Search results for: political mobilization
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 2547

Search results for: political mobilization

2457 The Fifth Political Theory and Countering Terrorism in the Post 9/11 Era

Authors: Rana Eijaz Ahmad

Abstract:

This paper is going to explain about the Fifth Political Theory that challenges all existing three plus one (Capitalism, Marxism and Fascism + Fourth Political Theory) theories. It says, ‘it is human ambiance evolve any political system to survive instead of borrowing other imported thoughts to live in a specific environment, in which Legitimacy leads to authority and promotes humanism.’ According to this theory, no other state is allowed to dictate or install any political system upon other states. It is the born right of individuals to choose a political system or a set of values that are going to make their structures and functions efficient enough to support the system harmony and counter the negative forces successfully. In the post 9/11 era, it is observed that all existing theories like Capitalism, Marxism, Fascism and Fourth Political Theory remained unsuccessful in resolving the global crisis. The so-called war against terrorism is proved as a war for terrorism and creates a vacuum on the global stage, worsening the crisis. The fifth political theory is an answer to counter terrorism in the twenty-first century. It calls for accountability of the United Nations for its failure in sustaining peace at global level. Therefore, the UN charter is supposed to be implemented in its true letter and spirit. All independent sovereign states have right to evolve their own system to carry out a political system that suits them best for sustaining harmony at home. This is the only way to counter terrorism. This paper is comprised of mixed method. Qualitative, quantitative and comparative methods will be used along with secondary sources. The objective of this paper is to create knowledge for the benefit of human beings with a logical and rational argument. It will help political scientists and scholars in conflict management and countering terrorism on pragmatic grounds.

Keywords: capitalism, fourth political theory, fifth political theory, Marxism, fascism

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2456 The Impact of the Russian Democratic Weaknesses on the International Society

Authors: Leone Sherman

Abstract:

While the democratic rights of a citizen may be very clearly outlined in a country’s constitution, it’s not uncommon for political elite to undermine those rights and gain more power and control over a country than it is allowed by this constitution. Moreover, while such a change in some smaller states may not have a substantial impact on the international community, the same change in countries with vast resources and political influence, such as Russia, is always a considerable factor for the world policy. This article aims to research the weaknesses of the Russian democratic system and their effect on the international policy through the three key aspects: The Russian people’s ability to produce the required political will to control their government’s decisions, the current development of the Russian political environment, and the affection of this environment on the world community as a whole during the recent years. The used methodology is a narrative analysis of recent political events, official statistics, international investigations and media statements. As a result, the ever-widening gap between the people and the government becomes evidently seen, as well as the challenges it imposes on the political world arena, both current and those that still lie ahead of us.

Keywords: Russia, political analysis, democratic weaknesses, international society

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2455 Real Time Classification of Political Tendency of Twitter Spanish Users based on Sentiment Analysis

Authors: Marc Solé, Francesc Giné, Magda Valls, Nina Bijedic

Abstract:

What people say on social media has turned into a rich source of information to understand social behavior. Specifically, the growing use of Twitter social media for political communication has arisen high opportunities to know the opinion of large numbers of politically active individuals in real time and predict the global political tendencies of a specific country. It has led to an increasing body of research on this topic. The majority of these studies have been focused on polarized political contexts characterized by only two alternatives. Unlike them, this paper tackles the challenge of forecasting Spanish political trends, characterized by multiple political parties, by means of analyzing the Twitters Users political tendency. According to this, a new strategy, named Tweets Analysis Strategy (TAS), is proposed. This is based on analyzing the users tweets by means of discovering its sentiment (positive, negative or neutral) and classifying them according to the political party they support. From this individual political tendency, the global political prediction for each political party is calculated. In order to do this, two different strategies for analyzing the sentiment analysis are proposed: one is based on Positive and Negative words Matching (PNM) and the second one is based on a Neural Networks Strategy (NNS). The complete TAS strategy has been performed in a Big-Data environment. The experimental results presented in this paper reveal that NNS strategy performs much better than PNM strategy to analyze the tweet sentiment. In addition, this research analyzes the viability of the TAS strategy to obtain the global trend in a political context make up by multiple parties with an error lower than 23%.

Keywords: political tendency, prediction, sentiment analysis, Twitter

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2454 Portrayal of Kolkata(the former capital of India) in the ‘Kolkata Trilogy’- A Comparative Study of the Films by Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray

Authors: Ronit Chakraborty

Abstract:

Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of West Bengal state and the former capital of India (1722-1911) of British India. Located at the heart of Hugli river (one of the main channels of Ganges river), the city is the heart of the state, which forms a base for commerce, transport and manufacture. The large and vibrant city thrives amidst the economic, social and political issues arising from the pages of history to the contemporary times. The unique nature, grandeurs, public debates on tea-stalls and obviously the charismatic scenic beauty and heritage keep the city to be criticized in all horizons, across the world. Movies in India are a big source of knowledge, which can be used as a powerful tool for political mobilization and to indirectly communicate with voters since cinema can be used as a tool of propaganda as it has a wide range of public interests. History proves the fact that films produced in India have been apt enough in making public interests be deeply portrayed through their content in a versatile manner. Such is the portrayal of India’s first capital, Kolkata and its ultimate truth being organizingly laid over by the trilogy of two international fame directors-Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray, through their ‘magnum opus- the ‘Kolkata trilogy’. Mrinal Sen’s Interview(1971), Calcutta 71(1972), Padatik(The Guerilla Fighter)(1973) and Satyajit Ray’s Pratidwandi (The Adversary)(1970), Seemabaddha(Company Limited)(1971), Jana Aranya(1976). These films picturized the contemporary Kolkata trends, issues and crises arising amidst the political set-up both by the positive and negative variables attributing to the day-to-day happenings of the city. The movies have been set amidst the turmoil that the nation was going through during Indira Gandhi’s declaration of Emergency, resulting from the general sense of disillusionment that prevailed during that time. Ray wasn't affiliated to any political party and his films largely contributed towards the contemporary conditions prevailing in the society. Mrinal Sen, being a Marxist was in constant search of the bitter truth that the society had to offer through his lens under the prevailing darkness through his trilogy. The research paper attempts to widely view and draw a comparative study of the overall description of the city of Kolkata as portrayed by Sen and Ray in their respective trilogies. By the usage of the visual content analysis method, the researcher has explored the six movies; both the trilogies of Mrinal Sen and Satyajit Ray and tried to analyse the differences as well as the similarities pertaining to understand India’s first capital city Kolkata in various dimensions along with its circumference.

Keywords: Kolkata, trilogy, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, films, comparative study

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2453 Political Behavior and Democratic Values: Framing Analysis of Political Discussion Programs in Pakistan

Authors: Umair Nadeem, Sidra Umair

Abstract:

Political behavior of voters and democratic values have been observed an emerging phenomenon in recent years in Pakistan. Privatized TV news channels are taking one sided position on the political issues, corresponding with respective political parties. Since last decade, TV News Channels have undermined this monopoly. Elections 2013 were unique in Pakistan with reference to political behavior and democratic values. Partisan narratives and counter narratives have been witnessed on different TV channels, in last few years. These mediated events seem very important to study the political behavior and democratic values as the country is approaching towards elections 2018. This endeavor is an attempt to capture the framing of the parties, issues in the partisan media culture and framing effects on political behavior of voters. Data for this research come from two data set. Content analysis of selected representative talks shows broadcast on mainstream news channels provide an assessment of the framing while quantitative survey of the discussion program’s viewers from Lahore city provide an evidence of framing effects on political behavior on voters and on democratic values. Regression results help us to argue that the highly partisan shows are strong predictors of polarized views among the audience. Study also grasp the attention of scholars towards the implications of this phenomenon.

Keywords: democratic values, partisan media, polarized views, political behavior

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2452 Between Riots and Protests: A Structural Approach to Urban Environmental Uprisings in China

Authors: Zi Zhu

Abstract:

The last decade has witnessed increasing urban environmental uprisings in China, as thousands of citizens swarmed into streets to express their deep concerns about the environmental threat and public health through various collective actions. The prevalent western approaches to collective actions, which usually treat urban riots and social movements as distinct phenomenon, have plagued an adequate analysis of the urban environmental uprisings in China. The increasing urban environmental contention can neither be categorized into riots nor social movements, as they carry the features of both: at first sight, they are spontaneous, disorganized and disruptive with an absence of observable mobilization process; however, unlike riots in the west, these collective actions conveyed explicit demand in a mostly non-destructive way rather than a pure expression of frustration. This article proposes a different approach to urban environmental uprisings in China which concerns the diminishing boundaries between riots and social movements and points to the underlying structural causes to the unique forms of urban environmental contention. Taking the urban anti-PX protests as examples, this article analyzes the societal and political structural environment faced by the Chinese environmental protesters and its influence on the origin and development of their contention.

Keywords: urban environmental uprisings, China, anti-PX protests, opportunity structure

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2451 Haiti and Power Symbolic: An Analysis Understanding of the Impact of the Presidential Political Speeches

Authors: Marc Arthur Bien Aimé, Julio da Silveira Moreira

Abstract:

This study examines the political speech in Haiti over the course of the decade 2011-2021, focusing on the speeches of the presidents Michel J. Martelly and Jovenel Moïse and their impacts on their awareness collective. In using a qualitative approach, we have analyzed the speech of the president pronounced in response to the political instability of countries, as well as interviews with a group of 20 Haitians living in Port- Au-Prince. Our results put in evidence their complex relationship between politics, awareness collective, and the influence of the powers imperialists. We show that the situation in Haiti's disastrous social and political situation is driven by personal political interests and the absence of a state political project. Moreover, the speeches of the president’s analysis are meaningless, transforming concepts such as social progress and justice in simple words. This political rhetoric contributes to the domination symbolic of the population of Haitian. This study is also linked to the theme “Constitutions, processes democratic and critical of the state in Latin America,” emphasizing the importance of analysis of political speech to understand the complexities of the democratic process and criticism of the State in their Latin American region. We suggest future research to deepen our understanding of these political dynamics and their impact on public policies and developments of the constitutions throughout Latin America.

Keywords: political discourse, conscience collective, inequality social, democratic processes, constitutions, Haiti

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2450 Islam in Europe as a Social Movement: The Case of the Islamic Civil Society in France and Its Contribution in the Defense of Muslims’ Cultural Rights

Authors: Enrico Maria la Forgia

Abstract:

Since the 80ies, in specific situations, France’s Muslims have enacted political actions to reply to attacks on their identity or assimilation attempts, using their religious affiliation as a resource for the organization and expression of collective claims. Indeed, despite Islam's internal sectarian and ethnic differences, religion may be politicized when minorities’ social and cultural rights are under attack. French Civil Society organizations, in this specific case with an Islamic background (ICSO - Islamic Civil Society Organizations), play an essential role in defending Muslims’ social and cultural rights. As a matter of fact, Civil Society organized on an ethnic or religious base is a way to strengthen minoritarian communities and their role as political actors, especially in multicultural contexts. Since the first 1983’s “Marche des Beurs” (slang word referring to French citizens with foreign origins), which involved many Muslims, the development of ICSO contributed to the strenghtening of Islam in France, here meant as a Social Movement aiming to constitute a French version of Islam, defending minorities’ cultural and religious rights, and change the perception of Islam itself in national society. However, since a visible and stigmatized minority, ICSO do not relate only to protests as a strategy to achieve their goals: on several occasions, pressure on authorities through personal networks and connections, or the introduction into public debates of bargaining through the exploitation of national or international crisis, might appear as more successfully - public discourses on minorities and Islam are generally considered favorable conditions to advance requests for cultural legitimation. The proposed abstract, based on a literary review and theoretical/methodological reflection on the state of knowledge on the topic, aims to open a new branch of studies and analysis of Civil Society and Social Movements in Europe, focusing on the French Islamic community as a political actor relating on ICSO to pressure society, local, and national authorities to improve Muslims' rights. The opted methodology relies on a qualitative approach based on ethnography and face-to-face interviews addressing heads and middle-high level activists from ICSO, in an attempt to individuate the strategies enacted by ICSO for mobilizing Muslims and build relations with, on one hand, local and national authorities; into the other, with actors belonging to the Civil Society/political sphere. The theoretical framework, instead, relies on the main Social Movements Theories (resources mobilization, political opportunity structure, and contentious/non-contentious movements), aiming to individuate eventual gaps in the analysis of Islamic Social Movements and Civil Society in minoritarian contexts.

Keywords: Islam, islamophobia, civil society, social movements, sociology, qualitative methodology, Islamic activism in social movement theory, political change, Islam as social movement, religious movements, protest and politics, France, Islamic civil society

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2449 Pali-Sanskrit Terms and Their Uses in Reflecting Political Society of Thailand

Authors: Kowit Pimpuang

Abstract:

Through analysis of the Pali-Sanskrit (PL-SKT) terms and their uses in reflecting political society of Thailand, the objectives of this study were to explore PL-SKT word formation and its semantic changes employed in the political society of Thailand and to explore the political reflection of Thai society through their uses. Conceptual framework of this study consists of (1) use of PL-SKT word formation namely, primary derivative (Kitaka), secondary derivative (Tathita), compound (Samasa) and prefix (Upasagga), (2) semantic changes namely; widening, narrowing and transferring of meaning, and (3) political reflection of Thai society. Qualitative method was employed in this study and data were collected from Thai Newspapers. It was found that there were uses of the four kinds of word formation in formatting the new political terms concerned namely, primary derivative, secondary derivative, compound and prefix leading by compound through the following three semantic changes; widening, narrowing and transferring, in order to make clear in understanding. Furthermore, PL-SKT terms were employed in reflecting Thai politics caused by democratic conflicts through the bureaucracy, plutocracy, businessocracy and juristocracy respectively. Later, there have been political business groups and their corruption problems in political society of Thailand.

Keywords: Pali, Sanskrit, reflection, politics, Thailand

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2448 Cognitive Models of Future in Political Texts

Authors: Solopova Olga

Abstract:

The present paper briefly recalls theoretical preconditions for investigating cognitive-discursive models of future in political discourse. The author reviews theories and methods used for strengthening a future focus in this discourse working out two main tools – a model of future and a metaphorical scenario. The paper examines the implications of metaphorical analogies for modeling future in mass media. It argues that metaphor is not merely a rhetorical ornament in the political discourse of media regulation but a conceptual model that legislates and regulates our understanding of future.

Keywords: cognitive approach, future research, political discourse, model, scenario, metaphor

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2447 A Systematic Review of Street-Level Policy Entrepreneurship Strategies in Different Political Contexts

Authors: Hui Wang, Huan Zhang

Abstract:

This study uses systematic review and qualitative comparative analysis methods to comprehensively inquire about the recent street-level policy entrepreneurship research, to identify the characteristics and lessons we can learn from 20 years of street-level policy entrepreneurship literature, and the relations between political contexts and street-level policy entrepreneurs’ strategies. Using data from a systematic review of street-level policy entrepreneurship literature, we identify the sub-components of different political contexts and core strategies of street-level policy entrepreneurs and estimate the configurational relations between different political settings and street-level policy entrepreneurs’ strategies. Our results show that street-level policy entrepreneurs display social acuity, define the problem, and build team strategies when policy or political streams dominate. Street-level policy entrepreneurs will use lead-by-example strategies when both policy and political streams dominate. Furthermore, street-level policy entrepreneurs will use bureaucratic strategies, even if no stream dominates in the political context.

Keywords: policy entrepreneurs, qualitative comparative analysis, street-level bureaucracy, systematic review

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2446 Scoping Review of the Potential to Embed Mental Health Impact in Global Challenges Research

Authors: Netalie Shloim, Brian Brown, Siobhan Hugh-Jones, Jane Plastow, Diana Setiyawati, Anna Madill

Abstract:

In June 2021, the World Health Organization launched its guidance and technical packages on community mental health services, stressing a human rights-based approach to care. This initiative stems from an increasing acknowledgment of the role mental health plays in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Nevertheless, mental health remains a relatively neglected research area and the estimates for untreated mental disorders in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) are as high as 78% for adults. Moreover, the development sector and research programs too often side-line mental health as a privilege in the face of often immediate threats to life and livelihood. As a way of addressing this problem, this study aimed to examine past or ongoing GCRF projects to see if there were opportunities where mental health impact could have been achieved without compromising a study's main aim and without overburdening a project. Projects funded by the UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) were analyzed. This program was initiated in 2015 to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by developing countries. By the end of May 2020, a total of 15,279 projects were funded of which only 3% had an explicit mental health focus. A sample of 36 non-mental-health-focused projects was then sampled for diversity across research council, challenge portfolio and world region. Each of these 36 projects was coded by two coders for opportunities to embed mental health impact. To facilitate coding, the literature was inspected for dimensions relevant to LMIC settings. Three main psychological and three main social dimensions were identified: promote a positive sense of self; promote positive emotions, safe expression and regulation of challenging emotions, coping strategies, and help-seeking; facilitate skills development; and facilitate community-building; preserve sociocultural identity; support community mobilization. Coding agreement was strong on missed opportunities for mental health impact on the three social dimensions: support community mobilization (92%), facilitate community building (83%), preserve socio-cultural identity (70%). Coding agreement was reasonably strong on missed opportunities for mental health impact on the three psychological dimensions: promote positive emotions (67%), facilitate skills development (61%), positive sense of self (58%). In order of frequency, the agreed perceived opportunities from the highest to lowest are: support community mobilization, facilitate community building, facilitate skills development, promote a positive sense of self, promote positive emotions, preserve sociocultural identity. All projects were considered to have an opportunity to support community mobilization and to facilitate skills development by at least one coder. Findings provided support that there were opportunities to embed mental health impact in research across the range of development sectors and identifies what kind of missed opportunities are most frequent. Hence, mainstreaming mental health has huge potential to tackle the lack of priority and funding it has attracted traditionally. The next steps are to understand the barriers to mainstreaming mental health and to work together to overcome them.

Keywords: GCRF, mental health, psychosocial wellbeing, LMIC

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2445 The Role of Islam in the Political Thought of Muhammad Abduh

Authors: Mehdi Beyad

Abstract:

Muhammad Abduh stands as a founding thinker of Islamic revivalism and modernism, the political phenomenon which began with him and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani in the 19th century which sought to address the perceived regression of Islamic societies in the face of western colonialism and the onslaught of modernity. The scholarship on Abduh and al-Afghani, and Islamic modernism in general, is vast. This paper, however, provides a critical approach to some of this scholarship and attempts to re-think the epistemic framework of Abduh's political thought and the place of Islam therein. Much of the current work on Abduh falls into the trap of seeing his task as one of "compromising" Islam for the values of European modernity. This paper argues that for Abduh, Islam was not just a compartmentalised theological framework: it was at the nexus of societal emancipation, intellectual and cultural rejuvenation, and political progress. Far from “modernising” and diluting Islam to the extent that it became irrelevant in the face of rationality as defined by European modernity, Islam remained central to Abduh’s political framework.

Keywords: Islamic political thought, Islamic revivalism, modernism, Muhammad Abduh, epistemology

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2444 The Divergent Discourse of Political Islam: A Comparative Study of Indonesia and Pakistan

Authors: Sohaib Khaliq

Abstract:

This paper pursues a systematic analysis of the broad range of theories and studies relevant to Islam and democracy, in general and as they have been developed from and applied to the Indonesian and Pakistani cases. The analysis finds that an Islamic society’s potential to assimilate democratic political institutions is contingent on either an unconstrained 'political participation' or its ability to 'reinterpret' religious text. Drawing on a comparison of Indonesia and Pakistan, the present study favors a route that passes through the religious gates of theoretical reinterpretation. In doing so, the study brings Muslim reformation theory into focus by clarifying the mechanism by which reformation takes place.

Keywords: Islam, democratization, political Islam, reformation

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2443 The Relationship between Political Risks and Capital Adequacy Ratio: Evidence from GCC Countries Using a Dynamic Panel Data Model (System–GMM)

Authors: Wesam Hamed

Abstract:

This paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating the impact of political risks on the capital adequacy ratio in the banking sector of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which is the first attempt for this nexus to the best of our knowledge. The dynamic panel data model (System‐GMM) showed that political risks significantly decrease the capital adequacy ratio in the banking sector. For this purpose, we used political risks, bank-specific, profitability, and macroeconomic variables that are utilized from the data stream database for the period 2005-2017. The results also actively support the “too big to fail” hypothesis. Finally, the robustness results confirm the conclusions derived from the baseline System‐GMM model.

Keywords: capital adequacy ratio, system GMM, GCC, political risks

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2442 Internalising Islamic Principles of Theocracy as a Pedestal for Good Governance in Nigeria

Authors: Busari Moshood Olanyi

Abstract:

Good governance remains the expectation of every political party in power, especially in this democratic dispensation of the Nigerian Nation. The need to ensure that the citizenry enjoys the dividends of democracy as often promised during various electioneering campaigns is envisioned to be the motif for different agendas and political slogans by different administrations. Unfortunately, different political agendas towards the security of lives and properties, halting the pillage of the economy by corrupt public officials and creation of employment opportunities for the youths, have a record of setback in the history of political leadership and governance in Nigeria. Therefore, the paper examined the principles of Islamic theocracy in its advocacy for a paradigm shift in the Nigerian political system, with a view to engendering good governance. Islamic political terms such as Shūrā (mutual consultation), ‘Adālah (equality and justice), Khilāfah (succession and stewardship) Majlis ash-Shūrā (consultative forum) and Muḥāsabah (accountability) were espoused as sacrosanct to implementing Islamic theocracy as an alternative system of government in Nigeria. The paper concluded by being flexible on the nomenclature of the suggested political system, considering the multi-religious nature of the country as a political entity. Among other recommendations, infusion of politics into our moral/religious system and not the other way round was considered a good step in the direction of a political paradigm shift for ensuring good governance and guaranteeing its sustainability in Nigeria.

Keywords: Nigerian nation, democracy, good governance, Islamic theocracy, paradigm shift

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2441 Political Islam: From Coinage to Hot Debate

Authors: Sajid Iqbal Sheikh

Abstract:

From almost last 100 years 'political islam' has diversity in its usage as terminology in the speculative works of both muslim and non-muslims theorists. 'Political islam' as a term was coined consciously as equal to the 'militant islam' and “Terrorist Islam” vs “Plain Islam” and “Modern Islam” etc. Many paradigm shifts tamed the term into one of the hottest debate of the day. This research paper aims to categorize historical linkage of its coinage, development phases and present status. Based on content analysis, Narrative approach has been utilized for the sake of dexterous conclusion. The paper treasures out that Western dominance on civilizational and political spheres of the holistic world considers 'political islam' a gigantic threat and plans to resist it in theoretic and practical fields simultaneously. Despite minor strategic variances, the ideological followers of Syed Qutab, Mulana Mudoodi and Hasan Al-Bana, are struggling hard for the achievement of their ultimate goal of Political change, specifically in the Muslim World in the prior phase. The paper concludes that Resistance to Islamic resurgence and its Political goals is being observed in most of the Muslim world, especially in the Turkey, Algeria, Egypt, Tsunia and Yeman etc, which is a basic cause of contrary reaction in the Muslim World.

Keywords: electoral process, islamic resurgence, islamic political theory, muslim response, resistance, western hegemony

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2440 Molecular Characterization and Arsenic Mobilization Properties of a Novel Strain IIIJ3-1 Isolated from Arsenic Contaminated Aquifers of Brahmaputra River Basin, India

Authors: Soma Ghosh, Balaram Mohapatra, Pinaki Sar, Abhijeet Mukherjee

Abstract:

Microbial role in arsenic (As) mobilization in the groundwater aquifers of Brahmaputra river basin (BRB) in India, severely threatened by high concentrations of As, remains largely unknown. The present study, therefore, is a molecular and ecophysiological characterization of an indigenous bacterium strain IIIJ3-1 isolated from As contaminated groundwater of BRB and application of this strain in several microcosm set ups differing in their organic carbon (OC) source and terminal electron acceptors (TEA), to understand its role in As dissolution under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Strain IIIJ3-1 was found to be a new facultative anaerobic, gram-positive, endospore-forming strain capable of arsenite (As3+) oxidation and dissimilatory arsenate (As5+) reduction. The bacterium exhibited low genomic (G+C)% content (45 mol%). Although, its 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed a maximum similarity of 99% with Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579(T) but the DNA-DNA relatedness of their genomic DNAs was only 49.9%, which remains well below the value recommended to delimit different species. Abundance of fatty acids iC17:0, iC15:0 and menaquinone (MK) 7 though corroborates its taxonomic affiliation with B. cereus sensu-lato group, presence of hydroxy fatty acids (HFAs), C18:2, MK5 and MK6 marked its uniqueness. Besides being highly As resistant (MTC=10mM As3+, 350mM As5+), metabolically diverse, efficient aerobic As3+ oxidizer; it exhibited near complete dissimilatory reduction of As5+ (1 mM). Utilization of various carbon sources with As5+ as TEA revealed lactate to serve as the best electron donor. Aerobic biotransformation assay yielded a lower Km for As3+ oxidation than As5+ reduction. Arsenic homeostasis was found to be conferred by the presence of arr, arsB, aioB, and acr3(1) genes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of this bacterium revealed reduction in cell size upon exposure to As and formation of As-rich electron opaque dots following growth with As3+. Incubation of this strain with sediment (sterilised) collected from BRB aquifers under varying OC, TEA and redox conditions revealed that the strain caused highest As mobilization from solid to aqueous phase under anaerobic condition with lactate and nitrate as electron donor and acceptor, respectively. Co-release of highest concentrations of oxalic acid, a well known bioweathering agent, considerable fold increase in viable cell counts and SEM-EDX and X-ray diffraction analysis of the sediment after incubation under this condition indicated that As release is consequent to microbial bioweathering of the minerals. Co-release of other elements statistically proves decoupled release of As with Fe and Zn. Principle component analysis also revealed prominent role of nitrate under aerobic and/or anaerobic condition in As release by strain IIIJ3-1. This study, therefore, is the first to isolate, characterize and reveal As mobilization property of a strain belonging to the Bacillus cereus sensu lato group isolated from highly As contaminated aquifers of Brahmaputra River Basin.

Keywords: anaerobic microcosm, arsenic rich electron opaque dots, Arsenic release, Bacillus strain IIIJ3-1

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2439 Making Political Leaders Responsible Leaders in an Effort to Reduce Corruption

Authors: Maria Krambia-Kapardis, Andreas Kapardis

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The relevant literature has been inundated with arguments for ethics, moral values, honesty, resilience, trust in leadership as well as responsible leadership. In many countries around the globe, and as shown by some recent reports, many political leaders are not role models and do not show best practices by being ethical, responsible, compassionate, and resilient. Journalists, whistleblowers, WikiLeaks, Al Jazeera, and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) have been brought out from the shadow of political leaders who lack the virtues/attributes outlined above by the UN Global Compact. A number of political leaders who lack ethical and responsible leadership skills will continue to find loopholes to enrich themselves and their close friends and relatives. Some researchers use the Millon Inventory of Diagnostic; however, this test, while it provides helpful and useful insights into the personality of a person who leads or inspire his/her people but does not show if that person is ethical, motivating, and empowers his people with trust and honesty. Thus, it is recommended that political leaders ought to undergo training that encompasses Aristotelian Ethics by embedding the appropriate values and behaviours in their strategies, policies, and decisions, enhancing the change factors that will help in the implementation of a more sustainable development model. Finally, there is a need to develop a pedagogy and a curriculum which enables the development of responsible political leaders.

Keywords: political leaders, corruption, anti-corruption, political corruption

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2438 The Effect of Taxpayer Political Beliefs on Tax Evasion Behavior: An Empirical Study Applied to Tunisian Case

Authors: Nadia Elouaer

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Tax revenue is the main state resource and one of the important variables in tax policy. Nevertheless, this resource is continually decreasing, so it is important to focus on the reasons for this decline. Several studies show that the taxpayer is reluctant to pay taxes, especially in countries at risk or in countries in transition, including Tunisia. This study focuses on the tax evasion behavior of a Tunisian taxpayer under the influence of his political beliefs, as well as the influence of different tax compliance variables. Using a questionnaire, a sample of 500 Tunisian taxpayers is used to examine the relationship between political beliefs and taxpayer affiliations and tax compliance variables, as well as the study of the causal link between political beliefs and fraudulent behavior. The data were examined using correlation, factor, and regression analysis and found a positive and statistically significant relationship between the different tax compliance variables and the tax evasion behavior. There is also a positive and statistically significant relationship between tax evasion and political beliefs and affiliations. The study of the relationship between political beliefs and compliance variables shows that they are closely related. The conclusion is to admit that tax evasion and political beliefs are closely linked, and the government should update its tax policy and modernize its administration in order to strengthen the credibility and disclosure of information in order to restore a relationship of trust between public authorities and the taxpayer.

Keywords: fiscal policy, political beliefs, tax evasion, taxpayer behavior

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2437 A Discourse Study of Multimodal Intertextuality in Egyptian Social Media Memes

Authors: Ola Hafez

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This study examines the way selected Egyptian digitally mediated memes utilize intertextuality as a means of expression. It is motivated by the emerging digital socio-political humorous practice using various forms of political commentary in Egyptian social media. One of these forms involves the use of memes incorporating (often doctored) video frames taken from Egyptian plays, films and songs, and relocated in a different socio-political context, often with a caption that re-appropriates the frame for the purpose of critical commentary, thus juxtaposing the socio-political phenomena being addressed and the Egyptian artistic and cultural heritage. The paper presents a discourse study of a convenience sample of a recent social media campaign and carries out two levels of analysis. At the micro level, the study pinpoints the various modes of intertextuality employed, including verbal as well as visual intertextuality in the light of the work of social semiotics by Kress and van Leeuwen. At the macro level, the paper sheds light on the socio-political implications of such practice in the light of Political Discourse Analysis.

Keywords: digitally mediated discourse, discourse analysis, Egyptian Arabic, intertextuality, memes, multimodality, political discourse analysis

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2436 The Aesthetic and Critiques of Weimar Democracy: The Counter and Complement to Carl Schmitt’s Political Myth

Authors: Peter Jin

Abstract:

Ever since the recent resurgence of interest in political theorist Carl Schmitt’s work, much of the current analysis on Schmitt has fo-cused on evaluating Schmitt’s legacy by exposing contradictions in his rationale. Rather than condemn such contradictions, this paper instead seeks to analyze these contradictions in an effort to better understand the radical shift in Schmitt’s intellectual trajectory from an astute critic of liberal democracy to a fascist apologist towards the end of the Weimar period. An essential part of this change is his interest in what Schmitt called ‘the emergence of aesthetics.’ Schmitt diagnosed the underlying issue with the aesthetic in the political sphere to be its irrationalism, indifference, and indeci-siveness. For Schmitt, the latter two of these were especially prob-lematic for two of his key concepts: the ‘political’ and ‘the shared historical reality.’ Schmitt’s radical depiction of ‘the political’ as an existential opposition of allegiances that necessitated a state of emergency and a decisionist sovereign political struggle required an equally radical justification, or Schmitt’s call for ‘a shared his-torical reality’ not based in historical fact yet able to mobilize the masses. In this way, Schmitt clearly condemns the indifferent, indecisive aesthetic that runs against his decisionist, action-oriented political theory. Yet despite his firm stance against aestheticism, Schmitt himself used the evocative and irrational power of aesthet-icism as a tool to present his own ‘political myth’ that compelled believers to join in decisive unity against a common enemy. In short, Schmitt’s contradictions on aestheticism and his creation of a ‘political myth’ suggest that Schmitt’s underlying conflict with aestheticism was not as much of an issue of irrationality as it was a chronic preoccupation with coercing concrete action at the expense of rational deliberation.

Keywords: aesthetics of the political, Carl Schmitt, political myth, Weimar democracy

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2435 Gender and Political Participation in Africa

Authors: Ibrahim Baba

Abstract:

The work examines the nature and causes of differential politics in Africa with particular reference to the sub-Saharan region of the continent. It also among other objectives provides alternative panacea to gender discrimination in African politics and offers solutions on how to promote political inclusion of all citizens in respect of gender differences in Africa. The work is conducted using library base documentation analysis.

Keywords: gender, political, participation, differential politics, sub-Saharan Africa

Procedia PDF Downloads 375
2434 Use of Social Media in Political Communications: Example of Facebook

Authors: Havva Nur Tarakci, Bahar Urhan Torun

Abstract:

The transformation that is seen in every area of life by technology, especially internet technology changes the structure of political communications too. Internet, which is at the top of new communication technologies, affects political communications with its structure in a way that no traditional communication tools ever have and enables interaction and the channel between receiver and sender, and it becomes one of the most effective tools preferred among the political communication applications. This state as a result of technological convergence makes Internet an unobtainable place for political communication campaigns. Political communications, which means every kind of communication strategies that political parties called 'actors of political communications' use with the aim of messaging their opinions and party programmes to their present and potential voters who are a target group for them, is a type of communication that is frequently used also among social media tools at the present day. The electorate consisting of different structures is informed, directed, and managed by social media tools. Political parties easily reach their electorate by these tools without any limitations of both time and place and also are able to take the opinions and reactions of their electorate by the element of interaction that is a feature of social media. In this context, Facebook, which is a place that political parties use in social media at most, is a communication network including in our daily life since 2004. As it is one of the most popular social networks today, it is among the most-visited websites in the global scale. In this way, the research is based on the question, “How do the political parties use Facebook at the campaigns, which they conduct during the election periods, for informing their voters?” and it aims at clarifying the Facebook using practices of the political parties. In direction of this objective the official Facebook accounts of the four political parties (JDP–AKParti, PDP–BDP, RPP-CHP, NMP-MHP), which reach their voters by social media besides other communication tools, are treated, and a frame for the politics of Turkey is formed. The time of examination is constricted with totally two weeks, one week before the mayoral elections and one week after the mayoral elections, when it is supposed that the political parties use their Facebook accounts in full swing. As a research method, the method of content analysis is preferred, and the texts and the visual elements that are gotten are interpreted based on this analysis.

Keywords: Facebook, political communications, social media, electrorate

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2433 The Relationship between Organizational Political Behavior and Moral Values with Work Engagement in Sport Employees of National Iranian Gas Company

Authors: Seyed Salahedin Naghshbandi, Mahnaz Ahmadikhatir, Siavash Hamidzadeh

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between organizational political behavior and ethical values with the job enthusiasm of the sport personnel of the National Iranian Gas Company. The population of this research included all personnel of the National Iranian Gas Company's sports personnel (150 people). For collecting information, library resources and three questionnaires, organizational political behavior by Kaspar and Carlsen (1997), Lewall's moral values questionnaire (1986) and job enthusiasm questionnaire Schaufeli & Bekker (2003) have been used. Validity of the questionnaires was confirmed by university professors. Using Cronbach alpha correlation coefficient, the reliability of the organizational political behavior questionnaire was 0.92, the moral values questionnaire was 0.86 and the Schaufeli & Baker job enthusiasm questionnaire was 0.91-0.96. The results of this research show a significant, direct and positive relationship between the components of job aspiration with political behavior and ethical values. Therefore, managers of organizations should, as far as possible, remove political behaviors from the organization and be able to institutionalize ethical values in their organization so that they can increase employee eagerness.

Keywords: political behavior, ethical values, job enthusiasm, staff, national Iranian gas company

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2432 Democratic Political Socialization of the 5th and 6th Graders under the Authority of Dusit District Office, Bangkok

Authors: Mathinee Khongsatid, Phusit Phukamchanoad, Sakapas Saengchai

Abstract:

This research aims to study the democratic political socialization of the 5th and 6th Graders under the Authority of Dusit District Office, Bangkok by using stratified sampling for probability sampling and using purposive sampling for non-probability sampling to collect data toward the distribution of questionnaires to 300 respondents. This covers all of the schools under the authority of Dusit District Office. The researcher analyzed the data by using descriptive statistics which include arithmetic mean and standard deviation. The result shows that 5th and 6th graders under the authority of Dusit District Office, Bangkok, have displayed some characteristics following democratic political socialization both inside and outside classroom as well as outside school. However, the democratic political socialization in classroom through grouping and class participation is much more emphasized.

Keywords: democratic, political socialization, students grades 5-6, descriptive statistics

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2431 Recontextualisation of Political Discourse: A Case Study of Translation of News Stories

Authors: Hossein Sabouri

Abstract:

News stories as one of the branches of political discourse has always been regarded a sensitive and challenging area. Political translators often encounter some struggles that are vitally important when it comes to deal with the political tension between the source culture and the target one. Translating news stories is of prime importance since it has widespread availability and power of defining or even changing the facts. News translation is usually more than straight transfer of source text. Like original text endeavoring to manipulate the readers’ minds with imposing their ideologies, translated text seeking to change these ideologies influenced by ideological power. In other words, translation product is not considered more than a recontextualisation of the source text. The present study examines possible criteria for occurring changes in the translation process of news stories based on the ideological and political stance of translator using theories of ‘critical discourse analysis’and ‘translation and power. Fairclough investigates the ideological issues in (political) discourse and Tymoczko studies the political and power-related engagement of the translator in the process of translation. Incorporation of Fairclough and Gentzler and Tymoczko’s theories paves the way for the researcher to looks at the ideological power position of the translator. Data collection and analysis have been accomplished using 17 political-text samples taken from online news agencies which are related to the ‘Iran’s Nuclear Program’. Based on the findings, recontextualisation is mainly observed in terms of the strategies of ‘substitution, omissions, and addition’ in the translation process. The results of the study suggest that there is a significant relationship between the translation of political texts and ideologies of target culture.

Keywords: news translation, recontextualisation, ideological power, political discourse

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2430 Rival Conceptions of Sovereignty in Modern South Asian Political Thought: An Analysis Through the Writings of Maulana Syed Abul Ala Maududi and Maulana Hifzurrahman Seoharvi

Authors: Mohammad Saif

Abstract:

In the post-Westphalianworld order, the concept of sovereignty has been a fundamental area of inquiry in Political Science, International Relations, and International Law. Modern Islamic political thought has also dedicated a fair share of debate on the subject. The debate fundamentally revolves around the ‘ontological differentiation’ between western and Islamic political thought. While the centrality of the individual in western political thought regards the individual as the center of universe, Islamic Political thought provides that space to God. The modern liberal democratic principles suggest sovereignty as one of the major attributes of modern nation state; Islamists regard sovereignty as an attribute of God. However, the position regarding God’ssovereignty in Islamic political thought is not coherent in conception. Some scholars regard such a position as ‘the political interpretation of Islam’. This paper is an attempt to first analyze the fundamental discord between two rival political ideologies (western and Islamic), and then forward a debate on the subject of sovereignty in South Asian Islamic Political thought, particularly between Syed Abul Ala Maududi (ideological father of modern islamist movements) andHifzurrahmanSeoharvi (lesser known in Academia but highly influential in shaping Deobandi position of principles related to political nature of Islamic theology). Maududi regardssovereignty as an attribute of God and the rulers as subservient to Gods will, Seoharvi suggests that God's sovereignty does not entail that the caliph or amir cannot be a ruler or hakim, nor can his command or hukum be an order. Certain references have also been made to contemporary scholars like Sayidd Qutub, Rashid al Ghanouchi, who in one way or the other have contributed to the debate on ‘sovereignty in Islamic thought’.

Keywords: nation state, sovereigty, sovereignty of God (Hakimmiyah), deoband

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2429 Populism in the Age of Twitter: How Social Media Contextualized New Insights on an Old Phenomenon

Authors: Djehich Mohamed Yousri

Abstract:

With the advent of social media, political communication scholars have systematically reviewed theories and empirical findings that revolve around media use and democracy. It is interesting that around the same time period, there has been a trend towards revitalization of political populism in different latitudes around the world. This wide-ranging populist movement has expanded regardless of whether these political systems are established democracies, emerging democracies, or societies mired in endangered political contexts. This article serves as an introductory piece to a special issue on populism. First, it highlights the ways in which "populism", as an ancient phenomenon, has transmigrated into the political sphere in the age of social media. Second, the article seeks to better define the populist context and how it has evolved in today's hybrid media society. Finally, this introduction also lays the groundwork for six data-driven theoretical core papers that cover many of the important issues revolving around the phenomenon of populism today.

Keywords: democracy, facebook, populism, social media, twitter

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2428 Representation of the Kurdish Opposition: From Periphery to Center

Authors: Songul Miftakhov

Abstract:

This study explores political representation and engagement of Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions, known to have dense Kurdish population and referred further to as Eastern region, in the Turkish parliament between 1946 and 1980. Traditional local notables had most of the privileges to be represented given their connectedness with political parties. Traditional local notables integrated into right-wing parties considering political and economic aspects. At the same time, they kept control over local political involvement channels. As a result, political representation and presence were monopolized at central, local and civil society levels. One part of Kurdish intellectuals was marginalized from the parliament after addressing issues in Eastern Anatolia and trying to develop solutions apart from the mainstream. Some of them took part in Kurdish oppositional left wing in the 1960s and jounced power of settled notables in 1970s in local administrations or as independent members of the parliament.

Keywords: Kurdish representation, parliament, local nobles, Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia

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