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The common critique of media- and ratings-driven politics envisions democracy falling hostage to a popularity contest. By contrast, the following book reconceives politics as a speculative Keynesian beauty contest that alienates itself from the popular audience it ceaselessly targets. Political actors unknowingly lean on collective beliefs about the popular expectations they seek to gratify, and thus do not follow popular public opinion as it is, but popular public opinion about popular public opinion.This book unravels how collective discourses on “the popular” have taken the role of intermediary between political elites and electorates. The shift has been driven by the idea of “liquid control:” that postindustrial electorates should be reached through flexibly designed media campaigns based on a complete understanding of their media-immersed lives. Such a complex representation of popular electorates, actors have believed, cannot be secured by rigid bureaucratic parties, but has to be distilled from the collective wisdom of the crowd of consultants, pollsters, journalists and pundits commenting on the political process.The mediatization of political representation has run a strikingly similar trajectory to the marketization of capital allocation in finance: starting from a rejection of bureaucratic control, promising a more “liquid” alternative, attempting to detect a collective wisdom (of/about “the markets” and “the people”), and ending up in self-driven spirals of collective speculation.
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Wiktor Woroszylski followed a path characteristic for many Polish intellectuals in the second half of the 20th century: from entanglement in communism to active opposition to it. He was not only a witness but also a participant of many events of key significance for the post-war history who also influenced them.It is a chronicle of a non-conformist group, written down at a time when keeping such records required great courage, and, at the same time, an expressive portrait of that group, strengthened internally by friendship and mutual loyalty, which has finally become a timeless example of freedom.Crowds, people released from jail, the whole group, one can hardly work out, probably more than one hundred people, press, talks about what has happened, and euphoria again. I was not imaginative enough to realize what happened; I treated the whole work of the Workers’ Defence Committee, etc., in the past years more as a way to save our souls and perhaps create some islands of internal freedom but I did not take into account the prospects of social victory on such a scale.
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Three months which changed Ukraine written down through the testimonies of individuals: recordings, diaries, memoirs, blogs or Facebook entries. The multitude of experiences makes up a universal story of the phenomenon of Ukrainian breakthrough which started with a peaceful rally in defence of pro-European orientation of the country and ended with the revolution in Kiev and the overthrow of a criminal president. It was the time when the Ukrainians started speaking with a full voice about their right to free choice, about honesty, truth, and dignity, and finally took to the streets in their defence at any cost.
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Three months which changed Ukraine written down through the testimonies of individuals: recordings, diaries, memoirs, blogs or Facebook entries. The multitude of experiences makes up a universal story of the phenomenon of Ukrainian breakthrough which started with a peaceful rally in defence of pro-European orientation of the country and ended with the revolution in Kiev and the overthrow of a criminal president. It was the time when the Ukrainians started speaking with a full voice about their right to free choice, about honesty, truth, and dignity, and finally took to the streets in their defence at any cost.
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The main scientific goal of the following study is to show the impact of an economic crisis on the functioning of a political system. The object of detailed research studies was the political systems of Greece, Spain and Italy. It was in these European Union countries that the effects of the worldwide economic crisis seemed to have had the biggest influence on the workings of the constituent elements of the political system.The leading research hypothesis is that, under the conditions of representative democracy,the economic situation of a state is one of the major determinants of the stability and continuity of its political system. The better the economic condition of a state, the bigger its political system’s functional stability and ability to endure. On the other hand, under the conditions of a political crisis, this stability and continuity are seriously compromised.The analysis of the impact of the economic crisis on the functioning of political systems ledthe authors to the formulation of the following detailed hypotheses:The operations of political decision-making centres in Greece, Spain and Italy pertainingto economic issues — both on the central and local level — caused serious disruptions to thefunctioning of their political systems.1. The economic crisis in Greece, Spain and Italy caused considerable disruption to the rhythm of election cycles.2. The economic crisis in Greece, Spain and Italy affected the functioning of the party systems in these countries.3. The economic crisis in Spain and Italy considerably influenced an intensification of decentralizing tendencies in these countries.4. The economic crisis in Greece, Spain and Italy influenced an intensification of the process of formulating anti-system postulates by certain political groups.In the introduction, the subject related and methodological assumptions of the conductedresearch were put forward. Chapter one contains an analysis of problems related to the origins,course and consequences of the economic crisis of 2008. The next three chapters contain ananalysis of the consequences of this crisis for the functioning of the political systems of Greece, Spain and Italy. The closing chapter contains general conclusions resulting from the conducted research process.
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Uniwersalna koncepcja marketingu znajduje zastosowanie nieomal w każdej dziedzinie życia gospodarczego i społecznego. Czerpanie z zasobów wiedzy marketingowej stało się faktem i jednocześnie koniecznością również w przypadku terytoriów. Wyodrębniony w ten sposób marketing terytorialny przybiera w praktyce różne formy: od aplikacji najprostszych narzędzi promocji po skomplikowany proces kreowania marki terytorium. Ich skuteczne i efektywne wykorzystanie do osiągania celów terytoriów wymaga jednak solidnych podstaw teoretycznych i kompleksowego ujęcia. Podręcznik przedstawia, systematyzuje i jednocześnie poszerza podstawową wiedzę z zakresu marketingu terytorialnego, objaśniając pojęcia, zależności, metody, techniki i uwarunkowania z nim związane.
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Relying on the fact of by law guaranteed right on proportional representation of national minorities members in public authorities that has for years presented a big problem and challenge for the Republic of Croatia, Serb National Council (SNC) published the analysis Unrealized Rights and Failed Policies: Representation of National Minorities in State Administration, Judiciary and Police in March of 2014. The analysis was based on competent authorities’ data about the representation of national minorities in stated institutions, highlighting the representation of Serbs followed and collected by SNC and the Independent Democratic Serbian Party Club in the Croatian Parliament between the middle of 2008 and the middle of 2013, respectively until the beginning of the EU membership of Republic of Croatia in July of 2013. The results of the analysis were devastating. It has been noticed that during the analysed period, despite the specific measures of the Government of Republic of Croatia, not only there was no improvement in realization of the rights, but previously achieved level of representation demonstrate tendencies of moderate to significant degradation. Former politics of the Government directed towards increasing the number of national minorities’ members in competent authorities have been rated as useless, and stated reasonable doubt they were only fulfilling the form in order to meet the criteria of the EU entry negotiations. The conclusion, among other, stated the necessity for the Government and other competent authorities to undertake decisive, comprehensive and concrete measures in collaboration and with participation of national minorities’ representatives and independent experts in the following period in order to implement the corresponding guaranteed rights.
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The year behind us was marked by an increased number of physical assaults on Serbs in Croatia, threats against them and destruction of their property. In 2015 Cyrillic script1 in Vukovar was practically abolished and we have witnessed numerous attempts to rehabilitate the Independent State of Croatia (NDH)2 as well as an increased incidence of hate speech by public figures and part of the media. For this reason 2015 will be remembered as the year in which nationalist and anti-minority atmosphere – which became more intense since Croatia’s accession to the European Union in 2013 – has reached a worrying scale.
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The study Art and Culture of South Africa. In search of artistic identity of South Africa, as influenced by historical transformations – was conceived and written thanks to a study-stay of its author in Johannesburg, South Africa during a four year period between 2001 and 2004.
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The problem of securing the material needs of individuals who due to their advanced age have a limited opportunity to acquire incomes which would allow them to satisfy these needs is a valid and vital one. Nowadays, almost in all developed countries, the number of people who have finished or will soon finish their professional career due to their advanced age is growing. For this reason, state pensions systems become increasingly financially inefficient. This inefficiency determines the necessity to introduce changes in the structure of the incomes acquired when retired – decreasing the dominance of the benefits received from the state institutions and increasing the share of funds coming from private financing. It is difficult to precisely determine what part of pensions provision should be fulfilled by individual voluntary savings and other methods of providing for old age. It is beyond doubt that too low savings may result in the deterioration of the quality of life when retired (if old age pensions received from the state system also prove insufficient). It is anticipated that a considerable percentage of the employed population does not or will not be in possession of sufficient savings – acquired both from the public system and set aside individually – to provide for retirement. Moreover, economic and social changes, particularly those occurring in the labour market, the improvement of the quality of life, economic emigration, but also the changes occurring in the models of family and legal regulations in the pension systems contribute to the changes in the attitudes and behaviour of households as regards to their choices. The above mentioned monograph focuses on the behaviour of households with regard to providing for their members' future retirement. The main subject is the behaviour of households in the period of accumulation of pension capital, i.e. in the first stage of the so-called risk of ageing. This stage finishes with reaching the retirement age, which is connected with losing one's incomes achieved so far from performed work. Minimizing this loss requires transferring a part of one's consumption from the period of being professionally active (by means of accumulating savings) to the period of old age in the future. The extensive knowledge about the behaviour of various groups may enable better social policy actions and creating pension products tailored to the needs of households. Therefore, the main aim of the paper was to build a model of attitudes and behaviour of households regarding financial security when retired. Taking into consideration the multifaceted nature of the research issues, an attempt was made at creating a whole model of the attitudes of households towards providing for old age. The construction of the model of the attitudes of households towards providing for old age was possible thanks to using the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. This model consists of 4 constructs: the belief that additional pension provision is necessary, knowledge, securing one's family and expectation towards life when retired.
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In this paper, we examine two questions related to the sustainability of the major, neoliberal, economic and social reforms in the new EU member states, namely the flat income tax and private pension pillars. First, we look at the relationship between the political consensus/controversy at the time major policy reforms were passed and the future sustainability of these reforms after a change of government. Second, we explore what we call a paradox of reverse sustainability, where by the flat income tax has been more politically resilient during the global financial and economic crisis than private pensions, even though ex ante expectations and the literature would lead us to expect the opposite. The paper shows that controversy at the time the reforms were passed had no effect on subsequent sustainability, and the levels of partisanship and public support with regard to a specific reform seemless important than the political costs and benefits. We also find that despite their apparent neoliberalbent, the two policies are versatile enough to be shaped towards a variety of policy goals, allowing their introduction and retention in a variety of economic and social circumstances. In other words, even though private pensions and particularly the flat tax have powerful political connotations, they are by no means policy strait jackets.
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Der vorliegende Band analysiert Umstände und Folgen der kroatischen Arbeitsmigration nach Westdeutschland in den 60er und 70er Jahren des 20. Jahrhunderts. Bekannt unter dem Begriff Gastarbeitermigration wurde diese Wanderung in der ersten Zeit als vorläufige Beschäftigung der vornehmlich jüngeren männlichen Population mit niedriger Berufsqualifikation realisiert, in der Folge entwickelte sie sich aber zu einem längerfristigen Verbleib sowie Nachzug ganzer Familien nach Deutschland. Das Buch enthält Kapitel über Migranten und ihre Nachkommen, die sogenannte transnationale Generation in Deutschland. Die Grundlage für das Buch lieferten die mit Kroaten in Deutschland geführten Gespräche in der Zeitspanne von 2002 bis 2017. Dabei werden Schlüsselthemen und Metaphern erörtert, die aus dem Leben der Kroaten im Aufnahmeland (damaliges Westdeutschland) und dem Herkunftsland (damaliges Jugoslawien, heute Kroatien und Bosnien und Herzegowina) entspringen, aber auch jene, die sich aus dem transnationalen sozialen, jenseits der staatlichen Grenzen geschaffenen Raum herleiten.
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Social media platforms have become powerful enough to cause perceptible effects in societies on a global scale. They facilitate public discussion, and they work with excessive amounts of personal data – both activities affecting human rights and the rule of law. This specific service requires attention from the regulator: according to this paper, a new legal category should be created with clear definitions, and a firm delineation of platforms’ rights and responsibilities. Social media companies should not become responsible for third-party content, as this would lead to over-censorship, but they should have the obligation to create and maintain safe and secure platforms, on which human rights and the rule of law are respected.
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This paper provides an overview of the ‘state of the art’ in the academic literature on EU labour migration policies. It forms part of the research agenda of Work Package 18 of the NEUJOBS project, which aims at reviewing legislation and practices regarding the labour market inclusionand protection of rights of different categories of foreign workers in European labour markets. Accordingly, particular attention is paid to the works of scholars who evaluate the status of rights of third-country national workers in relation to labour market access, employment security, social integration, etc., in European legislation on labour immigration. More specifically, the review has selected those scholarly works that focus specifically on analysingthe manner in which policy-makers have addressed the granting of rights to non-EU migrant workers, and the manner in which policy agendas – through the relevant political and institutional dynamics – have found their translation in the legislation adopted.
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Labour immigration schemes that effectively attract qualified immigrant workers are a policy priority for many governments. But what are ‘attractive’ labour immigration schemes and policies? To whom are (or should) such policies (be) attractive? In Europe, the US is often portrayed as one of the most ‘attractive’ countries of immigration – if not the most ‘attractive’. This paper aims to analyse and provide a better understanding of the elements of the US immigration system that are supposedly attractive to foreign workers, by examining key features of the current and prospective US labour immigration rules. The paper finds that ‘attractiveness’ in this policy context is a highly malleable and flexible concept: What might be ‘attractive’ to one key stakeholder might not be to another.
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Jedną z najważniejszych, niedokończonych rewolucji we współczesnym świecie jest rewolucja godności: walka jednostek i grup o uznanie i respekt – niezależnie od religii, narodowości czy orientacji seksualnej. Autorka dowodzi, że rewolucja godności jest często dziełem małych, odważnych grup „humanistycznych renegatów”, od których zależy postęp moralny. Na nowo odczytuje polską rewolucję godności z lat 1976–1989: okres wyjątkowego „drugiego renesansu” w Europie, powrotu do ideałów godności, altruizmu, odwagi i współczucia. Pyta, jak wcześniejsze sposoby walki z autorytaryzmem mają się do XXI-wiecznych fejsbukowych rewolucji. Porównuje je z siłą przepływów cyfrowych, które napędzają współczesne „sieci oburzenia i nadziei”. Pokazuje, że rewolucja godności ma swego mrocznego sobowtóra: populizm, który obiecuje przywrócenie narodowej dumy i wielkości za cenę nowego autorytarnego zniewolenia.„W czasach, gdy pojęcie populizmu nabrało tak negatywnych konotacji, dobrze jest przypomnieć sobie jego emancypacyjne, postępowe oblicze. To książka, która mogłaby dać nadzieję George'owi Orwellowi”.Roger Griffin, prof. historii i politologii, Oxford Brookes University
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Online social networks are used by everyone in our everyday lives, including by malicious actors and organisations. Previous work has characterised the specific online behaviour of Middle East-based terror groups. However, this behaviour is constantly evolving, as a response to events such as the battle of Mosul and also due to the strengthening of the platforms’ moderation rules. Terror groups target social media platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, and Discord, and while their past behavioural patterns and narrative strategies have been well documented, the adaptive nature of these groups require continuous analysis of their online presence.
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This report is an explorative analysis of abusive messages targeting Finnish ministers on the social media platform Twitter. The purpose of this study is to understand the scope of politically motivated abusive language on Finnish Twitter, and to determine if, and to what extent, it is perpetrated by inauthentic accounts. To this end, we developed a mixed methodology, combining AI-driven quantitative visualisations of the networks delivering messages of abuse with a qualitative analysis of the messages in order to understand the themes and triggers of abusive activity. We collected Twitter data between 12 March and 27 July 2020, a period spanning the state of emergency declared in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This report is informed by the findings of three recent Finnish studies, one of which investigated the extent and effects of online hate speech against politicians while the other two studied the use of bots to influence political discourse during the 2019 Finnish parliamentary elections.
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