On the political involvement of the medical scientist

1970 ◽  
Vol 125 (3) ◽  
pp. 548-549
2021 ◽  
pp. 205789112199169
Author(s):  
Kana Inata

Constitutional monarchies have proved to be resilient, and some have made substantive political interventions even though their positions are mostly hereditary, without granted constitutional channels to do so. This article examines how constitutional monarchs can influence political affairs and what impact royal intervention can have on politics. I argue that constitutional monarchs affect politics indirectly by influencing the preferences of the public who have de jure power to influence political leaders. The analyses herein show that constitutional monarchs do not indiscriminately intervene in politics, but their decisions to intervene reflect the public’s preferences. First, constitutional monarchs with little public approval become self-restraining and do not attempt to assert their political preferences. Second, they are more likely to intervene in politics when the public is less satisfied about the incumbent government. These findings are illustrated with historical narratives regarding the political involvement of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand in the 2000s.


Gaining Voice ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 97-122
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Clark ◽  
Ray Block

A healthy representative democracy requires that citizens be politically involved, and it is especially important to consider the political involvement of groups that are marginalized, such as African Americans. Building on the political empowerment hypothesis, the chapter argues that an increased black seat share and black representation ratio should be associated with increased black political involvement. Using 2008 Cooperative Congressional Election Study data, the chapter describes how in states with an increased black seat share in the legislature blacks are more likely to be highly interested in politics and are more likely to vote. In states with a higher black representation ratio, blacks are more inclined to persuade others to vote. Black representation in the US House does not increase black political involvement, despite being the focus of many scholarly works of political empowerment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 360-379
Author(s):  
Renata Siuda-Ambroziak ◽  
Joana Bahia

AbstractThe authors discuss the phenomenon of religious and political leadership focusing on Bishop Marcelo Crivella from the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (IURD), the current mayor of the city of Rio de Janeiro, in the context of the political involvement of his religious institution and the beginnings of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the article, selected concepts of leadership are applied in the background of the theories of a religious field, existential security, and the market theory of religion, to analyze the case of the IURD leadership political involvement and bishop/mayor Crivella’s city management before and during the pandemic, in order to show how his office constitutes an important part of the strategies of growth implemented by the IURD charismatic leader Edir Macedo, the founder and the head of this religious institution and, at the same time, Crivella’s uncle. The authors prove how Crivella’s policies mingle the religious and the political according to Macedo’s political alliances at the federal level, in order to strengthen the church and assure its political influence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 27-57
Author(s):  
Matthew O'Lemmon

The divergent experiences surrounding merit-making acts represent the distinct backgrounds of individuals and communities that have emerged in postwar Cambodia. This article examines merit-making activities in two Buddhist temples in southwestern Cambodia and the influence of political patronage on temple–community relationships. This influence elicits images of a latent ideal of the Buddhist monastery that are used by local communities to form a social critique both of such political involvement within temples and of the destabilising effect it has on local people's merit-making activities. This ideal also reflected the political economies and social networks created within the temples that comprised two different models of patronage and means of accessing resources.


2009 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-92
Author(s):  
Armen Mazmanyan

AbstractThis article explores the consequences and the opportunities of political involvement of constitutional courts in post-Soviet countries. The answers to this inquiry allow a discussion on institutional design alternatives that would help constitutional courts to better support democracy. The author identifies particular practical difficulties with the present institutional settings (referring to them as to a 'paradox of political empowerment') and investigates the options for addressing the limitations created by the described model. In particular, the article reconsiders the widely accepted opinion that constitutional designers should have abandoned the 'political' responsibilities of constitutional courts (such as review of electoral disputes, inter-branch conflicts of jurisdictions, etc.) in these countries for the sake of preserving their institutional survival and legitimacy. The author argues that these 'political' responsibilities are essential for enabling democratic contributions by constitutional courts, and two conceptual justifications are forwarded to support this proposition. In contrast to the suggestions to abandon the 'political' responsibilities, the article proposes to address the problem of constitutional courts' political involvement and the hazard of damaging their legitimacy by enhancing the discretion of constitutional courts through introduction of a sound 'political question doctrine'.


1976 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnold H. Green

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries religion continued to play an obvious role in the Middle East. Among observers of that area the significance of the impact of religion on political development was consequently never minimized to the extent that it was among observers of political trends in the West. Western scholars interested in the Middle East, however, have tended to overrate the importance of the Muslim modernists with whom they felt a certain affinity. They also have accepted too uncritically the views of modernists concerning the lifelessness of traditional expressions of Islam. As a result, not until recently have we begun sufficiently to appreciate traditional Muslim religious leaders both for their impact on and for the diversity of their responses to modern political and intellectual currents. I believe that this diversity is not accidental but rather is susceptible to analysis and explanation. This essay demonstrates how four variables (historical circumstances, theological considerations, socioeconomic considerations, and governmental policies toward Muslim religious leaders) affected the political involvement of the Islamic ulama throughout the Middle East generally and in Tunisia particularly during the ‘liberal age’.


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