Politics as Theatre: Metaphors of the Stage in German History, 1848–1933

1987 ◽  
Vol 37 ◽  
pp. 149-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Blackbourn

ALL the world's a stage, as we know, and the concept of atheatrum mundiis a venerable one. So too is the specific idea of politics as theatre. As an idea it may not seem very remarkable. Politics lives off metaphor, after all, and theatrical metaphor might seem especially appropriate to describe political activity. Do we not refer naturally to the political stage, to politicians assuming roles, to dramatic political scenes? This very naturalness, derived from repeated usage, presents a challenge. For one of the tasks of the historian is to show how what has come to seem natural came to seem so: to restore the novelty of artefacts and institutions we take for granted, to recover the impact of ideas and metaphors worn smooth by repetition. I want to argue below that metaphors of politics as theatre can be more than just a figure of speech: that they had specific and revealing meanings in the period of German history from the revolutions of 1848 to the advent of National Socialism.

Author(s):  
Vera Heuer ◽  
Gabriela Rangel

For decades, women were actively excluded from the political arena. As suffrage expanded around the world, women’s rights activists celebrated a major step toward gender equality in the political arena. Yet the gender gap in political engagement still persists to this day. Although in some countries, women are now found to turn out to vote at rates similar to men (and in industrialized countries, women may even vote at higher rates), they are still less likely to participate in many other types of political activities. Scholars have long investigated the factors influencing women’s political engagement. Early research focused heavily on individual level factors—most often lack of access to resources or informal networks—as determinants of the gender gap. A burgeoning body of literature, however, has identified institutions as an important factor influencing women’s political engagement. Thus this bibliography focuses on those institutional determinants of women’s political engagement defined as any type of political activity that nonelite women take part in. This includes voting, participating in campaigns, and engaging in demonstrations or protests, but also more cognitive aspects of engagement, such as political interest and political knowledge. This bibliography does not focus on the impact of institutions on women’s access or election into political office, as there is extensive literature on institutional determinants and women’s representation, which falls outside of the scope of women’s engagement as nonstate actors. The research outlined here, however, does consider a variety of institutional factors that influence women’s engagement. The bibliography begins by reviewing the literature on how the structures of the political system—including Regime Type, electoral rules, and quotas—impact women’s engagement. It then discusses how institutions can indirectly influence women’s political attitudes and behavior, by reviewing the impact of the composition of institutions on women’s engagement. That section is followed by a set of research that shows how institutional outcomes—namely Policy Outcomes and Institutional Support—influence various forms of political participation, and concludes with examples of nonstate institutions and their impact on women’s engagement.


2020 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 123-136
Author(s):  
Jędrzej Paszkiewicz

The aim of the article is to show the forms and content of public and political activity of the Slavic elites in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the time of Habsburg rule (1878–1914). The research into the press releases and academic publications allows to show the most prominent circles and individuals who aspired to be the representatives of the people, defined in accordance with ethnic and religious divisions. These groups are characterised via an analysis of the correlation between the socio-political circumstances in Bosnia and the external influences (such as ideologies, personal and organisation relations, the impact of the state authorities). The political stances among the most prominent circles are portrayed in the context of the legal and institutional solutions regarding Bosnia, as well as the ethnic and religious policy of the Habsburg administration.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 443-458 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zofia A. Brzozowska

Maria Lekapene was the granddaughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos. In 927 she married Peter I of Bulgaria. Her marriage in Constantinople aimed to strengthen the newly signed Byzantine-Bulgarian peace treaty. Historians attributed to the Empress a significant impact on the political moves of her hus­band. The Empress was also to introduce a lot of elements of the Byzantine theory of power in Bulgaria and even to play the role of spy of Constantinople at the Preslav court. These views have not been corroborated in surviving source mate­rial. The Byzantine authors, who provided a lot of information about the wed­ding of Maria and Peter, did not write anything about the subsequent behavior of the Empress in her new homeland. The political activity of the wife of Peter is not mentioned in indigenous Bulgarian sources or foreign ones (e.g. Liutprand of Cremona). The thesis that Maria wielded real political power can be confirmed only in sigillographic materials. In 927-945 the Bulgarian ruler was always rep­resented on his own official seals accompanied by his wife. However it was not a reflection of her status as a real co-emperor. These seals were propagandic arti­facts which were made to commemorate the peace of 927. The seals could also be seen as a tool legitimizing the imperial title of Peter. It is hard to consider Mary as the initiator of the Byzantinization of the culture of tenth-century Bulgaria. In 927 Lekapene arrived at the court, which was already quite familiar with the Byzantine civilization. This does not exclude the possibility of her personal im­pact on the new court. However, most likely the impact did not go beyond the walls of the Emperor’s headquarters.


Author(s):  
Nick J. Mulé

ABSTRACT Registered charities are restricted when engaging in advocacy, whereas Canadian nonprofits face a far more difficult time when fundraising. The impact of such limitations on Canadian gender and sexually diverse1 activist organizations is one example of the implications on Canada's democratization process. Despite the efforts of the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI), and updated political activity policies, Canada lags behind both the U.K. and U.S. in recognizing and legitimizing advocacy as an important contribution to its democratic process. An organized challenge of the system at the political and legal level is called for to address this issue.   RÉSUMÉ Les organismes de bienfaisance enregistrés font face à des contraintes lorsqu'ils défendent une cause, tandis que les organismes sans but lucratif rencontrent de nombreuses difficultés pour amasser des fonds. L'impact de ces contraintes sur les organisations militantes de genre et de sexualité diversifiés n'est qu'un exemple de répercussion sur le procédé de démocratisation du Canada. Malgré les efforts déployés par l'Initiative sur le secteur bénévole et communautaire (ISBC) et malgré la mise à jour de politiques sur l'activité politique, le gouvernement du Canada a du retard par rapport à ceux du Royaume-Uni et des États-Unis en matière de reconnaissance et de légitimation de la défense de causes en tant que contribution importante à son processus démocratique. Pour aborder cette question, nous sommes amenés à remettre en question le système de façon méthodique sur les plans politique et juridique.  


2021 ◽  
pp. 133-156
Author(s):  
Carew Boulding ◽  
Claudio A. Holzner

Chapter 6 takes a closer look at the impact of Latin America’s left turn on the political activism of poor people, and on political equality more generally. This chapter shows a surprising pattern: while the election of leftist governments did spark more political activity across the board, it did not produce more equal patterns of political participation. On the contrary, political participation is most stratified by wealth where radical-left parties or candidates govern. This chapter argues that the ideology of ruling parties matters less than expected for a number of reasons. First, due to their electoral and institutional dominance and weak organizational structure, ruling leftist parties in places like Bolivia, Ecuador, and Venezuela had neither the capacity nor the incentives to mobilize poor citizens outside of election. This is in contrast to European contexts where leftist parties face stiff electoral competition and have strong linkages to groups in society. Second, most research based on advanced democracies assumes that poor people are core constituents of leftist parties. In Latin America, in contrast, poor people are just as likely to hold right-of-center views as left-of-center views.


Author(s):  
Katarzyna Szkudlarek

Studies on electoral behavior systematically confirm the influence of individual characteristics and the characteristics of the citizens on the level of political activity. For the variables most commonly examined include: level of education, professional status, age, gender and place of residence. Studies conducted just before the local elections in Gniezno, in 2014, allow us to analyze the impact of these characteristics on the political activity of voters. The objective of the article reflection will attempt to determine whether and to what extent, those characteristics determine political attitudes of Gniezno electorate. 


2020 ◽  
pp. 147488512095514
Author(s):  
Bartłomiej Błesznowski

The article aims to analyse the thought of Edward Abramowski – a Polish philosopher, pioneer of psychology and theorist of the socialist cooperative movement. It attempts to reconstruct the impact that his social thought and his philosophical anthropology have had on the political activity of Polish cooperativism. In keeping with Michael Freeden’s thesis that an ideologist translates philosophical concepts into political practice, the author sees Abramowski as a thoroughly modern thinker who opened an alternative ideological path to the great political narratives of the day. The article points out the originality of the Polish philosopher’s proposition for the socialist movement, the goal being to achieve the political emancipation of the popular classes through economic activity undertaken by grassroots cooperatives operating outside state structures. The philosophical-sociological concept of ‘fraternity’ or ‘pure socialization’ leads Abramowski to formulate a doctrine of ‘stateless socialism’, in which popular political organizations use primordial, human-based cooperation to create new opportunities for community life. The last parts of the article show links between Abramowski's concepts and the modern school of commoning. The aim of this comparison is to show the doctrine of cooperativism can make a contribution to determining the political stakes of contemporary conflicts regarding biopolitical subjectivity.


Sains Insani ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-16
Author(s):  
Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub ◽  
Osman Md Rasip

This article discusses impact of UMNO-PAS political cooperation towards Islamic development in Malaysia from 1973 until 1978. The success of political cooperation in 1973 was the result of both UMNO’s leader, Tun Abdul Razak and PAS’s leader, Asri Muda willingness to explore a new political approach compared to what was being practiced at that time. Both leaders then started the development of a government known as the ‘Cooperation Government’ with the combination of UMNO and PAS in 1973 and later on, the development of the National Front’s (BN) Coalition Government in 1974. The Islamic religion benefits the most from the development of the Coalition Government which is a favourable gain for the Malays in Malaysia. Henceforth, this article will discuss in detail on the impact of the political cooperation between UMNO and PAS within the cooperation period. The methods used for this research is by interview and also by referring to secondary sources which are analyzed in a historical descriptive manner that is normally practiced in historical research. At the end of this research it is established that there are profound impacts to the Islamic religion within the UMNO-PAS cooperation period within 1973 to 1978 for example, the television and radio station beginning starting their programmes with the recitation from Quranic verses, the promulgation of ‘Adhan, alcohols are no longer served in official government’s function, lottery companies are not allowed to promote and announce the lottery results in official government’s media, the establishment of Islamic institution, the strengthening of Islamic education and the appropriate change in the relevant ministry’s symbols. This article can be utilized by subsequent researchers who wish to study the impact of political cooperation between UMNO and PAS. Keywords: political cooperation, UMNO-PAS, cooperation government ABTRAK:Makalah ini membincangkan mengenai impak kerjasama politik UMNO-PAS terhadap perkembangan Islam di Malaysia dari tahun 1973 hingga 1978. Kerjasama politik yang berjaya dibentuk bermula pada tahun 1973 adalah hasil daripada kesediaan Tun Abdul Razak dengan Mohd Asri Muda yang menerajui UMNO dan PAS pada ketika itu mencetuskan perubahan corak berpolitik yang berbeza berbanding sebelumnya. Maka, kedua-dua pemimpin ini kemudiannya merintis pembentukan sebuah kerajaan yang menggabungkan UMNO dengan PAS menerusi Kerajaan Campuran pada tahun 1973 dan Kerajaan Gabungan Barisan Nasional (BN) pada tahun 1974. Hasil daripada kejayaan penubuhan kedua-dua kerajaan ini, perkembangan Islam di negara ini bertambah pesat dan dapat dimanfaatkan oleh keseluruhan orang Melayu di Malaysia. Justeru, artikel ini membincangkan secara terperinci impak kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS dalam tempoh kerjasama politik berkenaan. Penyelidikan ini menggunapakai kaedah temubual dan menyorot sejumlah sumber sekunder yang kemudiannya dianalisis secara deskriptif sejarah (historical descriptive analysis) yang lazimnya dipraktikkan dalam kajian sejarah. Hasil kajian ini mendapati terdapat impak-impak jelas terhadap perkembangan Islam di negara ini sepanjang tempoh kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS dari tahun 1973 hingga 1978. Antara impak-impak tersebut ialah permulaan siaran televisyen dan radio dengan bacaan ayat-ayat suci Al-Quran, mengumandangkan suara azan, penghapusan arak dalam majlis-majlis kerajaan, penghapusan promosi dan keputusan judi di media kerajaan, penubuhan institusi Islam, pemerkasaan pendidikan Islam dan penukaran simbol institisu kerajaan. Akhirnya, artikel ini dapat dimanfaatkan oleh penyelidik-penyelidik berikutnya untuk menilai impak kerjasama politik antara UMNO dengan PAS.Kata kunci: kerjasama politik, UMNO-PAS, kerajaan campuran


Author(s):  
Wendy J. Schiller ◽  
Charles Stewart

This chapter integrates findings on indirect elections with current scholarship on the impact of the adoption of the Seventeenth Amendment and onset of direct elections. It constructs a comprehensive counterfactual analysis that helps demonstrate what the political outcomes would have been with direct elections in place since the founding, and in contrast, what Senate elections would look like after 1913 if indirect elections were still in place. It also addresses the question of whether U.S. senators represented states as units and responded to state governmental concerns more under the indirect system than they do under direct elections. It argues that indirect election had little impact on the Senate's overall partisan composition prior to 1913. Contrary to widespread belief, had direct election been in effect during the years immediately preceding the Seventeenth Amendment's passage, Republicans, not Democrats, would have benefited.


2017 ◽  
pp. 110-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Kużelewska

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.


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