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The effect of Brexit is an important topic in European and British political agendas. In this study, we examine the effect of Brexit on the Portuguese labour market. We apply the synthetic control method to estimate how the number of UK citizens working in Portugal would have evolved if the Remain vote had won the referendum. Our results suggest that the Brexit referendum reduced the number of UK-dependent workers in Portugal, particularly in the case of non-university-educated, male individuals with temporary employment contracts. This reduction is explained by the decrease in the number of incomers. We also find that those UK citizens who were already working in Portugal before Brexit were more likely to continue working in the host country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Pós: Revista do Programa de POS-Graduacao Em Artes - EBA/UFMG is the property of Pos - Programa de Pos-graduacao em Artes (PPG-Artes) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of European Policy Analysis is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article explores the role of media in shaping public perceptions of migration, particularly in the Maghreb region. It highlights how media outlets can shape narratives and public discourse around migration, often driven by political agendas or opportunistic exploitation of uncertainties. The article emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding of migration that goes beyond security concerns and acknowledges the diverse motivations and experiences of migrants. It calls for responsible media use and a shift towards empathy and understanding in the portrayal of migration. The text also discusses the media's portrayal of the Harragas, Algerian youth who attempt irregular migration across the Mediterranean, and the need for a comprehensive understanding of the push and pull factors driving irregular migration. It examines how the Italian press frames the issue of migration, focusing on push factors and proposed solutions, and highlights the complexities of media coverage on migration in different countries. The document suggests that analyzing the media's portrayal of migration can provide valuable insights into the topic and contribute to more comprehensive and effective responses. It emphasizes the importance of responsible journalism and accurate information in countering fear and promoting understanding. [Extracted from the article]

The article explores the establishment of Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas (Presidio San Sabá) in Texas in 1757 as part of Spain's frontier policy against French interests. It argues that Presidio San Luis was more significant than previously believed and discusses the controversial figure of Captain Felipe de Rábago y Terán, who commanded the presidio. The article also examines the changing relationship between church and state in Spanish colonial policy and the influence of the Enlightenment and regalist agenda on Spanish administration. It provides historical context and sheds light on the motivations behind the establishment of Presidio San Luis. The article also discusses the establishment of Mission Santa Cruz de San Sabá and the strategic concerns and motivations behind it. It highlights the French threat, Indian alliances, and Comanche dominance in the region as factors that influenced the Spanish decision to establish the mission and presidio. The text also discusses the biased perspective of early historians and the need for caution when interpreting the friars' testimonies. It concludes by discussing the strategic importance of the San Sabá venture and the shifting priorities of Spain after acquiring Louisiana in 1763. The article suggests that Captain Felipe Rábago deserves reevaluation and recognition for his service and explores the potential reasons behind his interest in commanding the garrisons of San Xavier and San Sabá. [Extracted from the article]

Marxism-feminism is a vital field with diverse voices and different political agendas for social justice, from the defense of land and water to the reorganization of production. The anthology Marxist-Feminist Theories and Struggles Today aims to grasp the originality and relevance of that tradition. The book represents a variety of contributions, defined as Marxist feminist by their authors, who presented papers at the Marxist Feminist Congress in Vienna in 2016. This was the second International Marxist Feminist Conference, the first having been initiated by the feminist section of the Berlin Institute of Critical Theory. Drawing on different theoretical frameworks and practices of Marxist feminism, the edited anthology provides an invitation to converse about our understanding and practice of engaging gendered, racialized heterocapitalism for a better global future. This book symposium and its reviewers demonstrate the richness of the resulting conversation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following 9/11, the United States, led at the time by the George W. Bush administration, formulated and disseminated a political narrative replete with falsehoods and rigid binaries intended to justify changes to its domestic and foreign policy. That narrative was based on Orientalist tropes and American exceptionalism – ideas which have been part of American political discourse for more than a century. Two post-9/11 multi-narrator novels – Laila Halaby's Once in a Promised Land (2007) and Laila Lalami's The Other Americans (2019) – respond to the dominant political narrative by deconstructing the binaries it is based on and by demonstrating its harmfulness to American society. Through close readings that analyze the ideological implications of the polyphonic novel form, this paper reveals that Halaby's and Lalami's novels implicate the narrative in the destructive political polarization of the 2000s and the 2010s while subverting persistent modes of anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment. Mikhail Bakhtin's notions of polyphony and dialogism, as well as Jody Byrd's concept of cacophony, clarify the ways that narration is used in Once in a Promised Land and The Other Americans to enable the indictment of the post-9/11 narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European right-wing populism is a widely studied phenomenon in recent years. At the same time, many fact-checking projects have been launched with the purpose of assessing statements from the most relevant social actors. The role of fact-checkers is growing, but there is scant literature on their agenda. In this study, we investigate the communication strategies on Twitter of European right-wing populist parties and their relationship with the agenda of fact-checking initiatives in Germany, France, Spain and Portugal. Based on a content analysis of tweets covering political content (n = 4212), we analyze not only the agenda but also the use of propaganda mechanisms and the scope of the tweets. The results show how the agenda of right-wing populism was composed of ideological thematic issues. Fact-checkers focus on competitor leaders and generate lower interaction. These findings contribute to increasing research on both actors, arguing that the focus on political leaders impacts on fact-checking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the benefits of increasing descriptive diversity in Congress are well explored, less attention has been paid to the positive impacts of increasing descriptive diversity in elections. Employing a comprehensive collection of campaign platform text from nearly 5,000 campaign websites, we find that Democratic male and white candidates are significantly more likely to take up women's and Black-associated issues when a candidate who possesses that identity runs in their same-party primary election. Extending our analysis to military veterans, we find that Republicans are more likely to discuss veterans' issues when there is a military veteran in their primary; conversely, Democrats are not any more likely to discuss these issues when they run against a veteran. Looking to candidate position taking in the general election, our findings suggest that simply the presence of candidates from underrepresented populations in elections is important to broadening substantive representation in the legislative arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article tells the story of the rise of local labour legislation agenda in post-war Hong Kong in the period between 1969 and 1981. For over a hundred years, the legislation on labour issues has been mainly led by the Colonial Office, which was driven by the changing politics in Britain. Given the lack of channels for workers to participate in the government, the weak and divided union movement, and the unions' prioritization of external political agenda over local workers' welfare, workers' voices had no influence at all on labour legislation. Looking into three legislative campaigns between 1969 and 1981, this article reveals how non-governmental organizations, rather than labour unions, mobilized workers to develop the local labour agenda serving workers in Hong Kong. This is a missing chapter in the study of Hong Kong's labour legislation history and contributes to the understanding of the rise of the autonomous labour movement in post-war Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for gender inclusion was highlighted as the fifth sustainable development goal (SDG) (i.e. SDG5) and policies have been gearing towards attaining this objective and its subsequent effect on macroeconomic outcomes. Equally, the demonstrated trend of infrastructures in Africa in terms of stocks and future need is unique compared to the rest of the world. The objective of this study is therefore to empirically examine the effect of women's political inclusion on infrastructural development in Africa. The results through the system GMM and Quantile Regression techniques show that women's political inclusion enhances infrastructural development in Africa. The result is robust across different measures of infrastructures and political inclusion. Besides, the positive relationship is maintained across income groups, levels of political stability and export structure. However, the effect is not significant in countries with infrastructural scores around the extreme quantiles. The results of the study recommend African policy makers to prioritise the inclusion of women in the political agenda as one of the strategies towards the development of infrastructures. This could come through the putting in place of laws that favour women's participation in politics. Moreover, the countries should ratify international conventions that favour gender inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Foro Internacional is the property of El Colegio de Mexico AC and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Studies in Politics & Society / Polityka & Społeczeństwo is the property of University of Rzeszow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: This paper aims to use the obsolescing bargaining power (OBP) Model (Vernon, 1977, 1998) to analyze the case of United Company Rusal, a Russian politically connected multinational companies (MNCs) that was one of the world's largest aluminum companies between 2005 and 2014, having acquired and, ultimately, sold the Montenegrin aluminum smelter company Kombinat aluminijuma Podgorica.The authors did so with the aim of answering the following question: How do geopolitics affect the bargaining balance of power between a Russian MNC and a host country? Design/methodology/approach: The authors used the discourse analysis methodology to identify the key players in the bargaining process and illustrate the evolving bargaining process. Findings: The authors demonstrated that, over time, the shift in power from the Russian MNC to the host government had not merely been the result of the increase in committed MNC assets in the host country but, rather, of a geopolitical chess game involving the Russian Government, North Atlantic treaty organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU). By extending the OBP model with geopolitics, the authors found that a political agenda can influence the outcome of a bargaining process. Originality/value: The authors extended the OBP model to illustrate the complex interaction between an emerging market MNC and an emerging host country government, indirectly influenced by two supranational organizations – the EU and NATO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to identify the patterns of populists' tactics in foreign policy and to propose actionable recommendations to minimize the impacts of populism in Pakistan's foreign policy. International politics witnessed a surge in the rise of populist leaders all across the globe. The rise of populism is a new phenomenon with profound implications for state relations, and Pakistan is not an exception. This is non-experimental exploratory research employing qualitative data collection and analysis techniques. In line with Michael Zurn's analysis, this article assesses Pakistan's Foreign Policy in populist leaders' tenures. This paper delves into exploring the populism of Bhutto and Khan, and its impacts on Pakistan's foreign policy. The paper finds that Bhutto and Khan follow centralized foreign policy decision-making, employ populist Islamic and anti-west rhetoric, and poised foreign policy with their notorious political agendas. The paper recommends increasing public awareness and strengthening foreign policy-making institutions to minimize populist elements in foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Star Wars After Lucas: A Critical Guide to the Future of the Galaxy" by Dan Golding is a book that examines the Star Wars franchise after its creator, George Lucas, sold it to Disney. Golding explores the reception and impact of the new films, particularly "The Force Awakens," and delves into topics such as nostalgia, politics, and legacy. The book also discusses other Star Wars media, including the animated series "Rebels" and the film "Rogue One." Golding's analysis highlights the complex nature of the franchise and its cultural significance. This book is a valuable resource for scholars and fans interested in understanding the evolving legacy of Star Wars. [Extracted from the article]

This research aims to assess the local government’s capacity to develop anti-corruption policies for social assistance programs (Bansos) and post-Covid-19 economic recovery. The study examines deeply the effectiveness of the policy framework in combatting corruption at the local level. The research findings are intended to form the keystone for crafting regional anti-corruption policy strategies, particularly focusing on preventing corruption in social assistance funds during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research location chosen is the Government of Malang City, given the occurrence of widespread corruption within the local government in 2018 (https://antikorupsi.org/id/article/korupsimassal-wakil-rakyat-daerah). Have there been systematic efforts to enhance corruption prevention? This research was conducted between 2021 and 2022 during the economic recovery period following the Covid-19 pandemic, utilizing document analysis, mass media reports, and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). Employing content analysis and qualitative methods, this study highlights the necessity for innovative approaches to strengthen corruption prevention and eradication policy capabilities. While there is a commitment from local governments, concrete programs and action plans are still needed. Moreover, stricter mechanisms and enhanced oversights are essential to bolster corruption prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of critics and dissent in various contexts. It begins by highlighting the historical significance of critics in ancient Greece, where the constant questioning of established ways led to innovation and protection against neighboring empires. The article then references George Orwell's book "1984" to illustrate the dangers of controlling language and suppressing critical thinking. It also explores the negative consequences of an individual's inability to listen to critics and engage in meaningful discussions. The article concludes by emphasizing the value of dissent and the need for open-mindedness and adaptability in the face of societal challenges. [Extracted from the article]

This symposium makes a first step in bridging the emerging eco-social debate and the established political science theories and concepts, indicating the mutually beneficial analytical perspectives and common research pathways that may arise. In addition to identifying several aspects in the policy, politics and polity dimensions that appear to be particularly relevant in view of the emerging eco-social policies, this collection of articles points out two cross-cutting themes, namely the transformation of the welfare state set-ups, and new cleavages and power relations, which pose new questions and open a promising research agenda for political scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Daniel sees Antiochus IV Epiphanes as a latter-day Alexander. When interpreting Antiochus's death, the author draws on a Ptolemaic court tale of an animal prodigy that foreshadowed Alexander's own demise (Liber de Morte Testamentumque Alexandri Magni). Extensive and specific commonalities between Daniel and Liber de Morte suggest that MT Daniel, no less than the OG version, originated in Egypt. Intended readers are the maśkîlîm who fled there during and after the Antiochene crisis. While the visions interpret the death of Antiochus, the tales speak to the maśkîlîm's hopes for a new life under Ptolemy VI. This paper advances scholarship by proposing that inspiration for Daniel's Babylonian court setting, and for its apocalyptic imagery, came to our author courtesy of the Ptolemies, a Greek dynasty who used a birth anomaly tale set in Babylon to drive their political agenda in Egypt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localism has recently been placed back on the political agenda in many countries. Given this, the case for prioritizing the local should be subject to renewed scrutiny. In this review essay, I do this in two ways while being guided by two new books: Trevor Latimer's Small Isn't Beautiful: The Case Against Localism and Jennifer Vey and Nate Storring's edited collection, Hyperlocal: Place Governance in a Fragmented World. Firstly, I use Latimer to examine how the localist revolution—much heralded by some—has the potential not only to produce good as well as regrettable outcomes, but increasingly regrettable outcomes in the name of good. Secondly, I use Vey and Storring to examine why localist solutions emerge and sometimes become necessary in the face of state and federal neglect. But even so, this does not necessarily mean that localism alone, without centralized coordination and oversight, is enough. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The British colonialists employed cinema from two key viewpoints; the first was the use of cinema in consolidating and promoting the economic and political agendas of the imperial project. Secondly, cinema became a critical medium through which the moral and social welfare of the natives in the British colonies were promoted. The considerably scattering of scholarly works on African cinema have explored colonial film censorship in some parts of Africa, however, the specific case of the Gold Coast (Ghana) has been an under-studied subject. The article engages a critical dialogue on how early film censorship was practised and further seeks to interrogate the nexus between the imperial project and the British colonial film censorship activities in the Gold Coast. While this paper does not claim an exhaustive treatment of the field of film censorship practices in Ghana, it endeavors to lay out an initial inroad, generate interests and critical debates in this neglected field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The physical conquest of European powers on the rest of the world for the imposition of an accumulation of wealth monopoly and the destruction of native societies remains the foundation of the current global economy. Despite concepts of human flourishing, a term connected to empowerment that acts as an architectural structure within the development and sustainability discourse, the destruction of our planet and collective human wellbeing is not at the forefront of international political agendas. Scholars argue that the development agenda is maldevelopment due to the unrequested interventions delivered to communities, mainly in the Global South. Thus, despite the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the implementation of inner dimensions that facilitate empowerment and are an integral part of development is missing from these sophisticated global frameworks. This research article repositions empowerment and compassion at the centre of the sustainable development discourse by drawing on the Inner Development Framework, particularly goal one—Being—'Relationship to Self' and goal three—Relating—'Caring for others and the World' and the Capabilities Theory as a guiding theoretical underpinning. On this basis, this article presents a qualitative interpretative study that examines the lived experience of women and their journeys to empowerment. The key findings indicate an intricate relationship between wellbeing and empowerment and the realisation of inner development as a tool to re-imagine alternative futures. In addition, industries are profiteering from a sustainability and development agenda that is failing to address the disablement of communities by a paternalistic approach to empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NATO's involvement in Kosovo and its transformation from a military intervention to a UN-authorized peacekeeping operation has played a key role in the evolution of the alliance's strategic and political agenda. This article explores the importance of NATO's engagement with Kosovo in retrospect and in relation to the future outlook for European and global peace and security. It focuses on the centrality of this case for NATO's post-Cold War identity and as a key issue in the renewed political conflict associated with the transitional international order. We make three arguments. First, we argue that NATO's involvement in Kosovo has shaped and exacerbated the broader friction associated with the shifting international order. Second, we make the case that this engagement has played a key role in the strategic, political and operational development of NATO and its evolving identity. Thirdly, as a result of this, we argue that NATO's evolution and transformation in Kosovo was guided by what we call the logic of successful security practices. This entails making prudent political choices and implementing practical steps to harmonize divergent strategic interests among NATO members, adapting to shifting security circumstances, and upholding the organization's significance, credibility and influence both within and beyond the Euro-Atlantic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reviews the key political developments in Taiwan in 2023. Although no elections were held this year, elections dominated the political agenda. Once the candidates were selected, the main parties debated a range of issues, including Taiwan's international relations, the state of the economy, and nuclear power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Policy & Internet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Analysing the role of the European Union (EU) in dealing with the Syrian crisis and the Assad regime exposes limitations in the development of a coherent and effective European foreign and security policy. The EU found itself reacting to external and internal pressures rather than acting on its own impetus. This was related to multiple factors: the fragmentation on the ground, associated with the challenges of a gradually increasing lack of consensus among member states and the proactive and competitive presence of external players, contributed to the failure of the EU's strategies. Ultimately, the combination of these elements has led the EU to reduce its involvement in conflict resolution in favour of a greater focus on its own internal disputes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, the interest in searching for procedures and strategies to make energetic and economic use of residues from different industries has been an important part of the political agenda. There are several methods to determine the volume of residues from the forestry industry, but they are too time-consuming to apply. The objective of the present study was to establish a simpler and more efficient method to quantify the volume of residues from the forest industry. Ten controlled piles were made with residues from a private sawmill in the city of Durango, Mexico. To calculate the volume, two manual methods and one automatic method were used to calculate the stacking coefficient of the piles, while the water immersion method was used to calculate the real volume. A completely random experimental design was used for the analysis, where an analysis of variance and mean comparisons were performed at a significance level of P = 0.05. The results of the study show that the threshold segmentation method is faster, more practical and efficient than the other methods used. The estimation of the volume of these residues will contribute to generating sustainable alternatives for the development and use of forest industry resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This chapter brings forward a legal-political assessment of the so-called „Statute developing the Paris Convention” conceded by Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza and legitimized by plebiscite after the coup d’état of 2/14 May 1864. It argues in favour of an open-minded political analysis of Cuza’s reign, emphasizing the negative impact of this constitutional act on the Romanian constitutional-political development in the second half of the 19th century. The Statute was a milestone in Prince Cuza’s increasing authoritarian agenda and the official institutional architecture of his French-like democratic Caesarism. Despite the essential steps towards the modernization of Romanian society, Cuza’s authoritarian behaviour blocked the legitimate agenda of the Romanian political elites to modernize the Romanian state and political life upon the pillars of liberal constitutionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of working out a viable relationship between accepting and/or living with diversity on the one hand and fostering integration on the other has occupied public debates, political agendas, and social sciences for decades. Our point of departure is that the contemporary European context provides distinct challenges. We need to understand how postmigrant integration is shaped and conditioned by the European public space understood as a geographical space; a composite of legally and institutionally constituted entities; covering nations, regions, and cities mainly within but also beyond the EU; and a site of interaction, and public expression of contestation and cooperation. In so doing, we have to contend with the fact that such important perspectives for handling diversity as multiculturalism, interculturalism, transnationalism and cosmopolitanism occupy distinct roles within the European public space whose governance is multi-levelled yet not reducible to a single tiered system. The European public space is more encompassing than the EU even while that level of governance has some important regulative functions upon member states and to some extent even on non-EU states such as Norway and the UK, especially in what we refer to as the outer circle. While the national level is the most powerful normatively and by most other measures on the inclusion of difference (our inner circle), municipalities also contribute to the constitution of this space. We explore the logics of our four 'isms' and of the tiers of governance and their interaction with each other, both the isms in tensions and syntheses with each other and differentially in relation to the levels of governance. This is an exercise that has not been done before. Our purpose is to suggest a new normativity that might feasibly achieve a broader degree of support and success than any of the isms have achieved alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the possibilities and obstacles in pedagogical practices in ECEC (Early Childhood Education and Care) in relation to developing relevant opportunities for participation for all children, by supporting their own engagements in order to expand their action possibilities. Over the last decades, the political agendas in the Nordic as well as other OECD countries have been led by an increasing focus on learning goals and standardized professional procedures, at the expense of a more situated and flexible pedagogy following children's own engagements. When concerns arise about children's well-being, development, and/or learning, this tendency seems to intensify, as descriptions of concerns are often based on assessments of children's individual (dis-)abilities, while investigations of children's own engagements and reasons for actions are seldom conducted. From a theoretical standpoint in critical psychology and social practice theory, we discuss collaborative processes among children and adults in relation to institutional conditions as inherently political, in the sense that the distribution of different access to social resources and opportunities for participation for different children is negotiated through such daily exchanges and therefore also involves questions about democracy. We explore the everyday life practices of children and professionals, analyzing how, through everyday practice, they constantly work on maintaining, reproducing, and transgressing the standardized demands. To understand such processes, we suggest a conceptual focus on the politics of everyday life and situated pedagogy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Right‐wing populism has become increasingly embedded in contemporary political systems. It poses challenges not only for societies but also for geographical analysis. This review article develops a fresh perspective through examining how right‐wing populists are engaging with urban infrastructure. Examining the literature on populism and urban infrastructure we outline 'infrastructural populism', a general heuristic to understand an emerging agenda of right‐wing politics. Four political fields are identified: (i) urban infrastructure as a field of morals to frame the 'people' and the 'elite', (ii) urban infrastructure as a field of ideological struggle, (iii) urban infrastructure as a field of national statecraft and (iv) urban infrastructure as a field of everyday practices and politics. The review throws new light on right‐wing populism by showing how central infrastructure is becoming to its contemporary articulations, and how the inherently elusive and extensive qualities of populism result in often contradictory political agendas that are both aligned with and articulated against existing politics of urban infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic freedom and global student mobility are both topics high on the scientific and political agenda. However, the relationship between transnational student mobility and academic freedom in national higher education systems has not yet been investigated cross-nationally. This study intends to answer the question on how a countries' level of academic freedom impacts on its' attractiveness as a study destination. We analyse this connection from a network analytic perspective. While our data covers 167 countries as receivers and senders, our network analysis takes the attributes of countries and their relationship to each other into account in order to estimate the net effect of academic freedom ties in the network of global student mobility. We expect global student mobility to be directed from countries with low levels of academic freedom to countries with high levels of academic freedom. At the same time, academic freedom might be an attractive characteristic of a country to retain students in its domestic higher education system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationally, particularly in Western societies, the concept of multiculturalism tends to be associated with 'progressive' and liberal social visions promoting cultural diversity and minority rights. However, multiculturalism may not necessarily be a 'cure' for social division, but a 'veil' that covers political fractures and imbalances within society. This study critically investigates the multiple interpretations of multiculturalism through language education in Taiwan. In recent years, the Taiwanese debate over multiculturalism has been deeply intertwined with political agendas related to cross-strait relations, reflecting a desire to signal Taiwan's alignment with international (mainly Western) discourse and practice on human rights. Focusing on the area of language education, this study examines how Taiwanese policy interprets multiculturalism and incorporates culturally diverse elements into the formal school curriculum. By shedding light on the politics behind multiculturalism, it discusses the identity politics behind the multicultural rhetoric and the political implications of curricular attempts to promote multilingualism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nobel Prize laureate Annie Ernaux is a celebrated writer, but she is also seen as a representative of the dominated within society, with all the ambiguities that the term 'representative' entails. While reception of her work remains contested in France, it has to be said that the personal and political agenda that has partly guided Ernaux's work - 'to avenge my kind and to avenge my gender' - is part of a political conception of literature that can take on a prescriptive or incitive value for writers who are class migrants and/or feminists. Through their critical comments, these writers influence Ernaux's way the work is read - by the author as well as by lay readers - granting social usefulness to the aesthetic 'transgression' usually attributed to her prose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Periodic changes continue to impact the fortunes of Twitter as a political communication and news-sharing platform, particularly among diverse individual and institutional African users. Yet few studies provide empirical insights into Twitter's changing role in campaign communication and its influence on news frame-building across the region, mainly in Nigeria. This study bridges the gap by analysing n = 763 tweets to determine how the political campaign discourse strategies in the tweeting activities of two prominent candidates influenced the news frame-building practices of mainstream newspapers during the four months of Nigeria's 2019 presidential campaign. Findings affirm that the Twittersphere served as a playground where candidates deployed diverse discourse frames correlating with political agendas to show their intent to integrate Twitter into their campaign communication strategies. Moreover, the candidates' tweets contribute to the journalistic frame-building process, although the newspapers tend to focus more on frame-setting than frame-sending due to the dynamic nature of journalistic content production across individual news outlets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article elucidates the approach Scotland has taken to tackling the issue of domestic abuse, arguing that feminists were an important driving force not simply in placing the issue of domestic abuse on the public and political agenda, but in successfully establishing the issue as a gender-based problem. The policy and service implications of a gender-based approach has led to Scotland being identified as an exemplar. We illustrate some of the achievements in addressing domestic abuse including the new Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act (DASA) but argue that for this work to be successful, domestic abuse needs to continue to be conceptualised as a consequence of continuing gender inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scientific world is in a state of upheaval for some time now. Whereas previously scientific papers and research results were published either for a limited audience or in special journals and therefore, access to them was restricted to a rather small community, often at (high) costs, the opening up of scientific research results is now on the political agenda. As always, there are two sides to this development, both for students and researchers, for universities (of applied sciences), and for society as a whole. In this article, we will first discuss some aspects of copyright law and the obligation to publish, followed by the topics of Open Access (OA) in general and the use of Creative Commons (CC) licenses. In doing so, special attention will be paid to the circumstances at FH JOANNEUM, a University of Applied Sciences (FHJ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geopolitical events, hybrid threats, and political agendas, particularly of a populist nature, are increasingly pervasive in global media, therefore the imperative to understand the intricacies of disinformation extends beyond mere countermeasures. To effectively mitigate the spread and creation of disinformation, an examination of the primary reasons contributing to its emergence is essential, thus the primary objective of the research is to investigate the most common reasons for the emergence of disinformation and assess its impact on society. The methodology used employs a diverse range of methods, including literature analysis, content analysis, historical methods, and legal interpretation where applicable. Furthermore, it utilizes general scientific techniques such as induction, deduction, and synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What is the political agenda that animates, justifies, and legitimizes resource extractivism in the context of sustainability transformations and climate action enhanced? This is a question of growing relevance across geographies and sectors of activity that we aim to address from the Latin American countryside. To this end, we start with a discussion on the political economy and ecology of contemporary agrarian extractivism. Then, we turn to examine the role of diverse state and social actors in the rise of agroextractivism for climate stewardship in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Paraguay. In Bolivia, the alliance of Evo Morales with diverse classes of capital and reliance on the extractive economy ultimately led to his downfall as he lost support from his social bases and was unwilling to give up state power. The rise of the flex sugarcane and oil palm complexes in Guatemala since the mid-2000s relies on the new political agenda of 'authoritarian corporate populism'. This involves political concessions to the underprivileged through public grants and multistakeholder governance, as in conventional populist political regimes. But additionally, authoritarian corporate populism involves concessions to working people and the environment in the private production realm. Violence, however, remains foundational to this political agenda, even if it is now cloaked in the rule of law. In Paraguay, the fierce rejection of Fernando Lugo's tepid attempts to regulate the agribusiness sector culminated in a "parliamentary coup" orchestrated by the landlord class and preceded by spectacular acts of violence against peasants. The coup paved the way for the continuing expansion of an agroextractive export model characterized by the adoption of new genetically modified soy varieties, recurring state violence, and increasing campesino and indigenous dispossession and marginalization. Following the three country-analysis we discuss how the alliance among state actors, elites and agroextractivist capital, including through multistakeholder initiatives, have limited the transformative potential of progressive governments to improve the living conditions of the working people. In so doing, the triple alliance relies on the traditional strategies of influencing regulatory frameworks and legitimizing discourses. But it also relies on new political strategies that combine the manufacturing of popular consent to the agroextractivist order with violence and selective repression cloaked in the rule of law. We conclude stressing how the 'green' ecomodernist turn of the agroextractivist agenda shifts attention away from the paradox of increasing the use of natural resources to cool down the planet. Rather, it privileges the sort of technical-administrative innovations that various flex crops complexes require to reproduce their necessary natural and social conditions of production of bioenergy and biomaterials for 'the common good.'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revival of the 'civic university' agenda in the UK reopens questions concerning the framing, control and application of 'knowledge'. While universities in the UK increasingly have to justify their work through benchmarking systems, questions persist over how 'excellence' and 'exchange' are understood, measured and valued in the context of pervasive capitalism. Such questions lead us to a concern over how knowledges (and knowledge-related resources) are exchanged, between whom and to what ends. In this article we consider the interface between knowledge exchange and political agendas that position higher education as servicing the reinvention of the UK as a 'science superpower', and the implications for development of the concept and practice of the civic university. We do so by reflecting on our own, and universities', situatedness within civic contexts. We explore how ideas of commoning may help us frame civic 'impact' as a multi-directional process in which the university, as much as the city, is changed by encounters with new or differing constructions of knowledge, based on the 'slow work' of relationship building rather than top-down agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disadvantage and privilege work together to uphold systems of inequality. Nevertheless, racial inequality is often described as Black disadvantage, while White privilege remains less visible. This onesided framing in public discourse may result in equally one-sided understandings of and policies aimed at reducing inequality. In the present research, we examined the use of and the reactions to Black disadvantage and White privilege frames in tweets. Twitter stands out as a public sphere inspiring both online and offline political discussions and protests around racial inequality (e.g. #BlackLivesMatter). We analyzed the framing of tweets using a combination of a rule-based and a machine-learning approach, resulting in two corpora of 11,292 (Study 1) and 31,984 tweets (Study 2, a direct replication of Study 1) using comparative frames of racial inequality. Users overall more often framed inequality as Black disadvantage than as White privilege. Moreover, tweets with a disadvantage frame were more often retweeted, but less often quoted and replied to than tweets with a privilege frame. These results show that racial inequality is often onesidedly framed in real online conversations and that this pattern may be reinforced by other users because they preferably pass on disadvantage frames. However, focusing on White privilege may provoke more discussion about racial inequality. Although effect sizes were small, these effects can impact content and perspectives in mainstream media, public opinion, and political agendas by guiding attention to certain aspects of racial inequality, but not others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During his first year in office, Rodrigo Chaves Robles has obtained high levels of support for his management, something atypical for presidents in Costa Rica in the last 20 years. Based on the data obtained from two surveys, the aim is to determine which variables and characteristics of the population are related to the assessment of the management of Chaves Robles, to generate an explanation for this phenomenon. It is concluded that the support of the population is not linked to the characteristics and leadership style of the president, or to the political agenda that he promotes; nor is there a relationship between the level of support expressed and the sociodemographic variables of the population. On the other hand, the perception of the population of their socioeconomic level and the channels used daily on politics do affect the assessment expressed of the work of the president. A relationship is also identified between certain religious practices and the positive assessment of the work of Chaves Robles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/Context: One of the effects of the internal war in Colombia was to hinder the expression of the social conflict and of the organizations that mobilize the popular sectors. The plebiscite to ratify the Peace Accord aimed at putting an end to the war was a politically polarized juncture channeled through the electoral process. The shift in the centrality of the issue of the internal war after the signing of the Accord opened the possibility of expression of the social conflict. However, in a country with weak social and political organizations to shape this conflict, it is expressed: 1) without politically aligned framings; 2) as a generalized discontent with the elites and a feeling of "tilted playing field". Therefore, political polarization after the plebiscite is low. We develop this argument based on the analysis of voters' positions in relation to the most important issues of the political agenda: Peace Agreement, redistributive agenda (taxes and welfare) and governmental management of the COVID pandemic, and gender agenda. Methodology: The article is based on 16 focus groups conducted between September and November 2021 in three regions of Colombia --Bogotá, Antioquia and the Caribbean-- in which voters from the two main 2018 electoral options participated, with gender balance and variation in occupation and between middle and lower classes. Conclusion: The data show that there is no political polarization at the citizen level. Instead, a high level of discontent towards political and economic elites is observed, which may be at the basis of electoral support for Petro in 2022. Originality: The article offers an alternative look at the perception that many Colombians have that they live in a polarized society and contributes to the understanding of electoral support for an "anti-system" force in the 2022 election. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the knowledge era, local development is directly related to the capacity of territories to respond to challenges in a globalized and competitive world context. Social innovation is increasingly integrated in discourses and political agendas, determining local development strategies. The objective of this work is oriented to: Design a systematization procedure for the creation of capacities for local development, contextualizing the main capacities to be developed in correspondence with the problems to be solved in the implementation of the Municipal Development Strategy of the municipality of Morón, in order to achieve an efficient and creative performance of the local individual and collective actors. For this purpose, the research-action-participation methodology is used, based on the analysis of a case study applied in a municipality with potential for development. As a result, the principles underlying the need to systematize the creation of innovation capacities for the performance of local actors, both individual and collective, in local development are defined; a tool for the derivation and integration of contents is proposed for the definition of the components of the capacities to be developed, a procedure for systematizing the creation and development of capacities is established and an approach to the creation of capacities in a context of social innovation for local development is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soils have achieved prominence in the political agenda of the European Commission with the proposal for a Soil Monitoring Law and the ambitious Soil Mission research framework. The EU Soil Observatory (EUSO) used the latest state‐of‐the‐art pan‐European datasets to propose a preliminary assessment of soil health in the EU based on 18 soil degradation proxy indicators. The body of knowledge will soon be enriched thanks to the investment of 1 billion euros towards the Mission 'A Soil Deal for Europe', which has the ambition to promote the development of new harmonized bottom‐up and top‐down soil health indicators. New data and knowledge are also anticipated through the national soil monitoring schemes to support the implementation of the Soil Monitoring Law. We present the Soil Mission roadmap towards assessing and achieving soil health in the EU by 2030 to meet Green Deal objectives. We introduce the EUSO Soil Health Dashboard, a soil degradation indicator tool using soil health indicators developed by the European Soil Data Centre (ESDAC) (2012–2023) that will contribute to Soil Monitoring Law assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stoking fear and hatred of foreign countries to serve internal needs has been a recurring pattern in Communist China. This article examines Chinese discursive treatment of the Soviet Union in 1966–1969 in textual, visual, and audio outlets. During the height of the Cultural Revolution, radical followers of Mao Zedong deliberately choreographed anti-Soviet propaganda in accordance with their evolving political agenda at home. By emphasizing the need to forestall "capitalist restoration" in China, the propagandists alleged that capitalism had already been restored in the USSR. In the face of strong inner-party objection to the terror and destruction of the Cultural Revolution, Maoist polemicists discredited and attacked their domestic foes by accusing them of disloyalty and collaboration with Soviet "revisionists" to subvert China's Communist system. The radical Maoists sought to justify the chaotic violence of the Cultural Revolution by conjuring up the threat of a Soviet invasion, hoping to refocus domestic mass struggle on alleged sympathizers of the USSR. Yet Mao's invocation of this war scare triggered a dangerous security dilemma and turned the USSR into a strategic enemy, a striking example of a self-fulfilling prophecy in world politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]