The impact of populist radical right parties on foreign policy: the Northern League as a junior coalition partner in the Berlusconi Governments

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 525-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertjan Verbeek ◽  
Andrej Zaslove
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Party System ◽  
Coalition Partner ◽  
Northern League ◽  
The People ◽  
Radical Right Parties ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Common Understanding

Despite the populist radical right’s (PRR) popularity among political scientists, little scholarship has focused on its influence on foreign policy. This lack of study is due, in part, to a general lack of attention to the role of political parties in foreign policy, both in comparative politics and international relations (IR). This is unfortunate because, due to Europeanization and globalization, the domain of foreign policy has expanded, making foreign policy increasingly a domestic concern and, most importantly, touching on major themes of PRR parties. Combining insights from comparative politics and IR, we theorize the mechanisms, which may facilitate the impact of such parties on foreign policy. Subsequently, we examine whether the Italian Northern League (LN), as a prime example of a PRR party participating in a coalition government, has had an impact on Italy’s foreign policy and, if so, what accounts for this (lack of) influence. This paper concludes that, unlike common understanding, the PRR is not persistently anti-internationalist/anti-EU; rather, its position depends on the extent to which international politics helps or hinders the promotion of ‘the people’. Second, despite the LN’s strong coalition position, it pursued an effective foreign policy mainly regarding immigration policy. Third, IR theories of junior coalition partners and foreign policy should address the nature of the party system and how inter-party electoral competition affects the strength of a junior coalition partner. Fourth, these theories need to acknowledge that party preferences are sometimes trumped by national concerns, as suggested by more systemic IR theories.

Feminist Perspectives on Foreign Policy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie D'Aoust
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Comparative Politics ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Gender Mainstreaming ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
The Impact

Foreign policy analysis (FPA) deals with the decision-making processes involved in foreign policy-making. As a field of study, FPA overlaps international relations (IR) theory and comparative politics. Studies that take into account either sex, women, or gender contribute to the development of knowledge on and about women in IR, which is in itself one of the goals of feminist scholarship. There are two main spheres of feminist inquiries when it comes to foreign policy: the role of women as sexed power holders involved in decision-making processes and power-sharing in the realm of foreign policy-making, and the role of gendered norms in the conduct and adoption of foreign policies. Many observers insist that feminism and foreign policy are linked only by a marriage of convenience, designed to either acknowledge the political accomplishments of women in the sphere of foreign policy such as Margaret Thatcher and Indira Ghandi, or bring attention to so-called “women’s issues,” such as reproduction rights and population control. Scholarship on women and/or gender in relation to foreign policy covers a wide range of themes, such as the role of women as political actors in decision-making processes and organizational structures; women’s human rights and gender mainstreaming; the impact of various foreign policies on women’s lives; and the concept of human security and the idea of women’s rights as a valid foreign policy objective. Three paradigms that have been explored as part of the study of women in comparative politics and IR are behavioralism, functionalism, and rational choice theory.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion – What Do the Portuguese Think in This Time of COVID-19?

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Ana Rita Pedro ◽  
Ana Gama ◽  
Patrícia Soares ◽  
Marta Moniz ◽  
Pedro A. Laires ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
The People ◽  
Huge Impact ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Continue Monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges to the global community, reinforcing the role of public health in society. The main measures to combat it had (and still have) a huge impact on the daily lives of citizens. This investigation aimed to identify and monitor the population’s perceptions about how it faced this period and the impact on health, well-being, and daily life. In this study, we describe the main trends observed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of mental health status, confidence in the capacity of the health services to respond to the pandemic, and the use of health services by participants. The online survey collected responses from 171,947 individuals ≥16 years of age in Portugal, over a period of 15 weeks that started on 21 March 2020. Participants could fill the questionnaire once or weekly, which enabled us to analyse trends and variations in responses. Overall, 81% of the respondents reported having felt agitated, anxious, or sad during the COVID-19 pandemic; 19% did not experience these feelings. During the confinement period, the proportion of participants feeling agitated, anxious, or sad every day/almost every day ranged between 20 and 30%, but since the deconfinement this proportion decreased. Around 30% reported having more difficulty getting to sleep or to sleep all night; 28.4% felt more agitated; 25.5% felt sadder, discouraged, or cried more easily; and 24.7% felt unable to do everything they had to do, women more frequently than men. Overall, 65.8% of the participants reported feeling confident or very confident in the health services’ capacity to respond to the challenges associated with the pandemic, and this confidence increased over time. Concerning the people who needed a consultation, 35.6% had one in person and 20.8% had one remotely, but almost 44% did not have one due to cancellation by the service (27.2%) or their own decision not to go (16.3%). At this unusual time in which we find ourselves and based on our findings, it is essential to continue monitoring how the population is facing the different phases of the pandemic until it officially ends. Analysing the effects of the pandemic from the point of view of citizens allows for anticipating critical trends and can contribute to preventative action.

The Perception of Russia in Europe in Context of Ukrainian Crisis

2015 ◽  
pp. 24-34
Author(s):  
N. Lapina
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Fruitful Cooperation ◽  
European Business ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Ukrainian Crisis ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

This article deals with the impact of various factors on the perception of Russia in different European countries. The focus is on the role of mass media, expert and political elites in forming of Russia's image, especially in the context of Ukrainian crisis. In this article, the reaction of different European counties to events in Ukraine, the polarization of European space is analyzed: some countries prefer to put a pressure on the Russian Federation, other – to find a way out of the critical situation and reach a compromise. Some political establishment representatives in France, Germany, Czech Republic support Russia and the reunification with Crimea, dispute sanctions against Russia. For such politicians, this support results from anti-American views and independent foreign policy aspirations. Other representatives of the European elite demand tougher approach and more pressure on Russia by any means whatsoever (including military ones). European business-communities reveal great interest in solving issues related to sanctions. Many entrepreneurs in Europe (in particular major corporations in France, UK, Germany, Italy), who profit from long and fruitful cooperation with Russia, are against anti-Russian sanctions. In view of the Ukrainian crisis, Russia has to face and solve various important issues. How can Russia implement a modernization project after burning all traditional bridges to the West and western friends and partners? What is the right way for Russian foreign policy to support and defend Russian-speaking people all over the world? Which European political forces can provide support to Russia? How can civil society affect and influence cooperation between Russia and Europe?

Marriage and Sexual Relations in the New Testament World

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Loader
Keyword(s):  
Roman Society ◽  
Greco Roman ◽  
The Social ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Many ◽  
Marital Sex ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Common Understanding

After a brief overview of the social context and role of marriage and sexuality in Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures, the chapter traces the impact of the Genesis creation narratives, positively and negatively, on how marriage and sexuality were seen both in the present and in depictions of hope for the future. Discussion of pre-marital sex, incest, intermarriage, polygyny, divorce, adultery, and passions follows. It then turns to Jesus’ reported response to divorce, arguing that the prohibition sayings should be read as assuming that sexual intercourse both effects permanent union and severs previous unions, thus making divorce after adultery mandatory, the common understanding and legal requirement in both Jewish and Greco-Roman society of the time. It concludes by noting both the positive appreciation of sex and marriage, grounded in belief that they are God’s creation, and the many dire warnings against sexual wrongdoing, including adulterous attitudes and uncontrolled passions.

Intervention and Intransitivity: Public Opinion, Social Choice, and the Use of Military Force Abroad

1995 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 534-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kurt Taylor Gaubatz
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Social Choice ◽  
Public Attitudes ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Military Force ◽  
Public Preferences ◽  
Policy Choices ◽  
The Impact

This article argues that the problems identified in the literature on public choice should critically affect our research on public opinion and our understanding of the impact of public opinion on foreign policy. While a robust literature has emerged around social choice issues in political science, there has been remarkably little appreciation for these problems in the literature on public opinion in general and on public opinion and foreign policy in particular. The potential importance of social choice problems for understanding the nature and role of public opinion in foreign policy making is demonstrated through an examination of American public attitudes about military intervention abroad. In particular, drawing on several common descriptions of the underlying dimensionality of public attitudes on major foreign policy issues, it is shown that there may be important intransitivities in the ordering of public preferences at the aggregate level on policy choices such as those considered by American decision makers in the period leading up to the Gulf War. Without new approaches to public-opinion polling that take these problems into consideration, it will be difficult to make credible claims about the role of public opinion in theforeignpolicy process.

Economic diplomacy: pandemic effect

2021 ◽  
pp. 84-97
Author(s):  
Tatyana Leonidovna Musatova
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
New World ◽  
Economic Security ◽  
Economic Diplomacy ◽  
Foreign Countries ◽  
The World ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The article analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic crisis on the foreign policy and diplomacy of states, including economic diplomacy. ED is interpreted as a multi-sided multi-faceted activity, an integral part of foreign policy aimed at protecting the national interests and economic security of the country. Given the interdepartmental nature of the ED, the presence of numerous actors and agents, not only state, but also public and business structures, political and foreign economic coordination on the part of the Foreign Ministries is of great importance, and this role of foreign policy departments is increasing during the pandemic crisis. The activity of the ED of Russia in 2020 was generally successful, among the main results: active participation of diplomats in the anti-epidemic work of the Government of the Russian Federation, including export flights, provision of emergency assistance by compatriots abroad, assistance to foreign countries; measures to promote the Russian vaccine in the world, establish its production abroad, and thus win new world markets for medicines; settlement of the pricing crisis on the world oil market with the leading role of Russia and Saudi Arabia; adjustment of double taxation agreements with a number of foreign countries, taking into account the domestic economic needs of the country; the growing experience of BRICS, this interstate association, which did not know the crisis, including its fight against epidemiological diseases, during the period of Russia’s presidency in the BRICS; further steps to deepen integration within the EAEU; Russia’s success in the eastern direction of foreign policy, in the development of trade exchanges and epidemiological cooperation with the ASEAN and APEC states. The new world crisis has become a catalyst for the convergence of ED methods with scientific and public diplomacy, with other diplomatic cultures that can be combined under the general name of civil diplomacy. Such a separation is required to protect the legacy of professional diplomacy, the popularity and use of which methods is growing significantly. ED, as an integral part of official diplomacy, is presented as a mediator between classical and civil diplomacy. It provides civil society with an example of the more rigorous, pragmatic, resultsoriented work that the current pandemic crisis requires.

An Exploratory Analysis of the Role of Emotions in E-Learning

2010 ◽  
pp. 563-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Rentroia-Bonito ◽  
J. Jorge ◽  
C. Ghaoui
Keyword(s):  
Learning Processes ◽  
Learning Support ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Learning Contexts ◽  
The People ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Individual Learning Processes ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Technology-rich environments are assuming a key role in the individual learning processes. Still, one of the major IT challenges identified in the education field is to establish e-learning as a credible and viable complement to face-to-face education. This represents a paradigm shift in the way of learning, which is driving changes at individual, process, institutional, and societal levels. However, despite last-decade advances in the application of usability principles in system design, there is still a need to better understand the people-technology fit in learning contexts. Current results, gaps, and issues define the challenges that dictate new requirements. Among these new requirements, minimizing the impact of the distance factor on communication and learning effectiveness calls for alternatives approaches. Due to the importance of communication among instructor and students in learning, the scope of this work focuses on exploring the role of emotions within the user and learning-support technology fit.

American attitude towards Iran and its reflection on Iran policy towards the Arab region

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Athbi Zaid Khalaf
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
American Foreign Policy ◽  
National Interest ◽  
Arab Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Regional Role ◽  
American Interest ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to cover the change that happened in the American foreign policy toward Iran by changing the American leadership from Obama to Trump. In addition to its coverage for the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region during the presidency period of Obama in the USA and also during the presidency period of Trump, to discover whether a change has happened in the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region is a result of the change in the American foreign policy or not. This can be discovered by concentrating on Yemen, Syria and Iraq, taking into consideration the Iranian and American national interests in the Arab region, as well as the regional role of Iran and its intervention in the Arab region. Design/methodology/approach This study was based on the analytical method of the foreign policy that is based on analyzing facts and events, as well as analyzing the roles and interests within the framework of the states’ foreign policy. This method was used in the study for the purpose of analyzing the impact of the change in the American leadership from Obama to Trump on the US foreign policy toward Iran in the light of the American interest; in addition to the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region (Yemen, Syria and Iraq) in the presidency period of both Obama and Trump in light of the regional role of Iran and its passion to achieve its national interest. Findings The study concluded that the change in the American foreign policy toward Iran is a result of the change of the American leadership from Obama to Trump by the American interest requirements in accordance to the respective of both of them. The change in the American policy led to a change in the trends of the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region in the term of the regional Iranian role. Under the American and Iranian convergence in the period of Obama, the Iranian role in the Arab region was limited to what could achieve its national interest and what did not threaten the American interest, especially after Iran had guaranteed that the USA is by its side. In the framework of the American and Iranian confrontation under Trump’s current presidency, the Iranian role has expanded in the Arab region, where Iran has intensified its intervention in Yemen, Syria and Iraq politically and militarily. Iran became more threatening to the American interest, as it became a means of pressure to the USA under Trump’s ruling in the purpose of changing its position toward it. Originality/value The importance of the study stems from the fact that it is seeking to analyze the change of the American foreign policy toward Iran within the period of two different presidential years of Obama and Trump, whereas, their trends were different in dealing with Iran between rapprochement and hostility toward it, on the basis of the American interest. In addition to testing whether this change in the American foreign policy toward Iran has been accompanied by a change in the Iranian foreign policy toward the Arab region.

scholarly journals Parliament and Foreign Policy-Making Process

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 165
Author(s):  
Mohammed Salman Tayie ◽  
Ibrahim Mohammad Dashti
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Public Diplomacy ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Institutional Approach ◽  
The People ◽  
Democratic Systems

Objective: The study discusses the role of the parliament in foreign policy-making. The role of the parliament has increased over time in light of the complexities and intertwined interests among countries and the emergence of globalization phenomenon, which has dehumanized the nature and reality of international relations, the need to deepen cooperation among the parliamentarians of countries has increased and expanding it to various fields, and hence emerged the role of parliament in foreign policy-making, so that Public Diplomacy is a substitute for government diplomacy.Method: The study is based on the institutional approach, which is one of the oldest methods used in political analysis. It stems from the study of political institutions in terms of composition and competencies. The institutional approach in its origins is due to the traditional constitutional school in the study of political systems, which was confusing the concept of state and the political system, and the latter is seen as the system of government as defined by constitutional law, i.e. the set of rules and laws governing public authorities and defining their terms of reference and functions.Results: The study concluded that parliamentary diplomacy has become a substitute for the official diplomacy and contributes side by side to the exclusion of war crises and finding the pursuit peaceful diplomatic solutions. The Public Diplomacy is a tributary of support for official diplomacy if coordinated together and the value of Public Diplomacy increases as the goals and orientations of the country's foreign policy express the values and aspirations of the people truthfully.Conclusion: The study concluded that parliaments - especially in democratic systems - play an important role in the process of foreign policy-making, and that there are external and internal factors affecting the effectiveness of the role of parliament in foreign policy. The Kuwaiti parliamentary experience reflected this development of parliamentary diplomacy and its role in foreign policy-making.

Patronage or Negotiation?

Matatu ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-138
Author(s):  
Pepetual Mforbe Chiangong
Keyword(s):  
Ordinary People ◽  
The People ◽  
Funding Agencies ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The collaboration between theatre directors and funding agencies can impede and/or promote the aesthetics and functionality of theatre performances, thus (dis)empowering the ordinary people. The paper, focusing on two performances, The Boomerang and Pamela’s Journal sponsored by the Fobang-Mundi Foundation and The Society for Women and AIDS in Africa-Cameroon (SWAA-C), explores the role of institutions and organisations that fund theatre projects in Africa to highlight the impact of patronage, specifically in contexts where the patron-artist relation is evoked. Questioning whether such projects could actually confer “power to the people,” depend on the negotiation skills and professionality of the theatre facilitator; the paper focuses on the beneficiaries of commissioned performances.

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