The Radical Left

2020 ◽  
pp. 298-315
Author(s):  
Yiannos Katsourides
Keyword(s):  
Symbolic Politics ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Ideological Identity ◽  
Electoral Performance ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Radical Left

This chapter examines both the turbulent history and the contemporary experience of the Greek radical Left, that is, SYRIZA, focusing particularly on its incumbent period (post-2015). In the course of examination it explores a range of relevant issues: the social and political developments in Greece and the EU; the structure of political opportunities that facilitated the rise of SYRIZA in government; the government–opposition dynamics and the way they affected the party’s trajectory; and the agent itself, that is, SYRIZA, with its multiple internal contradictions. The analysis of SYRIZA highlights a number of strategic issues that all Left parties face once they become significant political actors, issues that unavoidably touch on their ideological identity and the type of party they embrace. The overall findings of the analysis suggest that SYRIZA’s incumbency revealed the inconsistencies between its pre-electoral promises and post-electoral performance. Despite its vocal opposition to neo-liberalism, SYRIZA has practised a (soft) neo-liberal austerity policy, which not only contradicts its ideological profile and pre-electoral pledges, but also refutes the party’s history and past political practice. Unable to preserve its radicalism, the party seems trapped in populist practices and symbolic politics. Analysis also reveals similarities with previous PASOK incumbencies particularly of the early era (1974–81).

scholarly journals Integrating Immigrants through the Policy of Multiculturalism as a State’s New Response to the Sovereignty Challenge

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Vorobyova
Keyword(s):  
Social Integration ◽  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Cultural Barriers ◽  
Nation State ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
The Social ◽  
Integration Of Immigrants ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Eu

Today the EU and Canada experience a significant international migration inflow that requires a delicate treatment on the government side which would not contradict with these countries’ adherence to a liberal nation-state idea. The non-ratification of the EU Constitution precluded the creation of a common immigration policy that could facilitate and level the social integration of immigrants within the EU member states that currently have different historically shaped strategies towards the newcomers. Even though the legal and economic barriers for immigration and naturalization have been reasonably decreased over the past decades across the EU, the legacies of nationalizing citizenship laws are still persistent and immigrants are expected to integrate into the host cultures. These path dependent repercussions contradict the idea of a liberal nation-state and erect the second level barriers (besides legal and economic ones) for integration of immigrants into the host societies. These cultural barriers are more persistent in the social consciousness than the institutionalized ones, which is a reason for why liberalizing laws are not the most effective means for facilitating the immigrants’ integration into the host societies. This situation of intensive immigration combined with the low opportunities for social integration gives grounds to instability and dissatisfaction within certain social groups in the EU. This paper investigates how multiculturalism policy in Canada contributes to a higher level of immigrants’ integration into Canadian society as compared to the EU memberstates. Moreover, the novel information from the Centre of Excellence for the Study of Immigration at Simon Fraser University suggests that maintenance of immigrant ethnicities contributes to the overall economic success of a country, which is another reason for the introducing multiculturalism and a common EU immigration policy.

scholarly journals Contentious precarious generation in anti-austerity movements in Spain and Italy

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Massimiliano Andretta ◽  
Donatella Della Porta
Keyword(s):  
Economic Crisis ◽  
Collective Identity ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Organizational Network ◽  
Network Embeddedness ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Identity Based ◽  
Formal Network

This article focuses on the precarious generation protesting in Spain and Italy in times of crisis and austerity (2010-2012). Their many similarities notwithstanding, the two countries have experienced different types of mobilization against austerity measures. In Spain, a relatively autonomous mobilization –characterized by new collective actors and new forms of action– has made possible the building of a political actor, Podemos, able to seriously challenge the established political parties. In Italy, instead, the mobilization was dominated by established political actors, especially trade unions, did not produce innovative forms of action and has not been able to overcome (so far) the fragmentation of the social movement sector. In both countries, however, the anti-austerity protests have been characterized by a strong presence of what we call hear the “precarious generation”, particularly exposed to the economic crisis and the austerity measures. By relying on data from several surveys conducted in demonstrations on social, economic and labor issues in the two countries from 2010 to 2011, in this article we single out differences and the similarities in terms of presence, social composition, grievances and emotion, collective identity and network embeddedness of the precarious generation. Our findings show that the precarious generation was almost equally present in the selected demonstrations in the two countries, share similar socio-graphic features and similar types of grievance and emotions. Nonetheless, in Spain it seems to have built a more cohesive and radical collective identity based upon a more informal and internet based network integration while in Italy it seems embedded in a more traditional and formal network, which prevented the formation of a strong collective identity. Moreover, while in Spain the differences between the older and the precarious generation reveal that, both have a strong identity based on different networks; more formal the older and more related to informal and online instruments the latter; in Italy, the older generation has a much stronger collective identity based on a organizational network, while the precarious one is less but still integrated in organizational network. We conclude that the more autonomous civil society tradition in Spain, together with the particular political opportunities, under the pressure of a harsher economic crisis, may account for the differences we found.

scholarly journals Investigations Concerning E-Government Adoption in Transition Economies

2016 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-78
Author(s):  
Zsuzsanna Katalin Szabó ◽  
Lucian Chiriac
Keyword(s):  
Transition Economies ◽  
Legal Environment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Developed Economies ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Expert Choice ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Hierarchy Process ◽  
The Eu

The implementation of efficient cross-border digital public services for a connected Europe, a developed e-government represents a priority for the European Union. There are big differences in the way e-government is adopted. Transition economies lag behind developed economies. This paper explores the e-government adoption in its multidimensionality within the EU member states. It uses 22 variables, which highlight: technological preparedness, the ability to access and absorb information and information technology, the ability to generate, adopt and spread knowledge, the social and legal environment, the government policy and vision, and consumer and business adoption and innovation. Barriers to efficient e-government adoption in transition economies are identified. Multicriteria decision analysis is used for the prioritisation of the factors with the highest overall impact on efficient implementation. The authors use the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP method) for prioritisation and the numerical results are obtained with Expert Choice software.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Is Examining the EU and the Member States: The Role of Attitudes and Sociodemographic Factors on Citizens’ Support towards National Policies

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 46
Author(s):  
Juan Carlos Martín ◽  
Concepción Román
Keyword(s):  
Important Determinant ◽  
Sociodemographic Factors ◽  
Political Support ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Eu

During March and April 2020, the European Union (EU) was the center of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many national governments imposed severe lockdown policies to mitigate the health crisis, but the citizens’ support to these policies was unknown. The aim of this paper was to analyze empirically how citizens in the EU have reacted towards the measures taken by the national governments. To this end, a microeconometric model (ordered probit) that explains the citizens’ satisfaction by a number of attitudes and sociodemographic factors was estimated using a wide database formed by 21,804 European citizens in 21 EU countries who responded a survey between 23 April and 1 May 2020. Our results revealed that Spaniards were the least satisfied citizens in comparison with Danes, Irelanders, Greeks, and Croats, who were the most satisfied nationals. The years of education and the social class also played a determinant role. We also found that the most important determinant was the political support to the government, and that those who were more worried by the economy and the protection of individual rights were usually more critical of the measures than those who were more worried by the health consequences.

scholarly journals Social Movement in Pengajian at Jogokariyan Mosque

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 103
Author(s):  
Ahmad Muttaqin
Keyword(s):  
Social Movement ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Basic Tool ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Religious Teaching ◽  
Prophetic Tradition ◽  
The Government

Pengajian (religious teaching) is one of the primary programmes at Jogokariyan mosque. It has been held regularly and incidentally using the current issues as a theme. After the 212 demonstration 2016 in Jakarta, pengajian in Jogokariyan always uses the specific themes related to the religious social issues.  This article tries to explore how the reception of hadis or the teachings of prophetic tradition live in a social movement in the context of pengajian at Jogokariyan mosque. Employing a social movement approach, this article seeks to explore deeply how the hadis or prophetic traditions are expressed and its relevance to the social movement in pengajian. The social movement has three strategies, namely, (1) political opportunities, (2) mobilizing structures and (3) framing process. This present paper concludes that firstly, religious teaching in Jogokariyanmosque is a model of reception of hadis about seeking knowledge and majlis ilm’. The hadis is used as a basic tool to mobilize the process of social movement in pengajian. Secondly, the social movement in the Jogokariyan mosque is motivated by the injustice feeling caused by the policy of the government today.

COVID-19 will not disrupt climate activism in Europe

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
Climate Policy ◽  
Financial Institutions ◽  
Green Party ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Electoral Performance ◽  
The Eu

Significance Activists have pressed for involvement in policymaking via citizen assembilies and have stepped up their campaign against European governments and financial institutions which they regard as favouring carbon-intensive industries. Impacts Activists will be concerned by rising emissions that accompany higher consumption once lockdown restrictions are lifted. The social and economic impact of COVID-19 may reduce voter interest and engagement in climate change. A strong electoral performance by Germany’s Green Party would boost support for ambitious fiscal and climate policy at the EU-level.

Protest on Unemployment: Forms and Opportunities

2008 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Porta
Keyword(s):  
Social Dynamics ◽  
Poor People ◽  
Political Protest ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Labor Policies ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Unemployed ◽  
The Impact

The "return" of poor people movements encourages reflection on the impact of changes in the social structure, the availability of organizational resources, and political and discursive opportunities for collective action. Based on a quantitative and qualitative claim analysis in six European countries, this article maps unemployment-related protest actions in three areas: (a) long-term unemployment; (b) massive dismissals; and (c) unemployment and labor policies within more general cycles of protest. The article discusses the actors, the forms and claims of the protests, and the social and political opportunities for their development. Protests on unemployment tend to assume some similar forms, each oriented to stress the "absolute injustice" of the position of the unemployed. The framing of the issues of both labor changes and the evolution of the labor market restates the importance of social dynamics for political protest. Unions as well as other social movements and political actors play an important role in the protest against unemployment.

scholarly journals Politicization of sports as a phenomenon and problem

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Leonid Savinov ◽  
M. Aloyan ◽  
M. Shumasov
Keyword(s):  
High Performance ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Science Studies ◽  
Social Institution ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Political Reality ◽  
Political Analysis ◽  
Political Opportunities ◽  
The Social

The aim of the study is a political analysis of the relationship between sports and politics based on an institutional approach using SWOT analysis. The author's hypothesis is based on the understanding that the interpenetration of politics and sports in the modern world is becoming global and comprehensive and will increase: the politicization of sports as a social institution and the entire sports sphere is acquiring a new political normality. The paper highlights the basic trends and the main socio-political opportunities, as well as the risks and threats associated with the use of high-performance sports for political and instrumental purposes. It is revealed that in the modern world, sport is not only an instrument of big politics, but also produces politics, ideology and political meanings. Sport in the world is increasingly becoming not only the arena of tough political confrontations and ideological battles, but also forms a new political reality that influences the social behavior of the broadest masses, as well as individual social groups and political actors. In the context of Russia's growing political confrontation in the international arena, a deep, including scientifically based, understanding of the role of sports in the new realities is necessary. The conclusions reached by the authors of the work can be used as a scientific and methodological basis for political science studies of the interdependence of politics and sports, as well as for making political decisions in the field of sports.

Radical left parties, counter-hegemony and the EU

Soundings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (73) ◽  
pp. 87-101
Author(s):  
Giorgos Charalambous
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Issues ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Short Term ◽  
European Elections ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Levels Of Support ◽  
The Eu ◽  
Radical Left

This essay considers the levels of support, the ideological-political spectrum and the electoral possibilities for European radical left parties, with reference to the social and political context of the 2019 European elections. At EU Parliament level this is mainly expressed through the United European Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group. Reviewing the contours of the elections, the aim is to invite reflection on the short-term conjuncture and its effects on the radical left (e.g. the effects of Brexit, the rise in importance of environmental issues, the defeat of Syriza), but also to historicise the dynamics internal to this political grouping. More long-term structural issues include both systemic mechanisms and the variation in national circumstances, both of which necessarily delimit socialist strategy. The overarching question concerns the prospects for establishing an EU-wide counter-hegemony from the left.

An Application of Subgroup Discovery Algorithm on the Case of Decentralization and Quality of Governance in EU

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 75-92
Author(s):  
Lan Umek
Keyword(s):  
Point Of View ◽  
Subgroup Discovery ◽  
Eu Countries ◽  
Multiple Indicators ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Sector Employees ◽  
Quality Of Governance ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Eu

This paper analyses a statistical relationship between the decentralization of the EU countries and the quality of their governance. The degree of decentralization is measured from a fiscal and political point of view, and the quality of governance by multiple indicators and citizen opinions. The paper presents a subgroup discovery algorithm which is capable of analysing two sets of several variables, and uses it for the analysis of EU countries. The paper is one of the first to use the data mining methods from the social sciences domain. The used algorithm has discovered some interesting patterns which show a desired relationship. We have discovered that the proportion of public sector employees is one of the most important indicators, which strongly correlates with the degree of trust in the European and national institutions, the government effectiveness and the perception of corruption.

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