scholarly journals THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS ELITE IN CONTEMPORARY MACEDONIAN SOCIETY

Author(s):  
Dushka Matevska

In contrast to the political parties which are a relatively new social phenomenon, the religiosity is a universal social one which has been incorporated in almost every significant civilization and was established on the grounds of a certain religious component. Regarding the Christianity, this act has been directly bounded to the recognition of the Christianity as an official religion of the Roman Empire which led to an impermissible relationship between the church and the state. The Church began to neglect its holy duties more frequently by turning to secular ones. It was no longer a Church that served the people but, rather, it became a Church aspiring towards power and dominion. The focus of this paper will be the influence of the political elite on the religious situation in the Macedonian post-communist society. We will do our best to determine both the genesis and the reasons that led to such a firm link between the political parties of the Macedonian provenience and the Macedonian Orthodox Church, as well as the possible negative impact of this “matrimony” between the holy and the secular over the Macedonian multi-cultural, multi-ethnical and multi-confessional society especially in the post-conflict period.

Democracy allows the people to have equal rights in decision-making that can change their lives. Consequently, opposition and coalition exist in this political system. While the opposition aims to correct and evaluate various government decisions, the coalition is the power holder or supporter of the government. Because Indonesia is a country that uphold legal formal consisting of many political parties, a coalition government party must be formed. This is done by gathering other parties until the government can run effectively so that it has the basis of a combination and effective legitimacy. In the second period of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet, the emergence of political parties that were powerless and did not dare to become the government's opposition became evidence of the need for democratization. The emergence of elitism, centralization, and anti-public, as well as the freezing of political structures and the backwardness of the cultural attitudes of the Indonesian people caused the opposition to stand on the word of democratization. Therefore coalitions and opposition are two important parts in building a democratic governance system in Indonesia. This article underlines that democracy in the political elite tends to produce a pseudo and half-hearted democracy. Therefor, the portrait of democratization is needed as a reinforcement of all elements of civil society and thus is not seen as a "devout movement of the state", but an urgent movement to change the attitude of the state through changes in the political composition within it.


Author(s):  
Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde ◽  
Mirjam Künkler ◽  
Tine Stein

Is and can religion be seen as a foundation of the modern state? In this article Böckenförde discusses the relationship between state and religion while reviewing Hegel’s main writings on this question. Reconstructing Hegel’s concept of the state, Böckenförde points out that for Hegel, the state is simultaneously universal and historical. It is more than the political system or government—it is the polity in general and the structured form in which the people exist. Moreover, the state is the materialization of the ethical idea as such and the manifestation of how ‘truth’ in history became reality. In Hegel’s view, ‘truth’ is ultimately God’s will in the world. Further, for Hegel, state and religion are two forms of the same substance: reason. Morality and reason are closely intertwined in Hegel. Religion is a source of morality for the people, and the state and the Church are the institutional manifestations of reason. Böckenförde shows that Hegel identifies individual conscience as the core of each person’s freedom; however, Hegel denies a right to an aberrant conscience, indicating a very limited notion of freedom. Finally, Böckenförde discusses Hegel’s philosophy in light of the state today with its separation of state and religion. Since today’s state does not consider religion as part of its foundation, in Hegel’s view it would ‘stand freely in the air’. Böckenförde concludes, contrary to Hegel, that only the democratic process and the people’s agreement on the things that cannot be voted upon can form the basis of the state.


Author(s):  
Nasrullah Muhammad Nur

The discussion on the role of Islamic political parties in Muslim-majority countries is a hot conversation not only among the political elite but also in the lower society. Is a political party based on Islam is right to fight for the rights of Muslims or just a mere mask behind the Religion alias in the name of Islam in order to achieve certain goals? This article highlights the issue of how the role of Islamic political parties or the participation of Islamic parties in building the welfare of the people mandated to them especially when they are in power. How can an Islamic party gain a vote, take the sympathy of society when many of the people who are in doubt about the labeling of Islam in the party.


2021 ◽  
pp. 286-305
Author(s):  
A. A. Ivanov

The question of the attitude of the Orthodox Russian clergy to the right-wing political parties at the beginning of the 20th century — the Black Hundreds (the Union of the Russian People, the Russian People’s Union named after Mikhail Archangel, etc.) and Russian nationalists (the All-Russian National Union and related organizations) is considered. The novelty of the research is seen in the introduction into scientific circulation of new sources (materials of the church press), which make it possible to make a number of significant clarifications in the existing ideas about the relationship between the Orthodox Church and right-wing political organizations. Particular attention is paid to the differences in the views of clergymen on the Black Hundred unions and political structures of Russian nationalists. The reasons for the cooperation of conservative Orthodox pastors with the Black Hundred unions and organizations of Russian nationalists and the circumstances that forced the clergy to show concern for the views and activities of right-wing parties are shown. It is argued that the secularization and Westernization of Russian nationalism, which led to the departure of its ideologists and followers from the foundations of the Orthodox doctrine and church worldview, became the main reasons for the wary attitude of church circles towards the political organizations of Russian nationalists.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karolina Urbanska ◽  
Sam Pehrson ◽  
Serge Guimond

Populist attitudes have been shown to predict voting behaviour. These attitudes consist of a belief that everyday citizens are better judges of what is best for their own country than politicians and that the political elites are corrupt. As such, a clear ‘us’ (pure and good everyday citizens) and ‘them’ (the evil political elite) rhetoric is present. In the present research, we propose that identification with the government may predict whether people would vote for, and whether they have voted in the past for, a populist party (either from the political left or the political right). The present research (N = 562), carried out among French citizens, showed that lower government identification related to past voting behaviour, current voting intentions and likelihood to switch from a non-populist to a populist party. Identification with the government was also negatively associated to intention to abstain from voting. Moreover, government identification was a stronger predictor of these voting-related outcomes than the recently developed populist attitudes measures. Unexpectedly, national identification was a not a significant predictor of voting behaviour. In conclusion, the present research suggests that the extent to which citizens identify and feel represented by the government should be considered on par with populist attitudes in understanding support for populist parties. Perceiving that the government does not represent everyday people may be sufficient to abandon support for mainstream (non-populist) political parties.


Vox Patrum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 67 ◽  
pp. 277-288
Author(s):  
Alicja Leska

Alicja Leska in her article entitled On the range of problems concerning the relationship between the Church and the state in the late Antiquity outlines the way Christianity went from a persecuted religion to a state religion and demonstrates how Christianity changed the political and social relations in the Roman Empire completely and irretrievably. The Author indicates struggle and permeation of two worlds, pagan and Christian, during the economic crisis which started already in the 3rd century AD, barbarian invasions and migration of nations which intensi­fied in the 5th century as well as the division of the Roman Empire. She pre­sents arguments refuting the accusations of those historians who see the cause of Christianity’s victory in the ruin of the Roman Empire. Leska emphasizes it was a coincidence that the Church gained world importance at the time of the empire’s decline and fall into disorder. The Author points out that the Church, taking over the functions of the empire, was the only body able to manage the crisis of the West and assign meaning toit. Due to the unity and moral power and despite being shaken the same way like other institutions, the Church brought credit maintai­ning order and saving civilization.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-118
Author(s):  
Bekim Baliqi

Abstract This research aims to explore the relationship between the universities and political elite formation based on the case study of Kosovo. The key questions raised throughout the research are; how do the universities influence the formation of the political elites and how were the elites changed throughout time? Analysing these relationships in different periods, each with a different impact on the elite building processes, namely from the establishment of the University of Prishtina until recently. Central assumption here is that higher education institutions were the catalyst in the transformation of the political elites. Being a vital source of power, a control over it represents also a struggle for power between the rival forces with different political outcomes. Theoretical framework consists of John Higley approach on the elite formation, based in the context of post-conflict and divided society, such as Kosovo case.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Mhd Alfahjri Sukri

This research was conducted to see how Mohammad Natsir thought about the relationship between Islam and Pancasila. This study also explains the causes of Natsir's change of mind which initially supported Pancasila as part of Islam and later turned into an opponent of Pancasila in Konstituante on 11 November to 6 December 1957. The methodology used was a qualitative method by describing the results of the analysis carried out. The research data is obtained through a review of documents and scientific literature. The results of the study show that Mohammad Natsir's change of mind regarding the relationship between Islam and Pancasila was influenced by Mohammad Natsir's political socialization which began from Natsir's view of Islam influenced by the childhood environment (conditional and socio-cultural) in Minangkabau; direct influence from national figures such as Ahmad Hassan, H. Agus Salim, Sheikh Ahmad Syurkati and H. O Tjokroaminoto; the indirect influence of international figures throughout reading book such as Hassan Al-Banna, Amir Syakib Arselan, Rashid Ridha and Muhammad Abduh; the influence of Natsir's organization and political parties, namely Jong Islamieten Bond (JIB), Islamic Unity (Persis), and Masyumi political parties; and the influence of the political conditions at that time which made Natsir's views change, which initially accepted Pancasila and then became an opponent of the Pancasila. This research shown there are two patterns of Natsir's relationship with Pancasila, namely (1) Natsir accepted Pancasila and, (2) Natsir opposed Pancasila.


Author(s):  
Yuriy Kyrychenko ◽  
Hanna Davlyetova

The article examines the role of political parties in modern state-building processes in Ukraine. The place of political parties in the political and legal system of society is determined. The general directions of overcoming problematic situations of activity of political parties in Ukraine are offered. It is noted that political parties play an important role in the organization and exercise of political power, act as a kind of mediator between civil society and public authorities, influence the formation of public opinion and the position of citizens directly involved in elections to public authorities and local governments. It is determined that in a modern democratic society, political parties carry out their activities in the following areas: the work of representatives of political parties in public authorities and local governments; participation in elections of state authorities and local self-government bodies; promoting the formation and expression of political will of citizens, which involves promoting the formation and development of their political legal consciousness. These areas of political parties determine their role and importance in a modern democratic society, which determines the practical need to improve their activities and improve the national legislation of Ukraine in the field of political parties. Political parties are one of the basic institutions of modern society, they actively influence the ac-tivities of public authorities, economic and social processes taking place in the state and so on. It is through political parties that the people participate in the management of public affairs. Expressing the interest of different social communities, they become a link between the state and civil society. The people have the opportunity to delegate their powers to political parties, which achieves the ability of the people to control political power in several ways, which at the same time through competition of state political institutions and political parties contributes to increasing their responsibility to the people. It is noted that the political science literature has more than 200 definitions of political parties. And approaches to the definition of this term significantly depend on the general context in which this issue was studied by the researcher. It was emphasized that today in Ukraine there are important issues related to the activities of political parties. First of all, it is a significant number of registered political parties that are incapable, ie their political activity is conducted formally or not at all. According to official data from the Department of State Registration and Notary of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, 352 political parties are registered, of which 48 political parties do not actually function. The reason for the liquidation of such parties is not to nominate their candidates for the election of the President of Ukraine and People's Deputies of Ukraine for 10 years. According to this indicator, Ukraine ranks first among other European countries. Thus, 73 political parties are officially registered in Latvia, 38 in Lithuania, 45 in Moldova, 124 in Romania, and 56 in Slovakia. However, despite the large number of officially registered political parties in Ukraine, public confidence in their activities is low. It is concluded that political parties occupy a special place in the political and legal system of society and play an important role in the organization and exercise of political power, as well as a kind of mediator between civil society and public authorities. The general directions of overcoming problematic situations of activity of political parties in Ukraine are offered, namely: introduction of effective and impartial control over activity of political parties; creating conditions for reducing the number of political parties, encouraging their unification; establishment of effective and efficient sanctions for violation of the requirements of the current legislation of Ukraine by political parties.


1928 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 698-705
Author(s):  
James K. Pollock

The elections which were held throughout Germany on May 20, 1928, are of considerable interest and importance not only to Germany but also to the rest of the world. These elections, to be sure, did not have the dramatic interest which attended the Reichstag elections of December, 1924. But they deserve attention for a number of reasons: first, because they are the first elections to be held in the Reich under what may be called normal conditions; second, because elections for five Landtags and several city councils were held at the same time; and third, because the elections gave a further test, and supplied additional evidence of the operation, of the German system of proportional representation.Despite the intensive work of the political parties, the people were not aroused to much enthusiasm during the campaign. The old Reichstag was dissolved before Easter, but not until the last week of the campaign could one detect any excitement. Never before had the electors been bombarded with so much printed matter, posters, and, last but not least, loud-speakers and films. All the modern methods of appealing to the voters were tried by the numerous political parties. There were lacking, however, the overpowering issues and the battlecries which were so effective in 1924. Parades, demonstrations, meetings, and all the rest were carried through successfully on the whole, but they were quite dull and uninteresting. Only the two extreme parties, the National Socialists or Hitlerites on the right, and the Communists on the left, could appear enthusiastic. Nevertheless, the lack of what the Germans call a “grosse Parole” and the lack of excitement are not to be deplored; their absence probably indicates progress toward social and political consolidation.


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