Negotiations and Power Asymmetries: The Cases of Bosnia, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Sri Lanka ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Ethnic Violence ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Power Asymmetries ◽  
Successful Resolution ◽  
National Governments

AbstractEthnic conflict, as illustrated by the cases of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, and Sri Lanka, has been difficult to negotiate due to the power asymmetries involved and the general belief of national governments that such issues should be solved through the political process. Although external, ethnic-linked groups can help address some of the problems of power asymmetry, they can also complicate the process. Changing power structures in an increasingly multicentric world may create an environment in which successful resolution of ethnic violence becomes more likely, but democracy impacts both positively and negatively upon such an outcome.

Forever Nearing the Finish Line: Heritage Policy and the Problem of Memory in Postwar Beirut

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrienne Fricke
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Private Company ◽  
Finish Line ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Political Discourses ◽  
A Site ◽  
The Cost ◽  
National Governments

Between 1976 and 1991, central Beirut, repository of centuries of historic structures, was substantially destroyed by civil war. In 1994, a private company known by its French acronym Solidère was created by government decree and given the task of reconstructing the center of Beirut. Despite political problems, the Solidère project brought the hope of social recovery through economic renewal; yet progress should not come at the cost of memory.How can Beirut, destroyed, be a site of both recovery and erasure? Even though traditional legal and political discourses acknowledge that cultural heritage holds a powerful position in reconstruction, there are few tools for capturing its functions. Using heuristics originally employed in archeology and art history, this article addresses psychological aspects of reconstruction by discussing contemporary Lebanese art. If culture is defined not only as what people do buthow they make sense of what they have done, the enormity of the political problems of post–civil war reconstruction become clear. National governments hoping to consolidate authority would do well to consider how best to approach public places resonant with emotionally charged memories.Policymakers should consider the complex benefits of negative heritage in drafting laws that will enable its protection. Legal reform carried out with the goal of balanced heritage policies that accommodate negative heritage is key for postconflict urban spaces. By acknowledging the weight of the past, such policies would also bolster confidence in the emergent government and the political process.

scholarly journals How Roma Mayors Penetrate the Municipal Power Structures: Resisting the Non-Roma Dominance in Slovak Local Governments

2020 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-411
Author(s):  
Tomáš Hrustič
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Local Elections ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Roma Population ◽  
Power Asymmetries

AbstractThis paper discusses the outcomes of power asymmetries in Slovak municipalities with Roma population and presents examples how local Roma leaders resist the non-Roma dominance by active participation in local elections. Presenting data from field research and long-term repeated observations, the paper shows successful strategies of elected Roma mayors who disrupt the usual perception of the Roma as objects of decision-making process and passive recipients of various policies. In these paternalistic beliefs Roma have never been seen as actors who can control resources, who could hold the political power and who could decide how to use the resources. Although the Roma have penetrated the power structures of many municipalities, they are not able to wipe out invisible ethnic boundaries, or, at least, to soften and disrupt them. However, as the text illustrates, it seems that the political power asymmetries in a significant number of municipalities are being balanced, nevertheless, the symbolic dominance and symbolic power of non-Roma still persists.

scholarly journals Coronavirus and Politics: Demands and Values in the Age of the Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-121
Author(s):  
D. A. Parenkov ◽  
K. E. Petrov
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
Mortality Salience ◽  
Charismatic Leadership ◽  
Status Quo ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Personal Connections ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Masses

The article discusses the political eff ects of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic in the framework of Terror Management Theory. Growing fears caused by the pandemic provoke mortality salience across the globe. Political and psychological eff ects of mortality salience are manifested in the strengthening of conservative orientations and support for status quo. Awareness of mortality provides support to power structures, incumbent political leaders, strengthening patriotic attitudes and rejection of external groups. The pandemic strengthens the eff ect of rallying around the fl ag and results in an increase in the ratings of ruling political leaders. The growing support for political leaders confi rms the orientation towards maintaining the status quo and conservative attitudes. In a pandemic, patriotic feeling, the demand for order, the growth of distrust of fellow citizens, and the rejection of freedoms in favor of security come to the fore. In the context of mortality salience orientation to support specifi c types of political leadership is intensifying. It seems that in the near future, electorally successful types of leaders will include two major types. Firstly, politicians inclined to charismatic control of the trust of their supporters based on a confi dent and uncompromising orientation to their own ego, most often on the basis of previously gained fame. Secondly, those politicians who are capable of expressing simple human closeness to ordinary people and are focused on creating and maintaining social ties with a constituency. Charismatic leadership is oriented towards personal decision-making at leader’s own peril and risk. The second type is associated with horizontal dialogue with citizens. and creating the maximum numberof personal connections. In the current situation, the role of personal qualities of leaders will only grow, both as objects of attitudes and aspirations on the part of the masses, and as subjects of the political process, making political decisions that are crucial for society.

scholarly journals Russian political discourse-problems of interaction between government and society

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
Lyudmila G. Titova ◽  
Anna V. Uryadova ◽  
Sergey A. Baburkin
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Political Crises ◽  
The Government ◽  
Written Word ◽  
High Level

The article deals with the issues of modern Russian political discourse - the interaction of power and society, political communication, the influence of power through the spoken and written word on the mass consciousness. The significance of the problem in modern society is associated with the expansion of the political space through multi-sided political communication, the introduction of new subjects in the political polylogue, the dissemination of information flows that are exchanged by participants in the political process and which are not always adequately perceived and processed by them, which creates opportunities for purposeful management of people's behavior. In Russian political practice, this has been noted in various forms of controlled protest. Media texts, the interpretation of written texts in their variety of genres, the ability to persuade in oral speeches, the use of political terms, informal words and expressions, slang, depending on the audience and the goals set by the speakers, are becoming more and more common forms of influence. Modern political discourse is shown as existing outside of the moral requirements and restrictions imposed by the authorities, who pursue the main goal of self - preservation and self-restraint, and use all methods of manipulation for this purpose, creating a pseudo-reality. This is especially significant in times of political crises, when power structures and leaders begin to reveal their failure, inability to make adequate political decisions, compensating them with various technologies of zombie population. Channels of influence are the media, which in the conditions of the information society turn into another power institution. Manipulative influence of the word can be neutralized in the dialogue between the government and society, which implies a high level of political culture of the elite and citizens.

Political Skills or Lying and Manipulation? The Choreography of the Northern Ireland Peace Process

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 725-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Dixon
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Moral Leadership ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Skills ◽  
Realist Position ◽  
Back Stage

The ‘real war’ and ‘propaganda war’ fought over Northern Ireland for thirty years polarised party and public opinion. The key dilemma faced by politicians during the recent peace process has been how to wind down the ‘war’ and win sufficient party and public support for an accommodation between unionists and nationalists which falls so far short of previous expectations. Scripts telling contrasting stories have been prepared to convince rival republican and unionist audiences to support the peace process. In addition, the pro-Agreement parties have attempted to shift opinion towards accommodation through a range of political skills and choreography. Key competing parties and governments have sometimes co-operated back stage while front stage they have on occasion ‘play acted’ conflict between each other. The political skills, or lying and manipulation, by which the peace process has been driven forward have been uncovered creating public distrust in the political process. Realists see such political deception as an inevitable part of politics and permissible on the grounds that the ends justify the means. Absolutists attack the ‘spin, lying and manipulation’ of the peace process as an assault on democracy. A third democratic realist position argues that sometimes moral leadership requires doing wrong to do right but the gap between ‘truth’ and ‘spin’ should be narrowed. A more open and honest politics would not only be more accountable and democratic but also effective in advancing the peace process.

Factionalism within the Conservative Party: The Monday Club

1972 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 464-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Seyd
Keyword(s):  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Political Attitudes ◽  
Political Process ◽  
Hard Core ◽  
Conservative Party ◽  
Labour Party ◽  
Recent Survey ◽  
The Political ◽  
Party Member ◽  
General Belief

IT HAS BEEN ARGUED THAT FACTIONALISM WHILST APPARENT IN THE Labour Party has no counterpart within the Conservative Party. For example, the authors of a study on the opinions of backbench conservative MPs concluded that disagreements are amongst ‘ad hoc groups’ and that as new issues arise ‘the coherence of the former groups dissolves and new alignments appear. . . .’ A more recent survey of conservative backbenchers concurs with this and argues that the ‘criss-crossing pattern of cleavage (amongst conservative MPs) inhibits the development of Tory factions analogous to those in the Labour Party. Allies on one issue either become enemies on the next, or else simply do not feel strongly enough on the next issue to want necessarily to work together.’ A similar sort of conclusion has been reached by Richard Rose who states that the Conservative Party contains differing sets of political attitudes which remain constant whilst the party member will constantly shift from one attitude to another. Thus he concludes that the Conservative Party is a party of tendencies rather than factions; that it lacks a hard core of organized members within the party adhering to a set of principles which they are attempting to impose on the party in general. These conclusions are typical of a general belief about the political process within the Conservative Party.

scholarly journals Diasporic Politics and Defining Diaspora in Law: The Case of Latvia

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-72
Author(s):  
Ieva Birka ◽  
Agnese Lāce
Keyword(s):  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Risks And Benefits ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Potential Risks ◽  
The Law ◽  
Broad Interpretation ◽  
National Governments

Abstract Passage of the Diaspora Law of Latvia required policymakers to go through an arduous process of discussing the limitations of diaspora, weighing the potential risks and benefits of various possible approaches, and ultimately agreeing on a definition to be included in the law. The end result was a very broad interpretation of who can be recognized as part of the Latvian diaspora. In this paper, to understand the political process of arriving at a definition, the theoretical perspectives of the ‘narrow’ and ‘broad’ definitions of diaspora are discussed, the motivations driving national governments to engage with their diasporas are analysed, and the discourse used during the drafting process is reviewed.

Women in Power and Decision making Positions : Conditions and Restraints

1970 ◽  
pp. 53-57
Author(s):  
Azza Charara Baydoun
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Participation ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Power Structures ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Slow Progress

Women today are considered to be outside the political and administrative power structures and their participation in the decision-making process is non-existent. As far as their participation in the political life is concerned they are still on the margins. The existence of patriarchal society in Lebanon as well as the absence of governmental policies and procedures that aim at helping women and enhancing their political participation has made it very difficult for women to be accepted as leaders and to be granted votes in elections (UNIFEM, 2002).This above quote is taken from a report that was prepared to assess the progress made regarding the status of Lebanese women both on the social and governmental levels in light of the Beijing Platform for Action – the name given to the provisions of the Fourth Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995. The above quote describes the slow progress achieved by Lebanese women in view of the ambitious goal that requires that the proportion of women occupying administrative or political positions in Lebanon should reach 30 percent of thetotal by the year 2005!

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