Search results for: political executives
2339 Youth and Conflict in Pakistan: Understanding Causes and Promoting Peace
Authors: Irfan Khan
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Both the analytical methods used to understand the phenomena of peacebuilding and the ensuing viewpoints on achieving and sustaining "sustainable peace" are broad and diverse. This new field of study draws from sociology, anthropology, political theory, and political economy, psychology, international relations, and more recently, the development sciences to examine the wide range of 'conflicts' it describes. This paper emphasizes the significance of investigating the causes of juvenile disputes. It explains how police corruption encourages youth crime and why it's so important to address this issue head-on. It also examines the historical foundations and external pressures that have increased religious extremism and sectarian strife in Pakistan. The primary argument is that peace is not only a desirable 'goal' in itself but also that it may be a means to achieve political stability and long-term prosperity. Strategies for constructing peace may take many shapes, each tailored to the specifics of a given conflict, its scope, and the individuals involved. By drawing on some existing literature and applying it to the situation in Pakistan, this article proposes a viewpoint that centers on the participation of young people in the peacebuilding process. Due to their enhanced susceptibility and penchant for demanding change, young people are more likely to get involved in a conflict when economic failure and unemployment are present. The piece also emphasizes the marginalization young people experience as a result of their absence from decision-making processes and the political system. The article claims that Pakistan's rapidly growing young population presents a significant chance for a long-term "demographic dividend" in the form of improvements in peacebuilding processes. This benefit will only materialize if serious steps are taken to increase young people's voice and agency in political decision-making.Keywords: peacebuilding, youth-led initiatives, empowerment, conflict & violence, religious extremism, political involvement, decision-making
Procedia PDF Downloads 612338 Crime Victim Support Services in Bangladesh: An Analysis
Authors: Mohammad Shahjahan, Md. Monoarul Haque
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In the research work information and data were collected from both types of sources, direct and indirect. Numerological, qualitative and participatory analysis methods have been followed. There were two principal sources of collecting information and data. Firstly, the data provided by the service recipients (300 nos. of women and children victims) in the Victim Support Centre and service providing policemen, executives and staffs (60 nos.). Secondly, data collected from Specialists, Criminologists and Sociologists involved in victim support services through Consultative Interview, KII, Case Study and FGD etc. The initial data collection has been completed with the help of questionnaires as per strategic variations and with the help of guidelines. It is to be noted that the main objective of this research was to determine whether services provided to the victims for their facilities, treatment/medication and rehabilitation by different government/non-government organizations was veritable at all. At the same time socio-economic background and demographic characteristics of the victims have also been revealed through this research. The results of the study show that although the number of victims has increased gradually due to socio-economic, political and cultural realities in Bangladesh, the number of victim support centers has not increased as expected. Awareness among the victims about the effectiveness of the 8 centers working in this regard is also not up to the mark. Two thirds of the victims coming to get service were not cognizant regarding the victim support services at all before getting the service. Most of those who have finally been able to come under the services of the Victim Support Center through various means, have received sheltering (15.5%), medical services (13.32%), counseling services (13.10%) and legal aid (12.66%). The opportunity to stay in security custody and psycho-physical services were also notable. Usually, women and children from relatively poor and marginalized families of the society come to victim support center for getting services. Among the women, young unmarried women are the biggest victims of crime. Again, women and children employed as domestic workers are more affected. A number of serious negative impacts fall on the lives of the victims. Being deprived of employment opportunities (26.62%), suffering from psycho-somatic disorder (20.27%), carrying sexually transmitted diseases (13.92%) are among them. It seems apparent to urgently enact distinct legislation, increase the number of Victim Support Centers, expand the area and purview of services and take initiative to increase public awareness and to create mass movement.Keywords: crime, victim, support, Bangladesh
Procedia PDF Downloads 842337 Africa as Endemically a War Continent: Explaining the Changing Pattern of Armed Conflicts in Africa
Authors: Kenneth Azaigba
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The history of post-colonial African States has been dubbed a history of endemic warfare in existing literature. Indeed, Africa political environment is characterized by a multiplicity of threats to peace and security. Africa's leading drivers of conflict include abundant (especially mineral) resources, personal rule and attendant political authoritarianism, manipulation of identity politics across ethnicity, marginalization of communities, as well as electoral mal-practices resulting in contested legitimacy and resultant violence. However, the character of armed conflicts in Africa is changing. This paper attempts to reconstruct the trajectory of armed conflicts in Africa and explain the changing pattern of armed conflict. The paper contends that large scale political violence in Africa is on the decline rendering the endemic thesis an inappropriate paradigm in explaining political conflicts in Africa. The paper also posits that though small scale conflicts are springing up and exhibiting trans-border dimensions, these patterns of armed conflicts are not peculiar to Africa but emerging waves of global conflicts. The paper explains that the shift in the scale of warfare in Africa is a function of a multiplicity of post-cold war global contradictions. Inclusive governance, social justice and economic security are articulated as workable panaceas for mitigating warfare in Africa.Keywords: Africa, conflicts, pattern, war
Procedia PDF Downloads 3772336 Globalisation's Effect on Environmental Activism: A Multi-Level Analysis of Individuals in European Countries
Authors: Dafni Kalatzi Pantera
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How globalisation affects environmental activism? Existing research on this relationship focuses on the influence of the world polity on individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental movements. However, globalisation is a multidimensional process which promotes pro-environmental ideas through the world polity, but it also fosters economic growth which is considered antagonistic to the environment. This article models the way that globalisation as a whole affects individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental activism, and the main argument is that globalisation’s impact is conditional on political ideology. To test the above hypothesis, individual and country level data are used for European countries between 1981-2020. The results support the expectation of the article that although globalisation has a positive impact on individuals’ willingness to participate in environmental activism when it interacts with political ideology, its influence differs between ideological spectrums.Keywords: environmental activism, globalisation, political ideology, world polity
Procedia PDF Downloads 1902335 Casting Lots for Candidature in General Elections: An Un-Named Political System
Authors: Talib Jan Abasindhi
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Democracy has reached almost every nuke & corner of the globe. It is well embedded in the political systems found in the majority of the countries in the world. Political parties, their manifestos, and programs are educating their people for better democracy and good governance, as well as service delivery in many countries around the globe. Although democracy in Pakistan by itself is in its infancy stage, yet, there is a region consisting of three districts (administrative units) lying in the North of the country where democracy is yet unknown to a wide range of population bounded into a series of mountains from Himalayan and Karakuram ranges. Political parties are struggling now to get their roots in the area while disrupting the traditional and tribal electoral system prevailing in the region. This paper will shed light on an interesting subject of casting lots for nomination as candidatures for general and local bodies’ elections in Kohistani region in Pakistan. The people of wisdom and knowledge in the modern world deem such societies as uncivilized where these practices are found. No one can believe it in today’s world, yet, this practice has been common in Kohistani region over the past many decades, and there have been many reasons for this too. Through this paper, we shall not only make others aware of the process and procedure practiced in casting the lots in elections in democratic Pakistan, but rather we shall also talk about its very basic reasons and suggestions as a solution for this menace to be eliminated.Keywords: democracy, casting lots, governance, Kohistani region
Procedia PDF Downloads 662334 The Political Economy of Human Trafficking and Human Insecurity in Asia: The Case of Japan, Thailand and India
Authors: Mohammed Bashir Uddin
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Human trafficking remains as a persistent problem in many parts of the world. It is considered by many countries as an issue of a threat to national security. Border enforcement to prevent trafficking has been the main incentive, which eventually causes human insecurity for vulnerable people, especially for women. This research argues that focus needs to be placed on the political economy of trafficking, hence on the supply and demand sides of trafficking from a broader socio-economic perspective. Trafficking is a global phenomenon with its contemporary origins in the international capitalist market system. This research investigates particularly the supply-demand nexus on the backdrop of globalization and its impact on human security. It argues that the nexus varies across the countries, particularly the demand side. While prostitution has been the sole focus of the demand side in all countries in Asia, the paper argues that organ trade, bonded labor, cheap and exploitable labor through false recruitment (male trafficking) and adoption are some of the rising demands that explore new trends of trafficking, which could be better explained through international political economy (IPE). Following a qualitative research method, the paper argues that although demands vary in destination countries, they are the byproducts of IPE which have different socio-economic impacts both on trafficked individuals and the states.Keywords: globalization, human security, human trafficking, political economy
Procedia PDF Downloads 4642333 Social Media and Political Expression: Examining Affordances and Spiral of Silence Theories
Authors: Mustafa Oz
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This study compares how do people express their opinions on the Facebook versus on Twitter. It was sought to understand whether people were more willing to express their opinions on some social media channels than others. It was assumed that fear of isolation and affordances may influence users’ opinion expression behaviors on social media websites. Thus two most popular social media websites, Twitter and Facebook, were compared. This study aims to provide the comprehensive understanding of political expression on social media platforms. An online survey (N=535) was conducted to understand respondents’ opinion expression behaviors. Overall, the results suggested that people were more likely to express their opinion on Twitter than Facebook when they think the majority does not support their opinion. The study concluded that people operate differently on Facebook versus Twitter.Keywords: social media, spiral of silence, affordances, political expression
Procedia PDF Downloads 1322332 Societal Impacts of Algorithmic Recommendation System: Economy, International Relations, Political Ideologies, and Education
Authors: Maggie Shen
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Ever since the late 20th century, business giants have been competing to provide better experiences for their users. One way they strive to do so is through more efficiently connecting users with their goals, with recommendation systems that filter out unnecessary or less relevant information. Today’s top online platforms such as Amazon, Netflix, Airbnb, Tiktok, Facebook, and Google all utilize algorithmic recommender systems for different purposes—Product recommendation, movie recommendation, travel recommendation, relationship recommendation, etc. However, while bringing unprecedented convenience and efficiency, the prevalence of algorithmic recommendation systems also influences society in many ways. In using a variety of primary, secondary, and social media sources, this paper explores the impacts of algorithms, particularly algorithmic recommender systems, on different sectors of society. Four fields of interest will be specifically addressed in this paper: economy, international relations, political ideologies, and education.Keywords: algorithms, economy, international relations, political ideologies, education
Procedia PDF Downloads 1932331 Exploring the Development of Inter-State Relations under the Mechanism of the Hirschman Effect: A Case Study of Malaysia-China Relations in a Political Crisis (2020-2022)
Authors: Zhao Xinlei
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In general, interstate relations are diverse and include economic, political, military, and diplomatic. Therefore, by analyzing the development of the relationship between Malaysia and China, we can better verify how the Hirschman effect works between small countries and great powers. This paper mainly adopts qualitative research methods and uses Malaysia's 2020-2022 political crisis as a specific case to verify the practice of the Hirschman effect between small and large countries. In particular, the interest groups in small countries that are closely related to trade with extraordinary abilities, as the primary beneficiaries in the development of trade between the two countries, although they may use their resources to a certain extent to influence the decisions of small countries towards great powers, they do not fundamentally determine the small countries' response to large countries. In this process, the relative power asymmetry between states plays a dominant role, as small states lack trust and suspicion in political diplomacy towards large states based on the perception of threat arising from the relative power asymmetry. When developing bilateral relations with large countries, small states seek practical cooperation to promote economic and trade development but become more cautious in their political ties to avoid being caught in power struggles between large states or being controlled by them. The case of Malaysia-China relations also illustrates that despite the ongoing political crisis in Malaysia, which saw the country go through the transition from (Perikatan Nasional) PN to (Barisan Nasional) BN, different governments have maintained a pragmatic and proactive economic policy towards China to reduce suspicion and mistrust between the two countries in political and diplomatic affairs, thereby enhancing cooperation and interactions between the two countries. At the same time, the Malaysian government is developing multi-dimensional foreign relations and actively participating in multilateral, regional organizations and platforms, such as those organized by the United States, to maintain a relative balance in the influence of the US and China on Malaysia.Keywords: Hirschman effect, interest groups, Malaysia, China, bilateral relations
Procedia PDF Downloads 582330 State Power Monopolization and Its Implications on Democratic Consolidation in Africa: The Realities of the Gambia
Authors: Essa Njie
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One of the challenges that Africa needs to overcome for the sustenance of its democratic gains is to separate the state from the ruling party to avoid the latter’s attempt in monopolizing the former’s resources and institutions for political supremacy. But this separation must go along with the process of depoliticizing the civil services (separation from partisan politics) which have been politicized by incumbents to register electoral successes. While researches conducted on the Gambia’s democratic reality tend to have looked at a wide range of challenges confronting the country’s democratic progress, this paper focuses on state power monopolization and its impediment to democratic governance in the country. The paper explores the involvement of civil/public servants in partisan politics in the Gambia. It looks at the intertwined nature of the state and the ruling party as state resources could not be separated from that of the ruling party (lack of separation between political and non-political resources) in both Dawda Jawara and Yahya Jammeh eras, and how such affected the country’s democratic credential. The paper in particular addresses the need for the current government to depoliticize the country’s civil service and concomitantly separate the state from the ruling party by not monopolizing the former’s resources and institutions to galvanize political support.Keywords: civil service, democratic consolidation, monopolisation, multi-party elections, public institutions, ruling party, state resources
Procedia PDF Downloads 1322329 Manifestations of Moral Imagination during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Debates of Lithuanian Parliament
Authors: Laima Zakaraite, Vaidas Morkevicius
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The COVID-19 pandemic brought important and pressing challenges for politicians around the world. Governments, parliaments, and political leaders had to make quick decisions about containment of the pandemic, usually without clear knowledge about the factual spread of the virus, the possible expected speed of spread, and levels of mortality. Opinions of experts were also divided, as some advocated for ‘herd immunity’ without closing down the economy and public life, and others supported the idea of strict lockdown. The debates about measures of pandemic containment were heated and involved strong moral tensions with regard to the possible outcomes. This paper proposes to study the manifestations of moral imagination in the political debates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Importantly, moral imagination is associated with twofold abilities of a decision-making actor: the ability to discern the moral aspects embedded within a situation and the ability to envision a range of possibilities alternative solutions to the situation from a moral perspective. The concept was most thoroughly investigated in business management studies. However, its relevance for the study of political decision-making is also rather clear. The results of the study show to what extent politicians are able to discern the wide range of moral issues related to a situation (in this case, consequences of COVID-19 pandemic in a country) and how broad (especially, from a moral perspective) are discussions of the possible solutions proposed for solving the problem (situation). Arguably, political discussions and considerations are broader and affected by a wider and more varied range of actors and ideas compared to decision making in the business management sector. However, the debates and ensuing solutions may also be restricted by ideological maxims and advocacy of special interests. Therefore, empirical study of policy proposals and their debates might reveal the actual breadth of moral imagination in political discussions. For this purpose, we carried out the qualitative study of the parliamentary debates related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania during the first wave (containment of which was considered very successful) and at the beginning and consequent acceleration of the second wave (when the spread of the virus became uncontrollable).Keywords: decision making, moral imagination, political debates, political decision
Procedia PDF Downloads 1422328 China-Africa Diplomatic Discourse: Reconstructing the Principle of “Yi” as a Framework for Analyzing Sino-Africa Cooperation
Authors: Modestus Queen
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As we know, diplomatic languages carry the political ideology and cultural stance of the country. Knowing that China's diplomatic discourse is complicated and is heavily flavored with Chinese characteristics, one of the core goals of President Xi's administration is to properly tell the story of China. This cannot be done without proper translation or interpretation of major Chinese diplomatic concepts. Therefore, this research seeks to interpret the relevance of "Yi" as used in "Zhèngquè Yì Lì Guān". The author argues that it is not enough to translate a document but that it must be properly interpreted to portray it as political, economic, cultural and diplomatic relevant to the target audience, in this case, African people. The first finding in the current study indicates that literal translation is a bad strategy, especially in Chinese diplomatic discourses. The second finding indicates that "Yi" can be used as a framework to analyze Sino-Africa relations from economic, social and political perspectives, and the third finding indicates that "Yi" is the guiding principle of China's foreign policy towards Africa.Keywords: Yi, justice, China-Africa, interpretation, diplomatic discourse, discourse reconstruction
Procedia PDF Downloads 1252327 Regaining Control of Democracy: How National Courts Strategically Utilize Foreign and International Law
Authors: Rana Nasiri, Hamid Vahidkia
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Recently, most courts in democratic nations were hesitant to consider foreign and international law. Their approach was to steer clear of using foreign sources of law that conflicted with their own government's stance. Numerous legal experts consider turning to foreign and international law unsuitable. However, those who advocate for using external sources of law also believe that relying on foreign and international law will always be in conflict with the importance of national sovereignty. Therefore, the academic discussion revolves around the commonly known broader debate on ‘the counter-majoritarian difficulty’. This article challenges the idea of tension. It suggests that in many democratic nations' legal systems, including those in the U.S., using foreign and international law can help strengthen domestic democratic processes by protecting them from outside economic, political, and legal influences. Citing international law supports domestic democratic processes and regains national sovereignty from various globalization forces. In other words, national courts must consider foreign and international law to uphold their national political institutions and protect their own status in relation to political branches.Keywords: international law, social science, US, democracy, politics
Procedia PDF Downloads 352326 Public Space, Environmental Violence and Female Vulnerability in Radwa Ashour’s Specters and Betool Khadiri’s Absent
Authors: Jihan Zakarriya
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This paper aims at examining the concepts of gender vulnerability, militarized spaces and environmental degradation in Egyptian novelist Radwa Ashour’s Specters (1999) and Iraqi novelist Betool Khadiri’s Absent (2005). Although the socio-economic, environmental and political conditions in the 1990s- Egypt and Iraq are different, this paper argues that Ashour’s Specters and Khadiri’s Absent show the two societies as sharing a concern with the politics of public participation, individual freedom and political violence. For example, while Specters exposes the planned processes of economic-political and cultural violence towards Egyptian environment and people that undermine concepts of justice, equality and democracy, Absent shows the destructive effects of the systematic, successive waves of (international) militarized interferences and socio-economic sanctions imposed on Iraq following the Gulf War that hinder efforts of social development and kindle ethnic-religious violence and polarization in the country. This paper investigates and relates issues of gender, environmental and political violence and repression in Ashour’s Specters and Khadiri’s Absent in relation to the concepts of public space and security in the two countries. The paper argues that the selected novels articulate a particular awareness of the political-international conflicts and difficulties in the 1990s-Egypt and Iraq, with the aim both to emphasize the issue of gender as a tool of oppression and power hierarchy worldwide and to figure out new notions of public participation and change.Keywords: gender violence, public space, environment, change
Procedia PDF Downloads 1352325 Impact of Brand Image, Brand Personality and Brand Love on Word of Mouth: Pakistani Fashion Brands
Authors: Amna Asif, Rabia Naseem
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In the domain of consumer-brand relationship, love for a fashion brand is a dominant idea. Brand executives incline to build more endearing brands, for example, Levi’s “Quality never goes out of style”. Though, the significance of this notion is not often debated in the literature of marketing. Moreover, the effect of brand image and personality on brand love has not been examined in any quantitative study in Pakistan. The current research aims to fill this study gap by evolving a causal framework integrating word-of-mouth, brand love, image, and personality to examine the relationships among them. Data was gathered through questionnaires survey, and it was filled by 409 university students. AMOS 20 was used to draw a path analysis and test the hypotheses. Results discovered that brand personality and brand image leads to brand love that ultimately impacts word-of-mouth. Results give thorough suggestions on which future research can be constructed.Keywords: brand love, brand personality, brand image, fashion brands, word-of-mouth
Procedia PDF Downloads 3052324 Aristotle’s Notion of Prudence as Panacea to the Leadership Crisis in Nigeria
Authors: Wogu Ikedinachi Ayodele Power, Agbude Godwyns, Eniayekon Eugenia, Nchekwube Excellence-Oluye, Abasilim Ugochukwu David
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Contemporary ethicists and writers on leadership, in their quest to address the problem of leadership crisis in Nigeria, have identified the absence of practical prudence -which manifests in variables such as corruption, ethnicity and greed- as one of the major factors which breeds leadership crises. These variables are further fuelled by the lack of a consistent theory of leadership among scholars that could guide the pertinent actions of political leaders, hence the rising cases of leadership crises in the country. The theoretical framework that guides this study emanates from Aristotle’s notion of prudence as contained in the Nicomachean Ethics, which states that prudence is a central moral resource for political leaders. The method of conceptual analysis shall be used to clarify the concepts of virtue, prudence and leadership. The traditional method of critical analysis and the reconstructive method of ideas in philosophy are used to conceptually and contextually analyze all relevant texts and archival materials in the subject areas of this study. The study identifies a high degree of ideological bias and logical inconsistencies inherent in the theories of leadership proposed by the realist and the moralist schools of thought. The conflicting ideologies regarding what political leadership should be among scholars of leadership is identified as one of the major factors militating against ascertaining a practicable theory of leadership, which has the capacity to guide the pertinent actions of political leaders all over the world. This paper therefore identifies the absence of practical prudence, ‘wisdom’, as the major factor associated with leadership crises in Nigeria. We therefore argue that only prudent leaders will have the capacity to identify salient aspects of political situations which leaders have obligations to consider before making political decisions. Seven frameworks were prescribed from Aristotle’s Notion of prudence to strengthen this position, they include: Disciplined reason and openness to experience; Foresight and attention to the long term, among others. We submit that leadership devoid of crisis can be attained through the application of the virtue of prudence. Where this theory is adopted, it should eliminate further leadership crises in Nigeria.Keywords: Aristotle, leadership crisis, political leadership, prudence
Procedia PDF Downloads 3782323 Collective Actions of the Women in Black of the Gaza Strip
Authors: Lina Fernanda González
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Through this essay, an attempt will be made to make visible the work of the international network of the Women in Black (henceforth WB), on the one hand. On the other hand, the work of Women International Courts as a political practice will be showed as well, focusing their work into generating a collective identity - becoming thusly a peace building space, rescuing in this way the symbolic value of their practices consisting in peaceful resistance as political scenarios, that serve, too, a pedagogical and healing purposes.Keywords: collective actions, women, peace, human rights and humanitarian international law
Procedia PDF Downloads 3932322 A Socio-political Analysis of Mindfulness Practice in Hong Kong
Authors: Pinqiao Wang
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Mindfulness, derived from Buddhism, has been developed to improve individuals' well-being, first in the West and then gaining growing popularity in Asia. Numerous research studies have proven the effectiveness of mindfulness among clinical groups and the public all over the world. However, as enthusiasm surges, reflections on mindfulness and its commodification and instrumentalization arise. Hong Kong was seen as the model of a free market by neoliberal economists. The relationships between its socioeconomic neoliberalism, Western-inspired democracy aspiration, and political harmonization with China Mainland have been fraught with tensions, which have been further exacerbated by socio-political changes since the 2010s. Under such circumstances, mental health problems have come into the spotlight in Hong Kong recently. Mindfulness has gained growing popularity in Hong Kong, with its influence reaching from primary schools to corporate settings. A more comprehensive socio-political analysis of mindfulness within the Hong Kong context warrants further exploration. Drawing on interview responses from mindfulness practitioners, we examine the connections between the ideologies underlying mindfulness and contemporary capitalist society. On the one hand, mindfulness focuses on the present moment and self-improvement, representing neoliberal capitalist spirituality and reinforcing existing power relations. On the other hand, mindfulness fosters the acceptance of difference, which is argued to demonstrate the potential for advancing democracy at both the individual and community levels. Academically, this research provides empirical evidence to advance the current discussions and debates surrounding the socio-political potential of mindfulness. Practically, it serves as a reflection on mindfulness practices to optimize their impact on individuals and society.Keywords: neoliberal subjectivity, qualitative analysis, social construction, technologies of the self, therapeutic culture
Procedia PDF Downloads 552321 Economic Indicators as Correlates of Inward Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria
Authors: C. F. Popoola, P. Osho, S. B. Babarinde
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This study examined economic indicators as correlates of inward FDI. An exploratory research design was used to obtained annual published data on inflation rate, market size, exchange rate, political instability, human development, and infrastructure from Central Bank of Nigeria, National Bureau of Statistics, Nigerian Capital Market, Nigeria Institute of Social and Economic Research, and UNCTAD. Data generated were analyzed using Pearson correlation, analysis of variance and regression. The findings of the study revealed that market size (r = 0.852, p < 0.001), infrastructure (r = 0.264, p < 0.001), human development (r = 0.154, p < 0.01) and exchange rate ( r= 0.178, p < 0.05) correlate positively with inward FDI, while inflation rate (r = -0.88, p < 0.001), and political instability (r= -0.102, p < 0.05) correlate negatively with inward FDI. Findings also revealed that the economic indicators significantly predicted inward FDI (R2 = 0.913; F(1,19) = 29.40; p < 0.05) for Nigeria. It was concluded that exchange rate, market size, human development, and infrastructure positively related to inward FDI while the high level of inflation and political instability negatively related to inward FDI. Therefore, it was suggested that policy makers and government agencies should readdress steps and design policies that would encourage more FDI into the country.Keywords: exchange rate, foreign direct investment, human development, inflation rate, infrastructure, market size, political instability
Procedia PDF Downloads 4072320 Business Ethics in Islam: Making Islamic Banking Attractive for the Customers Round the Globe
Authors: Fahad Ahmed Qureshi
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Is it essential for a Muslim businessperson and employees of Islamic financial institutions not only in Islamic Banks to perform his/her actions ethically in a universally, competing habitat? The answer is an emphatic NO! in Islam, ethics conduct all departments of life. The orders for eternal success or falah in Islam are the same for all Muslims–whether in managing their business activities or in carrying out their routine affairs. Without designating any circumstantial ambience, Allah specify people who achieve success as those who are “inviting to all that is good (Khayr), enjoining what is right (Ma'ruf) and forbidding what is wrong (Munkar).” Within a business context, however, what sole axioms of regimen should a company follow? What is a Muslim businessperson’s encumbrance to internal and external stakeholders? Although an organization’s top executives may display sterling ethical behavior, how can middle- and lower-level managers be enthusiastic to perform in a correspondingly ethical manner? What are some protocols that would clinch persistent ethical behavior in a Muslim business?Keywords: business, ethics, finance, Islam
Procedia PDF Downloads 3992319 The Threat of International Terrorism and Its Impact on UK Migration Policy and Practice
Authors: Baljit Soroya
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Transnational communities are as a consequence of greater mobility of people, globalization and digitization have had a major impact on international relations and diasporas in the context of external conflicts. To a significant extent conflicts are becoming deterritorialised and informed by both internal (state politics) and external (foreign policy) players such as in Iraq and Syria leading to forced migration of unprecedented levels within the last two decades. The situation of forced migrants has, it is suggested, worsened as a consequence of the neo-liberal policies and requirements of organizations such as the European Bank. A case example of this being that of Greece, and the exacerbation of insecurity for Greek nationals and the demonization of refugees seeking sanctuary. This has been as a consequence, in part, of the neoliberal dogma of the European Bank. The article analyses the complex intersection of the real and perceived threats of international terrorism and the manner in which UK migration policy and Practice is unfolding. The policy and practice developments are explored in the context of the shift in politics in both the UK and wider Europe to the far right and the drift of main stream political parties to the right. In many cases, the mainstream political groupings, have co-opted the fears as presented by far right organization for political their own political gains, such as in the UK and France In its analysis it will be argued that, whilst international terrorism is an issue of concern, however in the context of the UK it is not of the same scale as the effects of climate change or indeed domestic violence. Given that, the question has to be asked why the threat of international terrorism is having such an impact on UK migration policy and practice and, specifically refugees. Furthermore, it is argued that this policy and practice are being formulated within a narrative that portrays migrants as the problem both in relation to terrorism and the disenfranchisement of ‘ordinary white communities’. The intersectionality of social, economic inequalities, fear of international terrorism, increase in conflicts and the political climate have contributed to a lack of trust of political establishments that have in turn sought to impress the public with their anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy agendas. The article ends by suggesting that whilst politics and political affiliations have become fractured there are nevertheless spaces for collective action, particularly in relation to issues of refugees.Keywords: international terrorism, migration policy, conflict, media, community, politics
Procedia PDF Downloads 3292318 Anti-Intellectualism in Populist Discourse and Its Role in Identity Construction: A Comparative Study between the United States of America and France
Authors: Iuliana-Erika Köpeczi
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‘Language is no longer regarded as peripheral to our grasp of the world we live in, but as central to it. Words are not mere vocal labels or communicational adjuncts superimposed upon an already given order of things. They are collective products of social interaction, essential instruments through which human beings constitute and articulate their world’, said Roy Harris. If we were to accept the above-mentioned premise, then we surely must accept that discourse, generally, - and political discourse, specifically -, bears a crucial importance to one’s perception of reality. The way in which political rhetoric constructs reality changes the relationship between the voter and his/her view of the world, which, in turn, influences greatly the future trends of political participation. In this context, our inquiry focuses on the role of populist discourses in the post 9/11 political rhetoric, and how this led to the formation, construction and reconstruction of identity within the ‘us’ vs. ‘them’ dichotomy. It is our hypothesis that anti-intellectualistic elements played a significant role in the manner in which identity construction had been carried out on a discursive level. By adopting a comparative approach, we intend to identify the similarities and differences between the use of such anti-intellectualist elements in the United States of America on one hand – within the discourse of Rick Santorum, – and France on the other – with Marine le Pen’s discourse. Our methodological approach uses close textual analysis of primary source material (discourse analysis); historical contextualization of both primary documents and broader socio-political and cultural framework through archival research and secondary sources; as well as interpretation of primary texts through theoretical frameworks (qualitative research). We hope that the output of our endeavor will be useful in better understanding the different correlations that exist between anti-intellectualism and populism and how the interactions between these two elements aids in political identity construction through discourse.Keywords: anti-intellectualism, discourse theory, France, identity construction, populism, United States of America
Procedia PDF Downloads 3002317 The Determinants of the Operational Performance in Airline Industry: A Case of a Turkish Airline Company
Authors: Mustafa K. Yilmaz, Ahmet Kaplan, Murat Guven, Vildan Kesici
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Aviation industry influences the social and economic growth across the countries. Further, airline companies are highly affected by social, political, and financial crises and show a high degree of cyclicity in operational performance. Hence, this paper investigates the effects of available seat kilometers (ASK), revenue per kilometer (RPK), passenger load factor (PLF) as well as socio-political crisis on the number of passengers carried (PC) by Turkish Airlines company over the period of 2010M1-2018M12. To conduct the analysis, we employ fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), and canonical cointegration regression (CCR) techniques using monthly data. We use ASK, RPK, PLF as independent variables to identify the determinants of the PC, as a dependent variable. We also test the effect of the socio-political crisis. The results reveal that there is a significant and negative relationship between ASK and PC, while the relationship between RPK and PC is positive and significant. We also find that there is an insignificant relationship between PLF and PC. Further, we also find a negative effect of the crisis on the PC. These findings show although the crisis had an immediate effect on the operational performance of Turkish Airlines, the company recovered from the crisis and cope with the situation very promptly. Thus, this proves the resilience and agile management ability of the company.Keywords: airline industry, operational performance, air traffic, socio-political crisis
Procedia PDF Downloads 1652316 The Impact of Political Leadership on Cameroon’s Economic Development From 2000 to 2023
Authors: Okpu Enoh Ndip Nkongho
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The type of political leadership in place impacts a state's economic development or underdevelopment directly and indirectly. One of the main challenges to Cameroon's economic development may be ineffective or misguided political leadership. The economy of the Cameroon state has declined significantly due to a number of factors, including a lack of effective and feasible economic policies, a reliance on crude oil that is excessive, tribal politics, the threat of insurgency, bribery, and corruption, violations of human rights, neglect of other sectors like science, technology, education, and transportation, and a careless attitude on the part of the administrators toward the general public. As a result, the standard of living has decreased, foreign exchange has decreased, and the value of the Cameroonian currency has depreciated. Therefore, from 2000 to 2023, this paper focused on the relationship between political leadership and economic development in Cameroon and offered suggestions for improving political leadership that will, in turn, lead to the country's economy getting back on track. The study employed a qualitative technique, with the framework for the investigation derived from the trait theory of leadership. According to the information provided above, the paper was able to conclude that there is a lack of cooperation between the three branches of government in Cameroon. This is shown in situations when one branch operates independently of the others and refuses to function as a backup when needed. The study recommended that the Executive collaborate closely with the National Assembly to speed action on some key legislation required to stimulate economic development. On the other hand, there is a need for more clarity and consistency in the government's policy orientation. There is no doubt that our current economic troubles are at least partially the result of a lack of economic policy leadership and confidence.Keywords: politics, leadership, economic, development, Cameroon
Procedia PDF Downloads 432315 Half-Human: Examining Right-Wing Authoritarianism and Social Dominance Orientation Effects on Dehumanization Tendencies
Authors: Brianna Ross, John Sollers, Christopher Edwards
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In the age of heightened social and political discourse, there is a tendency for individuals and media sources to use dehumanization as a tool to influence group thoughts and attitudes. When considering individual interactions, there is a need to determine what characteristics increase or predict dehumanization. The present study investigated dehumanization tendencies related to social dominance orientation (SDO) and right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) while factoring in political affiliation. Two-hundred and seven individuals participated in an anonymous study to reveal that there was a significant relationship between high SDO and high RWA scores. There was also a significant correlation between the dehumanization of Black Lives Matter and SDO. These findings suggest that those who are “double high” (scoring highly on both SDO and RWA are more likely to dehumanize others, particularly social groups they disagree with. Acknowledging that there are significant changes occurring in the sociopolitical atmosphere, it is essential that researchers understand dehumanization tendencies in modern society to better define the concept of othering and its consequences on social interaction.Keywords: dehumanization, social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, political affiliation
Procedia PDF Downloads 1322314 Gendering the Political Crisis in Hong Kong: A Cultural Analysis of Spectatorship on Marvel Superhero Movies in Hong Kong
Authors: Chi S. Lee
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Marvel superhero movies have obtained its unprecedented popularity around the globe. It is a dominant narrative in current scholarship on superhero studies that the political trauma of America, such as attack of September 11, and the masculinity represented in superhero genre are symbolically connected in a way of remasculinization, a standardized plot that before becoming a superhero, a man has to overcome its trauma in his life. Through this standardized plot, American audience finds their pleasure in the spectatorship of equating this plot of remasculinization with the situation of America, rewriting their traumatic memory and resolving around the economic, social, political, and psychological instability of precarity in their own context. Shifting the context to Hong Kong, where Marvel superhero movies have been reaching its dominant status in the local film market, this analysis finds its limitation in explaining the connection between text and context. This article aims to retain this connection through investigation of the Hong Kong audience’s spectatorship. It is argued that the masculinity represented in Marvel superhero movies no longer fits into the stereotypical image of superhero, but presents itself in crisis. This crisis is resolved by the technological excess of the superpower, namely, technological remasculinization. The technological remasculinization offers a sense of futurity through which it is felt that this remasculinization can be achieved in the foreseeable future instead of remaining imaginary and fictional. In this way, the political crisis of Hong Kong is gendered as masculinity in crisis which is worth being remasculinized in the future. This gendering process is a historical product as the symbolic equation between politics and masculinity has for long been encoded in the colonial history of Hong Kong. In short, Marvel superhero’s masculinity offers a sense of masculine hope for the Hong Kong audiences to overcome the political crisis they confront in reality through a postponed identification with the superhero’s masculinity. After the discussion of the Hong Kong audience’s spectatorship on Marvel superhero movies with the insights casted by spectatorship theory, above idea is generated.Keywords: political crisis in Hong Kong, Marvel superhero movies, spectatorship, technological remasculinization
Procedia PDF Downloads 2742313 Electoral Mathematics and Asymmetrical Treatment to Political Parties: The Mexican Case
Authors: Verónica Arredondo, Miguel Martínez-Panero, Teresa Peña, Victoriano Ramírez
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The Mexican Chamber of Deputies is composed of 500 representatives: 300 of them elected by relative majority and another 200 ones elected through proportional representation in five electoral clusters (constituencies) with 40 representatives each. In this mixed-member electoral system, the seats distribution of proportional representation is not independent of the election by relative majority, as it attempts to correct representation imbalances produced in single-member districts. This two-fold structure has been maintained in the successive electoral reforms carried out along the last three decades (eight from 1986 to 2014). In all of them, the election process of 200 seats becomes complex: Formulas in the Law are difficult to understand and to be interpreted. This paper analyzes the Mexican electoral system after the electoral reform of 2014, which was applied for the first time in 2015. The research focuses on contradictions and issues of applicability, in particular situations where seats allocation is affected by ambiguity in the law and where asymmetrical treatment of political parties arises. Due to these facts, a proposal of electoral reform will be presented. It is intended to be simpler, clearer, and more enduring than the current system. Furthermore, this model is more suitable for producing electoral outcomes free of contradictions and paradoxes. This approach would allow a fair treatment of political parties and as a result an improved opportunity to exercise democracy.Keywords: electoral mathematics, electoral reform, Mexican electoral system, political asymmetry, proportional representation
Procedia PDF Downloads 2492312 Multilingual and Ideological Graffiti in Palestine
Authors: Olivia Martina Dalla Torre
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The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse some urban writings that emerge in politically disputed areas, namely the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and more specifically in Deheishe refugee camp. These graffiti are visible on the walls of houses, all around the camp, and they convey messages of protest but also of hope or claim about the complex political situation in the occupied territories. These graffiti can be then interpreted as political and politicized semiotic resources. In this paper, after having introduced the political situation of the Palestinian Territories in a historical perspective, we will question a specific dimension of these writings, i.e., their multilingual and ideological aspect. To do this, we will focus on ethnographic fieldwork on Deheishe refugee camp and we will draw on the theoretical framework of the critical communication studies which assert that language practices are not neutral and that they need to be understood through the lens of the historical context of production, crossing space and time. By analysing the relationship between the discursive constructions of the messages and the languages used, we will point out some of the possible reasons and functions of the presence of these multilingual discursive productions. We will show that if, on the one hand, these graffiti confirm the huge presence of Western actors in the region, on the other hand, they attest the presence of an international movement against the Israeli occupation and against other struggles as well. Concluding, we will argue that multilingualism certainly represents a diversification of the linguistic landscape and that it gives a transnational and political dimension to the graffiti.Keywords: communication, graffiti, multilingualism, Palestine, transnationalism
Procedia PDF Downloads 1752311 A Structured Mechanism for Identifying Political Influencers on Social Media Platforms: Top 10 Saudi Political Twitter Users
Authors: Ahmad Alsolami, Darren Mundy, Manuel Hernandez-Perez
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Social media networks, such as Twitter, offer the perfect opportunity to either positively or negatively affect political attitudes on large audiences. The existence of influential users who have developed a reputation for their knowledge and experience of specific topics is a major factor contributing to this impact. Therefore, knowledge of the mechanisms to identify influential users on social media is vital for understanding their effect on their audience. The concept of the influential user is related to the concept of opinion leaders' to indicate that ideas first flow from mass media to opinion leaders and then to the rest of the population. Hence, the objective of this research was to provide reliable and accurate structural mechanisms to identify influential users, which could be applied to different platforms, places, and subjects. Twitter was selected as the platform of interest, and Saudi Arabia as the context for the investigation. These were selected because Saudi Arabia has a large number of Twitter users, some of whom are considerably active in setting agendas and disseminating ideas. The study considered the scientific methods that have been used to identify public opinion leaders before, utilizing metrics software on Twitter. The key findings propose multiple novel metrics to compare Twitter influencers, including the number of followers, social authority and the use of political hashtags, and four secondary filtering measures. Thus, using ratio and percentage calculations to classify the most influential users, Twitter accounts were filtered, analyzed and included. The structured approach is used as a mechanism to explore the top ten influencers on Twitter from the political domain in Saudi Arabia.Keywords: Twitter, influencers, structured mechanism, Saudi Arabia
Procedia PDF Downloads 1102310 Mainland China and Taiwan’s Strategies for Overcoming the Middle/High Income Trap: Domestic Consensus-Building and the Foundations of Cross-Strait Interactions
Authors: Mingke Ma
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The recent discovery of the High-Income Trap phenomena and the established Middle-Income Trap literature have identified the similarity of the structural challenges that both Mainland China and Taiwan have been facing since the simultaneous growth slowdown from the 2000s. Mainland China and Taiwan’s ineffectiveness in productivity growth weakened their overall competitiveness in Global Value Chains. With the subsequent decline of industrial profitability, social compression from late development persists and jeopardises the social cohesion. From Ma Ying-jeou’s ‘633’ promise and Tsai Ing-wen’s ‘5+2’ industrial framework to Mainland China’s 11th to 14th Five-Year Plans, leaderships across the Strait have been striving to constitute new models for inclusive and sustainable development through policy responses. This study argues that social consensuses that have been constructed by the domestic political processes define the feasibility of the reform strategies, which further construct the conditions for Cross-Strait interactions. Based on the existing literature of New Institutional Economics, Middle/High Income Trap, and Compressed Development, this study adopts a Historical Institutionalist analytical framework to identify how the historical path-dependency contributes to the contemporary growth constraints in both economies and the political difficulty on navigating the institutional and Organisational change. It continues by tracing the political process of economic reform to examine the sustainability and resilience of the manifested social consensus that had empowered the proposed policy frameworks. Afterwards, it examines how the political outcomes in such a simultaneous process shared by both Mainland China and Taiwan construct the social, economic, institutional, and political foundations of contemporary Cross-Strait engagement.Keywords: historical institutionalism, political economy, cross-strait relations, high/middle income trap
Procedia PDF Downloads 189