The possibility of a Christian politics

Theology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 121 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-121
Author(s):  
David Martin
Keyword(s):  
Practical Knowledge ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Scientist ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The Past ◽  
Distinguished Research ◽  
Future Consequences ◽  
Political Decision Making

Abstract and analysis Forty-five years ago David Martin, then in his early forties, wrote an influential article for Theology, ‘Ethical Commentary and Political Decision’ (October 1973). In this he argued that the sociologist can be useful to political decision-makers: by providing an analysis of the political situation as it is, was or will be (but emphatically not ‘ought to be’), and by tracing the antecedents of a situation and the possible future consequences of that situation. He suggested: These services which ‘sociology’ may provide represent the combined resources of economics, political science, etc., and are only new in that nowadays such services are explicitly sought and are systematically performed. Presumably in the past every politician and ethical commentator was an amateur political scientist and economist … What is now understood in the multi-dimensional perspectives of sociology as systematised, verified propositional knowledge has always been practical knowledge. (p. 527) Now, after a lifetime of distinguished research on different patterns of European secularization and, in contrast, on the global expansion of Pentecostalism, he returns to the theme of political decision-making. He offers a unique overview of the various options today that are possible, or no longer possible, for a specifically Christian politics. [ Editor]

scholarly journals The Russian Political Elite in the Context of Modern Political Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
M.Yu. Martynova ◽  
◽  
D.M. Feoktistova ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Development ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Decision Making

the author analyzes the problems of the activity and development of the political elite. The current political situation in Russia puts forward new requirements for the functioning of the management system of state institutions and determines the need for professionally trained, highly moral personnel of the modern political elite. The paper considers the possibility of introducing modern and progressive mechanisms of interaction between the government and society – crowdsourcing, which involves the wide involvement of citizens with an active civic position and public associations in the process of public discussion and political decision-making.

The role of the Wali al-Faqih in the process of external political decision-making: An analytical study of the relevant articles of the revised Iranian constitution of 1989

2020 ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Wissam Saleh Abdul-Hussein Jassim Al-Rub
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political System ◽  
Analytical Study ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Political ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Supreme Leader ◽  
Political Decision Making

The Iranian Constitution of 1979 and the amendment of 1989 considered the Supreme Leader of the Iranian Islamic Revolution the most powerful institution in influence and presence in the political system. The guide, directly or indirectly, through the agencies operating under his administration, and here we say that the political vision of the wali al-Faqih governs its authority over all the perceptions of decision-makers in their formulation and implementation of strategic decisions that achieve the goals of the Iranian regime at home and abroad.

scholarly journals The reproduction number of COVID-19 and its correlation with public health interventions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Linka ◽  
Mathias Peirlinck ◽  
Ellen Kuhl
Keyword(s):  
Reproduction Number ◽  
Air Travel ◽  
Health Interventions ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Time Varying ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Past ◽  
Public Media ◽  
Political Decision Making

AbstractThroughout the past four months, no number has dominated the public media more persistently than the reproduction number of COVID-19. This powerful but simple concept is widely used by the public media, scientists, and political decision makers to explain and justify political strategies to control the COVID-19 pandemic. Here we explore the effectiveness of political interventions using the reproduction number of COVID-19 across Europe. We propose a dynamic SEIR epidemiology model with a time-varying reproduction number, which we identify using machine learning and uncertainty quantification. During the early outbreak, the reproduction number was 4.5±21.4, with maximum values of 6.5 and 5.9 in Spain and France. As of today, it has dropped to 0.7±20.2, with minimum values of 0.4 and 0.3 in Austria and France. We found a strong correlation between passenger air travel and the reproduction number with a time delay of 12.6±22.7 days. Our new dynamic SEIR model provides the flexibility to simulate various outbreak control and exit strategies to inform political decision making and identify safe solutions in the benefit of global health.

Wegvoeringen en weggevoerden tijdens de meidagen van 1940

2014 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 250-259
Author(s):  
Etienne Verhoeyen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
The Political ◽  
Extreme Right ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Belgian Society ◽  
Complete Study ◽  
History Of ◽  
Risky Business ◽  
Political Decision Making

Met dit boek levert Frank Seberechts een nagenoeg volledige studie af van een van de minder fraai kanten van de Belgische samenleving in 1940: de administratieve arrestatie en de wegvoering naar Frankrijk van enkele duizenden personen (de ‘verdachten’), Belgen of in België verblijvende vreemdelingen. De extreem-rechtse en pro-Duitse arrestanten hebben na hun vrijlating dit feit politiek in hun voordeel uitgebaat, waardoor volledig in de schaduw kwam te staan dat de overgrote meerderheid van de weggevoerden joodse mensen waren die in de jaren voor de oorlog naar België waren gevlucht. Dat het beeld van de wegvoeringen niet volledig is, is grotendeels te wijten aan het feit dat de meeste archieven die hierop betrekking hebben tijdens de meidagen van 1940 vernietigd werden. Met name de politieke besluitvorming over de wegvoeringen vertoont nog steeds schemerzones, zodat het vastleggen van verantwoordelijkheden ook vandaag nog een gewaagde onderneming is.________Deportations and the deported during the Maydays in 1940 By means of this book Frank Seberechts provides an almost complete study of one of the less admirable sides of Belgian society in 1940: the administrative arrest and the deportation to France of some thousands of people (‘the suspects’), Belgians or foreigners residing in Belgium. The extreme-right and pro-German detainees politically exploited this fact after they had been freed, but this completely overshadowed the point that the large majority of the deported people were Jews who had fled to Belgium during the years preceding the war. This incomplete portrayal of the deportations is mainly due to the fact that most of the archives relating to the events had been destroyed during the Maydays of 1940. The history of the political decision-making about the deportations in particular still shows many grey areas and it is therefore still a risky business even today to determine which people should be held accountable.

scholarly journals A survey of methods for evaluating mini-publics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takeuchi Ayano
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The Political ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Sufficient Information ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Decision Making

AbstractPublic participation has become increasingly necessary to connect a wide range of knowledge and various values to agenda setting, decision-making and policymaking. In this context, deliberative democratic concepts, especially “mini-publics,” are gaining attention. Generally, mini-publics are conducted with randomly selected lay citizens who provide sufficient information to deliberate on issues and form final recommendations. Evaluations are conducted by practitioner researchers and independent researchers, but the results are not standardized. In this study, a systematic review of existing research regarding practices and outcomes of mini-publics was conducted. To analyze 29 papers, the evaluation methodologies were divided into 4 categories of a matrix between the evaluator and evaluated data. The evaluated cases mainly focused on the following two points: (1) how to maintain deliberation quality, and (2) the feasibility of mini-publics. To create a new path to the political decision-making process through mini-publics, it must be demonstrated that mini-publics can contribute to the decision-making process and good-quality deliberations are of concern to policy-makers and experts. Mini-publics are feasible if they can contribute to the political decision-making process and practitioners can evaluate and understand the advantages of mini-publics for each case. For future research, it is important to combine practical case studies and academic research, because few studies have been evaluated by independent researchers.

Whither the Daang Matuwid?: Overconfidence in Benigno S. Aquino III’s Perception of Survival (2010–2016)

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-148
Author(s):  
Eryan Ramadhani
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Psychology ◽  
Cognitive Complexity ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Political Institution ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Ruling Elites ◽  
Political Decision Making

Abstract The study of political decision-making cannot exclude the actors involved in the process. Neither can it disregard the interplay between decision-makers and political institution where they operate. This article aims to explain how perception of survival affects decision-making by focusing on leaders, specifically by analysing Benigno S. Aquino III’s leadership (2010–2016). Built on political psychology, I will show that motivation to maintain power may bias leaders’ reasoning leading to suboptimal decision. Accountability can help leaders mitigate bias, or de-bias, by stimulating their use of cognitive complexity. But the same effort may backfire and make leaders resort to heuristics instead. Where leaders end up in the cognitive spectrum depends on the types of audiences to whom they feel accountable: core (the ruling elites and loyal voters) and external (the opposition and its supporters) audiences. Preoccupation with core audiences can make leaders downplay the opposition challenge. Furthermore, leaders’ perceived understanding of their support base may be erroneous. The result is overconfidence in their perception of survival. I argue that President Aquino’s misperception of survival was rooted in his belief that (1) Filipinos would like to have his legacy continued and that (2) his popularity would help his successor Manuel Araneta Roxas II win the 2016 presidential race. This overconfidence turned out to be detrimental. Roxas’s electoral loss to Rodrigo Duterte put an end to the Daang Matuwid, President Aquino’s good governance platform.

scholarly journals Religious Engagement and the Migration Issue: Towards Reconciling Political and Moral Duty

Religions ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
Joanna Kulska
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Nation States ◽  
Religious Engagement ◽  
The Face ◽  
Religious Actors

The increasingly acknowledged post-secular perspective has resulted in the emergence of some new approaches theorizing this phenomenon. One such approach has been the concept of religious engagement, which calls for the redefinition of the perception of religious non-state actors towards including them as important partners in the process of identifying and realizing political goals. According to this view, due to the multidimensional role played by religious communities and non-state religious actors, they need to be recognized as pivotal in creating a new form of knowledge generated through encounter and dialogue of the political decision-makers with these subjects. Among numerous others, the challenge of migration calls for enhanced debate referring to both political and ethical issues. When such a perspective is applied, the question is raised of the duties and limits of nation-states using more or less harsh political measures towards refugees and migrants based on the concept of security, but also short-term political goals. In the face of a state’s lack of will or capacity to deal with the problem of migration, the question of religion serving not only as the service-provider but also as the “trend-setter” with regard to fundamental ethical questions needs to be considered.

scholarly journals Political participation of the participants in the protests against dictatorship

Sociologija ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 452-475 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jelena Pesic
Keyword(s):  
Educational Material ◽  
Social Goals ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Political ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Positive Relation ◽  
The Past ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Collective Engagement ◽  
Political Actions

The aim of this paper is to determine the extent to which participants in the Protests against Dictatorship were ready to engage in various forms of collective action over the past three years. In accordance with Pippa Norris? division of the repertoire of actions on those oriented towards the problems of citizens and directed towards decision-makers in the political sphere and repertoires oriented towards the broader social goals, and with corresponding distinction between the traditional and modern agencies of collective actions, we tried to test the hypothesis that participants in the Protests against Dictatorship show a relatively high degree of readiness to engage in both traditional and contemporary forms of collective engagement. In addition, we tried to examine the claim that contemporary repertoires of collective actions will be more strongly represented among the younger population, as well as the thesis that the level of engagement will be in a positive relation with the resources that participants in the protest posses (educational, material, organizational, social, etc.). Finally, we tested the hypothesis that readiness to participate in civic and political actions is growing with a degree of trust in the institutions of representative democracy, but also with an assessment of the importance of a democratic political order. The hypotheses were tested on empirical data obtained through a survey of protest participants conducted during April and May 2017.

scholarly journals The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political: Towards a critique of the reason of the ethos

2003 ◽  
pp. 61-85
Author(s):  
Simo Elakovic
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Power ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
The World ◽  
Political Act ◽  
Crisis Of Modernity ◽  
Political Decision Making

The crisis of modernity as the crisis of the political is seen by the author primarily as a crisis of the "measure" of the criterion of political decision making and action. This crisis is understood in the first place as a crisis of self-awareness and practice of the ethos. Machiavelli was the first to attempt a solution to this problem by introducing the concept of virtus, which became the fundamental principle of modern political philosophy. However, many modern and contemporary interpreters of Machiavelli's thought often ignore the social and political context in which the political doctrine of the Florentine thinker arose. Namely, Machiavelli's effort to find an authentic form of the political act that would make possible a harmonization and stabilization of the dramatic political circumstances then prevailing in Italian cities required a reliable diagnosis and adequate means for a successful therapy of the sick organism of the community. The epochal novelty in Machiavelli's political theory was the shift from the ancient theorization of virtue to its modern operationalization. Nevertheless, this shift is often interpreted as a radical opposing of the Greek concept of arete to the Roman virtus, which is crudely and simplistically reduced to bravery and strength necessary for taking and keeping political power. Hegel in his political philosophy travels an important part of the road - unconsciously rather than consciously - along with Machiavelli and Shelling. This particularly holds for his understanding of the necessity of strength and bravery in the process of operationalizing the spirit of freedom in history through the mediation of "negation" as "the power of evil". The mediation of subjectivity and substantiality, according to Hegel, takes place in the state by the brutal bridling of the world spirit where not just individuals but whole peoples are sacrificed - toward freedom, i.e. its realization in the community of the ethos. The "trouble of the times" is a consequence of the separation between I and the world (Entzeiung) and stems from a reduced political reason which lacks the criterion of the ethical totality for political action and decision making. By the separation of the ethos this reason get routinized and political action is reduced to naked technique of winning and keeping political power. In the concluding segment of the paper the author points to some global consequences of the crisis of political decision making in the historical reality at the end of 20th century.

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