Search

Abstract: Economic risk and instability are urgent and central facts in the lives of increasing numbers of Americans. Though experienced as “personal,” the causes of life disruptions like unemployment, eviction, and loss of health insurance are also deeply political. In this paper, we build on existing “single crisis” studies to offer a comprehensive theoretical and empirical picture of how life disruptions shape political behavior. We use several large surveys to show that personal crises generally dampen turnout but sometimes spur other political acts. We also find that highly politicized crises (such as those related to COVID) boost all forms of participation. Our findings speak to the importance of considering life disruptions in the study of political behavior, particularly in an era when the lives of Americans are especially precarious.

Prefigurative politics and social movement strategy: The roles of prefiguration in the reproduction, mobilisation and coordination of movements. Rethinking prefiguration: Alternatives, micropolitics and goals in social movements. The concept captures a variety of social experiments which critique the status quo (Cornish et al., [7]) whilst constructing 'alternative or utopian social relations in the present either in parallel with or in the course of, adversarial social movement protest' (L. S. Yates, [41], p. 236). [Extracted from the article]

In this article, I consider the global tradition of live art as a pedagogical force that draws on queer affect and resonance. Scholars of performance studies have situated live art in the field of experimental and undisciplined art but have not given enough attention to its pedagogical potential. In southern Africa, live art has been theorised as a practice that is leaky, transgressive, and undisciplined, emphasising risk, extremity and endurance. These conditions are partly shaped by the region’s historic struggle for liberation since the twentieth century but cannot be reduced to this period alone.As an African practitioner and scholar of live art with a Namibian and South African experience and training, I draw on various experiences of performing, workshopping, curating and researching live art, offering a queer vocabulary to develop the pedagogical potential of live art. I posit that this is a vocabulary for Archival F(r)ictions, emphasising the centrality of archival work in live artistic pedagogies. These pedagogical frameworks rely on the principles of critical consciousness, embodied learning and democratic participation as put forward by the Brazilian critical pedagogue Paulo Freire. As a result, I show how gestures of hoeing and smuggling can produce joy, pleasure, and irritations as sites of queer epistemic work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Europe, the multiplication of elections makes the election calendar a decisive issue given the decreasing participatory trend. Turnout is expected to be higher in simultaneous elections, while it lessens if several elections are held over a short period. The saliency of the preceding ballot may also affect participation in the next one. In this article, we argue that these temporal effects are crucial for European Parliament elections due to their second-order nature. We analyse how the position, frequency and nature of domestic ballots affect European Parliament elections turnout since 1979. Our results indicate that the participation level is less affected by the timing of elections than by their overall frequency. The type of preceding election also matters, although not the second-order nature per se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1975, my parents-in-law met in Lourenço Marques (Maputo, Mozambique). The period preceding their engagement was marked by profoundly contrasting experiences. Because of his political activities against the Estado Novo dictatorship, he was conscripted into the Portuguese Commandos and participated in the conflict that unfolded in northern Mozambique. Conversely, she travelled from the Portuguese metropolis to Lourenço Marques as a child (following her grandfather's promotion in public service), and had a happy childhood and adolescence, as documented in a collection of Super 8 films that were entrusted to me. How to reconcile such opposite experiences? And how to honour a legacy of images that do not cease to question me in the critical present? This photo-text essay focuses on a set of images that go beyond the commonly accepted depictions of Portuguese colonialism to problematize issues of resistance, indifference and complicity, showing how private and seemingly insignificant visual materials take part in collective forms of enunciation. It stresses the importance of landscape in conveying unassimilable and traumatic aspects of Portugal's problematic history, examining how different discourses and imaginal references about war and colonialism reflect various perspectives, experiences and sensibilities, which may or may not align with each other. Ultimately, by drawing on an experimental, self-reflexive and visual approach to history, the essay encourages readers to actively engage in shaping alternative public memories, capable of encompassing the intricacies and diverse facets of history's manifold manifestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Indianista movement in Bolivia, which emerged in the 1960s to challenge colonialism and promote the decolonization of Indigenous peoples. It explores the movement's ideologies and symbols, as well as its impact on the country's political landscape. The article also analyzes the alignment between the government of Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indigenous president, and the Indianista movement's goals. It discusses the concept of plurinationality in Bolivia and argues that it has not been fully realized in practice, with Indigenous voices and historical projects being silenced. The article calls for the reconstitution of Indigenous agendas to combat anti-Indigenous policies in Bolivia. [Extracted from the article]

This article aims to explore how Brazilian city-level public officials have used citizens' assemblies to implement climate policies effectively in communities where other emergencies require political action. We analyze the implementation of citizens' assemblies on climate change in three Brazilian cities in different regions, with distinct demographic densities, social development rates, and mayors' political affiliations. Cities are where people experience the most consequences of climate change. In the Brazilian context, the Bolsonaro federal administration has weakened both environmental and citizen participation policies. This adds to previously known challenges for policy making in the issue, including countering the interests of some industries and the construction sector. Citizens' assemblies are a democratic innovation that promotes the inclusion of the population in the development of public policies, particularly in times of democratic crisis. In this study, we examine the implementation process of citizens' assemblies in Brazil through interviews and documentary analysis of experiences implemented by the Brazilian NGO Delibera Brasil. This research offers valuable insights into the role of citizens' assemblies as catalysts for informed and participatory climate policymaking in Brazilian municipalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Green Deal (EGD) represents the most ambitious environmental policy framework in European history, aimed at improving the health and well-being of citizens and future generations through climate action and becoming the first climate-neutral region in the world by 2050. The EC has initiated the European Democracy Action Plan and the European Climate Pact to include the participation of citizens in a meaningful way to help achieve these goals (i.e. not simply a tokenistic gesture or box-ticking exercise). While these efforts to ensure greater citizen participation and deliberation in environmental policy are good first steps, there is still a lack of clarity about what meaningful citizen engagement should look like. This paper will propose that for such efforts to be successful, we need to assess different perspectives in the debate and provide recommendations based on this. This paper provides a systematic review of various approaches within the academic literature on citizen participation and deliberation in environmental policy (ecocentrism, biocentrism, ecomodernism, ecofeminism, environmental pragmatism, environmental citizenship, environmental rights, and environmental justice). Following this, we provide a list of 16 criteria (in five thematic sections) for policymakers, civil society organisations (CSOs), and society, to ensure meaningful citizen participation and deliberation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

American Indian students continue to experience marginalization in settler-colonial school systems in the United States. American Indian students receive disciplinary punishment more frequently and harshly than white peers. Overrepresentation of American Indian students in school discipline is a byproduct of a long history of oppressive settler-colonial schooling. To address racial disproportionality in school discipline, the Indigenous Learning Lab was enacted through building a university-school-family-community partnership at a rural high school. Learning Lab is a community-driven problem-solving process through which multiple school stakeholders take transformative actions, including identification of systemic challenges entrenched in the settler-colonial school system and design of a new, culturally responsive support system. White administrators and teachers, along with students, family, and community members from the local tribal nation, engaged in prefigurative political action as they participated in the collective design process of the new system. Prefiguration is a present embodiment of new social relations, allowing participants to try new decision-making structures that may lead to what can be considered possible futures. The purpose of this paper is to examine how school stakeholders exerted their collective agency to unpack systemic contradictions in the settler-colonial school system and design a new culturally responsive support system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union (EU). This outcome was not only unexpected but also had clear geographical and age‐bound divisions. While people over the age of 65 tended to vote to leave, younger voters were more likely to vote to remain a part of the EU. Reflecting on 7 years of journalism, this paper explores the ways in which young people have been represented by the news media with regards to the issue of Brexit. It analyses a database of 700 news media articles published from 2016 to 2022 across the UK, equating to 100 articles per calendar year and ranging from regional sources to those with an international reach. The paper showcases how young people occupy liminal spaces within the news media through an analysis of the language used to describe their political participation, and a focus on their role within political activism. As it is this media that dominates hegemonic narratives within traditional political spheres, the retelling and representation of young people's engagement serves, we argue, to reinforce their liminality as citizens apart. Reflecting on 7 years of journalism and analysing 700 news media articles related to Brexit and young people, this paper showcases how these media reinforce the liminal spaces occupied by this demographic in political discourse. As it is this media that dominates hegemonic narratives within traditional political spheres, the retelling and representation of young people's engagement serves, we argue, to reinforce their liminality as citizens apart. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores politics and political participation from the voices and perspectives of migrant slum dwellers in Agbogbloshie, the most populous migrant slum in Accra. Using in-depth interviews, the paper found that residents' conception of politics is couched in a pejorative sense as they view politics as a "dirty and deceitful game." While most migrants see politics as contested elections in which political elites struggle for power, they participate in politics mainly by voting in periodic elections. The main driver of migrants' political participation is the need to vote for political parties and governments that protect them against forced eviction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Assam Movement (1979–85) was one of the most significant political developments in the history of Assam. It demanded the detection and deportation of illegal immigrants from Assam. The movement passed through several phases, many of which involved violence. It includes the clashes between the agitators and the left-leaning political parties and organizations, which resulted in severe violence and even several fatalities. Certain works related to the violence and the Assam Movement provide information on the nature and timelines of those violence. However, there is a gap in the analysis of the reasons behind this development. Therefore, this paper attempts to understand the said gap historically. The primary sources for the study are archived files and documents. The study argues that the violence broke out as a result of the development of left politics, the emergence of regional political parties, and the left's involvement in the Assam Movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When studying the erosion of democratic institutions – such as elections – researchers often focus on elite co-optation or regime dynamics. Yet changes in political selection may also have long-term effects on the types of individuals seeking a political career, defining the dominant features of decision-makers down the road. I design a lab experiment to explore the effects of changes in political selection that accompanied authoritarian backsliding in Russia. Using a series of experiments, I show that creating an unfair playing field in elections and replacing elections with appointments for the local offices leads to self-selection of the risk-averse individuals into political careers. This happens because selection features like low costs of running (for regime candidates) and the absence of public evaluation for the appointees attract individuals who are more risk averse. This study demonstrates a causal mechanism connecting elements of authoritarian backsliding with citizen political ambition and contributes to our understanding of the long-term effects these changes may have on political participation, elite quality, and regime functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facebook was a major conduit to fake news exposure during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. This article explores factors that predict liking pages for "fake news" websites on the Facebook platform. Leveraging paired survey and digital trace data from 806 American Facebook users, we determine that 18.4% of subjects liked at least one page for a website that published fake news. A substantial share of fake news page likes (23.9%) came from lifestyle sites that also published misinformation. Regression analyses determine that age, male sex, Trump support, and political participation are associated with liking fake news pages. A network analysis based on audience overlap finds three page clusters of fake news content—two right-leaning and one left-leaning—that also contain a majority of political and news pages. Results add nuance to our understanding of fake news by illustrating the role of non-political sources in providing potential exposure to misinformation on Facebook. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizenship as an object of study goes beyond the mere recognition of formal rights and responsibilities and includes cultural and social practices in different spheres. In this sense, the exercise of citizenship is linked to different forms of political participation. Recent studies show that young people are distanced from traditional political participation and prefer alternative civic practices. Within this framework, the present study aims to investigate the social representations of citizenship of Argentinean adolescents (N = 32) aged between 16 and 18. To this end, participants were asked to elaborate a narrative about their experiences with citizenship in the framework of semi-structured interviews guided according to the Piagetian clinical method. The results obtained allow the construction of four analytical categories intended to describe how these adolescents represent citizenship: civic engagement, rights, nationality and voting. It is concluded that there is a plurality of social representations of this object, and it is necessary to elucidate their development, maintenance and transformation processes in future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the evolution of governance models within public administrations as they respond to complex socio-political challenges. It emphasizes the need to enhance the legitimacy and representativeness of decision-making processes in the face of persistent issues, social fragmentation, increasing inequalities, and political polarization. The study discusses two primary models: citizen participation, which promotes a more engaged form of democracy, and representative bureaucracy, which seeks to ensure that public administration reflects socio-demographic diversity. However, these frameworks have flaws, particularly in achieving representativeness and maintaining administrative efficiency. To address these issues, the concept of "Externally Active Representative Bureaucracy" (EARB) is proposed, which involves incorporating citizens directly into administrative structures to address specific challenges while improving the legitimacy and representativeness of decisions. The article reviews 155 academic articles to explore the various dimensions and effects of representative bureaucracy and citizen participation. The objective is to illustrate that EARB provides an innovative approach to public administration that bridges bureaucratic efficiency with citizen inclusion, inviting further research into this hybrid model to enhance our understanding of the operation of modern public administrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Islam and Muslim Life in West Africa: Practices, Trajectories and Influences" is a bilingual academic volume that explores the multifaceted nature of Islam in West Africa. The book covers various themes such as piety, gender dynamics, religion and state, activism, violence, and security, providing insights into the Muslim experiences in different West African countries. It challenges dichotomous representations of Islam in the region and promotes a more nuanced understanding of Islamic dynamism. The volume also examines the role of Islam in public life, its historical influences, and its interactions with the state and traditional authorities. It highlights the evolving dynamics of religious authority, expression, and influence in the digital age, as well as the impact of Islam on women's advocacy networks. The book also discusses the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Turkey to spread their religious influence in West Africa through various initiatives. Overall, the volume contributes to a more inclusive and informed discourse on the complex interplay between religion, society, and governance in West Africa. [Extracted from the article]

In an era of political polarization, growing anti-science sentiment, and pervasive inequities in the social drivers of health, a rising tide of potentially harmful state policy proposals in the United States threaten to undermine the health of the public. In response, our health system's population health and government relations offices partnered with key health advocacy organizations in our state of New Hampshire to offer an interactive virtual learning series aimed at preparing diverse professionals and citizens to effectively advocate for sound health policies. Two hundred forty-seven individuals registered for the six-session series. Our findings indicate that participants experienced increased awareness of the political determinants of health, better understanding of specific legislative proposals in New Hampshire, and enhanced preparedness for advocacy, with many reporting greater active engagement in advocacy. Given its flexible and virtual nature, this innovative learning model could easily be adapted to promote dialogue and advocacy for sound health policy in diverse regional contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we empirically test the impact of ideological distance between opposition parties and incumbents on consensus in parliament in two different countries, Portugal and Spain, amid changing economic conditions. To do so, we employ the Comparative Manifesto Project database and develop a measure of ideological distance on the left-right and the centre-periphery dimensions based on parties' preferences as expressed in their manifestos. We demonstrate that the economic crisis had different effects in the two countries. In Portugal, it amplified the negative impact on consensus of ideological distance between the incumbent and opposition parties. As expected, parties more distant from the incumbent on the left-right continuum were more likely to vote against legislation. In Spain, by contrast, changes in the party system forced traditional mainstream parties, especially the socialists, to increase their opposition in parliament. Moreover, the crisis amplified the effect of the centre-periphery dimension on parliamentary conflict. As a result, not only parties ideologically distant from the incumbent on the left-right continuum were more likely to vote against legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through in‐depth interviews, this study explored US youth climate justice activists' views and experiences of climate change education (CCE) and their recommendations for alternative educational approaches to advance climate justice. Youth activists (N = 16; ages 15 to 17) viewed education as critical to spurring societal transformation, however, most described narrowly focused (e.g., depoliticized; science‐centric) or inadequate (e.g., sparse, absent) school‐based CCE. Youths' recommendations emphasized the need for justice‐driven and action‐oriented CCE for all ages to equip all learners with the knowledge and skills to actively contribute to urgently needed, justice‐minded, systems‐level change. Findings have implications for curricular and policy change that enable education for climate justice action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russian political behaviour generated geopolitical and normative impetus for policy, institutional, and attitudinal change in other Baltic Sea Region (BSR) countries. Notable manifestations include Finland and Sweden joining NATO, Denmark ending its CSDP opt out, and revision of German diplomatic posture. These developments affirmed the extant Russia-scepticism of Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Ukraine became an informal member of a region whose centre of political gravity moved eastwards as its identity is recast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon recent insights in the social movements literature that have been looking at different facets of radicalisation, this paper explores processes of identity formation and 'emotion transformation' happening at the collective level and expressed through forms of non-conventional political participation. The key case study that is taken as an example is that of the recent pacific protests that took place at Boğaziçi University. Similar to recent studies that shed light on the study of radicalism in peaceful protests, we look at the main frames through which demands for social change by young activists participating in the protests are constructed and at the emotional frames that express grievances. In doing so, we focus on the representation of the movement on Twitter. These have the aim of challenging hegemonic discourses promoted by the status quo through forms of 'radicalism through protest' rather than 'radicalism through violence'. In exploring this area, we conduct a qualitative analysis of social media content looking at the use and reproduction of key messages meant to share common frames that construct processes of collective identification but also at the processes of 'emotion transformation' that shape radical collective claims and which seek to challenge the dominant political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to identify values related to political and civic participation methods among the two groups of radicalised youngsters: native youth who support movements labelled as far-right (N= 122) and migrant-origin self-identified Muslim youth with strong organisational ties with religious communities (N=109) in Germany, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. The study posits that these these radically aligned youngsters position themselves against politically moderate European citizens, who are less intuitive when making judgements on political affairs comparing to them. Diverging from the unifying European values and hypersensitivities, these youngsters' political reactions are often radical and loud in their safe-to-speak, segregated movements. By using the narrations of the range of mainstream modes of political participation, the current qualitative research asks what appears valuable for the two groups of young people to express their political discontent. Findings revealed that both groups highlighted similar values regarding voting. Self-identified Muslim youth stressed the importance of volunteering and street protests (despite not having participated in one). Many native youths, on the other hand, stressed the function of unlawful behaviour in street protests to pursue political objectives. The findings such as these are discussed considering the group differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the potential of youth transitions to explain and contextualize young people's engagements with politics. It starts with the discussion of the alleged detachment between young people and politics, recently challenged by research on alternative engagements and Do It Ourselves (DIO) politics (Pickard, Sarah. 2019. Politics, Protest and Young People. Political Participation and Dissent in the 21 Century Britain. London: Palgrave MacMillan. doi:). Then follows the discussion on the contributions which different currents on youth research have brought to the role of youth transitions in young people's engagements with politics. Youth transitions are afterwards defined as the strategic setting where intensive and plural engagements with politics may emerge if certain conditions are met. This is the context where a sense of place in the structural spectrum of inequality starts to develop and the correspondent agentic response blossoms, fostered by crucial encounters with significant others and the occurrence of critical moments. This account is brought by a qualitative approach based on the biographical records of a group of intensely mobilized young people, which retraces the individual processes of engagement made through transitions during education and from education to work, highlighting the contribution that transitional features may bring to the development of successful 'militant careers' (Filieulle, Olivier, Lilian Mathieu, and Cécile Péchu. 2009. Dictionnaire des Mouvements Sociaux. Presses de Sciences Po. doi:) and to incorporate contemporary young people's subjectivities in the political process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Democratic innovations scholars note that deliberation has the potential to counteract populism. However, so far, we do not know what the theoretical foundation would be to expect such an effect, nor do we know to what extent the supposed effect actually materialises empirically. This study adds to the literature by offering a theoretical framework and by testing this framework empirically. Specifically, we examine to what extent citizens with a high degree of populist attitudes became less populist after participating in a deliberative event. We study an actual citizens' assembly on climate mitigation policy in the Netherlands via pre- and post-surveys and carry out an SEM analysis (N = 105). We find that citizens with a higher degree of populist attitudes do become less populist, but find no evidence that this is due to the (perceived quality of the) deliberation. At the same time, the climate skeptics who participated became more populist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to examine the role played by organizational culture in young people's continuing underrepresentation in decision-making bodies, despite structural changes, in the context of Norwegian sport organizations. Data is based on a questionnaire centred on the experiences of young people in sport governance (n = 32 youth representatives) and semi-structured interviews with young (under 26 years) and older representatives of organizations affiliated with the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederations of Sports (n = 10). Findings show that Norwegian sport organizations foster a cultural understanding of young people which takes its structural expression in the separation of elements that are 'othering' the youth. Youth have also limited access to resources of power as a result of a lack of trust in older leaders. Prevailing culture mirrors an adult society in which young people need to upgrade their level of professionalism through education before they are invited to decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While think tanks are no longer solely a feature of Anglo-Saxon countries, they still appear less prevalent in consensus-oriented and neo-corporatist political regimes. To what extent do central characteristics of these countries shape the organizational characteristics and political activities of think tanks? We theoretically contribute to the existing literature on policy advice by drawing inspiration from niche theory, and empirically complement previous work by focusing on think tanks in Belgium, a country with a crowded and closed advisory landscape. Relying on a combination of data sources, our analysis highlights three central features of think tanks: (1) the long-term and anticipatory character of their policy advice, (2) the evidence-based nature of their policy work, and (3) their consensus-oriented mode of operating. The first two features echo what earlier studies in pluralist setting identified as key distinguishing characteristics. The third feature, their consensus-oriented mode of operating, represents a new element that turns out critical for understanding the niche of think tanks in Belgium. Its consensus-style tradition shows not only in how think tanks position themselves externally, but also in their internal organizational structure. Points for practitioners: - Think tanks have potential to be key providers of policy advice, also in relatively closed systems with neo-corporatist traits. - In such settings, think tanks especially benefit from a consensual mode of operating, both internally and externally. - The long-term orientation of think tanks can set them apart from other providers of policy advice, such as interest groups and political party think tanks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes public administrators' trust in citizens' capacities to participate in governance, their collaborative tendency, and the association between these factors and public administrators' willingness to implement citizen involvement efforts. The purpose of the study is to examine whether public administrators' trust in citizens' participatory capacities predicts a willingness to implement citizen participation efforts within the central administration of a Nordic welfare country. The central administration of Finland presents a counter case to previous studies, which have mostly focused on the United States. A unique survey of administrators, operationalized similarly to previous studies, was conducted, and analysis of the data provides both confirmatory and novel insights. The analysis finds that administrators' trust in citizens' participatory capacities strongly predicts their willingness to implement citizen participation initiatives. However, this relation can significantly decrease or increase depending on the degree to which administrators value the procedural legitimacy of collaborative governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The given information does not provide enough details to create a summary. [Extracted from the article]

Crowdfunding platforms have emerged as a promising contemporary means for mobilising collective civic actions to address local or social issues, improve community cohesion and develop the public good. This empirical study taps into the understudied civic crowdfunding platforms (CCP) developed to facilitate such actions, proposing, supporting and funding public‐interest projects through crowdsourcing and microfinancing. Previous studies have shown that individuals' characteristics affect their level of civic engagement with social issues. Considering the diversity of contributor motivations, we aim to shed light on the dynamics of emergent subpopulations of citizens who participate in CCPs. To this end, we use a sequential mixed‐methods approach to integrate our fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) findings with the results of an in‐depth qualitative study, to gain rich and robust inferences and meta‐inferences. In Study 1 (n = 316), we used fsQCA to explore five distinctive configural profiles that display the heterogeneity of civic backers' motivations, including civic champions, prosocial advocates, normative supporters, reward seekers and regret‐averse contributors. In Study 2, we corroborated and complemented our fsQCA inferences through an extreme‐case study and identified four boundary conditions. Taken together, our inferences and meta‐inferences address the heterogeneity of motivations for participating in CCPs, by understanding and theorising about diverse profiles of citizen backers. Finally, we offer practical implications for successful civic crowdfunding initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]