Transitions Online_Around the Bloc-4 May
Our news roundup: Russian ministers contract COVID-19; Nazarbaeva dismissed; the Hungarian Grand Prix; Stalin redux; and Nord Stream 2.
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Our news roundup: Russian ministers contract COVID-19; Nazarbaeva dismissed; the Hungarian Grand Prix; Stalin redux; and Nord Stream 2.
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The article provides an analysis of the mobilization strategies of far-right movements from the Czech Republic and Germany based on the content they provide via hyperlinks on their websites. Vertical and reticular characteristics of the hyperlinked pages have been analyzed, two aspects which form central parts of the mobilization strategies of social movements. The vertical level refers to territorial relations, while the reticular level refers to relations with other actors. The analyses confirmed that the movements focused on the vertical level to their countries of origin. With respect to reticular characteristics the type of hyperlinked content neither differs significantly throughout countries, nor throughout segments of the far-right movement. Additionally, the analysis of the type of hyperlinked content provides insight into the general mobilization strategies employed.
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While much of the scholarship on populist political communication focuses on its content and a verbal style, less is known about the nonverbal cues accompanying populist messages. This paper aims in filling that gap by providing findings of the study on characteristics of nonverbal communication of two Polish presidential candidates: Bronisław Komorowski and Andrzej Duda, traced during two debates broadcast on television before the second round of the presidential elections in 2015. The results revealed that both candidates employed nonverbal cues such as appearance, eye contact, facial expressions, or gestures that emphasized their references towards the people or negative attitudes towards elites expressed in their verbal messages. The study also proved that the methods used previously in research on nonverbal content on television observational protocols and analysis of facial expressions may be successfully employed in studies on nonverbal components of the populist style of communication.
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Previous research has demonstrated that right-wing populist parties are particularly successful in gaining engagement and interaction on social media, but less is known about how rightwing populist parties use social media strategically, both in relation to voters and news media. By focusing on two Nordic countries, Norway and Sweden, this paper addresses the strategic use of social media within the Sweden Democrats and the Progress Party based on three different data sets: interviews, content analysis of Facebook posts, and engagement data from the parties’ Facebook pages. This study finds that the two populist parties basically follow up their social media strategy in practice, and the Sweden Democrats are more closely following a populist communication logic in their Facebook posts. The article argues that right-wing populist parties’ social media strategy and communication style must be understood in relation to their position in the political system and the parties’ different phases in the life cycle model of populist parties.
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The communicative style used to exclude immigrants from the idea of “the people” is the scope through which right-wing media populism is measured in a case study of Macedonia, a post-communist country on the Balkan migrant route. Quantitative content analysis of articles from four Macedonian right-wing partisan news outlets N = 409, demonstrates a clear change in tone in coverage of migration, marked by an increase of populism as the “migrant crisis” intensified. Logistic regression confirms that incivility, as a proxy for the intensity of partisan bias, is a significant predictor of populism, and opinion pieces have a significantly stronger populist tendency than news reports. The findings show that online news outlets, however, are not more populist than traditional print media.
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This analysis identifies the dominant media frames in the coverage of four right-wing populist actors — Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, Silvio Berlusconi, and Roman Abramovich — by the Bulgarian editions of Elle and Cosmopolitan. Although the political platforms of these men are not, in fact, anti-establishment, which is the core characteristic of populism, they are referred to as populist actors because of their use of populist tools and discourses to practice so-called “neo-populism from above.” The four men were framed as: a carriers of a “golden touch”; b sources of profound/problematic wisdom; and c admirable collectors of “trophy” women. The findings are discussed as illustrative of the tabloidization of U.S. women’s magazine brands in the post-communist context of Bulgaria.
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In this paper fundamental information concerning the designing and conducting of comparative experiments, as methods which are able to be employed in the field of media studies, will be successively delineated. On the basis of the large-scale online experiment conducted in 15 countries in 2017, the assessment of the populist message impact as well as methodological challenges to such a project will be presented. We discuss challenges and lessons learnt from this type of research design.
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The Maria Kopp Institute for Demography and Families together with the Research Institute for Hungarian Communities Abroad conducted a survey among the Hungarian minorities in Subcarpathia (Ukraine), South-Slovakia (formerly Upper Hungary), Vojvodina (Serbia) and Transylvania(Romania), collecting 2576 valid responses. The aim of the questionnaire was to study the attitudes to relationships, marriage as well as to plans and facts about childbearing. The sample was representative for sexes, and other basic demographic variables as well; 50,4% of the respondents were men and 49,6% were women in the study. The survey results showed that the start of the first marriage is two years earlier than the so called ‘ideal age’ for marriage (women 25, men 28) for both sexes. The relationships (marriage or cohabitation) are more stable in the 35–45 age group than among younger couples. According to our respondents the most important preconditions for childbearing are right partner and the appropriate housing. It has been again verified that it is important for mothers to reconcile family needs and work responsibilities. The results show that the attitudes abroad are very similar to those inside Hungary.
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Iran is the bosom of Shi'a. The article aims to trace and analyze the role and place of Islam in Iran, to consider the dogmatic differences between Sunnis and Shiites in the context of the geostrategic rivalry between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It has been suggested that Shiism is the religious form of the idea of social change through an interdisciplinary and problem-thematic approach. Original ideas and literature have been proposed to enrich the Bulgarian scientific knowledge of Shiite Islam, with a scientifically applied effect.
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The First World War, lost by Germany, made it necessary to accept the terms of peace, which were determined by the provisions of the Versailles Treaty, signed on June 28, 1919. It was developed by the victorious powers, and Germany was forced to accept its provisions. In this regard, in the era of the Weimar Republic, the peace agreement was described as „the Versailles dictate.” All political forces opposed it and the need to sign it caused the first government crisis after the November revolution (the resignation of Philipp Scheidemann’s cabinet in June 1919). Over time, the group of supporters of the republic and parliamentary democracy was shrinking. Critics of the changes made after the collapse of the Hohenzollern monarchy accused the Social Democrats, who formed the basis of the so-called Weimar coalition, of bringing to Germany the misfortunes of a harmful and shameful peace. The Nazis gained the most from the criticism of the ‘Versailles dictate’. After assuming power, Adolf Hitler revised the Treaty of Versailles by the method of fait accompli, which eventually led to the outbreak of World War II. The subject of consideration in this article is the analysis of the circumstances in which the Versailles Treaty was signed, the presentation of its provisions, and the impact of widespread opposition to the imposed peace agreement on the direction of the evolution of the political system of the Weimar Republic.
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The main aim of politicians’ actions (a struggle for power and retaining it) is connected with forming voters’ convictions, achieved, inter alia, with particular rhetorical strategies. Research demonstrated that in the analyzed material (programs of 11 Russian parties) three rhetorical strategies are employed: the lowering strategy, the elevation strategy and the theatricality strategy, implemented with the help of various tactics. The most frequently used strategy is undoubtedly the theatricality strategy, verbalized through the following tactics: encouraging, cooperating, separating, promising, anticipating and warning.
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National scholarly conference
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The article looks at what is happening in defense through the lens of legislative support for defense policy. What are the role and place of the Legislature and the powers of the National Assembly. Development and acceptance of documents, participation in preliminary preparation, discussion and adoption. The importance of reaching consensus on the main goals and priorities of the defense policy for stability and strategic perspective in the development of the armed forces. The need for a comprehensive approach and integrated efforts requires the participation of many committees other than the Defense Committee.
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A synthesis that presents the problems of strategic management in Bulgaria's defense policy. It discusses defense planning topics and how to implement rearmament policies in the context of developing modern perceptions of warfare and war
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The threat of COVID-19 has had an impact and will change security approaches over the long term. Such crises bring to the fore the strengthening of the resilience of the state and society with civilian and military readiness to respond. This is a reason to review the legal framework, the practice, whether and how it is necessary to adapt the defense policy regarding the role and place of the Bulgarian Armed Forces, which by law have a supporting role and are ready if necessary to support efforts to crisis management and overcoming the consequences.
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The situational political analysis is a specific scientific area, which falls within the system of the political sciences and is studied in the framework of international relations. The role of the situational political analysis is of great importance when an evaluation of the political action and the necessity of its limitation in times of crises should be performed. It is a basis and a prerequisite for an analysis of long-term political processes.
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