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| 1 |
ID:
131480
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The role and incidence of the Ahmadiya community in Israeli society, with its around 2,000 members, is not related to the dimension of the community, its religious activities or its dissemination on the territory. It is related to the strong social and political engagement of the community not only in religious but also in civil society activities where it resides, despite all the difficulties that derive from its disputed role in Islam. The Ahmadiyya community in Haifa constitutes a relevant example of contribution to peaceful and productive coexistence. Haifa itself is characterized by a very interesting social and political climate, by which it is considered a "model" of coexistence in Israel, despite the fact that many contrasts and contradictions persist, such as forms of discrimination and inequalities. The civil society is particularly active, and institutions and NGOs devoted to the Arab-Jewish dialogue are many. Religious and political leaders communicate and participate together in various events, where their openness and mutual respect are intended to symbolize harmony with the intent of this being mirrored by the whole society. The Ahmadiyya Community plays an active role in this evolving process. The author, who has carried out qualitative research in Haifa to film a scientific documentary on the Holiday of Holidays and the validity of the Haifa model of coexistence, applied participant observation in the framework of grounded theory to analyze the role and impact of the Ahmadiyya community in the complex Israeli context, also on the basis of extensive in depth interviews with community members and leaders
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| 2 |
ID:
131895
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has recently made numerous commitments to engage civil society organizations (CSOs) in its governance practices. However, the opportunities created offer limited means for CSOs to contest policy as a result of strict controls over who can participate and the forms of participation permitted. Activists have consequently pursued their agendas outside of spaces sanctioned by ASEAN through 'created spaces,' such as conferences organized parallel to official summits. However, this form of political participation has limited potential to influence official processes because despite its independence, these activities are still structured in relation to ASEAN practices. The ineffectual nature of CSO advocacy despite ASEAN's people-orientated shift has been documented, however explanations for this trend remain limited. This article applies the modes of political participation framework that acknowledges the role of intergovernmental organizations in structuring spaces for civil society participation and, in doing so, shaping the contribution that CSOs can make. Through an examination of the regulations and practices that govern CSO participation in both ASEAN-sanctioned and independent spaces, it argues that spaces for CSO participation are structured to prevent CSOs from contesting policy, suggesting that ASEAN's shift to widen participation is directed towards legitimating its reform agenda. Hence, ASEAN's claim of becoming 'people oriented' must be considered in recognition of the limiting effect its engagement practices have on CSOs' ability to advance alternative agendas.
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| 3 |
ID:
130610
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
As part of its new strategy of "retuming to the Asia-Pacific region", the A Obama administration has adopted some tough economic policies towards China, notably promoting the Trans-Paci?c Partnership (TPP) and attempting to establish new rules of international trade and investment aimed at strengthening economic ties with other Western countries through the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement(TTlP ), both of which tend to compress the geopolitical space for China's economic rise. The administration is also using a 'green barrier' to suppress the development of China's high-tech industry, and using economic diplomacy and investment restrictions against Chinese state-owned enterprises. This paper seeks to examine and analyze the causes of shifts in the U .S. economic strategy towards China.
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| 4 |
ID:
132471
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The recent protests show that secure democracy and an absence of extremism are no guarantee of domestic stability.
On 26 May 2014, just a few weeks ahead of the World Cup, an angry crowd surrounded the Brazilian football team in Rio de Janeiro. Striking teachers attacked the team bus as it left the city's international airport, protesting the government's vast expenditure on preparations for the event and neglect of the education system. Heavily armed military police were called in to clear a path for the vehicle, and have followed the players ever since. For many Brazilians, passion for football was supplanted by demands for better infrastructure, salaries and quality of life: the 12 June Brazil-Croatia game that opened the tournament followed a year in which one person was killed and hundreds were estimated to have been injured in demonstrations around the country. This article went to press before the four-week-long competition had finished; football mania was at the time returning to Brazil. The country's mood was likely to be affected by the final result.
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| 5 |
ID:
133468
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the Japanese cat café boom, which peaked in 2009 yet remains a significant retail phenomenon throughout Japan, and in particular Tokyo. How do humans encounter animals in contemporary Japan, not as private owners and companions, but as consumers seeking direct, sensory engagement with cats at a moment of profound social and economic anxieties? Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Tokyo, this article examines how cats have become a newly emergent commodity within the 'healing boom' that first emerged in recessionary-era 1990s Japan. Such healing commodities - therapeutic music, aromatherapy, robot interaction, among others - are designed to invoke an affective engagement with the consumer in order to cope with the uncertain and stressful conditions of life in still recessionary, and now post 3/11, Japan. I situate cat cafés within the increasing immaterialization of the economy in post-bubble Japan during which social relationships have become commodified and marketed to those who can afford it. Cats are the affective object through which patrons seek a sense of healing and relaxation.
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| 6 |
ID:
133054
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
How to deal with China has been a problem for the Indian diplomacy trom the day the People's Liberation Army entered Eastern Tibet in October 1950. South Block (both the Ministry of External Attairs and Detence) has otten been on the wrong side at history, especially during the bhai-bhai era, What can be done to give a tresh impetus to India's engagement with Beijing, while dealing in a more appropriate way with China?
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| 7 |
ID:
106072
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| 8 |
ID:
105446
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2011.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The challenges of teaching introductory-level U.S. politics to reluctant audiences are well known and widely lamented. This article investigates the pedagogical potential of political satire, specifically The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, in engaging students in this tough-to-teach course. Based on a review of available literature and student survey data from the fall 2008 term, I argue that using this popular program in the classroom can enhance an introductory U.S. politics course. A review of both these survey data and student papers based on the program suggests promising possibilities for encouraging students' political engagement and critical-thinking skills. This preliminary examination demonstrates that further study on the program's potential both for student engagement and student learning outcomes is warranted.
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| 9 |
ID:
132525
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This research focuses on the European Union's (EU) public relations and public diplomacy efforts for immigrant integration. It uncovers the relationship between the EU and leaders of Turkish associations in Brussels, Belgium. In-depth interviews with Turkish association leaders reveal the way they see themselves and the Turkish diaspora, how they reflect on their national identities, and their understanding of EU public diplomacy and public relations strategies. The communication strategies Turkish associations use to gather information about immigrant integration and their opinions on EU communication strategies are also studied. In addition, the research investigates whether two-way communication exists between the Turkish associations and the EU, and unveils the strategic communication and public relations strategies the Turkish diaspora uses to influence public policy and to engage in lobbying.
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| 10 |
ID:
147051
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Existing studies of income inequality and political participation—including related literature, for example, on preferences for redistribution—leave us with the question of whether citizens see political democracy as offering ways to challenge market inequalities. Using original surveys in 13 Central and Eastern European countries, I find that those who see high and undesirable levels of income inequality have stronger demands for popular democratic participation than those who do not. In addition, neither the aggregate levels of support for political engagement nor individuals’ perceptions of inequality are coordinated with either national-level indicators of income inequality or democratic performance.
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| 11 |
ID:
132945
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Based on primary source materials from the Georgian Party archive and periodical press, this article examines the conflict between central and local elites in the Soviet Republic of Georgia over whether or not to grant linguistic and territorial rights to residents of one of its regions. The case demonstrates how the promises and aspirations of Soviet nationality policy were actually negotiated and interpreted on the local level in the early years of Soviet power, and how actors attempted to make use of nationality policy in order to mobilise the institutional resources available to them.
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| 12 |
ID:
131445
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| Publication |
2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In September 2014 the people of Scotland will vote on whether to become an independent nation, with the defence and security of Scotland proving to be one of the more vociferous areas of debate. This article argues that defence and security implications of this referendum are far more fundamental than either the 'yes' or 'no' campaigns have admitted. It makes four points. First, it suggests that the Scottish government's plans for defence and security in NATO and the EU are at odds with its proposed armed forces and that Scotland may well find itself having to make far greater commitments to defence to assure its allies. Second, it argues that a vote for independence will represent a game-changing event for the remainder of the United Kingdom's defence and security, which will have significant consequences for the United Kingdom's partners and allies in NATO, the European Union and elsewhere. Third, the article contends that even a vote against independence will have a long-term impact, in that the 'West Lothian question' and Scottish support for nuclear disarmament influence the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review. Finally, the article highlights how this issue has revealed weaknesses in the think-tank and academic communities, particularly in Scotland. The independence vote does, therefore, represent 'more than a storm in a tea cup' and thus there needs to be far greater engagement with these issues within the United Kingdom and elsewhere
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| 13 |
ID:
114946
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2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This essay examines the new forms of civic and political engagement that the increasing accessibility of internet-based media has precipitated in the Bulgarian context. It discusses the results of three case studies which focus respectively on online forum discussions of a significant political event; a campaign of eco-protests; and the activism emerging from a website and forum dedicated to motherhood. The essay argues that new media have brought civic and political issues and the possibility to deliberate and act on them into the everyday lives of Bulgarians. As a result, the voice of Bulgarian civil society has grown stronger and has been able to penetrate the sphere of formal politics, sometimes with important consequences.
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| 14 |
ID:
089024
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2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article considers the nature of the Civil Defence Forces (CDF) in Sierra Leone as a fighting force, and some of the challenges they faced for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR), as well as the challenges posed by a group like the CDF to the DDR process. It considers some initiatives to educate the fighters about democracy, reconciliation and their associated responsibilities that began already during the civil war, as well as mechanisms that were created for the peaceful resolution of conflict by the CDF. Part of these initiatives have survived into the post-conflict period and continues to provide access to redress, but also a framework for political engagement. The article also considers how some of these initiatives undertaken during the war helped facilitate the transformation of the CDF into active civilian members of society, drawing some conclusions from this case for political enfranchisement more broadly.
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| 15 |
ID:
131787
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article traces political and institutional developments in the Republic of Georgia after the Rose Revolution. Particular focus is placed on efforts by Georgian policy-makers to align Georgian political institutions with Western models. Drawing on the concept of policy transfer, the author demonstrates various pitfalls in this process. Based on the gathered evidence, it appears that Georgian policy-makers engaged in various processes of 'incomplete transfer', compounded by a lack of understanding or deliberately false conceptions of Western institutions. Despite democratic rhetoric and interlinkages with the West, Georgia moved to a novel form of 'hyper-presidentialism' and dismantled institutional checks and balances. Hence, the Rose Revolution initially served to reinforce the already existing institutions of 'patronal presidentialism' through a series of misguided institutional modifications. The author also discusses the outcome of the recent parliamentary and presidential elections, which may have ironically and accidentally further democratised the country.
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| 16 |
ID:
170474
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| Summary/Abstract |
Little research has been done on political dynamics within the Christian community in Pakistan itself, a lacuna I begin to address through survey research among Christian and Muslim students in Lahore. I ground this study in a detailed discussion of the existing literature on Pakistan, and comparative political research on national attachment of minorities elsewhere. I am particularly interested in assessing to what extent Christian students in Lahore have a strong sense of belonging and connection to the national community or feel marginalised from it. In fact, I find that Christians do have a strong sense of connection to their Pakistani identity, but are more inclined toward military rule and less interested in and knowledgeable about politics than their Muslim counterparts. Intra-Christian differences based on income level and denomination are apparent as well: Christian students from wealthier backgrounds have higher levels of political interest and knowledge, whereas poorer students and those affiliated with Pentecostal denominations have less political engagement but higher levels of nationalism.
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| 17 |
ID:
131796
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
In recent years South African cities have become home to a large number of undocumented migrant workers. If trade unions do not organise undocumented migrant workers, it opens up such workers to exploitation and maltreatment by employers, thereby creating a split labour market that undermines the entire labour movement. This article focuses on the responses of the national trade union movement in the private security sector to the presence of undocumented workers at the grassroots level. Using a case study approach, we find that the pressures of labour market informalisation in the industry prompt unions to seek to maintain and advance their position from their traditional support base of citizen workers rather than attempt to include new groups. The failure to engage is reinforced by anti-immigrant attitudes which link foreigners with problems in the industry such as low wages and portrays such workers as co-conspirators rather than comrades. While justice and solidarity have always been the foundation of trade unionism in South Africa, the movement is in danger of failing this test if the current situation in terms of the exclusion of undocumented foreign workers persists.
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| 18 |
ID:
127762
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
During the progressive decade of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun governments (1998-2007), South Korea actively pursued an engagement policy with North Korea that aimed to facilitate de facto unification by means of exchanges and cooperation, trust-building, and peaceful coexistence. But the engagement policy has been subject to harsh criticism for its silence over human rights conditions in North Korea. This article looks into the nature of conservative critiques of the engagement policy on the human rights front and elucidates how its proponents have responded. Attention is given to how the trade-off between peace and human rights, as well as that between basic human needs and human rights, constrained their open pursuit of a human rights campaign against North Korea. Also examined is their belief that democracy and human rights should not be imposed from the outside and that North Koreans should win them through struggle from within. For conservatives, hard-line pressures are of limited utility, and opening and reform, the introduction of market system, the expansion of civil society, and the advent of the middle class through the engagement policy are the best ways, albeit time consuming, to enhance human rights and democracy in the North. Finally, the authors critically assess recent debates on the North Korean Human Rights Act in the South Korea's National Assembly as a way of exploring the limits and promise of the engagement policy.
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| 19 |
ID:
132943
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
The article assesses the state of political participation in Central and East European post-communist democracies. Incorporating the most recent data, it compares the emerging trends in political participation to those observed in the established democracies of Western Europe. The findings reveal that post-communist citizens participate substantially less than their Western counterparts, and, contrary to some expectations, no convergence has been taking place. This is due to a host of factors, the importance of which seems to vary according to the type of political activity. It is subsequently shown that while political participation is lower than in Western Europe, it is not markedly more biased. The poor state of political participation therefore does not appear to seriously undermine the quality of the post-communist democratic process.
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| 20 |
ID:
133124
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2014.
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| Summary/Abstract |
Talk of the rule of law is today ubiquitous in Myanmar. But what does the rule of law mean? And what does it have to do with the country's nascent democratization? One way to conceptualize the rule of law is in terms of substantive legal equality. Burmese farmers and activists mobilizing through the lexicon of law to defend agricultural land against intrusive state projects engage with the rule of law in this sense. Another way is as a language of public and state security. Demands for the rule of law in response to violence in Myanmar's west correspond with this usage. Whereas in established democracies the rule of law as equality complements the rule of law as security, in a democratizing state the two are not necessarily compatible. The rule of law as an idea associated with substantive legal equality contributes to Myanmar's democratization, whereas when associated with public and state security it potentially undermines that democratization.
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