State Leaders Research Articles

African Socialism and Secular State Formation

Abstract In order to trace pathways of secularisation and secularity in Africa this paper highlights a particular movement that carried great ideological weight at the time of most countries’ independence in the 1950s and 60s, namely African socialism. The development toward state secularism was structurally very similar throughout the continent independently of whether political leaders opted for the ‘West’ or the ‘East’ in the cold war. However, in opposition to Soviet ideology, African Socialism was famously antiatheist. With the wish to fend off Marxist atheism as a supposedly necessary aspect of socialism, ideologues in African socialism were among the few politicians in Africa even to address the place of religion in a secular state at all. The roots of African socialism can be traced to US-American Pan-Africanism as well as the interconnected colonial opposition movement grounded in Marxist anti-imperialism. Another argument focusses on the education of some prominent state leaders, such as Nyerere, Nkrumah, Touré and Senghor, to explain the importance of Christian mission schools and Islamic madrasahs as points of access to social, intellectual, and institutional participation in global anti-colonial movements. In the framework of one-party politics, state leaders called on (Pan-)African traditions, but ‘de-mystified’ them (Touré) in order to enhance African Socialism ‘as belief’ (Nyerere). In conclusion it is argued that state secularism in Africa at the time of independence, as demonstrated most visibly in African Socialism, is more about suppressing and/or balancing the traditional powers of religious leaders than about a fundamental critique of a religious way of life. In turn, the implicit association of socialism and Marxism with atheism needs further scrutiny in a global perspective.

Leader-Experienced Unfairness, Leader Status, and Subordinates’ Licensing of Leader Selfish Behavior

Leader-Experienced Unfairness, Leader Status, and Subordinates’ Licensing of Leader Selfish Behavior

Analysis and Vision of the Leadership Status of the Shibei Senior High School Affiliated to Shanghai University

Analysis and Vision of the Leadership Status of the Shibei Senior High School Affiliated to Shanghai University

Novel Metaphors in Indonesian Political Discourse on Covid-19 Pandemic Handling

Metaphor is a part of human cognition that plays an important role in human knowledge and experience. This study aims at examining novel metaphors based on the metaphorical language used by Indonesia’s state leader, President Joko Widodo, in his speeches on COVID-19 and their functions for pandemic handling and post-pandemic preparednessin Indonesia. Data were speeches produced during the first and second waves of the pandemic and taken from official website of Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia. The metaphors identified in the speeches were analysed using Critical Metaphor Analysis proposed by Charteris-Black (2004, 2011, 2021). The identified novel metaphors were categorized under the following seven source domains: breakfast, computer, crater, test, teacher, momentum, wheel, and fire. The identified metaphors could be classified into three types of novel metaphor: linguistic structural metaphors, metaphors with new target domains, and new mapping metaphors. Results of analysis revealed that the metaphors of examination/test, teacher, and fire were high in frequency. As for the function, those novel metaphors could be interpreted as Jokowi's way to reflect changing realities and motivate actions. Overall, the use of metaphors implied Jokowi's priority responses toward pandemic, i.e. to persuade the importance of solidarity and collectivity, strong sense of perseverance and resilience, as well as mutual cooperation. This study is expected to give insight that government leadersemploy metaphors as appropriate to situational context as the metaphors they can be effective in shaping public opinion and winning public support for health measures and policymaking in time of crises.

Administrative-territorial transformations in the Kursk region in the mid 1940s – early 1960s: main practices and results

Relevance. Issues of intraregional administrative and territorial transformations, including in the Kursk region, currently remain practically unstudied. This is due, on the one hand, to the specifics of the source base of the problem, which is a set of official legal documents, statistics and regulations, and, on the other hand, to insufficient interest on the part of researchers. Meanwhile, studying the specifics of the implementation of various administrative-territorial transformations in the post-war period using the example of a specific region has serious scientific significance: it allows us to detail the features of the socio-economic development of territories, demographic and migration aspects, etc., which creates the opportunity to take a slightly different look at history of the Kursk region.The purpose. Reveal the features of the dynamics of the administrative-territorial structure of the Kursk region in the mid-1940s – early 1960s.Objectives: based on the study of a complex of historical sources, show the prerequisites, logic and course of intraregional administrative and territorial transformations of the Kursk region in the period indicated above.Methodology. When writing the work, the authors relied on the fundamental methods of historical science (the principles of historicism and objectivity), as well as on a number of specific historical and general scientific methods (analytical, comparative historical, genetic, etc.).Results. Currently, in local historiography there are no scientific works on the history of the administrative-territorial structure of the Kursk region. The reference publications available to historians are replete with inaccuracies and errors. This work partly identifies these errors, and also shows the mechanisms for changing the administrative-territorial structure of the Kursk region in the mid-1940s – early 1960s.Conclusion. The administrative and territorial transformations that took place in the Kursk region in the mid1940s – early 1960s had a predominantly socio-economic basis. The rapid development of individual territories required changes in the network of village councils, districts, the creation of new regions, as well as the abolition of ineffective administrative-territorial units. The party and state leadership of the region and the country in most cases responded quite quickly to these needs, however, as practice has shown, not all of them were consolidated in practice.

Pursuing Equitable Implementation of State Paid Family Leave Policies: A Case Study From Washington State on the Role of Tribal Engagement and Sovereignty

This Policy Brief describes implementation of a state-level paid family and medical leave policy in the context of Tribal government engagement and participation and American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) paid leave access. The author presents a case study analysis from Washington state using an emerging Washington State Tribal PFML Policy Implementation Framework. Current gaps in State-Tribal engagement have significant implications for equitable policy access given the state’s obligations to meaningfully consult with Tribes surrounding policy-making that affects their nations and citizens, the large number of Tribal employees in the state, and the stark inequities facing AIAN people. Practice recommendations are offered for state and Tribal leaders to advance equitable AIAN access to paid leave in the future.

Chinese and US Overseas Foreign Direct Investment and Democracy in the Developing World

This paper integrates the political influence and foreign capital literatures and examines the association between United States and Chinese overseas foreign direct investment (FDI) and host states’ political institutions. Using up to 109 developing countries from 2003 to 2019, and employing two-stage least squares selection modeling, we find negative and significant relationships between Chinese FDI and host states’ democracy while US FDI has positive and significant associations. Our study suggests Chinese FDI and host state leaders may mutually benefit from increasing authoritarianism, producing closer political and economic ties between China and the developing world.

Pelatihan Strategi Pengenalan Bahasa Inggris pada Siswa PAUD bagi Guru PAUD Wineha di Diwek Jombang

Children, especially at the early childhood education level, are the nation's assets who will become future state leaders. Therefore, introducing English to elementary school children is crucial to enhance their abilities to pursue higher education. Learning and familiarizing themselves with English, as an international language of communication, can begin with reading, pronouncing, and forming simple sentences. An analysis of the situation at PAUD Wineha in Keras Village, Diwek Subdistrict, Jombang Regency, shows that PAUD teachers need "Training in English Introduction Strategies" to address students in the modern era. The results indicate that participants agree that teaching English in early childhood education is essential for several reasons, including skill-building, keeping up with the times, and providing a foundation for future educational journeys. According to the questionnaire results, the training was very good. Participants expressed their happiness and anticipation for future training sessions. They also noted that they appreciated the quality of the training and experienced positive feelings such as enthusiasm and excitement during the event.

Probing the humanitarian securitisation approach to great-power wars: from Bush’s ‘war on terror’ to Putin’s invasion of Ukraine

ABSTRACT How do great-power leaders instrumentalise humanitarianism in sustaining the institutional and public mandate demanded by their war agendas? We examine the ‘humanitarian securitisation’ approach adopted by powerful state leaders as the domestic credibility and popularity of their war efforts become increasingly more difficult to guarantee over time. We define humanitarian securitisation as a discursive-hermeneutic process through which powerful initiator states frame the humanitarian crises arising from the terrorism and internal conflicts confronting less powerful target states as existential threats to the former’s own survival to bolster and justify their agendas further. Using Bush’s ‘war on terror’ and Putin’s Ukraine invasion as empirical cases, we argue that the humanitarian securitisation resulting from the artificial insertion of humanitarianism into the securitisation process becomes a double-edged sword that reinforces the legitimising and mobilising powers required by great-power leaders to pursue their narrow self-interests, but at the risk of being entangled into long drawn-out wars that damage genuine humanitarian efforts. In framing these ‘extraterritorial’ humanitarian crises as collective borderless existential threats that all parties affected must decisively defeat, this ad hoc and predatory process of humanitarian securitisation alters the form and substance of contemporary humanitarianism in a way that ultimately exacerbates existing power hierarchies.

Pathways to Leadership: A Cross-cultural Analysis of Women Leaders in Pakistan and United States

This study investigates the experiences of women in leadership roles within higher education institutions in Pakistan and the United States. The main aim is to understand how women describe their experiences in attaining, advancing, and maintaining leadership positions in higher education. It contributes to theoretical understandings of women's leadership and highlighting unique challenges and opportunities in different cultural contexts. This study employs Mezirow's (2003) Critical Reflection Theory as a theoretical framework to guide participants' retrospective storytelling process. Through qualitative research methods including semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis of interview transcripts, the study explores how women navigate their journeys to leadership positions and the challenges they encounter. Despite cultural variations, female leaders in both countries face comparable obstacles such as gender bias and limited training opportunities. To empower these leaders, policies should prioritize formal leadership training, address workplace bias, and support work-life balance initiatives. Policy implications include the implementation of formal leadership training programs, addressing unconscious bias, and supporting family-friendly policies to empower female leaders. Advocacy for legislative measures promoting gender equality in leadership positions is crucial for creating supportive policy environments globally. Keywords: Cross culture, work life balance, leadership, gender gap, networking, and mentorship

Failure of International Agreements in Confronting Environmental Crimes: A Case Study of the Climate Crisis in Vanuatu

The fossil fuel non-proliferation agreement comes in response to the escalating climate crisis threatening Vanuatu, which was raised by the President of Vanuatu at the 77th General Assembly of the United Nations. This article analyzes the failure of international agreements as an effort to prevent environmental crimes that cause the global climate crisis, especially those felt by Vanuatu, as well as the extent to which international agreements can play a role in addressing these problems, as well as safeguarding the well-being of people in affected countries. The use of fossil fuels, which is still the primary energy in various countries, has become a focus in the context of environmental crimes because of its negative impact on the environment, including the climate crisis. Although these efforts are considered a step in the face of environmental crimes, their implementation is still limited. From a criminological perspective, the restriction of action through the law is a common approach to tackling crime. However, the issue of environmental crimes and international agreements shows the complexity involving many stakeholders. Taking into account the urgency of addressing the climate crisis and its impact on human rights, countries are expected to prioritize people's well-being. Through literature analysis, this article concludes that international treaties will not be effective in tackling environmental crimes without the support of domestic laws and policies, as well as the commitment of state leaders.

Authentic student leadership development: structural equation model testing differences among student leader populations

ABSTRACT Objective There remains a need for effective and ethical development in students, for cohesive and connected societies of moral actors. This paper adopts an authentic leadership development in students perspective as a possible complement to discipline expertise. This research explored whether taking leadership roles while studying had a positive effect on students’ development of authentic leadership attributes, including demographic contributions. Method This study comprised a quantitative survey of undergraduate students (n = 415) at an Australian university using structural equation modelling to test relationships between student leadership status and authentic leadership. Results Results demonstrated that student leaders exhibited higher authentic leadership than students who were not leaders. Demographics (e.g. gender) also explained variance across authentic leadership scores. Authentic leadership also served as a useful predictor of whether students intended to take up formal student leadership roles. Conclusions Practical implications of this research include opportunities for policy development to support leadership opportunities and training for higher education students as a method of developing their authentic leadership.

TikTok and Islamic State of Iraq and Syiria (ISIS) Propaganda

ISIS emphasizes the importance of winning the hearts and minds of individuals in their operational strategy. Their objective is to draw sympathizers, propagate their objectives and ideology, and allocate substantial resources. They have utilized TikTok as a platform to garner attention and disseminate propaganda, with the aim of promoting their organization and recruiting new terrorists.This study employed qualitative research methods, with data gathered through interviews and documentation. The findings indicate that ISIS’s propaganda on TikTok poses a significant threat to Indonesia’s national security. It has the potential to sway the younger generation towards supporting extremist and terrorist ideologies. ISIS employs a variety of techniques to propagate their message. These include the use of the keyword “dawlah”, displaying the ISIS flag with stickers, using nasheed or song lyrics, creating sarcastic memes, and advocating for jihad, death, and suicide. They also leverage TikTok’s features, such as filters and hearts, to promote their organization. ISIS produces video content that glorifies its militants, accompanied by ISIS songs that are rhythmic, lyrical, and delivered in a catchy manner. They also display videos showing corpses being paraded on the streets, ISIS militants armed with weapons, and videos themed “Jihad Lover” targeting young women. The aim of these contents is to incite hatred, division, and social mistrust towards the state, government, and legitimate leaders. This is an academic English paraphrase of the original text.

Državni planovi i republički programi: Prilog razmatranju političke ekonomije jugoslavenskog socijalizma u periodu decentralizacije (1965-1983)

This paper aims to illustrate the constant quest of the leadership of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) for an effective economic policy after 1965 and to provide an answer, among other things, to the question of how much the projected economic decentralization due to reform measures contributed to overall socio-political dispersion. Faced with serious financial and economic challenges, the state leadership sought to find a model that would keep them on ideologically defined tracks while also allowing for breadth and integration into global economic currents. In these efforts, the general geopolitical position of Yugoslavia as a country that remained “somewhere in between” by the agreement of major powers after Second World War was reflected, thus best illustrating the historical destiny of the entire Balkan Peninsula, especially the area predominantly inhabited by South Slavs. To explain the topic as a materialized concept and to question it in this way, works of authors who dealt with the political economy of Yugoslavia as both creators and critics were used. Using the example of the implementation of autonomous economic policy by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian political elite during this period, the aim is to open up space for critical thinking about the actual possibilities and roles of the republics, and to try to discern whether they could truly be fully independent in their economic programs. Although Bosnia and Herzegovina experienced economic momentum alongside overall social transformation during this period, the actions of its political leadership did not always encompass all economic flows of the republic through their actions and planning. This is most vividly evidenced by well-known examples of economic manipulation behind which central authorities (so-called “guardians and executors of the revolution”) stood, and which were subsequently abused before and during the disappearance of the common state. In this regard, an overview of the development of the idea of self-management by Yugoslav ideologues is provided, the phases of ideological development are presented, as well as the difficulties faced by the concept itself, and the independent political course of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian political leadership, or the overall socio-political context in which “independence” began to be practiced. Specifically concerning the position of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian political elite towards reforms, a quite interesting detail was noticed. Namely, although a high level of decentralization was achieved through constitutional amendments (1968-1971) and clearly defined separate republican markets, decisions were made differently at the level of the Federation, i.e., in its remaining functions. By outvoting. Taking this into account, a conclusion naturally emerged and set the development of the self-management economic system between the utopian aspirations of ideologues and the realpolitik actions of party and military hawks, which then created significant cracks within the system and favored the emergence of gray areas whose existence partly generated the great economic crisis during the 1980s.

Local state leadership: State-leading groups in governing urban China

This article examines the urban development strategies and pro-growth politics in China from a local state leadership perspective, focusing on the power dynamics within the local state leadership under China’s fragmented authoritarian system. The state-leading group is an innovative governance technique intentionally designed to overcome the institutional flaws of ‘ tiao-kuai segmentation’. It plays a critical role in fostering a common vision of ‘growth promotion’, aligning goals and unifying actions in the administrative system, broadening social consensus and promoting public–private partnerships. This study improves upon the understanding of the micro-mechanisms of state-led urban development within China’s fragmented authoritarian regime by exploring the heterogeneity of state actors as well as the agency of key local political actors (groups) in aligning goals and interests within and beyond the state and their political rationalities. By highlighting the conflicts and negotiations that exist within the state, the debate on state-led urban development and pro-growth politics is extended using China as an example.

How Can Research-Practice Partnerships Advance Multilingual Learner Equity? A Case Study of Partnership with State-Education-Agency Leaders

ABSTRACT Although multilingual learner (ML) students are present in nearly all K-12 settings, they tend to be served by schools and educators who are inadequately prepared to support them. While state education agency leaders may be well-positioned to address inequities in ML education, given their roles as policy intermediaries, their work is politically complex. Further, professional development support for state-level leaders has historically been limited. Research-practice partnerships (RPPs) represent a promising avenue for addressing this absence in state leadership support, as RPPs aim to promote educational transformation through collaboration between researchers and practitioners. In our case, we posit that state-education-agency leaders’ engagement in a cross-state RPP has the potential to support enactment of transformative-leadership practices, specifically through opportunities to think and work with role-alike colleagues and external researchers. Drawing on qualitative case study methods, our findings reveal how ongoing RPP collaboration in small groups supported state leaders’ enactment of transformative approaches, such as developing a statewide framework for ML education and supporting district leaders with using ML-specific funds in equity- and evidence-based ways. Findings shed light on specific RPP activities that supported leaders’ collaboration, which may inform how future partnerships are facilitated to advance equity-focused change efforts.

Presidential Discourses on Regionalism in Azerbaijan: Turkic Solidarity and the Silk Road

Abstract Drawing on theories of comparative regionalism, this article examines the construction of regionalist frames in Azerbaijan covering the period from 1993 to mid-2023. By examining more than 60 text passages from presidential speeches and statements, the study identifies two framings of regionalism that have dominated presidential discourses in Azerbaijan: the discourse of Turkic solidarity or unity (in the political-security domain) and the narrative of an East-West corridor or the revival of the Silk Road for transport of cargo and hydrocarbon resources (in the economic domain). By constructing these discursive frames, Azerbaijani state leaders crafted an alternative regional order reconstituting the geographic category of “South Caucasus” into a new, spatially broader area. In this formulation, “South Caucasus” is viewed as a central pillar of the Silk Road, and Azerbaijan as one of its focal points or nodes. While the study underscores a key role that actors and ideas play in the formation of regions and regional institutions, it also highlights how social construction of regional identities is embedded in and shaped by historical experiences and country-specific political-economic conditions such as historical memories, experiences of war, collective identities and cultural affinities, geographic location, domestic political economic structures, and international linkages.

Leaders of Peer Groups in Chinese Early Adolescents: The Roles of Social, Academic, and Psychological Characteristics in Group Leadership

Leadership in peer groups is an important issue in adolescent socioemotional development, yet it has received limited attention in research. This one-year longitudinal study examined peer group leadership and the roles of social, academic, and psychological characteristics in the dynamics of group leadership. Participants included 1061 Chinese students (initial mean age =11.17 years; SD = 6.98 months; 49.4% female). Data were collected from peer assessments, teacher ratings, and self-reports. The longitudinal social network analysis (SIENA) indicated that peer group leadership was fluid with leadership status evolving over time across groups in a hierarchical manner. Adolescents displaying higher social competence and aggression and lower shyness were more likely to become group leaders. Academic performance and loneliness were not significantly associated with the dynamics of peer group leadership. The results help understand peer group leadership and contributions of social behaviors to the attainment of leadership status in peer groups in early adolescence.

The democratic patience

This article theoretically clarifies and presents the first large-N empirical support for a centuries-old intuition: that democracies are slow to use violent military force. It argues that democratic and nondemocratic state leaders managing interstate crises experience trade-offs over when to respond, and that democratic institutions incentivize democrats that consider violent military force to delay. The article presents a simplified account of leader choice during crisis and highlights two mechanisms rooted in external and internal politics that may drive delay. Analyses of nearly 950 states experiencing crisis provide support for expectations. Democracy is associated with a roughly 40% lower likelihood of responding to a crisis at any given point in time, conditional on responding with violence. Two illustrative case studies probe the plausibility of the proposed mechanisms. Taken together, the theory and findings illuminate the processes leaders engage as they consider abandoning negotiating tables at home and abroad in favor of the battlefield.

EXPRESS: U.S. Public Sector Supplier Diversity: an Intersectional Invisibility Perspective

Motivated by a desire to understand who benefits from public-sector supplier diversity, and why, we conducted a comparative case study across six U.S. state-level supplier diversity programs. We collected/analyzed qualitative data via semi-structured interviews with high-level state leaders and collected spending data via 2017–2021 semiannual/annual reports. We found that businesses owned by White women benefit more from supplier diversity programs than those owned by ethnic minorities (Blacks, Hispanics, Indigenous, and Asians). Adopting an intersectional invisibility perspective, we conduct within- and cross-case analyses of the collected data, we highlight key themes and make several recommendations for how public-sector supplier diversity programs can systemically address disparities and improve their performance. We also offer recommendations for future research into this ecosystem.