Rebel Groups between Adaptation and Ideological Continuity: The Impact of Sustained Political Participation

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 513-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedetta Berti
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
State Building ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Institutional Politics ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
The Impact

The question of how involvement in institutional politics and governance affects rebel groups’ behaviour is pertinent when studying violent non-state actors, both during and in the aftermath of conflict. This is especially the case when participation in the political system becomes sustained over time. The interactions between the political and governance practices of a rebel group and its overall ideological orientation and state-building aspirations are not sufficiently analysed in the literature, especially in the context of hybrid armed-political organizations operating in latent, frozen or protracted conflicts. This article aims to begin to fill this gap by examining how involvement in institutional politics has shaped both Hamas’s and Hezbollah’s branding, interpretation and reliance on their own constitutive ideological manifestos, with an emphasis on both organizations’ dynamic processes aimed at reconciling political participation with their previous ideological rejection of the legitimacy of the political system and their constitutive calls to dramatically restructure the political order. Based on these detailed accounts, this article reflects on how the complex relationship between politics, electoral competition, governance and ideological principles can shape an armed group’s political identity.

scholarly journals Possibility of non-institutional political participation within the non-responsive system of Serbia: The impact of (dis)trust and internal political efficiency

Sociologija ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 400-418
Author(s):  
Irena Fiket ◽  
Gazela Pudar-Drasko
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political System ◽  
Civic Participation ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Trust In Institutions ◽  
The One ◽  
The Impact

Starting from the findings of previous studies, whose results speak of the distrust of Serbian citizens in political institutions and political actors, low turnout and general passivity and apathy of citizens, the authors deal with the understanding of non-institutional political participation in Serbia. The paper starts from the assumption that the stated indicators pointing to the withdrawal of Serbian citizens from political life do not necessarily represent part of the same phenomenon. Namely, the authors believe that it is necessary to distinguish between the assumptions of institutional and non-institutional civic participation. On the one hand, the authors start from the thesis that high trust in institutions can actually negatively affect the need of citizens to mobilize in order to influence institutions. At the same time, citizens may be inclined to participate in political life through non-institutional channels if they posses a developed sense of internal political efficiency, which is not necessary related to the responsiveness of the political system.

Identity concerns drive belief: The impact of partisan identity on the belief and dissemination of true and false news

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Pereira ◽  
Jay Joseph Van Bavel ◽  
Elizabeth Ann Harris
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Political Beliefs ◽  
System P ◽  
False News ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
The Impact

Political misinformation, often called “fake news”, represents a threat to our democracies because it impedes citizens from being appropriately informed. Evidence suggests that fake news spreads more rapidly than real news—especially when it contains political content. The present article tests three competing theoretical accounts that have been proposed to explain the rise and spread of political (fake) news: (1) the ideology hypothesis— people prefer news that bolsters their values and worldviews; (2) the confirmation bias hypothesis—people prefer news that fits their pre-existing stereotypical knowledge; and (3) the political identity hypothesis—people prefer news that allows their political in-group to fulfill certain social goals. We conducted three experiments in which American participants read news that concerned behaviors perpetrated by their political in-group or out-group and measured the extent to which they believed the news (Exp. 1, Exp. 2, Exp. 3), and were willing to share the news on social media (Exp. 2 and 3). Results revealed that Democrats and Republicans were both more likely to believe news about the value-upholding behavior of their in-group or the value-undermining behavior of their out-group, supporting a political identity hypothesis. However, although belief was positively correlated with willingness to share on social media in all conditions, we also found that Republicans were more likely to believe and want to share apolitical fake new. We discuss the implications for theoretical explanations of political beliefs and application of these concepts in in polarized political system.

Referendum konstytucyjne we Włoszech. Jak głosowanie ludowe wpływa na system polityczny państwa?

2017 ◽  
pp. 110-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Public Support ◽  
The Political ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

This article analyses the impact of constitutional referendums on the political system in Italy. There were three constitutional referendums conducted in 2001, 2006 and 2016. All of them have been organised by the ruling parties, however, only the first one was successful. In the subsequent referendums, the proposals for amending the constitution have been rejected by voters. The article finds that lack of public support for the government resulted in voting „no” in the referendum.

Back to the Westminster model? The Brexit process and the UK political system

2021 ◽  
pp. 019251212096737
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Baldini ◽  
Edoardo Bressanelli ◽  
Emanuele Massetti
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Party System ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Executive Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Westminster Model ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Quantitative Indicators ◽  
The Impact

This article investigates the impact of Brexit on the British political system. By critically engaging with the conceptualisation of the Westminster model proposed by Arend Lijphart, it analyses the strains of Brexit on three dimensions developed from from Lijphart’s framework: elections and the party system, executive– legislative dynamics and the relationship between central and devolved administrations. Supplementing quantitative indicators with an in-depth qualitative analysis, the article shows that the process of Brexit has ultimately reaffirmed, with some important caveats, key features of the Westminster model: the resilience of the two-party system, executive dominance over Parliament and the unitary character of the political system. Inheriting a context marked by the progressive weakening of key majoritarian features of the political system, the Brexit process has brought back some of the traditional executive power-hoarding dynamics. Yet, this prevailing trend has created strains and resistances that keep the political process open to different developments.

scholarly journals On the Issue of the Substitution of Concepts in Determining the Subjects of the Political System of Society (Based on a Critical Analysis of Modern Legal Literature on the Theory of State and Law)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 228-236
Author(s):  
Vladimir Valentinovich Kozhevnikov
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Scientific Article ◽  
Political Organizations ◽  
Political Aspect ◽  
Educational Literature ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Logical Error

This scientific article is devoted to some theoretical problems of the theory of the political system of society. The purpose of the article is to show the true, objective position in relation to the subjects of the political system. To solve this goal, the following tasks were set: a critical analysis of the opinions of those authors who consider as such: 1) criminal communities; 2) public organizations with an insignificant political aspect. Moreover, both in the first and in the second case, it has been proven that scientists are engaged in the substitution of concepts, that is, they commit a logical error. Result: 1) criminal associations are not subjects of the political system of society; 2) according to the political criterion, it is necessary to distinguish only proper political and not proper political organizations; 3) general theoretical provisions, opposite to those stated, differing in illogicality, do not contribute to improving the quality of educational literature on the theory of state and law.

Alternatieve consumptie als vorm van politieke participatie ? : Een onderzoek naar de politieke motivatie voor het lidmaatschap van Voedselteams in Vlaanderen

Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-55
Author(s):  
Marleen Baetens ◽  
Marc Hooghe
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Consumerism ◽  
Form Of Life ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Onderzoek Naar ◽  
General Decline ◽  
Full Form ◽  
Definition Of

Despite the fact that various authors have expressed concern about a general decline of civic engagement in Western societies, other indicators portray a transition from traditional and formal participation formats to more informal participation forms. This replacement thesis, however, entails the question whether these new forms can still be regarded as a form of political participation. The Alternative Food Circles in Belgium can be considered as a typical grass-roots example of 'political consumerism', which is portrayed as a contemporary alternative for institutionalised politics. In a member survey, 163 members of the Circles were questioned about their motives to participate. They clearly paid little attention to influencing the political system, but notions of solidarity and social change were clearl y present. This form of political consumerism therefore cannot be considered a full form of political participation (using an institutionalist definition of 'politics'), but it clearly is a form of 'life style politics' (Giddens).

Social Media as Alternative Public Sphere for Citizen Participation and Protest in National Politics in Zimbabwe

2018 ◽  
pp. 17-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Collen Sabao ◽  
Tendai Owen Chikara
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The chapter examines and discusses the role and communicative potential of social media based platforms in citizen political participation and protests in Zimbabwe specifically focusing on the #thisflag movement on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. #thisflag is a social media-based platform that rose to challenge the Zimbabwean government over the political and economic decay as well as rampant corruption characterising the country contemporarily. While a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean politics, the impact and communicative potential of social media as an alternative public sphere was recently tested in nationwide protest stayaway organised through the Facebook and Twitter movement under the #thisflag handle/brand. This chapter discusses the manners in which such social media platforms impact national politics in Zimbabwe as well as globally, specifically looking at the #thisflag movement as a case study.

Social Media as Alternative Public Sphere for Citizen Participation and Protest in National Politics in Zimbabwe

2020 ◽  
pp. 772-786
Author(s):  
Collen Sabao ◽  
Tendai Owen Chikara
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
The Political ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The chapter examines and discusses the role and communicative potential of social media based platforms in citizen political participation and protests in Zimbabwe specifically focusing on the #thisflag movement on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. #thisflag is a social media-based platform that rose to challenge the Zimbabwean government over the political and economic decay as well as rampant corruption characterising the country contemporarily. While a new phenomenon to Zimbabwe and Zimbabwean politics, the impact and communicative potential of social media as an alternative public sphere was recently tested in nationwide protest stayaway organised through the Facebook and Twitter movement under the #thisflag handle/brand. This chapter discusses the manners in which such social media platforms impact national politics in Zimbabwe as well as globally, specifically looking at the #thisflag movement as a case study.

Europe’s LGBT Movement: France

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Paternotte ◽  
Massimo Prearo
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Movement Organizations ◽  
General Will ◽  
Lgbt Activism ◽  
Movement Organizations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Lgbt Movement ◽  
Limited Duration

Four moments can be identified in the development of LGBT activism in France: the tensions between private actions and acting publicly (1954–1974), the movement as an activist project (1974–1989), the first attempts of institutionalization (1989–1994), and the emergence of a space of LGBT activism (1994–2013). These moments are identified based on the nature of the collective action, the internal structure of the movement, the representativeness of national collectives, and the political plurality of the community of the LGBT movement. They show the nonlinear trajectory of the LGBT movement in France and confirm that the project of an LGBT movement, a structured and representative national organization, has never been fully achieved in the country. Two characteristics of the French political and social system contribute to explain this situation: a strong and inaccessible state that transcends civil society, and the impact of Republicanism. The closure of the French state, which restricts the opportunities available to activists, has had a significant impact on activism. It not only contributes to the individualization of protest, but also leads to a radicalization of activism, a limited duration of groups over time, and a lack of centralization, institutionalization, and NGOization of social movement organizations. This closure partly results from the Republicanist ideology, which requires the state to transcend civil society groups and the particular interests they would defend in favor of so-called general will. If the development of Republican ideas has historically facilitated the development of LGBT rights, Republicanism has more recently prevented LGBT activists from articulating a specific political identity.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document