Socio-political Setting Research Articles

Portrayal of Woman in Mulk Raj Anand’s the old woman and the cow and Arundhati Roy’s "the Ministry of Utmost Happiness

The arrival of a woman is like the first light of dawn, dispelling the shadows. She has the power to dispel any anxiety that arises from mental shadows, like the sun that illuminates the world. Essentially, life begins with women. The fact that women are the ones who brought this universe into being is an undeniable fact. A strong belief in women's inherent worth as human beings is fundamental to feminism. It identifies shifts in cultural norms that repress women and works to alter those norms. Feminism examines and analyses the repressed position of women in a socio-political setting by pursuing such an effort. Equal rights and status for women are the goals of this movement. The Indian author Mulk Raj Anand also wrote short stories. The Indian social fabric is something that Arundhati Rao has a keen eye for. As a revolutionary spark for the litterateurs of the twenty-first century, he fights for the rights of the marginalised and oppressed. In his books, Anand depicts the impoverished people of India in a realistic light. This article uses Arundhati Rao's The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017) as a lens through which to examine Mulk Raj Anand's 1960 novel The Old Woman and the Cow via the feminist topic of gender inequalities. There is a noticeable trend in modern English-language literature towards works written by Indian women. From a societal and personal perspective, this study examines the achievements of Indian women.

Sustainability in the Czech Republic: From a Green Growth Laggard to a Degrowth Hotspot

The Czech Republic is a notorious laggard in green transition policies. This begs the question of how stable the current socio-political setting is and whether it can resist deeper sustainability transitions in the long run. The paper combines institutional literature with sustainability transition research to describe the current situation and outline possible future developments in terms of the economic discourse. It shows that the reluctance towards the green transition may be caused not only by the strong position of incumbents but also by the limited relevance of the green competitiveness approach for the country’s situation. Based on recent developments and existing vulnerabilities, the paper identifies the possible strengths of the more radical approach to sustainability entailed in degrowth. Rather than a pure hegemony of one of the niche paradigms, however, it proposes as likely a pluriversal pathway combining elements of both in a patchwork manner.

ANALYZING IMRAN KHAN’S POST-PREMIERSHIP SPEECHES: A CRITICAL DISCOURSE PERSPECTIVE

The primary objective of this study is to explore the speeches made by well-known political figure in Pakistan, Mr. Imran Khan, following his removal on April 10, 2022. The research explores the persuasiveness of Khan's speeches, spurred on by his considerable influence, especially among young people. The context of Fairclough's 3D model was used to analyze five carefully selected speeches that were given between June 19, 2022, and March 25, 2023. After being translated from Urdu into English, the speeches were examined. Using the 3D model required close examination of the discourse practices, text, and sociocultural background in order to reveal the complex relationships between language, power, and sociopolitical setting in Pakistan. The analysis shows how skillfully Khan uses rhetorical elements like irony, satire, and intertextuality to address important topics, advocate for change, and raise social consciousness. These findings shed light on wider issues of public opinion, government, and social standards in addition to helping to comprehend Khan's communication tactics. This research sets the stage for future discussions on discourse analysis, political communication dynamics, and the role of language in shaping political discourse, ultimately enhancing our understanding of modern political dialogue in Pakistan.

Plowshares or swords? End-of-the-world rhetoric in a politically divided world

A presidential election year, when apocalyptic rhetorical bombast can be at its most cutting and binary, provides an ideal socio-political setting to assess and challenge the standard accounts of political realism. Insofar as appeals to end-of-the-world rhetoric in Scripture are often enough used by politicians backed by their various religious constituencies in making their opposing cases, opposing apocalypses in the Bible provide an ideal literary context to assess and challenge the standard accounts and efforts to unify texts in Scripture that are on-their-face contradictory. Since preachers in pulpits are often the primary interpreters of Scripture to their church-going publics, how might a preacher preach the famous contradictory “plowshare” passages in the Bible (Isa 2:2-4 and Joel 3:9-12) in a season of heightened political tension, indeed, any time when faced with contradictions in the Bible? This article argues for a nonviolent political realism as a political theology for addressing such end-of-the-world binaries that have and continue to threaten real and unleashed violence upon the world.

Kingship Christology: A reflection on Midnight Crew’s “Igwe” within the Igbo Socio-Cultural Context

This literature-based research explored the subject of Kingship Christology as portrayed in Midnight Crew’s song “Igwe.” Through an interdisciplinary approach, the paper delved into how the song articulates the Kingship of Christ from an Igbo Christian perspective. The paper critically examined the lyrics of the song, linking it with the Christian and Igbo socio-cultural worldviews. The research established that Jesus surpasses every human king (past, present and future) in every human society and serves as a perfect King whose leadership style provides a perfect model of what human leadership ought to be. This finding formed the basis for exploring key implications of Jesus’ kingship for the Igbo/African sociopolitical setting. The paper charged African leaders to adopt a Christological model of leadership characterized by humility, servanthood, transparency, accountability, inclusivity, and a deep commitment to the welfare of their communities. In addition to demonstrating the nexus between music, theology and culture, the paper contributes to African Christian scholarship on Christology, musical theology and leadership.

MODERATION IN INDONESIAN TAFSIR: CRITICAL DISCOURSE ANALYSIS OF THE TERMS OF UMMATAN WASATAN IN THE AL-QUR’AN DAN TERJEMAHANNYA BY THE MINISTRY OF RELIGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

Various kinds of religious issues in the context of the state, such as intolerance between religious communities, have made the state formulate a program of religious moderation through the Kementerian Agama RI in 2019. The importance of this program can be seen from the inclusion of religious moderation in the Konsep Rencana Pembangunan Jangka Menengah Nasional 2020-2024 by Bappenas. On the other hand, the Ministry of Religion has been producing Qur’anic literature for a long time through the Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya, Al-Qur’an dan Tafsirnya, Tafsir Tematik Moderasi Beragama, and others. This article attempts to trace the meaning of religious moderation through Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya from time to time (1990 and 2019 editions), with the following questions: How do the products of the Al-Qur’an Terjemah Kemenag discuss religious moderation? The meaning of the word tawasut will be traced from the Al-Qur’an dan Terjemahnya from time to time. This research is a text analysis (content analysis) with a qualitative research method that comes from two main data sources, namely primary data and secondary data. Furthermore, processing the data is done by using the literature mapping technique. The conclusions obtained from these two editions do not exist in a vacuum. Texts were produced according to the context and socio-political setting of the time. After analyzing through text dimensions, discursive practices and sociocultural practices, it was found that the construction of ideology in the structure of the text can be seen in the translation changes in the two verses. Expanding the meaning and euphemism of the terms used responds to the context surrounding the Qur’an and its translation by the Kementerian Agama RI. The production and consumption of texts can then be seen from government policies through the Kementerian Agama in the socialization of moderation in all lines of people’s lives, in religion, intellectuals and society.

Diskursus Ulama Seputar Penafsiran Al-Qur’an Tentang Memilih Kepala Daerah Non-Muslim Di Indonesia

This article proves that the interpretation of the Koran is greatly influenced by the socio-political background of the interpreter which influences their interpretation and the choice of approach they use. The regional head election (Pilkada) contest in DKI Jakarta is an arena for seeking the legitimacy of each interpreter for the intent of Qs. al-Ma'idah: 51. On the other hand, a textual approach based on a linguistic approach (al-'ibrah bi' general al-lafdzi) gave birth to an exclusive interpretation in rejecting non-Muslim Regional Head candidates. Meanwhile, the basis of the socio-historical approach ('al-ibrah bi especially al-sabab) is a more inclusive religious foundation that allows non-Muslim Regional Head candidates. The choice of this approach seems to have a reciprocal correlation with the socio-political setting of the interpreter, because in fact the interpretation of awliya' in Qs. Al-Maidah: 51, is neutral. Etymologically it can be interpreted; close, friend, protector, helper, leader, alliance, ally, intimate, lover, soul mate and maybe many more. However, when scholars have a certain tendency, in the end the interpretation of awliya' is brought to the subjective meaning of the interpreter, even though the interpreter claims to have constructed an interpretation that is objective and universal in nature. This research is a field research with a hermeneutic approach. Sources of data are Muslim scholars who are experts in the field of interpretation of the Koran from various backgrounds by purposive sampling according to the expertise of the informants.

Taingyintha theology in the making in Myanmar: a public theological perspective.

ABSTRACT Since almost all Christians in Myanmar are taingyintha Christians, Myanmar must have a taingyintha theology that makes a serious attempt to analyze the reality of the socio-political context of Myanmar and evolve a meaningful theology that is relevant and contextual to the contemporary reality of Myanmar. In this article, the author highlights that the task of taingyintha Christians is to struggle for tiangyintha liberation from their socio-politically discrimination and Burmanization in their homeland, to empower the inner person of the taingyinthas, and to strive for their empowerment in all spheres, and to lead inclusive humanism for the goal identity and humanity of the taingyinthas within the human community. The objective is to emerge taingyintha theology not only from the experience of taingyinthaness in their socio-political setting but also from the fundamental biblical categories like equality, justice, peace, and hope for socio-political transformation. In interpretation, an inductive theological method will be applied to examine the taingyinthas’ struggle for identity in the context in which they struggle in order to actualise their vision of a genuine federal Union and to empower taingyinthas to be the transformational role in the contemporary socio-political setting.

Associations of personality traits with night eating among students in health sciences who live in a post-conflict setting

ABSTRACT The intake of food later in the evening can have harmful health consequences. Some researchers suggest that having certain personality characteristics may be associated with the onset of eating disorders. There is a lack of studies on personality traits and night eating in a complex socio-political setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between personality traits and more intense night eating among students in northern Kosovo. A cross-section study was conducted in a population of health science students at the University in Kosovska Mitrovica. Students completed a socio-demographic questionnaire, Night Eating Questionnaire (NEQ), HEXACO-60 personality inventory, Beck’s Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck’s Anxiety Inventory (BAI). The independent variables (exposures) were the six domains of the HEXACO-60 (Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness and Openness to Experience). The study outcome was the NEQ score. The study sample consisted of 534 students. The prevalence of night eating syndrome was 3.0%. The multivariate linear regression model suggested that stronger Extraversion and Openness to Experience were associated with more frequent night eating. Additionally, later bedtime, poorer sleep quality and higher scores on BDI and BAI were associated with more frequent night eating across all six models of models of personality traits. In a population of health science students who live in a complex socio-political environment, extraversion and openness to experience traits were associated with more frequent night eating. These findings could help researchers and clinicians tailor specific behavioral therapies to match the personality traits of people with night eating issues.

Internationalization as myth, ceremony and doxa in higher education. The case of the Nordic countries between centre and periphery

ABSTRACT The article deals with the validation of the internationalization imperative in higher education institutions (HEIs) of the Nordic countries. I focus on both the goals and motives behind activities supporting internationalization, but also on the manner of their habitualization and institutionalization in the practice of academic administration and organizational management. The issue of legitimization of institutional changes is addressed by means of the rationalized myths that create durable dispositions for specific practices, changes in procedures and attitudes in a given socio-political setting. I draw on empirical examples that include practical solutions and strategies developed under the conditions of semiperipheral positionality of the Nordic states. This perspective makes their internationalization policies an interesting frame of reference for other countries and the paper concludes by pointing to the latest trends that can serve either as an inspiration or a warning for other states. The Nordic countries offer an example of how institutionalizing the ‘strategic gains’ narrative from globalization may lead to a recalibration of an earlier knowledge regime along with attempts to change centre-periphery relations, including the reframing of priorities and rationalities of different stakeholders in higher education.

Guilty knowledge: A postcolonial inquiry into knowledge, suspicion, and responsibility in the fight against terrorism financing

AbstractThis article studies practices of knowledge production during counterterrorism financing court cases in European courts. Developments in international law have contributed to novel regulations to criminalise and prosecute the funding of terrorism in advance of terrorist violence. In this study, we study how court cases have become important spaces for contesting and evaluating multiple knowledge claims on terrorist threat and suspicion by analysing case proceedings from both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Building on recent debates in International Relations and postcolonial theory, we make two contributions. First, building on insights from postcolonial literature on ‘abyssal thinking’, we illustrate how legal practices differentiate between different ways of knowing by dismissing certain experiences as ‘emotional’ or ‘subjective’ in contrast to the assumed objectivity of other knowledge claims. We argue that decisions on what counts as knowledge in a court setting are situated in a specific sociopolitical setting, whereby particular knowledge and life-worlds are recognised at the expense of others. Second, we empirically show how the novel criminal laws shifts the responsibility to know terrorist threat from the state to ordinary citizens. We illustrate how the court reinforces new security logics where the state can entertain doubt, uncertainty, and trust in their practices, while the citizens cannot.

Climate Change SOS: Addressing Climate Impacts within a Climate Change Spiral of Silence

This study uncovers the dynamics that exist among key government officials working to address impacts of climate variability and change within a hostile socio-political setting. Through qualitative analysis of interviews with Oklahoma government officials, this study finds evidence of a climate change spiral of silence impacting key government decision-making processes through the suppression of climate change discourse and science. We argue that settings hostile toward climate action (where there is pervasive skepticism/denial of anthropogenic climate change and opposition to climate mitigations/adaptation policies) are primed for normative dynamics that reinforce a climate change spiral of silence.

Afghanistan: Decades of collective trauma, ongoing humanitarian crises, Taliban rulers, and mental health of the displaced population.

More than half of the Afghan population suffers from depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder, including many survivors of conflict-related violence, yet only about 10 percent receive effective psychosocial therapy from the government. As a result of decades of bloodshed, many Afghans have sustained serious psychological traumas. Due to unfair social standards, women and girls confront additional challenges, and millions of Afghans have suffered psychologically as a result of 41 years of conflict. While effective mental health investment is vital, funds must be spent judiciously to ensure access to adequate assessment while also adhering to human rights standards. The global mental health crises caused by the lengthy political struggle, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, have collided in Afghanistan, worsening a complex humanitarian disaster and adding to the country's mounting mental health burden. Mental health is an issue that, at least in Afghanistan's current socio-political setting, requires immediate attention. While effective mental health investment is vital, funds must be spent judiciously to ensure access to adequate assessment.

Co-Designing Change

Co-Designing Change

ISLAM AND NATIONALISM: The Role of the Universitas Al Washliyah In the Era of Post Independent 1950s

<strong>Abstract</strong>: This article attempts to explore the role of Al Washliyah University in the trajectory of modern Indonesian history, especially regarding the Islamic style they developed, the Islamic scientific authority built by both scholars and their teachings. In addition, this article examines the strategic position of the university in the 1950s socio-political setting in North Sumatra. This study is a historical study with a political sociology approach by prioritizing archival records, published historical sources, and making greater use of a wide range of oral material in the form of interviews. The results of this study indicate that UNIVA has bridged and developed the two main streams of public debate since the independence era and even now, namely regarding Islam and nationality. The thoughts of the founders have strengthened the integration between Islam and nationality in a formula to build a nation and a generation. Then, this affirmation is seen as important as the main argument in this article which allows the opening of a dialogue about how the Islamic scientific tradition that was built and developed by UNIVA scholars as a foundation for Islamic educators, actors of Islamic universities in promoting democratization and nationality, creating social cohesion.<br /> <br /><strong>Keywords:</strong> UNIVA, Islamic higher education, Islamic authority, nationalism

Emerging Islamic Representations in the Cambodian Muslim Social Media Scene: Complex Divides and Muted Debates

AbstractThis article explores the characteristics and structure of the Cambodian Muslim social media scene and considers what they tell us about the sociopolitical setting of the country's Muslim minority. It focuses on how the relationship between Islamic actors of the Cambodian Muslim minority, that is, groups, movements and institutions, and their offline environment shape their online representations and proselytization activities. It particularly considers the observation that theological debate is almost absent in this Islamic social media scene compared to that of other Southeast Asian Muslim societies and attempts to find answers to the question of why this is the case. The article particularly examines the Facebook pages of various Islamic groups and explains the sociopolitical factors and language politics that inform the ways in which they formulate the contents and style of their posts. It shows how the close connections between the political and the religious fields in an authoritarian setting, where the state strongly discourages social discord, have the effect of largely muting debates on social media.

Culture: The Socio-Political Base of Ethnic Consciousness and Conflicts in Nigeria

Nigeria suffers conflicts whose causes are pinned on ethnic consciousness and factors other than culture. As such, culture is considered as an epiphenomenon. But at the base of Nigerian conflicts is culture which shapes and stirs ethnic consciousness, and remains a divisive factor in human societies. Thus, Nigeria is socio-politically polarized along cultural lines and conflicting cultural contents despite the present world of traversing cultural boundaries. This paper analytically exposes culture as the socio-political base of ethnic consciousness and conflicts in Nigeria, and reveals the philosophical foundation of cultural character as well as axiological panacea to conflicts in Nigeria. The paper finds that in every socio-political setting, ethnic consciousness does not happen in a vacuum, and nobody speaks and acts from nowhere but from a cultural orientation; for culture is the matrix of human existence and nothing happens outside it. As such, ethnic consciousness and human socio-political exercises; behaviours, dispositions and actions are shaped, posited, viewed and interpreted from cultural spaces. But to bridle the negative impact of culture and enhance national unity, consciousness and patriotism of the citizenry, the study concludes that there is need for a national culture that is replete with indigenous values and overlapping similarities to form the content of curriculum in Nigerian education system.

Higher education privatization in Nursing in Brazil: profile, challenges and trends.

Objective:this study aims to analyze and characterize the movement of expansion of Nursing undergraduate courses in Brazil since the 1990s. The characteristics of this expansion are discussed, as well as the socio-political setting where such movement occurred, and the quality of education available based on the data collected.Method:this is a descriptive and cross-sectional study with a quali-quantitative approach, with the use of secondary databases.Results:an accelerated and disordered growth of Nursing undergraduate courses was identified, as well as the number of vacancies, especially due to the participation of the private sector, especially since the year 2000. Geographical inequalities in the distribution of these courses and vacancies were also identified.Conclusion:the strong expansion of higher education in Nursing, along with other health professions, resulted in the strengthening of private higher education institutions associated with economic groups, regional concentration, as well as the excessive offer of distance learning without adequate evaluation of its quality or repercussions.

An Assessment of Water Sourcing Technologies and Stakeholder Stratagems Applied in the Balikumbat Highland Community of Ndop Plain, Cameroon

When a bourgeoning population faces water supply scarcity dilemma, stakeholders and interests emerge to offer multivariate water harvesting systems to affected communities. Stakeholder provision of water resources have deployed varied indigenous and exogenous technologies for domestic uses from natural surface to ground water stores. Community technological prowess and stratagems are functions of relief and climatic traits within a socio-political setting and that is why this paper sets out to assess indigenous and exogenous technologies of stakeholder in community water harvesting systems. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected for water sources, water demands, stakeholders, harvesting systems, technologies of extraction and water management through field observations, questionnaires and interviews. Findings revealed that few inhabitants have exogenous water supply technology and greater proportions depend on low technologies which paradoxically proved to be more sustainable than the high technologies. Stakeholder involvement motifs self-pride and politically driven and so the dearth of village water committees accounting for very derisory participation rates in water sourcing and management. The development and rehabilitation of alternative water sources is vital for sustainable water resource management and not just reliance on technological knowhow in Balikumbat.

New wine in an old wineskin? Socio-political context and participatory budgeting in Kenya

ABSTRACT Participatory Budgeting (PB) experiments in municipalities across the world have yielded varied results as there are municipalities. The Kenyan experience of participatory experiments has not fared any better. Following the 2013 elections, which initiated county governments in line with the 2010 constitution, Makueni County emerged as a unique case for study having experimented with its very own participatory budgeting mechanism. The qualitative study reported in this article examined how Makueni’s PB framework is designed and implemented. The emerging outcomes of institutional design and implementation are then contextualised to Makueni’s socio-political and cultural setting. The study discusses two sets of PB outcomes: outcomes on public participation (questions of inclusion, exclusion and quality of participation in PB) and outcomes of PB (concerned with the end-line developmental products of the PB process). The purpose of this article is to recentre the often-ignored considerations on the socio-political and cultural in PB experiments in Kenya’s devolved governance structures and beyond.