The Fear to Talk

Author(s): Adriana Sotirova / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2018

This paper deals with one of the most controversial phenomena of modern society – political correctness, manifested in language and behaviour. It focuses on the restrictions which it imposes on people’s social and cultural life, the bans that are enforced against a particular language and the possible prosecution in case of refusal to use politically correct language. It deals with facts that show arising dominance of minority groups over the majority.

DETERMINANTS AND IMPACTS OF POLITICS OF GODFATHERISM AND REGIONALISM IN THE YOBE STATE

Author(s): Mustapha Alhaji Ali,Hadiza Mali Bukar,Abdulkarim Babagana / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

The politics of godfatherism and regionalism has become a phenomenon in the political development of many nations Nigeria inclusive. The paper examined the determinants and impacts of politics of godson and regionalism in Yobe state. Indeed, the politics of godson or the elites have entered every hook and crannies of the state and have affected the political arrangement of the political system. The paper is qualitative in nature, data were generated from secondary sources where several related articles, newspapers, magazines, books were consulted etc. In explaining the topic under study, the researcher adopted Elite theory. This theory was propounded by Vilfredo Pareto in 1935, the postulation of the theory is that elites could only be replaced by another set of elites, meaning that the majority are unavoidably governed by the minority. The study found that the politics of godfatherism courses and affect the political development of Yobe state by restricting power in the hands of the few, in a specific geopolitical zone of the state. This has leads to inter-party and intra-party defections, decamping and conflicts among the party members. Therefore, the study recommends the adoption of the direct primary election in chosen candidate in all level of governance. INEC should also make a law that will discourage money politics and punish culpritinvolved in such an illegal act. To minimize the politics of Godfatherism, there is a need for political awareness campaigns on the effects of political godson on the political development of the state.

THE REFUGEE CRISIS, BREXIT AND THE RISE OF POPULISM: MAJOR OBSTACLES TO THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION PROCESS

Author(s): Valeri Modebadze / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2019

This article describes the main challenges that the European Union is facing over the last years. It also analyzes the European Integration process and the emergence of the European Union. European integration process began after the Second World War. European politicians realized that “the old continent”, which was destroyed and razed to the ground, needed unification in order to play more important role in the bipolar international system. The European integration was a step by step process, which reached its culmination after signing the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, when the European Union was formally established. The European Union created very favorable ground for free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the internal market. Despite these positive developments, new threats emerged over the last years that can put an end to the European integration process. From these threats and challenges, particular attention is dedicated to Britain’s exit from the European Union (Brexit), rise of radicalism and populist parties, migration crisis and a heightened terrorism threat.

SOFT POWER CONTEXT OF CHINESE INVESTMENTS TO THE EUROPEAN UNION: CHALLENGES VS. OPPORTUNITIES

Author(s): Daniela Cvetanovska / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

This paper presents a constructivist take on soft power, by analyzing the contextual factors which influence Chinese investments (COFDI) to the EU as a relevant soft power resource. The contextual analysis shows which constraining and stimulating (internal and external) factors condition COFDI in leveraging soft power for China. Additionally, the article provides solutions for soft power optimization, since soft power resources aim to entice and foster cooperative relations toward a ‘win-win’ behavior. The issues presented here have profound implications for future studies on soft power and the political economy of Chinese investments in the EU.

National identification in a democratic society. A view from the psychosocial perspective

Author(s): Piotr Radkiewicz / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

As some researchers note, national identity is probably the only form of identity forwhich people are ready to give their own lives. Deprived of the experience of personalcontact, the strong sense of belonging to the national group must consist of imagining oneself as entwined with crowds of anonymous compatriots in an invisible, butrealistically experienced bond. Though, the concepts of national identity and national identification are often treated interchangeably. they are not equivalent. Group identitymeans the fact of belonging to a specific group, combined with having its cognitive representation. Identification refers to the individual-group personal relationship, and describes the strength of the emotional bond felt with other members and the importance of a given group identity. This paper presents psychological origins of national identification, linking them to the deepest and most basic epistemic, motivational and existential human needs. Awareness of identification with the national group determines the whole range of psychological phenomena from various levels of analysis. From relatively simple manifestations of affect to complex ideological orientations – they all have specific relationships with how people understand democracy and what type of democracy they prefer. The empirical evidence cited in this text proves that the strengthening of the liberal democracy and its cultural values is accompanied by the devaluation of national/patriotic identification in the utilitarian (as a socially dysfunctional phenomenon) as well as in moral sense (as a source of hostility and intolerance). However, other empirical results show national identification as a necessary component of social bonds, and a basis of social mobilization around important collective goals.

Tranzycja demokratyczna z „fałszywej demokracji”. Czy nowy paradygmat tranzycyjny?.

Author(s): Bartłomiej Nowotarski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

„The third wave” of democratization had a real challenge: to disarm brutal dictatorships and enable the process of building the institutions of the liberal democracy. Political scientists scrutinized the process of democratization and created its transitional paradigm. Unfortunately, as the paradigm and the democratization process failed (the so called „fake democracies” emerged), the proponents of the liberal democracy faced a new challenge: to turn back the trends of democratic erosions and to build a more sustainable,post-liberal democracy in the future. The important question remains: what kind of a new paradigm would best encompass contemporary challenges? This essay aims at drawing such a new paradigm referring to likely transitional strategies that may end up in new kind of democratic settings (also in a form of „fake democracies”). To come up with new schemes failed transitions and new trends are discussed.

Długi marsz przez instytucje kultury. Polityka Zjednoczonej Prawicy a wymiana elit w nowym ładzie kulturalnym państwa po roku 2015

Author(s): Piotr Kulas,Paweł Śpiewak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

This text aims to analyse the project of elite change implemented by the United Right in Poland in the field of cultural production. The authors argue that culture is recognized by right-wing politicians and intellectuals as a particularly important way of legitimizing its domination also in other fields. The special role of culture can be interpreted by the nature of the public sphere in Poland and the importance of the intelligentsia, who converted cultural capital into other types of capital (the political, the social, and especially the symbolic capital). The authors argue that the replacement of cultural elites serves the revision of history and assertion of power. Although, the elite change project is conducted not only within the cultural field, however, the latter is seen as a particularly important for the right-wing intelligentsia. We argue, that this exchange is based on the long-formulated announcements and is justified by the right-wing intellectuals and politicians who argue for a traditional, Polish model of culture. However, it also conceals political goals. The main goals of the replacement are to change the old elites with people favouring new order and, in the long run, to form right-wing elites, who, referring to the one-dimensional model of culture, will play a hegemonic role in the social life.

Percepcja zagrożeń terrorystycznych w Polsce oraz w Wielkiej Brytanii w XXI wieku na tle analizy orzecznictwa sądów i trybunałów

Author(s): Cezary Golędzinowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

The subject of the article is the assessment of statistical data on the operational activity of British and Polish secret services against the background of perception of terrorist threats and current case law of courts and tribunals. The purpose of the article is to present a socially important problem, which is the correlation between the perception of terrorist threats by citizens and their awareness of the degree of violation of human and civil rights and freedoms in the name of combating terrorism. The main research methods used in this work include the dogmatic and legal methods and statistical data analysis. The conclusions of the conducted research are observations of changes in the perception of terrorist threats, which result to a large extent from the problem of the migration crisis and from the experience of a given country in carrying out terrorist attacks on their territory. The article, through the analysis of domestic and international case law, indicates the need for further development of research on limiting the rights and freedoms of the individual in order to ensure security.

The US 2020 Election and Learning from History

Author(s): Adam Przeworski / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

The US 2020 presidential election constitutes an anomaly for the general paradigm of learning from history that organizes cross-national research in politics. Was it a unique event that can be ignored or must we consider that history is no longer a reliable guide?

Neoautorytaryzm: źródła psychologiczne

Author(s): Janusz Reykowski / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

During the last two decades, we are facing in liberal democracies various manifestations of a political crisis. The advanced forms of this crisis has been described by JerzyJ. Wiatr as new authoritarianism. It can be explained as a consequence of the development of antidemocratic political movements that are obtaining the increasingsupport of electorates in Europe and elsewhere. In this paper, two main causes of these processes are discussed: the imbalances in various spheres of the contemporary world – in political, economic, sociocultural spheres, in environment and climate as well as the sociopsychological consequences of these imbalances. Their main sociopsychological consequence in societies is the spreading of the sense of epistemic, existential andcultural (symbolic) threat. Psychological research indicates that the frequent reaction to such threats is the increase of conservatism and Right Wing Authoritarianism. Such reactions may have deep sources in some basic characteristics of a homo sapiens but they are not inevitable effects of the threats. In this paper, an effort is made to explain why in the contemporary world these psychological reactions to threats can be highly maladaptive.

Podział postkomunistyczny do ponownego przeanalizowania. Teoria – historia – struktura społeczna

Author(s): Mirosława Grabowska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

Lipset and Rokkan’s theory of cleavages as well as its interpretation and continuation of Bartolini and Mair became the basis for formulating the concept of the communist and post-communist cleavage. The concept of the post-communist cleavage gained solid empirical confirmation for the period from 1989 to the middle of the parliamentary term of 2001–2005. However, significant changes have taken place on the Polish political scene since then. The article, referring to the indicated authors, attempts to answer the question whether the post-communist cleavage in Poland lasts and if it will stay. The analysis focuses on the crisis of the post-communist side and the conflict on the post-Solidarity side of the cleavage. Empirical analyses show that as a result of the political conflict, the electorates of the two post-Solidarity parties – Civic Platform and Law and Justice – have clearly grown apart, and that the post-communist side is also divided, certainly on the level of political parties. The article describes various possibilities of a further development of the socio-political situation, but does not propose a definitive answer to the question of what to do with the post-communist division in Poland.

#METOO AND US POLITICS: ANALYSING THE TWITTER CONVERSATION

Author(s): Vittoria Bernardini / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

The #MeToo movement has had a profound cultural impact on US society, and notably on US party politics. While many studies have addressed the #MeToo-related controversy arising from the Brett Kavanaugh nomination to Supreme Court Justice in 2018, the relationship between #MeToo and US politics before this event has remained understudied. This article, therefore, addresses this gap by looking at the role of politics at the beginning of the #MeToo movement. Focusing on the first six months of online activity on Twitter (October 2017 – April 2018), over 2 million tweets with the #MeToo hashtag are analyzed to identify the main activity patterns across the dataset and to gain insight on user behavior and participation in the conversation. Results point to the weaponization of #MeToo in the political context from its inception. It is suggested that #MeToo reflects the polarized political climate in the US and that it can be conceptualized as part of the wider “culture wars” (Hunter 1991) that characterize the public debate.

SCOPE OF MEDIA ADVOCACY DURING COVID-19: A SELECTED CASE STUDY IN KOLKATA

Author(s): Rajesh Das,Ipsita Banerjee / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2021

The spread of the Covid-19 has presented an unparalleled challenge for media management as well as for the media content. The pattern of daily life changed due to the excessive use of media. India, as a nation has been in the third position worldwide, many deaths during a pandemic are concerned. Kolkata being one of the metro cities of the country has not been exempted. The regional media content perceived a knowledge gap with the highest circulated national daily of the country. The changed media content, and audience perception towards the change, and the need for media advocacy during any health crisis in general and Covid-19 in particular, is studied in this paper using a mixed approach of both quantitative and qualitative. The discourse analysis of the newspapers in a constructed week format, representing a six months study during the pandemic, and the primary data from the audience suggested the behavior change and attitude formation through media, in this unique study.

“Central and Eastern Europe after the First World War”. Edited by Burkhard Olschowsky, Piotr Juszkiewicz, and Jan Rydel. De Gruyter, Olderbourg. 2021. 435p.

Author(s): Paul Popa / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

Local culture and behaviour intention to adopt e-government

Author(s): Muhammad Iqbal,Cyprien Genie / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2022

In general, the basic concept of various theories of E-government adoption is individual reaction to use E-government as an independent variable, then intention (behavioral intention) to use E-government as an intermediary variable. The development of e-government adoption theory is developing dynamically. Scholars have developed several models to find out more about the reasons for individuals to accept and use technology and to find out what factors have a significant influence. In this paper, the author will discuss the theory of The unified model of e-government adoption (UMEGA) by adding the variables Perceived Enjoyment (TAM 3) and Habit (UTAUT 2). These variables measure internal factors and external factors that in previous studies had a high level of influence on the use of e-government. The finding in this study is that the social influence variable has a significant impact on attitudes to using e-government. More specifically, local culture is one factor that also has an inhibiting effect on the implementation of e-government. People prefer to use offline services compared to online/e-service/e-government services. This is because the public is worried about the risks experienced, such as data security, the possibility of system failure in public services, and other risk issues that develop in the community. In addition, the community also prefers to come directly to the service office due to public trust related to local cultures, such as (Ewuh Pakewuh, desire to stay in touch with other visitors, shy culture, etc.). If it is assumed, local culture, especially in Yogyakarta, is contrary to the culture of applying technology widely adopted by western countries, which are more open to modern culture, especially technology.

ANALYSIS OF THE INTEGRITY INDEX FOR PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS IN THE ALBANIAN DEVELOPING REPRESENTATIVE DEMOCRACY

Author(s): Andon Kume / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

This research aimed to analyze the Albanian parliamentary elections held in 2013, 2017, and 2021 in order to evaluate the process of development of representative democracy in Albania, one of the post-communist countries of the Western Balkans. The analysis was based on assessing the dynamics of the Electoral Integrity Index (PEI) as a quantitative indicator that reflects the level of fulfillment of international standards for democratic elections. The PEI was evaluated using the average perception values for 11 indicators reflecting the election process. Based on the value of the PEI2013 (54.1 scores), PEI2017 (53.3 scores), and PEI2021 (57.7 scores), the parliamentary elections in Albania were considered as processes that do not exceed the ‘moderate’ level. The non-significant difference between 2013, 2017, and 2021 PEI (p>0.05) demonstrated low progress in developing democratic performances in Albanian society.

TURKEY’S SOFT POWER POLICY TOWARDS THE BALKANS: CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

Author(s): Muhamed Ali / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2022

The Balkans is considered a vital area in international relations. It has always attracted and is still attracting the interest of global and regional powers and factors on the international stage, including Turkey. Besides the political, economic, and defense aspects, the soft power of Turkish multidimensional diplomacy represents one of the most important segments of the relations between Turkey and the Balkan countries. Turkish government institutions like the Diyanet (Presidency of Religious Affairs), Yunus Emre, Presidency for Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), TIKA, Turkish State Media, Maarif education institutions, and various non-governmental organizations represent some of the most vital segments of the cultural, religious and educational expansion of the Turkish state in the Balkan countries. This paper is mainly based on the following research methods: historical, descriptive, and in-depth analysis. This study aims to answer the main question of this research - Do the above-mentioned soft power policy tools play a vital role in the further development of Turkey-Balkan countries relations? This paper concludes that the Turkish soft power policy in the Balkans faces a series of challenges that affect its expansion's functionality and success.

SPECIFIC PROJECTION OF CHINA’S SOFT POWER IN AFRICA: A NEW SECURITY PARADIGM

Author(s): Dusko Tomic,Eldar Saljic,Mohamed Badine El Yattioui / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2022

According to the International Monetary Fund, the People’s Republic of China is nowadays the largest economic power in the world. Therefore, it is unsurprising that China was represented in nearly every global market. Contrary to the belief that Chinese investments in underdeveloped countries should lead to their development and improvements in standards, Peking was accused of using the countries in development to strengthen its economy and to increase its political influence. The modus operandi was allegedly a striking example of projecting soft power in the expansion of hard power in many regions worldwide. The combination of economy, trade, investments and security questions was clear. This phenomenon was evident in Africa because China had a special and robust economic and geostrategic interest in this region. This research critically analyzed how this strategy can be considered a new security paradigm. In addition, there was a straightforward project from the Chinese government to extend this model to other regions to obtain global leadership.

ELECTORAL BONDS: A PERIL TO DEMOCRACY AND TRANSPARENT ELECTIONS IN INDIA

Author(s): D. Ananda / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

A democracy is built on free and fair elections. India is one of the world's most populous democratic countries. In 2018, the Indian government launched a new electoral bonds scheme to fund elections. Electoral bonds influence election funding and make it easier for corporate entities to conceal political donations by concealing the bond’s buyer and beneficiary details. The new electoral bonds scheme lures companies and facilitates money laundering. The present article critically evaluates the electoral bonds scheme by analyzing the various acts and statutes. However, the Indian judiciary evaded its role as guardian of the constitution and final interpreter of the constitution by not deciding the cases pending in court. The scheme provides an unfair advantage to the ruling party. Anonymity and secrecy harm accountability in a democracy. The new election funding scheme undermines transparency and fair elections. This new election funding scheme has exacerbated the situation in Indian democracy. This new mechanism of election funding keeps voters in the dark about whether the governing party favors corporate donations.

PROCESS TRACING AND PROFESSIONALIZATION OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

Author(s): Pratyush Paras Sarma / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2023

Recent years have witnessed a significant inner transformation among political parties in both developed and developing democracies of the world. Different factors, such as changes in the structure of the media environment owing to the technological boom in the last two decades and changes in voting behavior, led to the transformation of the political parties in different democracies worldwide. Therefore, studying the patterns of this transformation has become an integral part of the current political science research. Early studies have demonstrated the indexes based on professionalization. However, limited studies have tried to examine the process of transformation relating to professionalization and are almost missing from the studies based on non-western democracies like India. Therefore, against this backdrop, this study tries to expand the literature by providing a theoretical framework consisting of causal mechanisms which would explain the process of professionalization of campaigns with special reference to Indian elections through the theory testing method of process tracing. The framework has been provided in a series of causal mechanisms to answer how the considered individual variables react when they come in contact. This paper concludes by justifying the conceptual framework of professionalization.