scholarly journals Political geography I: Agency

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merje Kuus
Keyword(s):  
Identity Formation ◽  
Final Section ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Object State ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Politics And Culture

This report focuses on human agency – the capacity to act in a given context – as it is studied and reflected upon in political geographic research. I first discuss the investigations of agency in the wide-ranging work on political subjectivity and identity formation. The report then turns to the efforts to trace ideas and things in political processes. I showcase the attention to transnational networks and fields as well as the work inspired by the concepts of assemblage and actor-network. The analysis finally turns to questions of method in the study of political agency as I foreground the growing interest in ethnography, emotions, and ethics in the sub-discipline. No amount of conceptual innovation, I conclude in the final section, can substitute for the careful study of inherently difficult political issues in specific social settings. In order to effectively problematize the boundaries between politics and culture, subject and object, state and non-state institutions, or public and private spheres, research must closely consider the contingent and situational character of these categories.

Parenting and Politics: The Personal and the Political in the Evangelical Family Values Movement

2013 ◽  
Vol 45 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 59-75
Author(s):  
Hilde Løvdal Stephens
Keyword(s):  
Social Order ◽  
Family Values ◽  
Child Rearing ◽  
Cultural Activism ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Theory Of Evolution ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
Billy Graham ◽  
Christian Family ◽  
Conservative Protestants

Today, evangelical Christians in the U.S. are known for their passion for the so-called traditional family and engagement in political and cultural battles over children and child rearing. That has not always been the case. This article examines how parenting became a cultural and political battleground for evangelicals in the last decades of the 20th century. Conservative Protestants have engaged with politics and culture in the past. They supported the Prohibition movement; they opposed Darwin’s theory of evolution; they worried about the decadent culture of the 1920s. In the late 1900s, however, child rearing and parenting became a catch-all framework for all their concerns. Parenting took on new, profound meaning. Preachers like Billy Graham would reject his former notions that he was called to preach, saying he was first and foremost called to father. Evangelical Christian family experts like James Dobson and Larry Christenson linked parenting to social order. Family experts guided evangelicals in their political and cultural activism, telling them that the personal is political and that political issues can be solved one family at a time.

The Geography of War and Peace

2004 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Final Section ◽  
The Political ◽  
Complex World ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Peace Movements ◽  
Resource Conflicts ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Post War ◽  
Spatial Rhetoric

Our world of increasing and varied conflicts is confusing and threatening to citizens of all countries, as they try to understand its causes and consequences. However, how and why war occurs, and peace is sustained, cannot be understood without realizing that those who make war and peace must negotiate a complex world political map of sovereign spaces, borders, networks of communication, access to nested geographic scales, and patterns of resource distribution. This book takes advantage of a diversity of geographic perspectives as it analyzes the political processes of war and their spatial expression. Contributors to the volume examine particular manifestations of war in light of nationalism, religion, gender identities, state ideology, border formation, genocide, spatial rhetoric, terrorism, and a variety of resource conflicts. The final section on the geography of peace covers peace movements, diplomacy, the expansion of NATO, and the geography of post-war reconstruction. Case studies of numerous conflicts include Israel and Palestine, Afghanistan, Northern Ireland, Bosnia-Herzogovina, West Africa, and the attacks of September 11, 2001.

scholarly journals Social and Legal Technologies in the System of Legal Policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Maxim Valerevich Voronin ◽  
Igor Vladimirovich Przhilenskiy
Keyword(s):  
Main Property ◽  
Transition To Democracy ◽  
Legal Policy ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Legal Proceedings ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Social Technologies ◽  
Legislative Changes ◽  
Legal Technology

The article considers the problem of implementing of legal policy as a social technology. The authors compare the concepts of social and legal technology as a set of elements in achieving the goal, and also consider systematicity as the main property of these technologies. The systematic approach is presented both at the decision-making level and at the stages of its legislative execution and practical application in the process of implementing of legal norms. The implementation of legal policy led to the dynamics of legislative changes in recent years. Various state institutions have been reformed and actually reorganized to work on the basis of new principles. Moreover, the reforms of recent years are determined not only and not so much by objective ideological transformations associated with the transition to democracy, the implementation of international law, but also by a change in the technological paradigm of management and implementation of political processes. The actions of the executive and legislative branches, as well as the entire process of legal proceedings in courts of various levels, are considered in the article as unique social technologies, all of which are systemic in nature. The authors conclude that the consistency of power, social and legal technologies serves as a vehicle for political legal strategy, and also allows you to express the functionality of the main legal institutions.

Diskusijas par terminu „mediji” latviešu valodā tā pētīšanas aspektā

2020 ◽  
pp. 349-358
Author(s):  
Dite Liepa ◽  
Ilva Skulte
Keyword(s):  
Mass Media ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Insight Into

This paper is based on reflections after an emotional discussion on the word and term medijs(i) (‘medium’) in Latvian that broke out during the yearly conference The Word: Aspects of Research at Liepāja University, in November 2019. The aim of this paper is not to blame or replace the broadly spread two-word term plašsaziņas līdzekļi with an anglicism mediji. In Latvia, there are many titles and documents where this term has a permanent and stable place. Such as, for example, The National Electronic Mass Media Council. At the same time, it is time to recognise the use of the word medijs(i) as an entirely accepted synonym of plašsaziņas līdzeklis(ļi) and even as a semantically more broadly usable term in the context of developing information and communication technologies. As this short insight into the research of the word shows, the term is already currently used not only among professionals but also on the level of state institutions, public and private organisations, and companies. On the other hand, especially in the contexts of communication science, arts, and philosophy, the spectrum of meanings of the word medijs(i) in the vocabulary of modern Latvian must be broadened.

scholarly journals Juridification as politics: An institutional view

2020 ◽  
pp. 019145372096217
Author(s):  
Mariano Croce
Keyword(s):  
Social Groups ◽  
The State ◽  
Self Organization ◽  
Legal Process ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Family Networks ◽  
Social Actors ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Institutional View

In the existing literature on depoliticization, the increasing use of law as a medium to tackle social and political issues is deemed to be detrimental to the legitimacy of political processes. Against this view, I argue that this trend – which some scholars call ‘juridification’ – can be key to giving life to new forms of politics. First, I show why juridification is a political more than a legal process. Second, I illustrate recent critiques of the dangers inherent in the particular type of juridification that involves the growing use of rights. Third, while concurring with these critiques, I make the case that other facets of juridification are often underrated that can ignite a novel kind of politics. On this account, I go on by elaborating on the idea of self-organization of social groups vis-à-vis the state that is entailed in this notion of politics. Finally, I discuss the recognition of non-conventional family networks to exemplify how a politics of juridification could work. The conclusion is that, while juridification calls for a thorough revision of the tasks of politics, it does not thwart it. Rather, traditional representative politics could and should take stock of how it involves social actors in the creation of new bodies of regulation.

Youth Politics and Culture in Contemporary Latin America: A Review

2015 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 132-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Britt Coe ◽  
Darcie Vandegrift
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Latin America ◽  
Young People ◽  
The State ◽  
State Institutions ◽  
Youth Politics ◽  
Politics And Culture ◽  
Youth Identities ◽  
And Diffusion

AbstractYouth politics in contemporary Latin America diverge from those of previous generations. Increasingly decoupled from parties, unions, and the state, young people glide seamlessly across previously assumed boundaries: culture and politics, individual and organization, subjectivity and collectivity, virtual and “real.” This article presents findings from a systematic review of research on youth politics and demonstrates the new direction through three main categories: repression, incorporation, and exclusion, relationships between state institutions and youth identities; generational, cultural, and digital lenses, the innovative trends for theorizing current patterns of youth politics; and unsettling politics, the fusion and diffusion of youth political dexterity. The article concludes by highlighting current strengths and proposing future steps to build on this new direction.

The Theory and Practice of Situational Crime Prevention

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald V. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Crime Prevention ◽  
Situational Crime Prevention ◽  
Routine Activity Theory ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Routine Activity ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Transit Systems ◽  
Pattern Theory ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
Sound Foundation

Situational crime prevention is radically different from other forms of crime prevention as it seeks only to reduce opportunities for crime, not bring about lasting change in criminal or delinquent dispositions. Proceeding from an analysis of the circumstances giving rise to very specific kinds of crime and disorder, it introduces discrete managerial and environmental modifications to change the opportunity structure for those crimes to occur—not just the immediate physical and social settings in which the crimes occur, but also the wider societal arrangements that make the crimes possible. It is therefore focused on the settings for crime, not on delinquents or criminals. Rather than punishing them or seeking to eliminate criminal dispositions through improvement of society or its institutions, it tries to make criminal action less attractive. It does this in five main ways: (1) by increasing the difficulties of crime, (2) by increasing the immediate risks of getting caught, (3) by reducing the rewards of offending, (4) by removing excuses for offending, and (5) by reducing temptations and provocations. It accomplishes these ends by employing an action research methodology to identify design and management changes that can be introduced with minimum social and economic costs. Central to this enterprise is not the criminal justice system but a host of public and private organizations and agencies—schools, hospitals, transit systems, shops and malls, manufacturing businesses and phone companies, local parks and entertainment facilities, pubs and parking lots—whose products, services, and operations spawn opportunities for a vast range of different crimes. Some criminologists believe that the efforts that these organizations and agencies have made in the past 20 or 30 years to protect themselves from crime are responsible for the recorded crime drops in many countries. Situational crime prevention rests on a sound foundation of criminological theories—routine activity theory, crime pattern theory, and the rational choice perspective—all of which hold that opportunity plays a part in every form of crime or disorder. There is therefore no form of crime that cannot be addressed by situational crime prevention. To date, more than 250 evaluated successes of situational crime prevention have been reported, covering an increasingly wide array of crimes including terrorism and organized crimes. Many of the studies have found little evidence that situational interventions have resulted in the “displacement” of crime to other places, times, targets, methods, or forms of crime. Indeed, it is commonly found that the benefits of situational crime prevention diffuse beyond the immediately targeted crimes. Despite these successes, situational crime prevention continues to attract much criticism for its supposed social and ethical costs.

scholarly journals Theological resources for building resilience to gangster identity formations. A study of the Cape Flats

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nico Vorster
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Large Degree ◽  
Social Setting ◽  
Psychosocial Studies ◽  
Negative Results ◽  
Social Settings ◽  
The Social ◽  
Theological Discourse ◽  
Identity Formations

This essay probes the remedial promise of Christian narratives on resilience in creating buffers against gangster identity formation on the Cape Flats. First, we consult and compare both quantitative and qualitative psychosocial studies on the causes of gangster identity formation on the Cape Flats. Thereafter, we discuss the dominant Christian narratives on resilience and examine their applicability and remedial potential for the specific social setting. The essay finds that the social settings within which gangster identities are formed determine to a large degree the kind of resilience competencies that have to be instilled in individuals and communities, as well as the type of theological discourse that ought to be followed. A certain type of theological discourse on resilience might be helpful in creating buffers against gangster identity formation within some communities of the Cape Flats, but the same narrative could yield negative results in others. The type of theological approach followed should therefore be closely aligned to the audience addressed to ensure that the competencies instilled in communities do not, in fact, grow into risk factors.

scholarly journals Modern political activity in gender aspect

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (9) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
N. O. Kodatska
Keyword(s):  
Social Development ◽  
Gender Stereotypes ◽  
Gender Discrimination ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Careful Study ◽  
Gender Analysis ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Ukrainian Society ◽  
Gender Features

The article describes the main gender features of the implementation of political activities. We study the gender analysis as a process of assessing the different impact on women and men, which is implemented by existing or planned programs, legislation, public policy directions, in all spheres of society and the state. Moreover, the research proves the existence in society of discrimination based on sex, which means acts or omissions that express any distinction, exclusion or privilege on the basis of sex if they are intended to restrict or make it impossible to recognize, use or exercise on an equal basis human rights and freedoms for women and men. The article analyzes gender stereotypes in the social and political sphere that carried out on the example of a gender portrait of the Dnepropetrovsk region. Therefore, various forms of political activity are considered as a set of actions of individuals and social groups aimed at realizing their own political interests. We explore the effectiveness of the implementation of gender policy, which is manifested in the actions of political actors aimed at the adoption of the partnership of the sexes in the definition and implementation of political goals, objectives and methods for their achievement. It was stated that in the process of the democratic development of Ukrainian society, a social order for women engaged in active public and political activities and capable of holding high management positions should be met. This work reveals that the necessary component of the process of social development is the conduct of gender analysis, the introduction of gender analysis in the practice of assessing all social processes and the effectiveness of management of socio-economic and political development.In addition, the study proves that prerequisite for the development of society is gender equality, that is, the equal legal status of women and men and equal opportunities for its implementation, which allows individuals of both sexes to participate equally in all spheres of society’s life. Also noted that the existence of gender inequality slows down the opportunities for economic growth, weakens the system of public administration and reduces the effectiveness of human development strategies. Therefore, careful study of the gender features of contemporary political life and the definition of the directions of further social development is an important condition for ensuring gender parity in various spheres of Ukrainian society. Accordingly, we determine that it is necessary to reduce the influence on the public consciousness of gender stereotypes, that is, stereotypes about the role and place of women and men in society having a cultural and historical basis and, in the majority, restricting the rights of women in society and generating gender discrimination. The article demonstrates that the peculiarities of modern political processes require the search for new approaches to explain and predict the various conflicts between the branches of power, political crises, in order to design policies and to choose the means of state policy.

Corporeal Creations in Experimental Screendance

2016 ◽  
pp. 320-348
Author(s):  
Sophie Walon
Keyword(s):  
Michel Foucault ◽  
Gilles Deleuze ◽  
Body Representation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Traditional Notion ◽  
The World ◽  
Body Without Organs

This chapter examines experimental screendances that disrupt the traditional notion of the body by constructing bizarre corporealities. The chapter analyzes films that display choreo-cinematic experimentations on body representation, such as those of Thierry De Mey, Laurent Goldring, Antonin De Bemels, Wim Vandekeybus, and Pierre Yves Clouin. These films present unconventional bodies that appear in turns animalistic, oversexualized (or differently sexualized), pathological, monstrous, and unidentifiable, undergoing all sorts of transformations and metamorphoses, thus resisting sociocultural, economic, and political processes of standardization of the body. The chapter argues that these screendance bodies are linked to the philosophical and political conceptualizations of the body by Maurice Merleau-Ponty (“openness to the world,” “corporeality”), Michel Foucault (“biopowers,”), and Gilles Deleuze (“body without organs,” “becomings,” “de-hierarchization of the body”). The chapter develops a reflection on screendance bodies, emphasizing that certain screendances also suggest philosophical and political issues that are embedded in their subversive representations of the body.

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