Traditional Political System Research Articles

Public Administration: An Islamic Sufi Approach

Along with comparing public administration affairs in traditional political, genuinely religious, patrimonial, and charismatic systems, we deal with decision-making problem, and along with mentioning decision-making methods in modern mathematics, the decision making process on the basis of personal value system will be under considerations. If the human beings’ value system moves from caring material affairs towards concerning spiritualties, the consequences of decision-making process would be improved. In establishing management and making hierarchical organization, the more the rate of discipline and ration, the organization framework would become more consolidated. The basic skeleton of an organization includes division of labor, authority, and responsibility, hierarchical relationships of different job categories in the organization, and the qualifications of relationships are of the other items that are being considered in this paper. Mutual understandings and beliefs of members of the organization in approaching organizational goals and their moral commitments to preserve organization's benefits would reduce the costs of supervision and control in organizations including visible and invisible costs, and methods for providing these conditions in Sufism are achieved via purification of the self for every single of the individuals. Meritocracy and favoritism are other discussed topics in this paper. In conclusion, fifty rules for public administration affairs are presented which have been raised by His Excellency Haj Zein ul-Abedin Shirvani, a Sufi Master of two centuries ago.

Ravenna e Ferrara nel XII secolo: due comuni davvero "latenti" e "casuali"?

Drawing inspiration from a recent book of Chris Wickham about the rise ofmedieval Italian Comuni, the aim of this essay is to specify some important elementsabout the rise of the Comuniof Ravenna and Ferrara, which definitely predate theage supposed by Wickham. While in the English medievalist’s opinion the Comuniof Ravennaand Ferrara appear only in the second half of the twelfth century, thisessay, based on fundamental Augusto Vasina’s and Antonio Pini’s studies nowadaysprobably forgotten, shows that the rise of the communal movements in Ravenna andFerrara is situated in the early years of the Twelfth Century.These Comuniwere certainly weak and subjects to the ecclesiastical archbishop’sand bishop’s power but however existed in their community authorities. For Ravennaand Ferrara, towns part of the ancient Exarchate of Ravenna, the year 1100 wasprobably decisive, because deep instability occurred in the traditional political andinstitutional system; these events led to the search for new structures in the conductof public affairs.

Traditional Political System of Binjhwar Tribe: A Qualitative Research

The Bijhwar tribe of Chhattisgarh state is not a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVtGs) but their living style is almost followed Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVtGs). Beachwear tribe is closely related to forest for there all dimensions of life like economy, social-cultural, religious, etc. but in the present era because of modernization, development policies and interaction with non-tribal community they changed in their socio-cultural way. Present research paper is trying to document social-cultural and political dimensions of Bijhwar tribe. The present study is a qualitative study that conducts in Basna blocks of the Mahasamunnd district of Chhattisgarh (India). According to present research paper Bijhwar tribe must follow their political tradition and their political system is directly related to their social-cultural part. But some development policies are affecting their system.

Traditional religion in Guinea Bissau political culture

The present article aims to unveil the importance of the indigenous animist religious system within Guinea Bissau political culture. By analysing the contrast between the inherent legitimation of State authority and local-traditional ones it is discerned the type of political culture shared by Guinean people. Taking into account the exacerbation of public responsiveness to symbols manipulation when levels of human security are felt lower by individuals, I discuss the importance of religious symbolic capital inherent in Guinea Bissau national leaders’ politics, pinpointing the case of Jose Bernardino “Nino” Vieira. These practices enable State authorities to legitimize their authority, to overcome the ethnical heterogeneity impasse and to compensate for loose relationships between the government and the citizens. Finally, I discuss the manipulation of the religious dimension for political ends as a milestone of the process of africanization of power, due to religious and political syncretism typical of traditional African political systems, on the one hand. On the other hand, I question how myths worshipping the national leaders might foster the breakthrough of an authoritarian political regime

An Administrative History of Ikorodu, 1894 - 1960

The fact that colonialism had an extensive impact on the socio-political and economic systems of African communities remains incontrovertible. Though different African states had established diverse modes of traditional political system prior to colonial rule, colonialism introduced the European model of public administration. For example, the British Indirect Rule system, which was premised on administration through the African leaders and educ ted elites, modified the pre-colonial political structures of someAfrican states. Also, colonialism restructured the pre-existing geographical composition of various African kingdoms. In the light of the foregoing historical interpretations, this study examines the administrative structure of Ikorodu during the colonial era. The paper presents a historical analysis of the administrative machinery, organisational structure, and territorial delimitations of Ikorodu during colonialism. It concludes that colonial rule was a precursor to the administrative structure and geographical demarcation of today’s Ikorodu Local Government Area of Lagos State.

НОВЫЙ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЙ МЕНЕДЖМЕНТ В КНР: КОНСЕРВАТИВНАЯ ВЕРСИЯ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНЫХ ПРЕОБРАЗОВАНИЙ

The article deals with adaptation of the Western managerial model "New Public Management" to the institutional conditions of contemporary China. The article examines four groups of the "New Public Management" elements: performance management mechanisms (performance indicators for civil servants), mechanisms of authority devolution (administrative decentralization and public functions transfer from state to private sector), public participation and services delivery increase, economic strategical instruments (accountability management, performance budgeting, budget economy). The performance management mechanisms in China are characterized by absence of determinate indicators and independent results examination. The mechanisms of authority devolution refer to Chinese political leaders’ refusal from delegation of power to areas and private sector on the strength of the rigid state form of government. The instruments of public participation and services delivery increase are limited by lack of active public participation and territorial fragmentation, different status of services providers (from the state to semi independent organizations) in China. The economic strategical instruments “do not work” for expenditures reduction and public administration effectiveness. The article enounces the selective character of imported elements according to the institutional environment specificity (values and traditions as a base of political culture, unripe civil society and commercial sector, state monopoly in Chinese economy, nomenclature survivals in Chinese bureaucracy activity, etc.) and peculiarities of China's political course. The authors reach the conclusion that the specificity of the Chinese "New Public Management" model is preservation of the traditional political system status quo to the detriment of administrative system effectiveness and efficiency. In this regard, the Chinese political leaders refuse to import the "New Public Management" elements related to active public participation and such managerial elements as multiprofessional command and creative organizational culture.

The African Union’s Call for Global Pan-Africanism and the Ghana-Diaspora Relations in the 21st Century

One of the most outstanding initiatives that the African Union (AU) has taken that distinguishes it from its predecessor (the Organization of African Unity) is the adoption of the African diaspora as its sixth region. This article has two principal sections. First, by establishing the reasons for adopting the African diaspora as its sixth region from development perspectives, it explores how the African diaspora can engineer development processes in Africa and the challenges that the AU must address if the African diasporas are expected to play this role. In the second section, the article explores how Ghana provided a political base for Pan-Africanism and how Nkrumah laid an intellectual foundation for the movement. It also examines how Rawlings and Kufuor built on Nkrumah’s Pan-Africanist legacy by creating incentives for the returnees/repatriates from the diaspora. While probing the character of the returnees/repatriates phenomenon and politics in Ghana, the second section also explores the controversies that center on dual citizenship, the right of return and abode, and voting rights of Ghanaians Living Abroad (GLA). Finally, the section investigates the receptivity of the traditional political system to the returnee/repatriate phenomenon in Ghana. The article concludes by making recommendations on how the Ghana-diaspora relations can be strengthened.

Il cambiamento dei partiti tradizionali al tempo dell’antipolitica

Over the last twenty years some challenges (increase of electoral abstention, a higher volatility, protest voting) have significantly affected Italian party system. The aim of this article is to investigate how mainstream parties have changed in response to rise of anti-established parties and widespread and growing disaffection with traditional political party system. Our research strategy is to look to the Democratic Party - Pd, the Union of Christian Democrats - Udc, Go Italy - Fi and the National Alliance - An. Drawing upon dataset of national party delegates as well as existing empirical research, the article seeks to explore whether and how the mainstream parties, belonging to center -left, center and center-right area, have fostered political innovation in three key dimensions of party analysis: organizational level, ideological level and strategic level.

‘Aimata, Queen Pomare IV: Thwarting adversity in early 19th century Tahiti

Queen ‘Aimata Pomare IV was monarch of Tahiti for 50 years (1827-77). Her reign was a time of monumental change in Tahiti. During this time Christianity became commonplace, ari‘i 'chiefs’ in the traditional political system became legislators in a European political system and Tahiti became French. Pomare IV worked through these changes, evolving from a non-Christian youth to a very politically shrewd stateswoman. This essay examines her life and her reign which was was mired in political conflict, opposition, intrigue and foreign intervention.

‘Aimata, Queen Pomare IV: Thwarting adversity in early 19th century Tahiti

Queen 'Aimata Pomare IV was monarch of Tahiti for 50 years (1827-77). Her reign was a time of monumental change in Tahiti. During this time Christianity became commonplace, ari'i 'chiefs' in the traditional political system became legislators in a European political system and Tahiti became French. Pomare IV worked through these changes, evolving from a non-Christian youth to a very politically shrewd stateswoman. This essay examines her life and her reign which was was mired in political conflict, opposition, intrigue and foreign intervention.

Depression Stalinism: The Great Break Reconsidered

Depression StalinismThe Great Break Reconsidered Oscar Sanchez-Sibony (bio) Karl Polanyi’s Great Transformation, written in 1944, concentrated on the international underpinning of capitalism and explained how one of its pillars, the gold standard, had fallen apart, thus releasing the forces of economic nationalism that led to the disintegration of Europe’s political order. He deemed Bolshevism one of these radical forces but categorized Russia as a special case in the short passage in which he discussed that country. As many historians would later do, he counted two Russian revolutions: the first, in 1917, “embodied traditional Western European ideals, while the second formed part of the utterly new development of the thirties.”1 The first, he argued, was merely a Russian event, while the second “formed part of a simultaneous universal transformation.”2 The pressures of a dysfunctional gold standard were felt throughout the globe, homogenizing many of the outcomes: By 1924 “War Communism” was a forgotten incident and Russia had reestablished a free domestic grain market, while maintaining state control of foreign trade and key industries. She was now bent on increasing her foreign trade, which depended mainly on exports of grain, timber, furs, and some other organic raw materials, the prices of which were slumping heavily in the course of the agrarian depression which preceded the general break in trade. Russia’s inability to develop an export trade on favorable terms restricted her imports of machinery and [End Page 23] hence the establishment of a national industry; this, again, affected the terms of barter between town and countryside—the so-called “scissors”—unfavorably, thus increasing the antagonism of the peasantry to the rule of the urban workers. In this way the disintegration of world economy increased the strain on the makeshift solutions of the agrarian question in Russia and hastened the coming of the kolkhoz. The failure of the traditional political system of Europe to provide safety and security worked in the same direction since it induced the need for armaments, thus enhancing the burdens of high-pressure industrialization. The absence of the nineteenth-century balance-of-power system, as well as the inability of the world market to absorb Russia’s agricultural produce, forced her reluctantly into the paths of self-sufficiency. Socialism in one country was brought about by the incapacity of market economy to provide a link between all countries; what appeared as Russian autarchy was merely the passing of capitalist internationalism.3 Later explanations for Soviet autarky would imagine a purposeful effort to build an import substitution strategy that quickly succeeded.4 On the face of it, this seemed a logical conclusion. Soviet trade volume increased rapidly during the period of the First Five-Year Plan, only to drop dramatically thereafter. Initial imports of Western technology seemed to have paid off through productivity gains and general economic growth, and import substitution was a leitmotif in Soviet propaganda during the second half of the 1930s. This argument does not, however, take into account the specific and fast-changing international developments linked to the global Great Depression that Polanyi and later students of international political economy underscore as seminal. In fact, Polanyi’s analysis has roughly held up to the scrutiny of later economic analysts of the Soviet Union. In the 1920s, the world began to experience the mechanization and modernization of agriculture.5 Although mechanization did not increase yields, it raised worker productivity, reducing the need for farm labor, swelling urban populations, and allowing for the settlement of productive, arable plains in Argentina, Australia, and other regions of recent European out-migration. Improvements in transport also brought these new, higher-yielding grain-producing regions into the world [End Page 24] market. The overall effect was to depress the world price of grain and, in Europe, to cripple the agricultural sector, which now required protection and subsidies from European governments. As Charles Kindleberger noted, it was the grain-exporting countries, among them the Soviet Union, which first felt the cold grip of what would become the Great Depression. In the Soviet Union, by and large, Soviet grain prices fluctuated in relation to two developments. While greater domestic demand increased prices within the Soviet Union, Soviet...

Kekuasaan Politik dan Adat Para Mosalaki di Desa Nggela dan Tenda, Kabupaten Ende, Flores

This article discusses the relevance of applying the concepts of source of origin and system of precedence, that provide legitimacy for the Mosalaki of Lio in their construction and production as well as reproduction of power in everyday life, especially in their traditional political system. The data analyzed in this article is the result of fieldwork undertaken in the villages of Nggela and Tenda, District of Wolojita, the Regency of Ende Lio, Flores, with qualitative methods, specifically through the techniques of in-depth interviews and participant observation. The Mosalakis, as a matter of a fact, dominate the traditional political system as rulers of adat and adat land. Their practices of power are manifested mainly in ritual activities and the management of traditional land rights. The legitimated rights are transmitted through patrilineal descent, and is based upon source of origin and system of precedence, that are embeded in Lio culture. Key-words: source of origin, system of precedence, traditional political system, reproduction of power

Gan, Chunsong 幹春松, The Institutionalization and Falling of Confucianism 制度儒學及其解體, Revised Edition, Beijing: People’s University of China Press, 2011, 408 pages

The rise of Confucianism in China for the past two decades has led me to expect a book that would analyze the penetrating impact of Confucianism in formulating the traditional Chinese social structure and political system. Gan’s book in its first edition (2003) caught my eye several years ago. This revised work demonstrates Gan’s familiarity with the related documents and offers insight into the subject, and I believe that it will definitely provoke further discussion on the subject and help us understand more about the future impact of Confucianism on Chinese society. The book is divided into two sections. The first deals with the ways Confucianism enters Chinese social structures and how those structures become Confucianized. In the second section, the author collects several essays detailing the contemporary history of China, in which Confucianism failed to defend itself against Western challenges and was therefore separated from the Chinese political system. The second section occupies two thirds of the book, indicating that the author is deeply concerned with the fall of Confucianism in the contemporary world. However, as the author admits, the book has yet to explore, from the point of view of institutionalization, the possibilities and paths in which Confucianism may make positive contributions to Chinese social structure and order in the contemporary world (3). Gan conceives the institutionalization of Confucianism in two ways: “One is that, as a school of thought with a set of ideas, Confucianism became institutionalized; and the other is that the Confucian ideas of politics and ethics have gradually penetrated into the current political system and social structure, and made them become Confucianized” (16). It is not necessary to discern which follows which chronologically. Rather, they occur simultaneously. The book’s first chapter deals with Confucianization of the Chinese political system and social structure; the second chapter with the institutionalization of Confucianism. Let me follow Gan’s discussion further. Confucius himself studied history from the time of Emperors Yao and Shun and adopted the constitution established by Emperors Dao (2013) 12:403–406 DOI 10.1007/s11712-013-9337-y

Civic and Political E-Participation of Young Immigrants

The internet is considered as an important forum to empower and engage groups outside the traditional political systems. However, the ‘digital divide’ might imply several disparities and even reinforce exclusion of those with low economic and cultural capital. This article intends to question how democratic and inclusive this virtual public sphere is and in which terms the new dynamics in contemporary societies encourage mobility by excluded groups. Through quantitative methodology, we sought to analyse the differences between migrant (Angolans and Brazilians) and non-migrant groups in Portugal, as well as the e-participation forms adopted by them and the factors that could predict such participation. This is essential towards a wider knowledge about this field, strengthening the understanding concerning the ambivalence about the potential of the internet as a space for the inclusion of groups at risk of exclusion from participation and, consequently from real citizenship.

Unforgotten to the unforgettable: How Arpilleras contributed to Chilean history informing everyday occupations and social change

The September 11, 1973 Pinochet military coup marks the anniversary of a changed way of life for everyone in Chile and has influenced people around the world. This paper provides a reflection on the social, political, and personal injustices faced by the women of Chile during a vicious dictatorship, through the depiction of an Arpillera. This paper unfolds the women's experience of occupational transitions and how they shared their stories of injustices to the world at a time when almost all other voices of protest had been silenced. A narrative and historical reflection is used to offer an interpretation of the experiences of transitions among these women. Through the art of survival and a shared mission, the women of Chile worked outside of the traditional political system to effect political change.

Chamanismo, liderazgo y poder indígena: el caso tsachila

This paper covers briefly the pre-Inca and colonial past and examines the mythology to outline the traditional political system of the indigenous group Tsachila of the Ecuadorian coast, which would have been two power figures, the political leader and the shaman, sometimes represented by a single person. Then the author analyzes in detail the contemporary political forms of this society, from the time of establishment of the communes and the Gobernación Tsachila, concluding that the current forms are partly inherited from the past and that knowledge of these is necessary to understand the place of this society in the national indigenous policy.

Neo-isms: What’s New about Ideology in the Global Age?

The proliferation of prefixes like `neo' and `post' that adorn conventional 'isms' has cast a long shadow on the contemporary relevance of traditional political belief systems like liberalism, conservatism, and Marxism. This article explores how the thickening of global consciousness finds its expression in the growing capability of today?s political ideologies to translate the rising global imaginary into concrete political programs and agendas. But these subjective dynamics of denationalization at the heart of globalization have not yet dispensed with the declining national imaginary. The twenty-first century promises to be a ideational interregnum in which both the global and national stimulate people?s deep-seated understandings of community. The essay ends with an introduction of a new classification scheme that divides contemporary political ideologies into `market globalism', `justice globalism', and `jihadist globalism'

Democratization of Brazilian Health Councils: The Paradox of Bringing the Other Side into the Tent

AbstractContemporary discussions of ‘democratic innovation experiences’ have evolved into a heated debate about how effective these ‘new spaces’ are in including ordinary citizens, particularly those traditionally marginalized and excluded. This article focuses on the Brazilian experience with Health Councils and begins by discussing the conditions that have been pointed out by previous studies as favouring the inclusion of these groups in these ‘new spaces’. On the basis of these studies, one question that remains is about the democratic legitimacy of these experiences, as it seems that there is a bias towards the inclusion of those that already have political ties with the traditional political system. The local Health Councils in 31 subprefeituras(new administrative subdivisions) of the city of São Paulo were researched and a continuum was observed: ranging from a small number of one or two sectors that have historical ties with political parties included in the council to a far more diversified composition, including up to seven sectors with autonomous representatives and various types of association. Using these results as their starting‐point, the analyses conclude with a discussion of the relative significance of the factors previously identified as central in establishing the democratic legitimacy of these ‘new democratic spaces’.

Traditional and Modern Political Systems in Contemporary Governance in Africa

This paper analyses the role of traditional and modern institutions of governance in contemporary Africa. It examines the traditional institutions in their historical setting and the way in which they negotiated with the modern political arrangements under colonialism and later during the post-independence period. Both the colonial and postcolonial authorities viewed traditional political institutions with disgust and suspicion, seeing them as backward vestiges of the past, but also as possible competitors for colonial and post-colonial political power. This uneasiness was ameliorated somewhat under the colonial system by the introduction of 'indirect rule' and the use of 'customary law' under 'Native Authorities', which were used as a neo-traditional colonial policy control mechanisms. Under the post-independence political order, traditional political institutions were either banned or tolerated to the extent that they were retained only as 'cultural' institutions. In Swaziland the neo-traditional colonial system came to dominate the modern party system and in Lesotho the traditional system existed side by side with the modern political party democracy. In Buganda and Ashanti the neotraditional systems were marginalised and banned.With the crisis of the African postcolonial states and the tendency towards presidentialism, there has been a resurgence of traditional political institutions in a number of countries. The result has been an attempt on the part of the political elite to adopt a conciliatory attitude towards them, while at the same time, using state patronage to woo them and make them part and parcel of the contemporary political party system as 'cultural' institutions. Such is the case in South Africa, Uganda and, to some extent, Lesotho. The real question is to what extent the traditional political systems can be reconciled with the modern political party system and to what extent these institutions can help heal the wounds of ethnic divisions and conflicts on the continent. This paper will try to provide some theoretical and practical approaches to how cultural identities and the institutions they represent can become the basis of new forms of African state formations under the African Union.

Democracy and Social Studies Education at the Junior Secondary School Level in Botswana

This paper briefly examines the concept of democracy, its relationship to education and its African context. The meaning and value of democracy in African society is discussed and it is suggested that traditional political systems represented a particular kind of democracy. It then focuses on the extent to which the concept of democracy is covered in the junior secondary school social studies syllabus in Botswana. Finally the authors make some recommendations for curricular improvement in education for democracy at the junior secondary level in Botswana as part of the continuing attempt to produce the effective citizen for the new millennium.