Socio-political Drivers Research Articles

Not just new wine in old bottles: Seeing refugee law and human rights as entangled regimes

Abstract This article re-examines the relationship between international human rights and refugee law as a story of mutual interaction, by harnessing and developing the nascent concept of legal entanglement. While entanglement serves as an alternative starting point to understand how legal regimes mutually affect each other, this new concept still lacks sufficient clarity for making sense of the interfaces and development of international law. This article proposes an analytical framework for international legal theory by outlining a model of the normative, interpretive, and socio-political drivers of entangled regimes. It argues that new norms, interpretations, and socio-political shifts explain the rapprochement and distancing between refugee law and human rights over time. Acknowledging the risk that entanglement framing may become altogether too encompassing, the proposed approach to entangled regimes allows for precision and nuance in the empirical tracing of international law.

Using leverage points to reconsider the sociopolitical drivers of exclusion from education

This article outlines how the international push for inclusive education cannot be aligned with current education systems centred on neoliberal ideals of individualism, measurement, and competition. The way that these systems are organised means that a proportion of (usually marginalised) students are necessarily excluded. In order to meaningfully address the global education crisis, that sees millions of children and young people either out of school or unengaged with learning, this ontological misalignment must be acknowledged, and discourse and engagement around it must be promoted. Drawing from the work of Donella Meadows, I argue that ‘high leverage points’ (information flows, rules, system goals, mindsets) are crucial places to intervene in education systems. Intervention at such points, while challenging, has the potential to lead to transformational and sustainable change; change that current ‘low leverage point’ initiatives fail to produce. I conclude with a call for further discourse and research into an examination of ‘high leverage points’ within education systems, how they interact, and how the development of an associated framework would be beneficial for researchers and development partners.

Shaping a Crisis, Constructing Addiction: Discursive Depoliticization of British Columbia's Drug Policy

This analysis sets out to inquire why the comprehensive public health response to the alarming surge in illicit opioid and stimulant-related fatalities in the Canadian province of British Columbia has not yielded the intended results, despite its forward-thinking policies grounded in a concern for health over criminalization (Govt of BC, 2016; Burton et al., 2021). I will claim that this purportedly progressive approach to public health has been ineffective because it fails to address the socio-political drivers of the overdose crisis. Relating the work of cultural anthropologist Philippe Bourgois on drug use as a coping mechanism and Carol Bacchi's ontopolitical approach to the issue, I will trace the discursive dynamics through which the opioid crisis has been constructed in a manner that obviates its structural roots in the political economy of capitalist democracies.

Resistance, resurgence, and wellbeing: climate change loss and damages from the perspective of Māori women

Drawing on ethnographic research with Māori women in northern Aotearoa (New Zealand) I use this paper to encourage reflection on how the loss and damages (L&D) discourse might better engage with Indigenous peoples’ lived realities of climate change. I argue L&D scholarship and policy-making is dominated by reductive economic, hazard-focussed, and fatalistic framings of climate impacts and adaptation that are largely misaligned with Indigenous (and specifically Māori) approaches to loss and damage. I illustrate recurrent themes in the research using the narratives of two Māori women who employ forms of cultural resurgence to revitalise health-giving relationships with the land and offset multiple losses, damages, and harms to health and wellbeing sustained through settler colonialism, neoliberalism, and climate change. The narratives re-frame loss, damage, and adaptation from the perspective of Māori women. They provide much-needed empirical evidence of intangible, non-economic, lived, and felt L&D, their socio-political (as opposed to simply biophysical) drivers, and the actions Indigenous women employ to transform vulnerability, adapt to change, and secure intergenerational wellbeing in line with their view of the world. Together, the narratives underscore the vital importance of engaging social context when conceptualising and responding to L&D, support the move towards Indigenous-led, decolonised adaptation, and reaffirm the important role of Indigenous women in responding to climate change and leading social transformation.

Why unending? Migrations and the political economy of the xenophobic conflict in South Africa: a systematic review

The object of the research is the interaction between unending migrations and the political economy as significant drivers of xenophobic conflicts. The phenomenon of xenophobic conflict in South Africa has garnered increasing attention due to its recurrent violent nature and socio-political implications. This study delves, systematically, into the intricate connection between migration and the politics of xenophobia in South Africa. It examines how migrations, both internal and external, have influenced the development of xenophobic conflict within South Africa, alongside the historical context of the entrenched apartheid system. It further explores the underlying motives of those engaging in xenophobic acts while examining the responses of civil society and the government. By analyzing existing literature and conducting qualitative reviews of the experiences of the victims of xenophobic violence, this study contends that xenophobia in South Africa, among other factors, is a lasting legacy of the apartheid era that has created unequal economic power relations between the South African blacks and the few dominant whites. Findings further underscore the significance of understanding contemporary migration patterns in the 21st century from the context of entrenched economic inequalities, economic disenfranchisements, rising poverty among the indigenous black South African community in South Africa. In addition, economic disparities, resource scarcity, and competition for employment opportunities have emerged for being pivotal catalysts of conflict, thereby exacerbating tensions between native black South Africans and the African immigrant populations in South Africa. Relying on findings, this study thus argues that xenophobia remains an ongoing and persistent challenge that demands urgent attention from policymakers in South Africa. In conclusion, this study underscores the necessity of addressing the xenophobic conflict in South Africa through a multidimensional approach. Policymakers, civil society, and academia must collaborate to formulate strategies that target both the economic and socio-political drivers of such conflicts. By acknowledging the historical context, rectifying inequalities, and promoting accurate narratives, it becomes possible to foster a more inclusive and harmonious society, thereby mitigating the unending cycle of xenophobic tensions, phobia and violence.

Racializing China–Africa Relations: A Test to the Sino-African Friendship

While contemporary China–Africa relations are often discussed in (geo)political and economic terms, they cannot be disentangled from “racial” orderings and tensions. Still, “race” remains underexplored in these encounters. This article seeks to further the conversation on the role of “race” in China–Africa relations. We build on the concept of “racialization” to examine the various ways in which race shapes both the Chinese-in-Africa and Africans-in-China contexts. We do so without losing sight of historical constructions and socio-political drivers. Drawing and expanding on a burgeoning strand of China–Africa “race”-related research, we argue that racialization processes are fused with strategic interests, historical “racial” consciousnesses, and political and economic discontent. Our analysis questions oft-repeated programmatic claims of a “Sino-African friendship” and posits that thinking through “race” is fundamental for an adequate comprehension of the narratives and modalities configuring China–Africa relations.

Home motivations and lived experiences in housing cooperatives and cohousing communities: a two-contexts scoping review

Research on housing cooperatives and cohousing stems largely from social democratic countries. Contexts with less empirical evidence like liberal economy countries (LEC), studies centre on housing design, governance and time use. Evidence in Hispanic American countries (HAC) is also limited, raising critical questions about our current understanding of housing commons in global south contexts. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of analyses investigating residents’ motivations and lived experiences of home via residents’ voices across HAC and LEC. Addressing this knowledge gap, a scoping review was conducted through a relational perspective guided by the PRISMA methodology, which resulted in the analysis of 58 peer-reviewed articles. Results reveal that economic and socio-political drivers represent the main reasons for living in these communities. The residents’ lived experience yielded five areas: social capital, economic, environmental, design and knowledge generation/transfer. Findings indicate that even when cooperatives and cohousing are different in their vision, both require autonomy and an active role for residents during the home-making process.

Equality in contention: exploring the debates of gender-equal inheritance rights in Bangladesh

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to evaluate what caused the debates and confusion in articulating a gender-equal inheritance policy in Bangladesh, and to identify the socio-political drivers and nature of the political power play that thwarted the policy’s adoption.Design/methodology/approachThe research undergirding this paper is based on a qualitative approach involving a case study with in-depth semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions, and secondary data analysis. The interviews were conducted with policy makers, officials, lawyers, women activists, Muslim religious scholars, Hindu priests, academics and researchers, and women representing Hindu and Muslim religions.FindingsThe findings illustrate that the controversies between the Islamic religion and national and international policies led to serious debates and confusion about gender-equal rights of inheritance in Bangladesh. The failure to formulate and adopt a gender-equal inheritance policy was influenced by several socio-political phenomena and gender-biased institutional settings. This kind of policy is deeply political, and cultural compatibility is necessary to formulate it, especially when the policy affects religious sentiments. Religious sentiments and beliefs, which are associated with religion-based personal law, therefore influence both the formulation or non-formulation of a gender-equal policy. To move forward with the fundamental idea of women’s inclusion, there is a strong need to identify the socio-cultural and political drivers behind formulating, non-formulating, as well as implementing a gender-equal policy.Originality/valueThe paper will be beneficial to scholars and policy makers who seek to explore the epicenter of challenges and opposition to formulating a gender-equal policy in the context of a developing country with a Muslim majority.

Exploring the multi-level perspective in municipal solid waste management transition

The successful transition of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in low-income economies towards a more sustainable practice is dependent on socio-political drivers, enablers/interventions, and service delivery practices. However, Environmental and sustainability sub-components influence this transition initiatives regarding sustainable MSWM. Informed by the theory of Multi-Level Perspective (MLP), we developed a nuanced Dimensional Evaluation of Waste Transition (DEWasT) model for MSWM to clarify societal factors and triggers for sustainability. This model elucidates the transition of MSWM, characterised by the three-level MLP, namely, landscape pressures, regimes, and niche innovations. The interaction of these transition levels within this model allows policymakers, institutions, and stakeholders to understand the current structure and dynamics. It will enable practical guidelines for MSWM sustainability practices, influencing a paradigm change towards MSWM innovations in low-income economies and closing the gaps identified by previous practitioners.

Situating commercialization of assisted reproduction in its socio-political context: a critical interpretive synthesis.

In many countries, ART service provision is a commercial enterprise. This has benefits, for example, creating efficiencies and economies of scale, but there are also concerns that financial imperatives can negatively impact patient care. The commercialization of ART is often conceptualized as being driven solely by the financial interests of companies and clinicians, but there are in fact many complex and intersecting socio-political demands for ART that have led to, sustain and shape the industry. To use the academic and policy discourse on the commercialization of ART to build a theoretical model of factors that influence demand for ART services in high-income countries in order to inform potential policy responses. We searched electronic databases for journal articles (including Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed) and websites for grey literature, carried out reference chaining and searched key journals (including Human Reproduction, Fertility and Sterility). The terms used to guide these searches were 'assisted reproductive technology' OR 'in vitro fertilization' AND 'commerce' OR 'commercialisation' OR 'industry' OR 'market'. The search was limited to the English language and included articles published between 2010 and 2020. We used an established method of critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) to build a theoretical model of factors that influence demand for ART services in high-income countries. We developed initial themes from a broad review of the literature followed by iterative theoretical sampling of academic and grey literatures to further refine these themes. According to contemporary academic and broader socio-political discourse, the demand for ART has arisen, expanded and evolved in response to a number of intersecting forces. Economic imperatives to create sustainable national workforces, changing gender roles and concerns about the preservation of genetic, national/ethnic and role-related identities have all created demand for ART in both public and private sectors. The prominence given to reproductive autonomy and patient-centred care has created opportunities to (re)define what constitutes appropriate care and, therefore, what services should be offered. All of this is happening in the context of technological developments that provide an increasing range of reproductive choices and entrench the framing of infertility as a disease requiring medical intervention. These socio-political drivers of demand for ART can be broadly organized into four theoretical categories, namely security, identity, individualization and technocratization. The primary limitation is that the interpretive process is ultimately subjective, and so alternative interpretations of the data are possible. Development of policy related to commercial activity in ART needs to account for the broad range of factors influencing demand for ART, to which commercial ART clinics are responding and within which they are embedded. This work was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Ideas Grant (APP1181401). All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest in relation to this work.

Sociopolitical drivers and environmental outcomes of protected area downgrading and degazettement in Cambodia

Sociopolitical drivers and environmental outcomes of protected area downgrading and degazettement in Cambodia

Circular economy in pharmaceutical industry through the lens of stimulus organism response theory

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore circular economy (CE) initiatives and apply the stimulus-organism-response theory to find the socio-political drivers and enablers of CE in the pharmaceutical industry. CE as a concept was relatively not studied much with respect to socio-political interests from operations management perspectives. This was especially so in the pharmaceutical industry.Design/methodology/approachThis research study was anchored in the theoretical conversation of stimulus-organism-response theory to find the socio-political interests and enablers of the regenerative CE principles. These were the functions of remanufacturing, reuse and recycle. For this research study, data was collected in two steps. First, eight industry practitioners were interviewed to understand the CE practices in the pharmaceutical industry. Then 166 chiefs of production and operations functions from 124 pharmaceutical companies were surveyed. The quantitative data was empirically analyzed using SmartPLS3 software.FindingsThis research study revealed that pressure from suppliers and other public stakeholders were driving regenerative CE practices in the pharmaceutical industry. The results further stated that CE enablers such as green information technology systems and internal environmental management were critical for making pharmaceutical manufacturing operations circular.Research limitations/implicationsThis research study measured the constructs on a formative scale. Studies measuring socio-political interests, CE enablers and sustainability practices constructs on a formative scale were much required for the development of the CE theory. This research study output could be applied across geographies and industries to measure the indicators of CE.Practical implicationsThis research study indicated that in the context of the pharmaceutical industry, there was an overemphasis on the remanufacture and reuse principles. However, the focus on recycling principles was mostly subdued. For managers and regulators in the pharmaceutical sector, this research study provided clear insights that for more effective CE implementation. This was based on an effective application of recycling practices in the critical functions in pharmaceutical industry.Originality/valueEarlier research studies on green and environmental manufacturing were focused on linear production models. To provide clear and robust foundations for CE theory, this research study considered operations management from the perspective of the value chain. This comprised the entire circular production model. Earlier research studies had treated socio-political interests, CE enablers and sustainability practices as reflective constructs. This study was one of the foremost to measure these constructs on a formative scale.

Socio-economic and Political Drivers of Renewable Natural Resource Conflicts among Crop Farmers in Southeast Nigeria

The natural resource conflicts happen when there is variation on how natural resources and related ecosystems should be managed, owned, allocated, used, and protected. However, most researches on resource conflicts among different users, could not see the primacy of looking into these conflicts from the angle of their socio-economic and political causes. This paper among other things sought the socio-economic and political triggers of renewable natural resources conflict in Southeastern parts of Nigeria. Data were collected from 300 crop farmers purposively selected from three States - Imo, Abia and Enugu, using structured questionnaire and oral interview. Percentage and mean were used to analyze the collected data. The renewable natural resources considered in the study area were water, crop land, forests, and fishers/marine resources among others. The socio-political drivers of renewable resources conflict includes demand induced scarcity (87.7%), environmental degradation (83.3%), migration of people (91.6%) and unclear rights (85.3%). The study found that to reduce the occurrence of natural resource conflicts, following measures should be in place; reducing vulnerability to resources scarcity (M=3.57), increased availability of scarce resources (M=3.60), discourage/stop degradation (M=2.50), good governance framework (M=3.36) and effective resource sharing agreement (M=3.56) among others. It is recommended to resolve the natural resource conflicts which can be achieved by equal distribution of resources, clear rights to resources and good land governance.

The historiography of a profession: The societal and political drivers of the health information management profession in Australia.

Health information permeates healthcare delivery from point-of-care, across the continuum of care and throughout the healthcare system's policy, population health, research, planning and funding arenas. Health information managers (HIMs) expertly manage that information. This commentary theorises the health information management profession for the first time. Its purpose is to identify and contextualise, via a historiographical account, the societal and political drivers that have shaped contemporary Australian health information management and HIMs' scientific work. It seeks to build our knowledge of the socio-political influences on the profession's emergence and development, and the projected drivers of its future. Eight critical, socio-political drivers were identified and are addressed in temporaneous order. Scientific medicine has reflected the influences on medicine in the past century and a half of the medical record and other technologies, laboratory-based sciences, evidence-based medicine and evidence-based health. Standardisation has underpinned and guided the profession's practice. The hegemony of non-medical healthcare managers and resource- and performance-related accountabilities emerged in the 1960s, as did the efficiencies of bureaucratisation in healthcare and post-bureaucratic shifts to textualisation and technogovernance. Technologisation has driven constant change in health information management, as have the forces of the fast-paced risk society. Since the 1980s, the health consumer movement has propelled regulatory mechanisms that accord patients' access rights to their medical records and mandate information privacy protections. Finally, a nascent commodification of health information has emerged. These forces exert ongoing impacts on the profession. They will, we conclude, singularly and collectively continue to shape its discourses and direction.

Analyzing the Relationship between Mental Health Courts and the Prison Industrial Complex.

Mental health courts (MHCs) were designed to address the high rates of incarcerated individuals with serious mental illness in the United States by providing mental health treatment and social supports to those facing criminal charges. In the setting of national uprisings and grassroots demands for abolition of the prison industrial complex (PIC), which is the broad construct of economic and sociopolitical drivers of imprisonment, we draw upon the scholarship of community activists to examine the role of MHCs within the PIC. Specifically, we explore whether MHCs exacerbate harms caused by the criminal justice system or work to reduce its oppressive power. In this analysis, we argue that MHCs can perpetuate harmful assumptions about mental illness and crime, can legitimize the harsh punishment of individuals unfairly deemed undeserving of policy intervention, and can preserve power differentials between courts and court participants. Our analysis underscores the need for a critical reassessment of the role of MHCs in communities and in the PIC. We advocate for an open discussion between community members and advocates, policymakers, and health professionals about how to address the need for mental health treatment and social support without expanding and entrenching the power of the PIC.

Syndemic Framework Evaluation of Severe COVID-19 Outcomes in the United States: Factors Associated With Race and Ethnicity.

Socially and economically disadvantaged racial and ethnic minorities have experienced comparatively severe clinical outcomes from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States. Disparities in health outcomes arise from a myriad of synergistic biomedical and societal factors. Syndemic theory provides a useful framework for examining COVID-19 and other diseases that disproportionately affect vulnerable populations. Syndemic models ground research inquiries beyond individual clinical data to include non-biological community-based drivers of SARS-CoV-2 infection risk and severity of disease. Given the importance of such economic, environmental, and sociopolitical drivers in COVID-19, our aim in this Perspective is to examine entrenched racial and ethnic health inequalities and the magnitude of associated disease burdens, economic disenfranchisement, healthcare barriers, and hostile sociopolitical contexts—all salient syndemic factors brought into focus by the pandemic. Systemic racism persists within long-term care, health financing, and clinical care environments. We present proximal and distal public policy strategies that may mitigate the impact of this and future pandemics.

Positioning zoonotic disease research in forced migration: A systematic literature review of theoretical frameworks and approaches.

BackgroundThe emergence and transmission of zoonotic diseases are driven by complex interactions between health, environmental, and socio-political systems. Human movement is considered a significant and increasing factor in these processes, yet forced migration remains an understudied area of zoonotic research–due in part to the complexity of conducting interdisciplinary research in these settings.ObjectivesWe conducted a systematic review to identify and analyze theoretical frameworks and approaches used to study linkages between forced migration and zoonotic diseases.MethodsWe searched within eight electronic databases: ProQuest, SCOPUS, Web of Science, PubMed, PLoSOne, Science Direct, JSTOR, and Google Scholar, to identify a) research articles focusing on zoonoses considering forced migrants in their study populations, and b) forced migration literature which engaged with zoonotic disease. Both authors conducted a full-text review, evaluating the quality of literature reviews and primary data using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) model, while theoretical papers were evaluated for quality using a theory synthesis adapted from Bonell et al. (2013). Qualitative data were synthesized thematically according to the method suggested by Noblit and Hare (1988).ResultsAnalyses of the 23 included articles showed the increasing use of interdisciplinary frameworks and approaches over time, the majority of which stemmed from political ecology. Approaches such as EcoHealth and One Health were increasingly popular, but were more often linked to program implementation and development than broader contextual research. The majority of research failed to acknowledge the heterogeneity of migrant populations, lacked contextual depth, and insufficient acknowledgments of migrant agency in responding to zoonotic threats.ConclusionsAddressing the emergence and spread of zoonoses in forced migration contexts requires more careful consideration and use of interdisciplinary research to integrate the contributions of social and natural science approaches. Robust interdisciplinary theoretical frameworks are an important step for better understanding the complex health, environment, and socio-political drivers of zoonotic diseases in forced migration. Lessons can be learned from the application of these approaches in other hard-to-reach or seldom-heard populations.

Digital aripiprazole as a human technology

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the first ever ‘digital’ drug, an antipsychotic (aripiprazole) embedded with a sensor (Abilify MyCite) that tracks data about drug ingestion as well as activity level and mood patterns. In this paper, we identify the financial and sociopolitical drivers that have facilitated the development and regulatory approval of a digital drug marketed for people with psychotic disorders. We explore the novel ways that such devices blur the distinctions between medication, machine and mind. The risks of digital aripiprazole obscuring and exacerbating the effects of social inequity are discussed. However, we also consider the possibility that this digital psychotropic drug may allow for new forms of personhood, performances of subjectivity, and resistance to emerge. This paper addresses both the conditions that enabled the development of digital aripiprazole as well as the possibilities and limitations it may bring to health providers and service-users.

China: A New Trajectory Prioritizing Rural Rather Than Urban Development?

The adverse effects of rapid urbanization are of global concern. Careful planning for and accommodation of accelerating urbanization and citizenization (i.e., migrants gaining official urban residency) may be the best approach to limit some of the worst impacts. However, we find that another trajectory may be possible: one linked to the rural development plan adopted in the latest Chinese national development strategy. This plan aims to build rural areas as attractive areas for settlement by 2050 rather than to further urbanize with more people in cities. We assess the political motivations and challenges behind this choice to develop rural areas based on a literature review and empirical case analysis. After assessing the rural and urban policy subsystem, we find five socio-political drivers behind China’s rural development strategy, namely ensuring food security, promoting culture and heritage, addressing overcapacity, emphasizing environmental protection and eradicating poverty. To develop rural areas, China needs to effectively resolve three dilemmas: (1) implementing decentralized policies under central supervision; (2) deploying limited resources efficiently to achieve targets; and (3) addressing competing narratives in current policies. Involving more rural community voices, adopting multiple forms of local governance, and identifying and mitigating negative project impacts can be the starting points to manage these dilemmas.

Future Socio-Political Scenarios for Aquatic Resources in Europe: A Common Framework Based on Shared-Socioeconomic-Pathways (SSPs)

It has proven extremely challenging for researchers to predict with confidence how human societies might develop in the future, yet managers and industries need to make projections in order to test adaptation and mitigation strategies designed to build resilience to long-term shocks. This paper introduces exploratory scenarios with a particular focus on European aquaculture and fisheries and describes how these scenarios were designed. Short-, medium- and long-term developments in socio-political drivers may be just as important in determining profits, revenues and prospects in the aquaculture and fisheries industries as physical drivers such as long-term climate change. Four socio-political-economic futures were developed, based partly on the IPCC SRES (Special Report on Emissions Scenarios) framework and partly on the newer system of Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs). ‘Off the shelf’ narrative material as well as quantitative outputs were ‘borrowed’ from earlier frameworks but supplemented with material generated through in-depth stakeholder workshops involving industry and policy makers. Workshop participants were tasked to outline how they thought their sector might look under the four future worlds and, in particular, to make use of the PESTEL conceptual framework (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, and Legal) as an aide memoire to help define the scope of each scenario. This work was carried out under the auspices of the EU Horizon 2020 project CERES (Climate change and European aquatic RESources), and for each ‘CERES scenario’ (World Markets, National Enterprise, Global Sustainability and Local Stewardship), additional quantitative outputs were generated, including projections of future fuel and fish prices, using the MAGNET (Modular Applied GeNeral Equilibrium Tool) modeling framework. In developing and applying the CERES scenarios, we have demonstrated that the basic architecture is sufficiently flexible to be used at a wide diversity of scales. We urge the climate science community to adopt a similar scenarios framework, based around SSPs, to facilitate global cross-comparison of fisheries and aquaculture model outputs more broadly and to harmonize communication regarding potential future bioeconomic impacts of climate change.