Socio-political Trends Research Articles

Conservation opportunities on uncontested lands

Competition for land resources is intense, with growing demand for food and resources to support humanity. Despite this, global agricultural area has significantly declined over the past two decades due to socio–political trends, market changes and environmental degradation. Although expensive, restoring degraded lands that are no longer contested for agricultural use due to low productivity may present a major conservation opportunity with minimal social or political opposition. Here we present a new perspective for conservation that highlights the potential conservation value of uncontested lands. We highlight key factors that make lands uncontested, define an approach for evaluating costs and benefits on uncontested land parcels and propose methods for identifying these lands. Land use is one of the most contested issues facing global conservation, but degraded lands should be the focus of governments and trusts to take and conserve uncontested areas for nature.

MAKING THE UNSEEN VISIBLE: EXPLORING CROSSCUTTING SOCIAL MEDIA PUBLICS AND THEIR SOCIOPOLITICAL TRAITS

This paper proposes an approach for studying the sociopolitical traits of multiple publics on Facebook that emerge in the network of interactions between users and public pages. The study is based on a survey of 1697 Danish citizens whose responses are coupled with their public Facebook activity.This is used to make predictions about a selection of sociopolitical features for a random sample of 50.000 Facebook users across more than 20.000 public pages. The interactions of the 50.000 users are modeled as a network and a clustering algorithm is used to find groups that arise naturally within said network. This allows for the study of how certain sociopolitical features cut across different congregations of the public in a way that retains a lot of the complexity of the digital trace data.
 Results show that voting intention overlaps most strongly with the clusters in the network, followed by gender and geo-location. Additionally they show that the so-called political echo-chambers consist only of smaller subsections of the entire network with many users' interactions mainly being identified by interests that can be attributed to gender, geo-location or other. Although, results also show that the political alt. right are very dominant on hot button political issues such as immigration and religion.
 It is proposed that by eliciting sociopolitical trends while considering the full network of interactions might lead researchers to overlook and overestimate fewer features when studying the formation of social media publics.

The Beginning of the Civil War in Spain (1936-1939) in the Russian Emigrant Vision

The article examines the assessments given by the Russian Overseas’ press, in connection with the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939. The main reasons related to the internal and international aspects of the events in Spain, the adequacy and depth of their coverage by the leading Russian political emigrant press of the main socio-political trends are analyzed in a comparative context.

The contemporary aspect of populism in the context of ideological norm

Problem setting. The article deals with the problems of populism in the context of ideology: conservatism and liberalism. The growth of populism comes after the destruction of the liberal consensus, which began after the Cold War, with increasing tension between democratic majority and liberal constitutionalism – the two main pillars of democratic regimes. Strengthening the role of populism shows the gradual loss of the attractiveness of liberal solutions in the field of politics, economy and culture, and ideology.Recent research and publications analysis. World experience shows that the populist movement was intensified in periods when the country experienced a turning point in its history. In sharp socio-economic changes particularly when breaking the old principles and adopting new ones, the political arena is occupied by populist leaders, who suggest simplified ideas and quick decisions to solve crisis issues.Highlighting previously unsettled parts of the general problem. An important point in building a strong civil society is the populism syndrome of Soviet human. While being the part of an empire, which focused its attention on the image that went for export, it adjusted the system of ideological mirrors, creating the illusion of its, and therefore our, presence in the world. The purpose of the article is to analyze the contemporary aspect of populism through the prism of ideological norms (namely conservatism and liberalism).Paper main body. As a system of views, ideas and concepts, ideology is embodied in various forms of social consciousness that differ in their subject matter, the nature of the reflection of the interests of the public subject, and the function they perform in public life. As a rule, ideology is closely related to such forms of social consciousness as political consciousness and legal consciousness, art and morality, philosophy and science, as well as religion, economic consciousness of a person, etc.World experience shows that the populist movement intensified at a time when countries were experiencing crucial stages in their history. With dramatic socio-economic shifts, especially when the old foundations were broken and the new ones were not yet clearly defined, populist figures were entering the political arena.Among the reasons for the emergence of populism in the mass consciousness and political ideologies of different states, including the post-Soviet space, is the desire of citizens to associate positive socio-economic development with individuals and the so-called “iron” power. At the same time, democracy is perceived as a brake on the path of economic stabilization and progress, which is stimulated by a certain part of the national political party. Unless there is support in the majority of the population, the process of active depletion begins, and it is given to the reaction of self-defence of one's own “populist slogans”.Conclusions of the research and prospects for further studies. Analyzing the views of representatives of liberalism, we can state that this socio-political trend is not “negative”. Besides, in the controversy of individualism with the collectivism, it adheres to the position of an arbitrator. After all, a liberal cannot be considered as an individualist who wants self-isolation. A free person is open, as well as a free society. The person in such a society is always inherent in individual responsibility, moral discipline. In society, a person knows how to “connect himself/herself internally”.When turning to the ideas of populism in the context of ideologies, this issue is gaining another political discourse, it should be noted that this phenomenon has acquired the status of everyday experience today. The struggle for power is the main theme and driving motive of this sphere of communication. The more open and democratic a society life is, the more attention is paid to populism in society.

Saudi Arabia’s Economic Competitiveness in the Middle East

Saudi Arabia is one of the key economic players in the Middle East with a number of competitive advantages. The article analyzes these advantages as well as disadvantages and identifies measures to improve the competitive potential of Saudi Arabia. Methodologically it employs the Porter’s «diamond model». Cultural, historical and socio-political trends in Saudi Arabia increase the complexity of reforming the economy and increasing its competitiveness. The current reforms are insufficient to improve the quality of human capital. Existing economic and political institutions need to be reformed. There is an obvious problem of low women’s employment. Despite the fact that Saudi Arabia occupies only the 4th place on the regional competitive index table, authors see ways to strengthen this indicator of the Kingdom’s economy. The most decisive factor in this regard as argued by the authors is the elimination of state institutional problems which are chiefly responsible for low competitiveness of the economy.

Cricket, society and religion: a study of increasing religiosity in the national cricket team of Pakistan

In the 1990s, two major controversies struck Pakistan cricket– match-fixing and increased religiosity within the team. I argue that these issues represent the culmination of changes that Pakistan and Pakistani cricket had been experiencing since the country’s birth in 1947. Specifically, I examine, through fieldwork (September 2015 – November 2017), how the idea of redemption through religion came to be the ‘moral’ response to an ‘immoral’ period of match-fixing in Pakistan cricket. Therefore, while the character of the team was affected by overarching sociopolitical trends whereby religion and certain religious groups became increasingly prominent in the public sphere, it was also moulded by influences that were specific to the cricket team. These influences came together at a particular moment and culminated in the overt religious character of the cricket team. The ‘local’-level examination, therefore, complicates our understanding of the larger processes and their ability to shape the culture within the team.

Estimating Maternal Mortality in Remote Rural Regions: an Application of the Sisterhood Method in Tajikistan.

IntroductionThe sisterhood method of maternal mortality data collection and analysis provides a validated framework for estimating maternal mortality ratios in situations of limited infrastructure. The aim of this study is to assess sub-national maternal mortality in the Badakhshan region of Tajikistan using the sisterhood method as part of a larger ethnographic study on maternal risk.MethodsIn 2006–2007, 1004 married women of reproductive age in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast, Tajikistan were surveyed using the sisterhood method. Respondents were asked eleven questions about the sex, age and survivorship of all children born to the respondent’s mother.ResultsUsing a national total fertility rate (TFR) estimate of 4.88, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in Tajik Badakhshan was 141 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (95% CI 49–235). The lifetime risk of maternal death was 1 in 141 (95% CI 34–103).ConclusionGiven the inherent time-lag of the sisterhood method, precise estimates of maternal mortality are dependent on accurate TFRs, which may vary based upon regional experiences of demographic transitions. Socio-political instability and the dismantling of Soviet welfare programs and civil war following Tajikistan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 likely impacted TFR in Tajik Badakhshan. Socio-political trends influencing TFR in rural regions compared to urban, and the investigation of factors associated with maternal mortality, require additional investigation.

Vom Luxus zum Risiko: Produktions- und Konsumtionssphären der Zigarette in (West-)Deutschland

This essay tracks the dynamic and inextricably bound interactions between the cigarette’s changing spheres of production and consumption, the connected distributional practices and socio-political regulations as well as the material or rather immaterial ‘language’ of this tobacco product. The focus is on the ever changing situation in (West) Germany since the launch of cigarettes at the very beginning of the 20th century and up to the major decline in the stimulants’ image today. What kind of ties can be observed between the materiality of the cigarette and the varying practices of everyday culture in its production and consumption? How did these interconnected processes change over time? To what extent and to which degree have consumer habits and predilections and socio-political trends had an effect on the spheres of production or consumption of this product and vice versa? The essay is based on a study of distinct sets of sources and pieces together a coherent description and interpretation of what happened to the cigarette’s spheres of production and consumption in (West) Germany.

Tanks in the Spa Town. The New Book about the Events of the Year 1968 in Czechoslovakia

This review is devoted to the monograph by Jan Nedvěd “We do not decline our heads. The events of the year 1968 in Karlovy Vary”. The Karlovy Vary municipal museum coincided its publishing with the fiftieth anniversary of the Prague spring which, considering the way of the presentation, turned the book not only to scientific event but also to the social one. The book describes sociopolitical trends in the region before the year 1968, the development of the reformist movement, the invasion and advance of the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and finally the decline of the reformist mood and the beginning of the normalization. Working on his writing, the author deeply studied the materials of the local archive and gathered the unique selection of the photographs depicting the passage of the soviet army through the spa town and the protest actions of its inhabitants. In the meantime, Nedvěd takes undue freedom with scientific terms, and his selection of historiography raises questions. The author bases his research on the Czech papers and scarcely uses the books of Russian origin. He also did not study the subject of the participating of the GDR’s army in the operation Danube, although these troops were concentrated on the borders of Karlovy Vary region as well. Because of this decision, there are no materials from German archives or historiography in the monograph. In general, the work lacks the width of studying its subject, but it definitively accomplishes the task of depicting the Prague spring from the regional perspective.

Aspects of Federalism Implementation for Development and Prosperity

In Nepal‘s context, concepts like 'development' and 'prosperity' are two age-old (suppressive Rana oligarchy, uni-Panchayat regime and its aftermath) mirages chased by rulers for the ruled ones almost seem to be unattainable. Nevertheless, the mirages of 'development' and 'prosperity' can be materialized when one readily changes his/her antediluvian attitude of fatalism (Bista 1991) and low work ethics. In a recent political paradigm shift from unitary monarchism-oligarchy to multi-party federalism, those two mirages have again been reiterated as Nepalese people's dream and discourse (claimed as Oli-vision) in political arena. In our recent practice, federalism is in its infancy and as a form of government may not matter much first about separating or devolution of political power more effectively, avoiding the power concentration and bringing government responsibilities closer to the citizens. In fact, what acutally matters is its action-oriented effective implementation for separating 'development' from 'fatalism' before it turns frequently into a vicious nightmare. Thus, this paper aims to explore some pertinent aspects or preconditions/hindrances of implementing federalism effictively for achieving the aforesaid goal of 'development' and 'prosperity' within our prevalent general socio-political and bureaucratic trend of 'Balaram syndrome' (a metaphor of ethical degradation of mankind), 'bholi' and 'chiya' syndrome, 'sida-bida' syndrome, nepotism, cronyism, medieval mindset, malpractices of blind capitalism and absence of good governance. In this paper, my main point of departure in methodological tool as such is a closer observation of socio-political trends in Nepalese society and its relevant literature.

Smart Governance for Smart Cities

This paper argues that the mainstream urban governance approaches are built upon the legacy of reductionist doctrine and public administration tools which are not fully compatible with the complex nature of urban infrastructure systems. However, recent technological innovations associated with the notion of smart cities and the emerging sociopolitical trends are opening up new opportunities to develop governance approaches that can overcome such incompatibilities in urban systems. On the other hand, successful introduction of innovations in urban infrastructures, which we understand as complex sociotechnical systems, requires smarter governance approaches that are compatible with systems paradigm. The pace of change in social and technological landscapes of cities is fast. This conceptual paper brings together insights from sociotechnical systems, systems theory, and governance literature to shed light on why city administrations should closely follow these changes and adapt the governance approaches accordingly; or governance may become a main hindrance for utilizing the benefits of technology to deal with increasingly complex urban challenges.

Food-energy-water nexus: A life cycle analysis on virtual water and embodied energy in food consumption in the Tamar catchment, UK

Evaluations of food, energy and water (FEW) linkages are rapidly emerging in contemporary nexus studies. This paper demonstrates, from a food consumption perspective, the potential of life cycle thinking in understanding the complex and often “hidden” linkages between FEW systems. Our study evaluates the upstream virtual water and embodied energy in food consumption in the Tamar catchment, South West England, distinguishing between domestic production and imports origin. The study also evaluates key inputs, including virtual nutrients and animal feed, when tracking supply chain of food products. Based on current dietary patterns and food products selection, the catchment consumes annually 834 TJ, 17 hm3 and 244 hm3 of energy, blue water and green water, respectively. Tamar is not self-sufficient in terms of food and requires imports of food products, as well as imports of virtual nutrients and animal feed for local production. Consequently, 51% of the embodied energy and 88% blue and 45% green virtual water in food consumed within the catchment are imported. Most of the embodied energy (58%) and green virtual water (90%) are because of animal feed production, where nearly half of embodied energy (48%) and green virtual water (42%) come from imports. 92% of blue virtual water is used for irrigation and primarily happens elsewhere due to imports. Irrigation is the process that demands the largest amount of energy for the crop-based products, with 38% of their total energy demand, followed by fertilisers production (24%). Our study illustrates water and energy hotspots in the food life cycle and highlights potential FEW risks and trade-offs through trade. This is useful considering potential unexpected changes in trade under recent global socio-political trends. Currently available databases and software make LCA a key tool for integrated FEW nexus assessments.

Guy Vanderhaeghe’s Notes Towards the “Big Book” of His Generation: Man Descending in the Sociopolitical Context of the 1960s and 1970s

ABSTRACTGuy Vanderhaeghe’s historical novels starting with The Englishman’s Boy (1996) have been widely discussed and celebrated in academic books and journals, but his first collection of stories, Man Descending (1982), has been largely neglected by the academic critics. An examination of sociopolitical references, with a special focus on gender and masculinity, in a coherent group of these stories (“The Watcher,” “Drummer,” Cages,” “Man Descending,” and “Sam, Soren and Ed”), reveals a writerly personality that, while acutely sensitive to contemporary social and political developments, and itself deeply implicated in these trends, nevertheless stands uncomfortably apart from and assumes a critical attitude toward the prevailing, generally progressive, sociopolitical trends of the 1960s and 1970s. In the last story of Man Descending, the protagonist-narrator Ed emerges as an aspiring thirty-year-old author who has attempted, but could not finish, two novels of his society and times, and these early stories constitute Vanderhaeghe’s own notes toward a never fully realized “Big Book” of his generation of Saskatchewan men, born in the early 1950s, coming to young adulthood in the socially and politically transformative 1960s and 1970s, and surviving into an embattled early manhood in the late 1970s and early 1980s, a time, as it is depicted in these stories, in which the aspirations of 1960s progressivism were hardening into a conformist sociopolitical orthodoxy.

“His Ancestors Were Calling Him Back to His Origins”: Zionism and the Poetics of Space in the Early Work of S. Yizhar

S. Yizhar's literary persona is known to be central in the making of the Sabra identity. This article offers an interpretation of the role played by his poetics of space in shaping both the spatial and social boundaries of this new elitist identity. These boundaries are read as driven by poetic interests in a Zionist literary context. For Zionist literature, representing the land of Israel as real is the literary equivalent of the theopolitical shift from myth to history. The Sabra generation is expected to overcome Jewish strangeness and to capture the land both politically and literarily. But Yizhar's poetics refuses to grasp the land; it follows modern philosophy and sees the full representation of reality as impossible, hence he creates boundaries for the poetic self. This refusal to fully represent is portrayed here as creating the political sense of boundaries out of poetics. Yizhar's poetics of space is demonstrated in the short stories included in Sipurei mishor and the story "The Prisoner" as well as in his spatial stance both in Jewish-Arab conflict and in questions of nature preservation. His point of view appears as kernel that can explain sociopolitical trends in modern Israel and its quasireligious motivation.

Adaptive technologies and co-design strategies for historic spaces rehabilitation

The renewed interest for under used sites of historical city centres is addressing a change in design paradigms on existing buildings involving local communities in the process from the very beginning. The paper reports a recent cooperation, named “Anteprima Lab”, between the Department of Architecture (DA) of University of Bologna, the City of Bologna and Urban Center. The action is intended as an enabler of initiatives aimed at enhancing those places assumed as common goods by local communities. The pilot defined the functional and spatial features of an innovative participated environment that follows the socio-political trends characterizing the modern age of Bologna.

“The concentration of power, represented by current prevailing media conditions, is and ought to be open to challenge.” An interview with Peter Golding.

Interview with Peter Golding, Emeritus Professor at Northumbria University, Visiting Professor in the School of Arts and Cultures at Newcastle University and one of the crucial figures in Critical Political Economy of Communication. In the interview we discuss the role of critical scholarship, the sometimes troubled relationship between cultural studies and critical political economy of communication, the importance of a sociological perspective in studying media, and the impact of broader socio-political trends on academia.

Interweaving Ideas and Patchwork Programmes: Nutrition Projects in Colonial Fiji, 1945-60.

The influence of a range of actors is discernible in nutrition projects during the period after the Second World War in the South Pacific. Influences include: international trends in nutritional science, changing ideas within the British establishment about state responsibility for the welfare of its citizens and the responsibility of the British Empire for its subjects; the mixture of outside scrutiny and support for projects from post-war international and multi-governmental organisations, such as the South Pacific Commission. Nutrition research and projects conducted in Fiji for the colonial South Pacific Health Service and the colonial government also sought to address territory-specific socio-political issues, especially Fiji’s complex ethnic poli,tics. This study examines the subtle ways in which nutrition studies and policies reflected and reinforced these wider socio-political trends. It suggests that historians should approach health research and policy as a patchwork of territorial, international, and regional ideas and priorities, rather than looking for a single causality.

Post-World War I comparative constitutional developments in Central and Eastern Europe

This article investigates the emergence of a new era of constitutional legal thinking in Europe in the aftermath of World War I by discussing the constitutions of ten European states. In particular, the article offers analyses of the constitution-making processes in these newly established Eastern and Central European countries with the emphasis on their liberal and democratic attributes. Constitution-making in the wake of World War I can be characterized as a silent revolution as it brought about institutions of representative democracy, higher standards of human rights, establishment of self-governance, stronger electoral rights, clearer division of powers, and, most importantly, reinforcement of the national independence of the countries concerned. These constitutions have clearly superseded outdated systems of absolute monarchy and instead embarked on the road of European understanding of democracy and rule of law. The present study is important for two main reasons: there has been no major historical and political research so far that would reflect the common trends and characteristics of these constitutions; it is also important to document and better understand the roots of modern-day socially driven constitutional thinking in Central and Eastern Europe. The article argues that growing unpopularity of dictatorial and monarchical regimes in Europe induced the newly emerged states to take a progressive course. It is further concluded that in rejecting their past, these states followed legal and socio-political trends of democracy developing in the Western Europe, particularly those in victor countries of World War I.

You too can have a critical perspective! 25 years of Critical Perspectives on Accounting

This paper provides an overview of the emergence of Critical Perspectives on Accounting and of some of its achievements. The journal was originally created to provide a forum to question some of the notions that were systematically taken for granted in accounting practice and research, to explore the ideological underpinnings of the discipline, and reveal its role in processes of domination and social reproduction. The aim was also to encourage community-building around other important issues such as critical accounting interventions and their potential, or ways to bring out more emancipatory perspectives on accounting. We review three streams with a critical approach to accounting that were developed in the journal over 25 years: promoting a radical reflexivity to challenge mainstream views on accounting, questioning the normative claims of the profession to reveal its role in social reproduction, and highlighting the role of accounting in major socio-political trends.

Can we satisfactorily gauge the socio-political trends of our own age? Mark Bevir’s views on governance and changing democracy

ABSTRACTAssessing the socio-political trends as they unfold is an art, and it needs to be approached from various angles. Bevir’s anti-foundationalist approach hinges upon the belief (not fact) that governance and networks have replaced government and hierarchies. His analysis is constructed around several strawmen (expert civil servants, street-level bureaucrats, judges, Keynesians, social welfare officials, and the wicked, modernist social sciences) rather than based in careful and balanced empirical evidence. To ‘cherry-pick’ some non-representative cases in support of an ideological perspective is academically unsatisfying.