scholarly journals Factors of mass support for government in the times of structural reforms

2021 ◽  
pp. 73-104
Author(s):  
Boris Sokolov ◽  
Emil Kamalov
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Media Framing ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Approval Ratings ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Times

Any country in order to stay afloat sooner or later is forced to undertake large-scale internal reforms in various policy areas. However, structural reforms often bear adverse consequences for the population. As the studies of the US and European states show, one of the most crucial negative consequences is the decrease in mass support for the government that has initiated the reform. The latter manifests itself in a drop of approval ratings, trust in government, propensity to vote for the incumbent at the forthcoming elections. Such a decrease may lead to decreased legitimacy of the political power, thereby destabilizing the current political system. Is it possible to strike the balance between the necessity of reform and upholding trust on the society’s behalf? Can a government carry out painful reforms without provoking hatred? What conditions facilitate such balance? Although the factors of mass support play the central role in nowadays’ political science, the answers to the questions mentioned above remain unanswered. This article examines different options available to governments in order to preserve their mass support and legitimacy when conducting unpopular reforms, with a special emphasis on media framing. Using various theoretical sources and the recent literature on political support in Russia, it identifies various factors that may facilitate the use of the latter option in the Russian context.

scholarly journals Warlords, the United States, and the state of anarchy in Afghanistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Shah Azami
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Building ◽  
The State ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Illegal Mining ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

As part of its “War on Terror”, the United States (US) provided immense sums of money and advanced equipment to Afghan warlords in order to defeat and dismantle the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. Nearly two decades after the 2001 US-led intervention in Afghanistan that toppled the Taliban regime, the US continues supporting the warlords in various ways. As the intervention was also aimed at establishing a functioning state and reconstruction of the war-torn country, the US needed the support of local warlords to achieve its goals. However, over time, warlords and warlordism became a major challenge to the postTaliban state-building project and in many ways undermined the overall security and the state monopoly on violence. These warlords, who had been mostly expelled and defeated by the Taliban regime, returned under the aegis of the B52 bombers, recaptured parts of the country and reestablished their fiefdoms with US support and resources. They not only resist giving up the power and prestige they have accumulated over the past few years, but also hamper the effort to improve governance and enact necessary reforms in the country. In addition, many of them run their private militias and have been accused of serious human rights abuses as well as drug trafficking, arms smuggling, illegal mining and extortion in the areas under their control or influence. In many ways, they challenge the government authority and have become a major hurdle to the country’s emerging from lawlessness and anarchy. This paper explores the emergence and reemergence of warlords in Afghanistan as well as the evolution of chaos and anarchy in the country, especially after the US-led intervention of late 2001. It also analyzes the impact of the post-9/11 US support to Afghan warlords and its negative consequences for the overall stability and the US-led state-building process in Afghanistan.

scholarly journals A Historic View of the US Business Ethical Laws and Implications for Developing Countries like China

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheng-guo Zhu ◽  
Wen-zhong Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Ethical Problems ◽  
Us History ◽  
Ethical Behaviors ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Times ◽  
Institutional Construction

<p>In the nearly 150 years of the US history, following big historical events or business ethical dilemmas, the business ethical laws have evolved gradually, which can be divided into 11 stages in 4 levels. In each stage, the emphases or governance purposes of the business ethical laws differ greatly, but tend to bear the sign of the times. Through the systematic review and analysis, the paper concludes that in a specific era of the history, when facing a specific ethical dilemma, the government or regulatory authority will develop and perfect the related regulations or norms of business ethical behaviors in line with the feature of the period so as to effectively prevent or solve the ethical problems in the business environment. The practice of the US institutional construction may be of some enlightenment for developing countries like China.</p>

Nicaragua pandemic downplaying is a political gamble

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Social Impacts ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government ◽  
Trade And Investment ◽  
Economic And Social Impacts ◽  
Opposition Parties

Significance Some initiatives have been introduced to help counter the economic and social impacts of the pandemic, but the government’s actions appear to be driven less by the need to address the health crisis than by a desire to shore up political support ahead of elections next year. Impacts Opposition parties are beginning to forge electoral alliances in the hope of benefitting from popular frustration with the government. Trade and investment into Nicaragua will remain minimal, with external firms wary about the potential prevalence of COVID-19. The outcome of the US presidential elections in November will affect the potential for US aid and investment.

Sitting on the Fence: Bank Structural Reforms

2020 ◽  
pp. 91-110
Author(s):  
Scott James ◽  
Lucia Quaglia
Keyword(s):  
Moral Hazard ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Structural Reforms ◽  
Financial Industry ◽  
The Us ◽  
Bank Of England ◽  
Bank Structure ◽  
Main Driver ◽  
Independent Commission ◽  
The Eu

The main driver of new, stringent rules on bank structure was not pressure from elected officials, as the two largest UK political parties were ambiguous about the benefits of separating retail and investment banking. Instead, we argue that regulators in the Bank of England pushed strongly for ‘ring-fencing’ to address moral hazard concerns caused by too-big-to-fail banks. Despite fierce opposition from the financial industry, regulators were determined to trade up rules by actively cultivating political support through the Independent Commission on Banking (ICB) and in Parliament. At the international and EU levels, UK regulators acted as fence-sitters on banking reform for two reasons. First, unilateral reform by the US meant that it was not possible to push for an international solution with its traditional ally. Second, resistance to major structural reforms amongst several member states limited the scope for harmonization across the EU.

scholarly journals Elements and Channels of Bottom-Up Feedback in Contemporary China’s Political System

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 56-63
Author(s):  
A. Karneev
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Political System ◽  
World Order ◽  
100Th Anniversary ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Xi Jinping ◽  
Common People ◽  
International Media ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government

The Year 2021 is significant because of the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party of China (CCP). This is a plausible opportunity to review the accomplishments of the ruling party in the last decades, especially in the period of the current leadership headed by Xi Jinping. As China under Xi is edging closer to its ultimate aim of “the Great Renaissance of the Chinese Nation”, its relations with the US, the current hegemon of the world order have experienced a severe downturn. Seen against the backdrop of Сhina’s deteriorating relations with the US and the West in general in recent years, the public opinion in the country has generally shifted towards anti-western and patriotic sentiments. There is in the international media, as well as in academia, a widely accepted image of China under Xi Jinping as a country where there is significantly less space for pluralistic discussions, different opinions and independent voices. Critical opinions arguably have been effectively muted, and the realm of liberal freedoms has shrunk probably to the levels of the start of the reforms’ era or even earlier times. An ongoing debate on the issue of interaction between the government policies and public opinion is important to a better understanding of the evolution of the Chinese polity. Does the system block all the critical voices from below and allow the information flow only top-down? Or should we probably pay more attention to the concrete efforts by the governments at different levels to stimulate and legitimize the grass-roots reactions to government policies? In this article we take a look at whether there are still vibrant channels through which common people can voice their opinions, and whether the state keeps those channels of feedback working. The overall impression is that the above-mentioned image of the resurgent totalitarianism in China’s political system seriously underestimates the complexities of contemporary PRC, the country that is searching for its own China-centered methods and channels of activating citizens’ political participation.

scholarly journals Syrian Kurds, Rojava and Alternative Society Building in Middle East

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-40
Author(s):  
Krisztián Manzinger ◽  
Péter Wagner
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
Women's Rights ◽  
Political System ◽  
The Political ◽  
Women’S Rights ◽  
Mutual Respect ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Us Army ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Government

Answering to local expectations and the need for a reliant partner for the US Army in the fight against ISIS, a Kurdish-based de facto autonomous territory emerged in Northern Syria, which later turned into a multicultural entity. The characteristically leftist political, social, and economic changes implemented by the new regime differ considerably from the government models practised in the region; however, they also trigger significant criticism. Although in 2018 and 2019, the entity suffered important losses in territory due to the geopolitical interests of Russia, the US, and Turkey, the Au-tonomous Administration of North and East Syria still could be a solid pillar in Syria’s future. This is not only due to its strategic and military importance, but also because the political system could provide, nevertheless, after some changes, an alternative for the Middle East in terms of multicultural governance, women’s rights and society-building based on mutual respect.

scholarly journals Contextualizing the Economic Basis of Political Support: Government Economic Engagement, Economic Perceptions, and Democratic Satisfaction

2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 425-438
Author(s):  
Min Tang ◽  
Narisong Huhe
Keyword(s):  
Latin American ◽  
Political System ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Consistent Finding ◽  
Satisfaction With Democracy ◽  
Economic Basis ◽  
The Government ◽  
Economic Engagement ◽  
Economic Perceptions

Research has shown that citizens’ economic perceptions heavily influence their political support, both support for the incumbent government and support for the political system. Yet, inadequate attention has been paid to how the economic roles of the government shape the economic basis of political support. We argue that the extent to which the government is engaged in the economy determines how people attribute economic success or failure to the government and thus moderates the effect of economic perceptions. Focusing on one widely researched measurement of political support in a democratic setting, democratic satisfaction, we analyze the moderating effect of government economic engagement on the effect of economic perceptions among eighteen Latin American democracies. A consistent finding yielded in our study is that with a higher level of economic engagement of the government, there is a stronger association between citizens’ perceptions of economic conditions and their satisfaction with democracy.

The Revolving Door and the Entrenchment of the Permanent War Economy

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 391-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas K. Duncan ◽  
Christopher J. Coyne
Keyword(s):  
Revolving Door ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
War Economy ◽  
Military Industrial Complex ◽  
Us Military ◽  
The Us ◽  
Perverse Incentives ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Military

AbstractThis paper analyzes the “revolving door” phenomena in the military sector in the US. The revolving door refers to the back-and-forth movement of personnel between the government and private sector. We examine the structure of the revolving door and explain how its very nature leads to the perpetuation of the permanent war economy. This analysis yields several important implications. First, the dynamics of the revolving door shape the military-industrial complex in a way that serves the narrow interests of select elites rather than the broad interests of citizens. Second, because the perverse incentives are a product of the institutional structure of the US military sector, the negative consequences are also structural and cannot be solved by increased oversight.

Trump worries will weigh on Canada's economic agenda

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Political Support ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Presidential Election ◽  
The Government

Significance Trump’s victory in the US presidential election has created worries in Ottawa that a more protectionist line from Washington could further dampen weak Canadian business investment and export growth. The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced additional fiscal measures to stimulate economic growth, strengthen long-term economic competitiveness and provide more inclusive economic opportunities. Impacts Increased US oil and gas production could keep prices low, crimping the benefits of Canadian midstream investments. Backsliding on emissions reductions by Washington could sap political support for activist policies by Ottawa and other jurisdictions. US failure to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership would see Canada pursue bilateral arrangements with the Pacific Rim.

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