Renewal without Decline: The Antonines and Severans

Author(s):  
Edward J. Watts

The political stability of the Antonine dynasty saw emperors and the authors describing their reigns both move away from claims that problems in the empire had been caused by imperial predecessors. What emerged instead under the emperor Hadrian was a focus on restorations of the empire without blaming previous emperors for causing Rome to decline, a way of describing change that Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius followed. The Severan dynasty did as well, especially after Septimius Severus manufactured connections to his Antonine imperial predecessors in order to create the illusion of political continuity. This illusion of prosperous continuity gives the misleading impression of a thriving empire. Instead, for much of the later second century, Romans suffered from maladies as diverse as barbarian invasions and the deadly Antonine Plague. As conditions deteriorated under Alexander Severus, however, authors like Cassius Dio and, later, Herodian again return to the old way of speaking about Roman decline.

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 167-188
Author(s):  
Abdu Mukhtar Musa

As in most Arab and Third World countries, the tribal structure is an anthropological reality and a sociological particularity in Sudan. Despite development and modernity aspects in many major cities and urban areas in Sudan, the tribe and the tribal structure still maintain their status as a psychological and cultural structure that frames patterns of behavior, including the political behavior, and influence the political process. This situation has largely increased in the last three decades under the rule of the Islamic Movement in Sudan, because of the tribe politicization and the ethnicization of politics, as this research reveals. This research is based on an essential hypothesis that the politicization of tribalism is one of the main reasons for the tribal conflict escalation in Sudan. It discusses a central question: Who is responsible for the tribal conflicts in Sudan?


2018 ◽  
pp. 75-88
Author(s):  
Lyubov Sadovskaya

The article presents a new view on the problems of political stability in West African countries. For the first time was carried out a comparative analysis of the sustainability of the political systems of the two Francophone fastest growing countries in West Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. The author analyzes the factors negatively influencing political stability social order, and those that reduce conflict potencial in these States. Internal and external threats to the political systems of Senegal and Сôte d’Ivoire are examined. The response of both countries to internal and external challenges is shown. The study proves that while external threats indanger Senegal’s political stability, such as the penetration of religious extremism, the crisis in Casamance, maritime piracy, drug traffic, for Côte d’Ivoire, on the contrary, main risks are internal: electoral, socio-political crises, the split of elites, arms smuggling, banditry. The study demonstrates that the level of social governance in Senegal is higher than in other West African countries, including Сôte d’Ivoire, due to the dualism of the political system: the coexistence of Western-style political institutions with local faiths (tariqas), as well as policy pursued by President M. Sall. aimed at achieving mutual compromise that ensure the peaceful settlement of conflicts and contradictions. The author concludes that a new approach to the development of a security strategy is required.


Author(s):  
G.I. AVTSINOVA ◽  
М.А. BURDA

The article analyzes the features of the current youth policy of the Russian Federation aimed at raising the political culture. Despite the current activities of the government institutions in the field under study, absenteeism, as well as the protest potential of the young people, remains at a fairly high level. In this regard, the government acknowledged the importance of forming a positive image of the state power in the eyes of young people and strengthen its influence in the sphere of forming loyal associations, which is not always positively perceived among the youth. The work focuses on the fact that raising the loyalty of youth organizations is one of the factors of political stability, both in case of internal turbulence and external influence. The authors also focus on the beneficiaries of youth protests. The authors paid special attention to the issue of forming political leadership among the youth and the absence of leaders expressing the opinions of young people in modern Russian politics. At the same time, youth protest as a social phenomenon lack class and in some cases ideological differences. The authors come to the conclusion that despite the steps taken by the government and political parties to involve Russian youth in the political agenda, the young people reject leaders of youth opinion imposed by the authorities, either cultivating nonparticipation in the electoral campagines or demonstrating latent protest voting.


Author(s):  
Craige B. Champion

This chapter makes two contributions to our understanding of Polybius’ representation of the Athenian democracy. First, it shows that Polybius’ negative general portrayal of Athens in his political analysis in Book 6 is frequently at odds with his apparent admiration of the Athenians as reflected in his accounts of Athenian diplomacy in the historical narrative. Second, and more importantly, the paper contextualizes the characterization of the Athenian politeia in Book 6 within Polybius’ generally negative depictions of radical democratic states (ochlocracy, in Polybius’ terms). Here it is necessary to note the political meaning of the term ‘democracy’ in the mid-second century BCE, in order to understand how Polybius can condemn the Athenian politeia while praising the qualities of δημοκρατία‎.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 809-811
Author(s):  
Erik Martinez Kuhonta

A major debate in the literature on the political economy of development centers on the relationship between regime type and economic development. This debate has been heavily influenced by the East Asian development model, where authoritarianism has often gone hand in hand with high growth rates. In South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, development has been propelled by authoritarian or semidemocratic regimes. One key element of this argument is that the repression of labor under these authoritarian regimes has been especially helpful in states' pursuit of high growth rates because it has ensured political stability and checked societal demands.


Significance If the referendum passes, it will lead to significant changes to the political system, including new executive posts, the devolution of more national revenues to county governments and measures to ensure more women are elected to parliament. Impacts Fully implementing the BBI’s wide-ranging reforms may take years, and if mishandled could delay the 2022 elections. The proposals will significantly increase the cost of government, which in turn will exacerbate the shrinking fiscal space. An enlarged executive encompassing a broader range of leaders may boost political stability, but it will likely also aggravate graft.


Author(s):  
Anubha ◽  
Mahender Reddy Gavinolla

Terrorist incidents at tourist destinations create several negative impacts. Many studies have focused on the intent of the tourists to visit a place affected by terrorism. However, there are no studies gauging the perceptions of travel agencies and tour operators. In this regard, this particular study intends to understand the detrimental effects of terrorism on various travel agencies and tour operators operating in Kashmir in India, which also form a part of MSMEs. Case study and semi-structured interviews have been used. The findings clearly illustrate that terrorism does have detrimental effects on a tourist destination and, in turn, deleterious effects on the travel agencies and tour operators operating in the region. It is also evident that there are political instabilities and lack of promotion and marketing of the destination. It is hoped that the political stability and proper promotion will lead to positive destination image and better management of the destination.


German Angst ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 130-157
Author(s):  
Frank Biess

This chapter shifts the focus from fears and anxieties that primarily resulted from the Federal Republic’s external situation to internal fears. The modernization and stabilization of West German society generated their own fears. This chapter focuses on fears of automation during the late 1950s and 1960s. Contrary to conventional wisdom, West Germans did not display an unabashed optimism about technology but were keenly aware of the ambivalent consequences of technological progress. In particular, they remembered the negative consequences of the rationalization movement of the 1920s and their impact on the political stability of the Weimar Republic. The chapter analyzes first the debate about technology among West German intellectuals such as Friedrich Pollock, Helmut Schelsky, and Arnold Gehlen. It then focuses on the broader cultural debate on automation that brought into view anxieties about structural unemployment, deskilling of workers, and psychological impact of automation. As a case study, the chapter then analyzes the confrontation of the largest West German industrial union, IG Metall, with automation. Labor unions did not respond to automation with optimism but were keenly aware of its potentially detrimental effects. A more skeptical attitude toward automation and technological progress more generally thus predated the economic crisis of the 1970s.


1984 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
pp. 555-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gail Warshofsky Lapidus

While the Soviet system has demonstrated an unusual degree of immunity to the worldwide upsurge of ethnic self-assertion, rising national consciousness among both Russian and non-Russian populations poses a growing, although not necessarily unmanageable, problem for the Soviet leadership. Several issues bearing directly on the resources, power, and status of different nationalities lie at the heart of current debates: the nature and future of the federal system; the pace and pattern of economic development; access to positions of political power; demographic policy; and cultural and linguistic status. Over the long term, the political mobilization of ethnicity is likely to be constrained by both intrinsic and systemic factors, encouraging national elites to focus on strategies and goals that will enhance their power within the system rather than challenging it directly.


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