United Party Research Articles

The Role of Women in Political Patronage and Political Alliance in the Joxzin Community Organization in the 2019 Election

The aim of this research is to look at the role of women in political patronage relationships which resulted in a political alliance between the community organization Joxzin (Jogjakarta Islamic Never Die) and the political party United Development Party (PPP) in the 2019 elections in 2019. Sleman Regency, Special Region of Yogyakarta , Indonesia. Joxzin is a community organization consisting of male and female members. This research uses a convergent method of mixing qualitative and quantitative data which is then analyzed using the NVivo 12 Plus application. The findings obtained in this research are that Joxzin has political patronage ties. Joxzin has resources and power compared to patrons because Joxzin as a client can appoint Ahmad Zahran to be Chairman of the Branch Leadership Council of the Yogyakarta City Development United Party. With Joxzin's strong political alliance, Muhammad Yazid from the Sleman Regency Pilkada became a legislative member of the Yogyakarta Special Region People's Representative Council for the 2019-2024 period. Keywords: Political patronage, political alliances, Woman, Joxzin, Partai Persatuan Pembangunan (PPP).

Exploring the edges of clientelism: ideology, ethnicity, and partisanship in Belize

ABSTRACT Studies focusing on Belize reveal that clientelism is the glue that makes the party system stick. We explore whether ideology and ethnicity account for partisanship within that deeply clientelist setting. We use four AmericasBarometer survey waves by the Latin American Public Opinion Project (LAPOP) to study the individual-level correlates of partisan attachments with the People’s United Party (PUP) and United Democratic Party (UDP). Using binary and multinomial probit maximum likelihood estimators, we find that ethnicity correlates to partisanship with the PUP, and ideology correlates to partisanship with the UDP. The robustness checks, which focus on declared vote choices in previous national elections, corroborate our findings. The Belizean case shows how clientelist parties can develop alternative support sources and that these can vary substantially.

제1차 間島共産黨事件 관련 인물들의 활동과 동향

At the time of the First Round of the Gando Communist Party Incident, the majority of the individuals involved were in their 20s to 30s, with a significant number hailing from Hamgyeong Province. They received education on the Korean Peninsula and in Gando, and some had studied abroad in China, Russia, and Japan. Many of these individuals engaged in various social activities while working in the fields of education and media. Some of them also made efforts to stabilize the Korean community following The Gando Massacre.
 Those involved in this incident had been actively engaged in the independence movement since the March 1st Movement. They participated in the March 1st Movement on the Korean Peninsula and in Gando, and subsequently joined various organizations of National Movement and Socialist Movement, leading the independence movement in the early 1920s through activities such as independence movement fund-raising, anti-Japan armed struggle, and socialist movement both within and outside the Korean Peninsula.
 From immediately after the First Round of the Gando Communist Party Incident until liberation, they continued their independence movement in various ways. Some of them died while enduring hardships in prison, and some also persisted in their struggle even while incarcerated.
 Independence activists involved in the incident participated in the formation of Dongmanguyeokguk, a subordinate organization of the Korean Communist, and actively engaged in the organizational activities of the National United Party based on the National Cooperation Front. In other words, Dongmanguyeokguk was not only an integrated organization for various socialist groups but also a group with the character of the National United Party in the Dongman area, involving independence activists engaged in the national movement.

Ազգային միացյալ կուսակցության հիմնադրումը և նրա դերն ու նշանակությունը Խորհրդային Հայաստանում 1960-80-ական թթ․ ընթացող այլախոհական շարժման ընթացքում / The Establishment of the National United Party and its Function And Importance in Armenian Society during the 1960s–1980s Dissent Movement

Dissident groups started to emerge in the USSR in the 1960s and later extended to Soviet Armenia. There, dissidents expressed their opinions in three main ways. But the fight for Armenia's independence to be restored was at the heart of the dissident movement. Following the completion of the concepts debated in Armenian patriotic circles, the National United Party was created in 1966 and assumed leadership of the campaign for the liberation of Armenia and the restoration of statehood. It was of extraordinary international importance across the USSR, not only in Soviet Armenia.

Exploring the Role of Political Parties in the Enhancement of Women Representation in Parliament, Zambia: A phenomenological perspective

This study aimed at exploring the role of political parties in the enhancement of women representation in Parliament of Zambia. The continued underrepresentation of women in the Zambian National Assembly prompted undertaking this study. The Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND) and the 2016 general elections were the main focus of the study. 
 This study was qualitative and a case study research design based on two major political parties, studied in depth using twenty six party officials, at different levels of party hierarchies who were purposefully selected. Data was collected through in-depth interviews, narratives and unstructured questionnaires from the two political parties and the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) documents. 
 The study used an interpretive phenomenological theoretical framework based on discussions and reflections of direct sense perception and experiences of the role of political parties in enhancing women representation in the national assembly of Zambia. The starting point for using an interpretive phenomenology for this study was our ability to approach this study oblivious of a priori assumptions. Phenomenological theoretical framing was used as a broad and loose name for various types of analysis, which lay emphasis on experiences, interpretations, semiotics, narrative and discourse based on the phenomenological orientation of the Philosophy of social sciences.
 Data was analysed and presented by the thematic approach as well as through frequency tables. The study found that both political parties had put in place strategies and mechanisms to enhance the representation of women in parliament and these included; having at least 30 percent women in decision-making positions, the adoption of the women’s wing concept, training and sensitisation, adoption of women in political party strongholds and relaxing of adoption requirements for women. Following the 2016 General elections, the PF made a pronouncement that the party would adopt 40 per cent women as parliamentary candidates. Nevertheless, the study found that the two political parties failed to meet their own regional and international targets on the number of women adopted to contest parliamentary seats. Thus, the study concluded that the lack of affirmative action, Nolle prosequi, Corruption and ignoring women voices taking place in political parties perpetuates women under representation in parliament in Zambia. This shows that political parties have a role to play to strengthen women representation in parliament through affirmative action in all party structures. The study urges political parties to seriously consider employing practical deliberate strategies and mechanism to increase the number of women in parliament since Zambia does not have a legislated quota. 
 Keywords: Phenomenology, Affirmative action, gender mainstreaming, Corruption, Nolle prosequi.

Political party ideology in Zambia: comparing the PF and the UPND on social welfare policies

AbstractThis paper challenges existing analyses of party cleavages in Sub-Saharan Africa which over-emphasise the centrality of ethnicity. Parties express ideological positions that reflect the socio-economic interests of specific regions, which, especially in Zambia, coincide with particular ethnic groups. We demonstrate this through an examination of party manifestos, policy documents and semi-structured interviews with members of two political parties in Zambia – the Patriotic Front and the United Party for National Development. These parties express clear normative ideas about social welfare, especially the role of the state in providing social assistance to the poorest. These ideological positions reflect the socio-economic interests of the ethnic groups and regions where support for each party is dominant. These are shaped by the ways in which these regions were historically incorporated into the colonial economy. In order to gain a better understanding of African politics, ethnicity must be conceptualised as a socio-cultural construct and situated historically.

Resource Nationalism and Political Change: Mine Nationalisation and the 2021 Zambian Election

This article examines the failure of the ruling Patriotic Front (PF) government to secure the electoral support of Copperbelt mine communities in the 2021 Zambian election, despite its implementation of ‘resource nationalist’ policies. These policies, which ended foreign ownership of two of Zambia’s leading mine companies, were ostensibly designed to appeal to Copperbelt residents in general, and mineworkers in particular, who had since the mid 2000s expressed growing discontent at the failure of foreign owners to develop their mines, create secure jobs and contribute positively to the Zambian economy. While the articulation of such policies had secured PF electoral support in 2011, 2015 and 2016, their implementation by the Lungu presidency was followed by decisive electoral defeat, with Copperbelt voters swinging away from PF and towards the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), which won the Zambian presidency in 2021. This article combines analysis of electoral data, extended ethnographic observation and interviews with mineworkers to explain the relationship and disjuncture between what the article characterises as popular ‘resource nationalism from below’ and PF’s ‘resource nationalism from above’. In doing so the article contributes to understandings of the relationship between resource nationalism, electoral competition and political change.

Propagating Afrikaner nationalism: The Voortrekker stamps as icons of an ideology, c.1933–1949

AbstractThis paper posits the importance of visual representations in cultivating a national consciousness among white Afrikaners in South Africa. It provides a case study of stamps issued to commemorate the centenary of the Great Trek in 1938 that sought to raise awareness of and funds for the Voortrekker Monument project. Although stamps are, ordinarily, symbols of banal nationalism, the Voortrekker stamps resonated strongly with the sentiments the Afrikaner volk (people). They reified an iconography of the Voortrekkers and the narrative of the Great Trek already embedded in a canon of texts, images and rituals. The paper provides a semiotic reading of the designs of the stamps and shows how they shaped the cultural imaginary of Afrikaners. Although the Voortrekker stamps were issued with the approval of the postal authorities, they were actually commissioned by the Sentrale Volksmonumentekomitee [Central People's Monuments Committee (SVK)], which had close ties to the National Party (NP) opposition. Although the project was largely state sponsored, the SVK insisted upon its autonomy. Thus the government sanctioned a project over which it exercised no jurisdiction. The United Party paid a price for accommodating sectional Afrikaner interests when it lost control of the state in 1948.

Overcoming incumbency advantage: the importance of social media on- and offline in Zambia’s 2021 elections

ABSTRACT President Edgar Lungu and the Patriotic Front used a range of incumbency advantages to tilt the playing field in their favour in the run-up to Zambia’s 2021 elections and, as a result, were more visible offline than the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) and its flagbearer, Hakainde Hichilema. In this paper, we draw on an original survey of party officials and activists and semi-structured interviews to consider the role of social media in the UPND’s victory. We show how the two dominant political parties invested heavily in social media, but how the UPND’s online messaging proved more persuasive and spread offline, and how social media facilitated the UPND’s political mobilisation and vote protection efforts in the face of a highly uneven playing field. Social media thus played an important role in unseating the incumbent, but not because the election was won online, or because social media provided a uniquely “social” form of communication. Instead, social media helped to facilitate the flow of information across a heavily controlled media ecosystem in which face-to-face communication remained key. In making this argument, we highlight the significant impact of social media on users and non-users alike, even in a context of relatively low internet penetration.

Edinburgh's Local Liberal Party and the Political Crises of 1885–6*

AbstractThis article examines Edinburgh's Liberal politics in the wake of the 1884–5 electoral reforms and the introduction of the Irish home rule debate. The objective is to uncover local nuances of this transitional period of Liberal politics. The Third Reform Act and the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885 fractured the local Liberal Party as Liberals fought to control the newly established single‐member districts’ associations. Advanced Liberals gained control over the associations and endorsed parliamentary candidates holding advanced views on the leading questions in the 1885 election. In three districts, unofficial Liberals stood and won against endorsed Liberals. Consequently, after the election the local Liberal associations in each of these districts split creating rival associations. This allows for unique insight into the effects of Irish home rule on Liberal politics as the associations were largely divided along partisan lines. Ultimately this study shows that the ideological stance of Liberals was not the determining factor of support or opposition to Irish home rule and that Gladstone's Irish question created a more united Party in Edinburgh.

The political economy of development in Belize under the People’s United Party

ABSTRACT The former British colony of Belize faces serious economic problems today, reflecting a collapse in tourism following COVID-19. To account for this fragility, a return to economic history is needed. We focus on two critical periods. First, we examine why the Belizean state was unable to form a developmental state in the period of the anticolonial movement and self-government (the 1950s–1960s). Particular attention is given to George Price, leader of the anti-colonial People’s United Party (PUP) and ‘father of the country’. Second, turning to the post-colonial period, we examine one experimental chapter that lasted roughly a decade (1998–2007) when a coherent state-led economic strategy was pursued. During both periods the PUP-led state sought to reorganize development strategy along progressive lines, but failed to deliver. Because capital was almost completely foreign dominated, the fledgling Belizean developmental state could not discipline capital toward developmental alignment.

Political Conflict, Violence and Zambian Youth

Youths remain central to political conflict and violence within the Zambian polity. This article discusses the nature, extent, causes and effects of politically motivated conflict and violence among Zambian youths. As part of a doctoral project, the study was conducted in Kalulushi constituency, one of the conflict hotspots in Zambia’s Copperbelt region during the 2016 general elections. Using a convenience sampling method, 395 young people were surveyed, together with eight senior political leaders and 32 young party supporters purposely recruited from the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (UPND). The study highlighted increased political and electoral violence in 2019, with senior political leaders and young PF and UPND party supporters culpable in keeping the inter-party belligerence afloat. The research illustrates how Zambian youths’ poor socioeconomic status predisposes them to being co-opted into political and electoral violence. More specifically, the disruptive effects of violence on communities, voters, ordinary citizens and its overall impediment to consolidating democracy are identified.

Reinterpreting Domestic Sources of Zambia’s Foreign Policy: The Party and the President

This article examines the domestic factors that have determined and influenced Zambia’s foreign policy. While this attempt has not been as successful as one would wish, some useful insights are obtainable through analysis of the role of the governing parties from the liberation hero and founding President Kenneth Kaunda and the United National Independence Party (UNIP) and subsequent heads of state and their respective parties, the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), the Patriotic Front (PF) and the United Party for National Development (UPND), that have led the country throughout this period. The article contributes to both the rational-actor model and spatial leadership model which measures differential changes in foreign policy decision-making across regimes. The model is a major contribution to the development of viable analysis in changing foreign policy in emerging nations and is an enduring contribution to the modern foreign analysis. This article is an interesting and exciting addition to this model. It also contributes to the discourse on domestic issues that determine political behavior in international affairs. In particular, it discusses the subtleties of presidential power and demonstrates that in the case of Zambia, changes in foreign policy decisions across regimes are mediated by the intervention and personal interests of the president and the influence of the governing parties.

The Cominternist Origins of Current Socialist Bolivarianism

Introduction. The article examines the Comintern “trace” in the formation of modern “Bolivarian socialism”, proclaimed by the leaders of Venezuela at the beginning of the 21st century. Communist postulates (in the Comintern perception) were, certainly, not the only source of the formation of the ideology of the ruling Socialist United Party of Venezuela. At the same time, a number of the postulates were formulated back in the 1920s by activists of the Venezuelan Revolutionary Party (later they became members of the country’s Communist Party) and the Socialist Party of Ecuador. A number of similar concepts were the subject of discussions between the leadership of the Comintern and the Peruvian People’s Revolutionary Alliance and were also debated during one of the congress of the Communist International. Another important aspect explored by the authors is the analogy between the processes of the formation of a united left party in Venezuela in the 1930s and in the 2000s (as a comparative example, the pattern of creating a united revolutionary party within the framework of the Castro revolution in Cuba was also used). Methods and materials. The study uses a set of methods of analysis adopted in historical and political science, namely documentary analysis, systemic and comparative analysis. Analysis and Results. The cases presented in the article prove that Socialism of the 21st century is not the exclusive creation of Hugo Chavez, but is closely related to ideological discussions in the international left-wing movement of the first half of the 20th century. The article is based primarily on archival documents, which allowed the authors to show little-known pages in the history of Latin American left-wing parties. Authors’ contribution. V.L. Jeifets and L.S. Jeifets made joint analysis of the archival documents, carried out the study of historiography, and developed the theoretical framework of the research. The conclusions also are the product of joint work.

The 16th Sabah State Election: Kadazandusun Politics and the Huguan Siou Factor

This article analyses the 16th Sabah State Election, focusing on the Kadazandusun-majority seats. It is based on an ethnographic study comprising interviews with candidates and casual conversations with local people in "competitive" Kadazandusun seats such as Matunggong, Kiulu, Moyog, Tambunan, Keningau, Sook, Nabawan, Tenom and Melalap. The results of the election showed that the Kadazandusun voted for status quo. In addition, following the trend of GE14, the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) managed to maintain its strong presence in the Kadazandusun areas. This article argues that ethnic and personality politics play an instrumental role in determining the Kadazandusun support to GRS particularly STAR (Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku Rakyat Sabah/Homeland Solidarity Party) and PBS (Parti Bersatu Sabah/Sabah United Party). While economic factors are decisive as well, the role of the Kadazandusun traditional leadership institution is pertinent in influencing the people’s decision to vote.

A silent revolution. Zambia’s 2021 General Election

This paper discusses Zambia’s 2021 election which was held in a context of democratic backsliding and poor economic performance. The election resulted in Zambia’s third alternation of power between political parties since the democratic wave of the 1990s. The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) used its incumbent advantages to control institutions that were crucial for promoting democracy and ensuring a credible election. The election was also characterised by political violence which limited the ability for the opposition United Party for National Development (UPND) to mobilise freely. Further, an Afrobarometer survey conducted in December 2020 showed that half of all citizens surveyed were unwilling to declare who they would vote for, thereby suppressing the extent of UPND’s support. Yet, the UPND won 59% in the presidential election and won the most parliamentary seats in an election that had one of the highest voter-turnouts since the advent of Zambia’s multi-party democracy. This paper argues that there was a ‘silent revolution’ in Zambia that resulted in the defeat of the PF. It also shows that Zambian citizens have not been complacent in the face of democratic backsliding.

MAHATHIR MOHAMMAD'S POLITICAL COMMUNICATIONS IN POLITICAL DYNAMICS IN MALAYSIA

The political turmoil in Malaysia following the resignation of Mahathir Mohammad (February 2020), and the success of Muhyiddin Yassin in the position of Prime Minister, made the political atmosphere even more dynamic. There are those who think that Malaysian politics currently shows a serious problem with the fierce battle between political figures. There have even been various accusations that say there is treason that justifies any means to achieve the goal. Muhyiddin Yassin, who is Mahathir's representative in the Malaysian Indigenous United Party (PPBM), was accused of treason. Likewise, Azmin Ali who was deputy chairman of the People's Justice Party (PKR) was accused of treason by Anwar Ibrahim, so that Azmin was fired from the PKR. Mahathir Mohammad is a senior Malaysian political figure with long experience in politics. The political communication that Mahthir has built is very intelligent with his success as a UMNO figure and the Prime Minister of Malaysia for more than 20 years. As a doctor, since the age of 25, he has been active in politics through the UMNO party. Mahathir understands that politics is very dynamic and political figures must be able to adapt to the existing political dynamics. It was this political dynamic that made Mahathir leave UMNO when he saw the many deviations committed by his figures. Mahathir then formed a new party, Partai Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) which succeeded in ending UMNO's domination in the 2018 elections. Mahathir's political communications were truly tested when he succeeded in becoming the second prime minister of Malaysia at the age of 92 years. The political message delivered by Mahathir was able to convince the Malaysian people about the direction of national development. His long and successful experience in politics made him known as the father of modernization in Malaysia. However, in the end, he was removed by Muhyiddin Yassin (his own friend) from the seat of Prime Minister at the age of 94. Because actually in politics there are no friends and enemies who are eternal, it is political interests themselves that are eternal.

Belize: 2021 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Belize

Belize has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a deep recession and worsened fiscal and external positions from already weak levels. The opposition People’s United Party won the November 2020 elections by a wide margin, which gives the new government a unique opportunity to jump start much needed reforms to reduce large imbalances and anchor strong and inclusive growth.

Online incivility, hate speech and political violence in Zambia: Examining the role of online political campaign messages

The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of online incivility and political violence in Zambia. The study used the 2018 Chilanga Constituency by-election campaign messages and those of the 2019 Sesheke constituency to examine the problem. The study drew from the simulation effects (that communication with dissimilar others can encourage incivility and hate online) to assert that political elite campaign messages contribute to incivility/hate and subsequent violence during elections in Zambia. This assumption was tested using 5844 data points collected from various social media platforms owned or purported to be owned by either the Patriotic Front (PF) or the United Party for National Development (UPND) party. The findings support the paper’s hypotheses, and additional analyses suggest that men are more likely to practice incivility online than women. Second, findings suggest that while the PF party’s online platforms exhibit higher trends of partisanship, the UPND tend to privilege tribal affiliations.

Features of the formation of spiritual and moral values in the educational practice of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century

The problem of forming spiritual and moral values in the educational practice of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century is of theoretical interest and practical value for Russian teachers in terms of using the experience accumulated by foreign colleagues in the course of reforming the national school. The hypothesis of the study was that the various forms of work practiced by teachers of the two countries – the GDR and the FRG, – during this period contributed to the formation of spiritual and moral values among the youth of the two German states. The following research methods were used: literature analysis, scientific and pedagogical interpretation of information contained in sources; comparative method; axiological method that allows to identify the positive content in the scientific subject. Main results of the study. The fundamental difference in socio-political and ideological attitudes that took place in the GDR and the FRG in 1949-1989 determined to a decisive extent the choice of forms and content of educational work carried out in educational institutions in both countries. In the GDR, there was a single comprehensive public school, which was under the full ideological and administrative control of the ruling Socialist United Party of Germany. Special attention was paid to educating the younger generation in the spirit of devotion to the ideals of socialism, rejection of religion and the values of bourgeois society. The Union of Free German Youth and the children's pioneer organization named after Ernst Telman were actively used in the process of socialist education of young people. At the same time, they actually copied the forms and methods of work of the corresponding organizations that operated in the USSR, – the Komsomol and the Lenin Pioneer organization. In Germany, on the contrary, there was a significant number of types of secondary educational institutions, many of which were non-governmental: private, Waldorf, Catholic and Evangelical, etc. Ideological education, aimed, among other things, at the assimilation of spiritual and moral values, was carried out mainly at school, in accordance with the guidelines adopted in this educational institution. The study allowed us to characterize the features of the formation of spiritual and moral values in the educational practice of Germany in the second half of the twentieth century. The significance of the results obtained is that they to a certain extent factual enrich modern Russian historical and pedagogical science. The main conclusion of the study is that in the GDR, the concept of the goal of education was inextricably linked with collective interests and orientation to the socialist ideology, while the liberal-democratic ideology in the FRG gave absolute priority to the individual over the collective. A scientifically formulated study of this approach provides a perspective for further research.