political scene with a focus on its position in the system of cooperative-competitive interactions in the early elections to the National Council of the Slovak Republic in September 2023. First, it examines the new party in the broader context of the emergence of new political parties generally, which has been a long-term characteristic of the formation and development of the Slovak political system. Second, it investigates the ideological programmatic orientation of the party and its position in the scheme of cooperative-competitive interactions and cleavages in Slovak politics over the last three years. HLAS-SD represents a particular form of Slovak social democracy and, with this ideological orientation, faces competition not only from political parties of a different orientation but also from the programmatic sister party SMER-SD. Finally, the article maps the development of electoral support for HLAS-SD as captured by regular opinion polls and shown by the results of recent elections. Shortly after its establishment, HLAS-SD became for a time preferentially the most supported political entity, but later its electoral strength declined significantly. In this case study we analyse the party positions following the elections and, considering all three mentioned dimensions, explore the development of electoral support for HLAS-SD and its subsequent role in the party system.

What Sweden thinks about markets, capitalism and the rich

AbstractAttitudes towards the rich are far more positive in Sweden than in France, Spain, Germany, and Italy. Attitudes towards the market economy are also more positive in Sweden than in all other European countries, except Poland. Although Sweden is perceived by some as a model of ‘democratic socialism’, it has been 50 years since that this was – almost – the case. Today, Sweden is one of the ten most economically free countries in the world, although income tax is still above average. Corporate taxes are moderate, however, and inheritance, gift, and wealth taxes have been abolished. This article presents the findings of two surveys conducted by Ipsos MORI in Sweden. The first survey focused on perceptions of the rich, the second explored attitudes towards the market economy and capitalism.

How Should We Distribute Education in Property-Owning Democracy and Liberal Socialism?

AbstractWelfare capitalism is going through a deep crisis, and alternative models to welfare state capitalism such as liberal socialism and property-owning democracy are once again becoming prominent in public debates. The aim in this article is to compare the merits and the limits of liberal socialism and of property-owning democracy through the specific case of the distribution of educational capital, by comparing two educational systems: the Pay It Forward (PIF) system and the Tax-subsidy scheme (TS) system. Based on the analysis of these two educational systems, we provide three arguments in favor of liberal socialist institutions in general and the PIF educational system in particular: (1) the individual common assets argument, (2) the principle of reciprocity argument, and (3) the predistribution argument.

SOCIAL INSURANCE AGAINST ACCIDENTS AND OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES: MODELS AND THEIR ANALYSIS

Purpose. Analysis of existing models of social insurance in different countries of the world and identification of the best features of each of them, which can be used to improve the existing Ukrainian social insurance system. Method. The method of analysis of scientific and technical literature, international regulatory documents, regulatory documents of different countries of the world (Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Great Britain, USA, Japan, etc.) in the field of social insurance against accidents and occupational diseases was applied. Results. Based on the results of the research, three main models of social insurance were analyzed: conservative, liberal and social democratic. The main advantage of the conservative system is its progressiveness and the mandatory nature of social insurance, which guarantees every officially employed worker payment of insurance compensation in the event of an accident or occupational disease. The disadvantage of the system is the complexity of declaring and calculating insurance premium rates, as well as the significant burden on enterprises whose technological processes provide for the objective presence of a large number of workplaces with hazardous and harmful working conditions in comparison with enterprises where the number of such workplaces is smaller. A positive feature of the liberal system is the ease of declaring and calculating insurance premium rates, as well as the ability to choose insurance companies. The disadvantage of the system is the lack of incentives for the employer to improve working conditions at the enterprise. A positive feature of the Scandinavian social insurance model is the possibility of establishing differentiated insurance premium rates for the employer. The disadvantage of the Scandinavian model is the voluntary nature of insurance premiums and the significant tax burden on employees and employers. Originality. The main advantages and disadvantages of existing models of social insurance systems in countries around the world have been identified, which makes it possible to develop ways and directions for improving systems. Practical value. The results of this study will be used to develop ways and directions for improving social insurance systems, in particular the Ukrainian social insurance system. Key words: occupational safety and health, social insurance, accident, occupational disease, occupational risk.

Elections to the Second State Duma and the Orthodox clergy (based on the materials of the secular press)

Importance. The issue of the Orthodox clergy involvement in elections to the State Duma of the Russian Empire continues to be one of the most challenging and under-researched. The purpose of the study is to examine the response of secular periodicals to the Orthodox clerics involvement in the elections for the Second State Duma.Materials and Methods. The subject of the study is the perception of representatives from various socio-political backgrounds regarding the Orthodox clergy involvement in elections to the State Duma as presented in Soviet periodicals. The research has been conducted using methods of con tent analysis, comparative analysis, and typology, based on materials from leading periodicals published in the Russian Empire, both party-affiliated and non-partisan.Results and Discussions. It is revealed how representatives of various public figures treated the Orthodox clergy participation in the elections to the State Duma. The following key points are highlighted, which are discussed in the periodical press: the clergy role in the political process, the clergy participation in the parties’ activities, the attitude of priest G.S. Petrov, the Orthodox clergy and the results of the elections to the State Duma.Conclusions. The Orthodox clergy is seen as a significant factor in the election campaign. For right-wing publications, the priests acted as their allies, with the help of which it is planned to bring as many monarchists as possible to the Duma. At the same time, some representatives of the right-wing press are against the participation of priests in the elections. For the Cadets, the Social Democrats and the periodicals close to them, the priests acted as agents of the political will of the bureaucracy, which sought to increase the number of conservative-minded deputies in the Duma.

“Workers in Saskatchewan Now Have a Clear-Cut Bill of Rights”

This paper examines the politics surrounding the construction, implementation, and administration of the Saskatchewan Trade Union Act (stua) between 1944 and 1950. The act is important because it reflects the first attempt by a social democratic government in North America to construct a system of labour law that ostensibly aligned socialist ideas with the rights of workers to form trade union freedoms. This makes the stua unique in Canadian labour and political history because the legislation demonstrated the policy priorities of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (ccf) and the Canadian Congress of Labour as both organizations were attempting to solidify their places in postwar Canada. This history reflects the fact that the ccf and the unions, like the left in general throughout the 1940s and 1950s, defined the working class narrowly, focusing attention on white and male breadwinners with women and racialized workers very much on the periphery. The history also demonstrates the inherent contradiction within social democratic reform politics, as the act extended numerous rights to workers to organize and collectively bargain but when those same workers pushed back against government decision-making during the province’s first public-sector strike in 1948, political tensions found many of those same social democrats acting in similar manners to their private-sector counterparts. These tensions within social democratic approaches to labour relations – so evident in the Saskatchewan experience – have become a central contradiction of the movement throughout the postwar period and continue today.

Co-designing with and for Small and Remote Communities: Reflections on Transformative Innovation, Servitisation, and Agonism.

Within the conceptual framework of design for social innovation and democracy, this paper reports on implementing participatory processes in regenerating public spaces in semi-rural contexts, questioning the meaning of transformative innovation, servitisation, and agonism in non-urban contexts. This inquiry argues for exploring a reassessment of how we enact participatory public space regeneration strategies through their application in a remote context. The latter has been untouched by all the bottom-up initiatives and movements that have swept through European urban centres over the last fifteen years; returning to the urban space with these reflections could provide an opportunity to explore new perspectives, even in a saturated context, questioning the models of metropolitan practices. By challenging the paradigm of innovation as the only direction associated with a valid process of improvement and change, this paper delves into the urgency of looking at co-design processes through the lenses of decoloniality, relationality and agonism, creating moments of reflexivity inside the research team and with the local community. Our reflections and learnings stem from “Human Cities / SMOTIES, Creative Works with Small and Remote Places”, a participatory design project that examines community engagement methods for co-designing public spaces and transformations in European rural areas, specifically Albugnano, a small town in northern Italy. Setting the Albugnano community as an experimental ground, the case study addresses the lack of valorisation of tangible and intangible heritage, depopulation and social fragmentation by unpacking narratives, nurturing social imagination, and collectively envisioning and designing potential regenerative transformations.

The Labor movement and Revolutionary Social Democracy in the borderlands of late Imperial Russia

A review of a new monograph by Professor Eric Blanc of Rutgers University (USA) is presented. The book is devoted to the history of the labor movement and the development of revolutionary social democracy on the outskirts of the Russian Empire from 1882 (the year of the creation of the first social democratic organization in Poland) to the revolutionary 1917. Blanc focuses specifically on the "non-Russian" socialist parties in the territory of modern Poland, Ukraine, the Baltic States, Georgia and Armenia. The author concludes that the development of the socialist and labor movement in the border areas of late Imperial Russia was characterized by greater radicalism, a more developed structure and popularity among the local working class. At the same time, the situation in Finland with its autonomy and legalized party struggle, which could include socialists, differed from the virtually illegal life of social democracy in Poland and the Caucasus.

Data-Driven Campaigning in Data-Dense Small Multiparty Systems: A Party-Level Analysis

This study examines data-driven campaign (DDC) practices in Sweden. We explore the extent of data-driven practices adopted in Swedish political campaigns, and parties’ motivations to adopt them. Since this is a comparison of domestic parties, we test the importance of four party-level factors—resources, structure, attitudes toward data use, and ideology—using extensive interviews with key campaign managers in Sweden during the 2022 election year. Our results show that the differences among the eight parties studied are rather small, and that systemic factors are more important than party variables to explain the adoption of data-driven approaches. Zooming in on these finer differences we distinguish between top DDC adopters (Social Democrats, Center, and Conservatives) and a lower tier with lower levels of DDC implementation. To explain the differences between the two tiers, we find that economic resources are important, with richer parties being more advanced in DDC use. Party structure, attitudes to data, and ideology do not affect the likelihood of a Swedish party using data analytics in their strategic decision-making. Instead, we suggest party type (catch-all vs. niche) is a potentially more useful party-level factor in explaining variation.