Coping with Unrest in the Periphery of China: Comparative Case Studies of Thailand, Myanmar and HKSAR

2021 ◽  
pp. 2150008
Author(s):  
Jason Chiam Chiah Sern ◽  
Tai Wei Lim
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
High Exposure ◽  
Global Commerce ◽  
Political Freedoms ◽  
Democratic Systems ◽  
The Military

This paper examines the case studies of three East Asian entities (Thailand, Myanmar and Hong Kong) battling both the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic as well as socio-political unrest simultaneously. While Thailand/Myanmar and Hong Kong are different in geographical/demographic sizes and the former two are sovereign states while the latter is a Special Administrative Region (SAR), they have similar challenges in experiencing cosmopolitan pro-democracy movements (made up of young activists) pitted against the governments determined to maintain control in what political scientists may characterize as illiberal political systems. While Thailand and Myanmar may be much larger in terms of geographical/demographic sizes, much of the recent political activism occurred in the capital city of Bangkok (a city of about 8 million people) and Yangon (also having about 7 million in population and being the former capital of Myanmar before the military elites had moved the capital to Naypyidaw in anticipation of political unrests). In the case of Myanmar, the demonstration and protests have effectively spread nationwide. Both cities are similar in size to Hong Kong that is with approximately 7 million inhabitants. Both Bangkok and Hong Kong are also cosmopolitan cities with high exposure to global commerce, ideas and tourism while Yangon is a fast-developing urban commercial capital city. In terms of ideologies and political systems, both Bangkok and Hong Kong have nominal liberal democratic systems that have limits imposed on political freedoms while Myanmar was liberalizing and democratizing before the military coup on February 1, 2020. These similarities make them suitable candidates for comparative studies, including analyzing their differences in managing the political challenges.

scholarly journals Hong Kong Public Social Communication Strategies in a Demonstration Against the Proposed Extradition Law

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-311
Author(s):  
Rico Rico ◽  
Siti Fatimah ◽  
Muzahid Akbar Hayat
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Direct Observation ◽  
Social Communication ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Special Region

Hong Kong, one of the global financial centers, was plunged into chaos for almost two months straight from June to July 2019. For eight weeks, demonstrations by the Hong Kong people have been going on and on until they become violent. The demonstration was intended to deny the proposed extradition law, which would allow Hong Kong prisoners, including foreigners, to be extradited to China. The extradition bill is also called to threaten the freedom of local people, to threaten democracy and law in the Hong Kong region. The different political systems between China and Hong Kong make the relationship both vulnerable. As a special region in China, Hong Kong needs to get the attention of the Chinese government by conceding its rights and upholding its systems so that demonstrations need not be too worried. Hong Kong people are making a variety of attempts at demonstration and even some social communication strategies are used to reject the traditional bill. The method used in this study is qualitative deskriftive with case studies of direct observation of sites and several demonstration articles in Hong Kong. As a result of this study, several unique strategies of Hong Kong's demonstrations have been carried out to maintain a message being delivered by another group that the Hong Kong government has even brought attention to the world.

scholarly journals Egypt’s Military Coup of 2013: An Analysis of the Private Press in 112 Days

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maher Hamoud
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Critical Approach ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
Business Elite ◽  
The Muslim Brotherhood ◽  
The Military ◽  
Privately Owned ◽  
News Headlines

In July 2013, a widely celebrated military coup took place in Egypt – only two and a half years after the 2011 Revolution. This article investigates the hegemonic power of the private press owned by Egypt’s business elite during the coup period. In the context of this research objective, this study answers the question of “how did Egypt’s private press provide popular support to the 2013 military coup?” through following a critical approach and conducting framing analysis of news headlines in a period of 112 days. This article examines the popular privately-owned newspapers al-Masry al-Youm and al-Watan as the main case studies. Findings show that Egypt’s business elite engaged in significant news framing in support of the 2013 military coup - for the purpose of maintaining their hegemonic position in the country. They particularly used the frame of “fear” (of the Muslim Brotherhood, potential violence and political chaos) and the frame of “promotion” by portraying the military as a saviour.    

scholarly journals Saving the Fundaments: Impact of a Military Coup on the Sudan Health System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alhadi K. Osman ◽  
Mona Ibrahim ◽  
Mohamed Elsheikh ◽  
Karrar Karrar ◽  
Hassan Salih
Keyword(s):  
Health System ◽  
National Health System ◽  
Developing Nations ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Health Funding ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Impact

Military coups are not uncommon occurrences, particularly in developing nations where political systems might be less firmly entrenched or still evolving. Developments of this nature can often have profound implications for the affected nation’s healthcare systems, both in the immediate aftermath and over the longer term. This paper narrates some notable consequences of political instability on the national health system, particularly placing them in the context of the military coup in October 2021 – emphasizing the context behind the political turbulence, its acute and direct consequences, and the possible long-term legacies of political shocks on the already overwhelmed health system. As a descriptive piece, this narrative does not only look at the impact of the military coup on hospitals, but considers the implications for the healthcare system as defined by the WHO, with particular emphasis on the impact of the coup on health funding from multi-laterals, service delivery, human resource availability, and supply chains in Sudan.

System Transformation in Nigeria

1971 ◽  
Vol 6 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 147-171
Author(s):  
Olav Stokke
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
The Political ◽  
Federal System ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
System Transformation ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Bases ◽  
The Military

In this paper the processes of integration and disintegration within the Nigerian Federation up to the secession of Biafra are analysed. The ‘modern’ and the ‘traditional’ political systems and sub-systems are identified and the cultural setting is outlined. The focus is concentrated on the distribution of the enforcement powers, the utilitarian powers and the identive powers between the centres of the federal system and the regional sub-systems, as manifested by subsequent constitutions and by the social bases of the political parties. In such a context the integrative and disintegrative effects of the political parties at the cultural, the federal and the regional levels are discussed. The major political crises of the early 1960s are outlined as are the developments after the military coup d'etats of 1966 leading to the secession. On this basis some preconditions for a successful secession are suggested, and the extent to which these were fulfilled or not in the case under consideration is discussed.

RECYCLED WATER RISK PERCEPTION - A COMPARISON OF TWO CASE STUDIES

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Hurlimann
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Recycled Water ◽  
Urban Centre ◽  
On Line ◽  
Line Survey ◽  
Water Uses

This paper reports results from a study comparing perceived risk associated with various recycled water uses in two Australian locations, both in the state of Victoria: the capital city Melbourne, and Bendigo a regional urban centre. Both locations are experiencing ‘drought’, but Bendigo is experiencing this in a more acute manner. A case study is used in each location. Both case studies involve future use of recycled water in new commercial buildings. An on-line survey was used to measure attitudes to recycled water of the future occupants of both buildings. The study found perceived risk associated with 11 uses of recycled water increased as the use became increasingly personal. Interestingly, no difference in perceived risk associated with 11 uses of recycled water was found between locations. Prior experience (use) of recycled water was found to be a significant and positive factor in reducing risk perception. Various attitudinal variables were found to be significant influences on perceived risk. Results indicate that reducing perceived risk of recycled water use may increase satisfaction with its use.

scholarly journals Using Deliberative Democracy for Better Urban Decision-Making through Integrative Thinking

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Janette Hartz-Karp ◽  
Dora Marinova
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Deliberative Democracy ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Capital City ◽  
City Region ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Urban Issues ◽  
Sustainability Challenges

This article expands the evidence about integrative thinking by analyzing two case studies that applied the collaborative decision-making method of deliberative democracy which encourages representative, deliberative and influential public participation. The four-year case studies took place in Western Australia, (1) in the capital city Perth and surrounds, and (2) in the city-region of Greater Geraldton. Both aimed at resolving complex and wicked urban sustainability challenges as they arose. The analysis suggests that a new way of thinking, namely integrative thinking, emerged during the deliberations to produce operative outcomes for decision-makers. Building on theory and research demonstrating that deliberative designs lead to improved reasoning about complex issues, the two case studies show that through discourse based on deliberative norms, participants developed different mindsets, remaining open-minded, intuitive and representative of ordinary people’s basic common sense. This spontaneous appearance of integrative thinking enabled sound decision-making about complex and wicked sustainability-related urban issues. In both case studies, the participants exhibited all characteristics of integrative thinking to produce outcomes for decision-makers: salience—grasping the problems’ multiple aspects; causality—identifying multiple sources of impacts; sequencing—keeping the whole in view while focusing on specific aspects; and resolution—discovering novel ways that avoided bad choice trade-offs.

scholarly journals Military Coup in Burma Draws International Condemnation and Pressure

2021 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 558-567
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
One Year ◽  
Head Of Government ◽  
The Military

On February 1, 2021, the military in Burma overthrew the democratically elected government, declared a one-year state of emergency, and installed Senior General Min Aung Hlaing as the head of government. Since the coup, the military has cracked down on protestors, killing over 800 people and detaining many more. Numerous countries and international organizations, including the United States and the United Nations, have condemned the coup and ensuing violence and called for the restoration of a democratic government. The United States and other countries have also imposed rigorous sanctions on the Burmese military, its officials and affiliated corporations, and social media companies have imposed content restrictions to prevent the spread of pro-military propaganda.

Open space office: A review of the literature and Hong Kong case studies

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Lawrence W.C. Lai ◽  
K.W. Chau ◽  
Stephen N.G. Davies ◽  
Locinda Kwan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Harvard Business Review ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Actual Design ◽  
Open Plan ◽  
Office Layouts ◽  
Sociological Studies

BACKGROUND: Open plan or open space office has become increasingly popular but those who promote the concept selfdom refer to health studies or workers’ perceptions of a change in office layout towards an open space arrangement. OBJECTIVE: To review the literature on open plan or open space office layouts in terms of facilities management (FM) with users’ perception in mind and to obtain opinions of users of open space offices of for a better appreciation of the FM issues. METHODS: A literature search of research papers from 2007 in journals using the keywords “open plan office” and “open space office” plus “health”, first in the titles then in the text, was carried out. Thirty-two of those papers, accessible by the authors’ institutions, were consulted together with 5 other works in the Harvard Business Review. The review consulted but excluded papers and reports published or sponsored by commercial firms that were in favour of open space layouts. Case studies were conducted by face to face meetings in confidence with workers in the middle managements of twelve Hong Kong organisations known as friends to two of the authors. Problems as seen by staff are reported and discussed. RESULTS: The literature review reveals that apart from writing that promotes the use of an open plan office layout, a host of scientific works point to the problems of perceived dissatisfaction with such a layout, the nature of the dissatisfaction tending to depend on the actual design. Most workers interviewed disliked the new style open plan layouts, which points to the necessity of consulting workers when such changes are contemplated, as well as monitoring the results of the change once it is in place whether against workers’ wishes or with their support. There is a need for a number of facility arrangements in making a change to open plan that ensures that worker needs for proper lighting, privacy, and indoor health will be met. CONCLUSIONS: If the aim of a change to an open plan arrangement is to promote collegial communications in office, the study sheds light on the extent to which such arrangements may not in practice be suitable for achieving the aim. It follows that further, more specifically sociological studies of workers’ job satisfaction and emotional health in open plan office settings would be worth doing.

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