Gender and Political Participation in the Traditional Political System of the Village: A Study on the Khasi tribe of Mawkynrew village in Meghalaya

Author(s):  
Rebecca Soanes

The article is a study on the political participation at the village level by both the male and female members of Mawkynrew village in Meghalaya. Meghalaya is inhabited by three major tribes and the Khasi tribe is one of the three tribes. The political system is still based on a traditional system of political administration at all village and locality levels. This political system allows the people to elect a chief and other members for the village council’s office. Traditionally, only male members are allowed to hold the traditional office of village administration. Therefore, the article will highlight the participation of both the gender groups in the village and how changes have taken place over the years. The paper will also attempt to study the factors or determinants that are influencing gender participation in the political system of the village, particularly that of the women in the village.

1983 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 15-17
Author(s):  
Virginia Sapiro

The intriguing thing about the study of political behavior is that it focuses our attention directly on “the people” in a political system. Without the existence and actions of people a political system has no meaning — it could not exist. There have been attempts to break this rule, but they have not been successful. There is a spot under the North Sea off the coast of England, for example, that continued to have parliamentary representation long after the sea had buried what was once the important port of Dunwich. This was one of the famous “rotten boroughs”. This make-believe borough, however, required the political action of real people to have political meaning, even if the real people had to act in rowboats.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
abdul muiz amir

This study aims to find a power relation as a discourse played by the clerics as the Prophet's heir in the contestation of political event in the (the elections) of 2019 in Indonesia. The method used is qualitative based on the critical teory paradigm. Data gathered through literary studies were later analyzed based on Michel Foucault's genealogy-structuralism based on historical archival data. The findings show that, (1) The involvement of scholars in the Pemilu-Pilpres 2019 was triggered by a religious issue that has been through online social media against the anti-Islamic political system, pro communism and liberalism. Consequently create two strongholds from the scholars, namely the pro stronghold of the issue pioneered by the GNPF-Ulama, and the fortress that dismissed the issue as part of the political intrigue pioneered by Ormas NU; (2) genealogically the role of scholars from time to time underwent transformation. At first the Ulama played his role as well as Umara, then shifted also agent of control to bring the dynamization between the issue of religion and state, to transform into motivator and mediator in the face of various issues Practical politic event, especially at Pemilu-Pilpres 2019. Discussion of the role of Ulama in the end resulted in a reduction of the role of Ulama as the heir of the prophet, from the agent Uswatun Hasanah and Rahmatan lil-' ālamīn as a people, now shifted into an agent that can trigger the division of the people.


2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 155-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hou Yuxin

Abstract The Wukan Incident attracted extensive attention both in China and around the world, and has been interpreted from many different perspectives. In both the media and academia, the focus has very much been on the temporal level of the Incident. The political and legal dimensions, as well as the implications of the Incident in terms of human rights have all been pored over. However, what all of these discussions have overlooked is the role played by religious force during the Incident. The village of Wukan has a history of over four hundred years, and is deeply influenced by the religious beliefs of its people. Within both the system of religious beliefs and in everyday life in the village, the divine immortal Zhenxiu Xianweng and the religious rite of casting shengbei have a powerful influence. In times of peace, Xianweng and casting shengbei work to bestow good fortune, wealth and longevity on both the village itself, and the individuals who live there. During the Wukan Incident, they had a harmonizing influence, and helped to unify and protect the people. Looking at the specific roles played by religion throughout the Wukan Incident will not only enable us to develop a more meaningful understanding of the cultural nature and the complexity of the Incident itself, it will also enrich our understanding, on a divine level, of innovations in social management.


1994 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Guedea

Beginning in 1808 the people started to play a prominent role in the political life of Mexico. This article examines the significant growth of popular political participation in the City of Mexico during the period 1808-1812. In particular, it analyzes the substantial role that the people played in the elections of 1812, a role they would continue to play in the early years of the new nation.


Res Publica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-55
Author(s):  
Marleen Baetens ◽  
Marc Hooghe

Despite the fact that various authors have expressed concern about a general decline of civic engagement in Western societies, other indicators portray a transition from traditional and formal participation formats to more informal participation forms. This replacement thesis, however, entails the question whether these new forms can still be regarded as a form of political participation. The Alternative Food Circles in Belgium can be considered as a typical grass-roots example of 'political consumerism', which is portrayed as a contemporary alternative for institutionalised politics. In a member survey, 163 members of the Circles were questioned about their motives to participate. They clearly paid little attention to influencing the political system, but notions of solidarity and social change were clearl y present. This form of political consumerism therefore cannot be considered a full form of political participation (using an institutionalist definition of 'politics'), but it clearly is a form of 'life style politics' (Giddens).


Author(s):  
Henrik P. Bang

Habermas is widely criticized for adumbrating an essentialist, deliberative, and consensual approach to democracy that neglects the significance and importance of contingency, conflict, and emotions in the struggle for hegemony and collective identification. However, his conception of system and lifeworld raise the claim that no society could exist without providing for a minimal degree of political cooperation between professional actors in the political system and spontaneously acting laypeople in the social lifeworld. Contingency, conflict, and emotions are obviously at play in this political conception of how to ground system and lifeworld in mutual relations of power, knowledge, trust, and respect. The goal is not to reach a stable consensus or succumb to conflict and chaos but to avoid that system becomes uncoupled from lifeworld, thus undermining the reciprocal connection between political authorities and laypeople required to make and implement authoritative decisions which are ‘for', ‘of', ‘with', and ‘by' ‘the people'.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 761-784
Author(s):  
Branko Smerdel

Democracies are at risk to be strangled by the populist demagogues, posturing as the only and true leaders of 'the people', while disregarding constitutional "structure of liberty", meaning that, the parliamentary supremacy, judicial review and, above all, the constitutional limits to the very direct decision making by the voters' constituencies. Referenda are being used ever more, often to push certain decision, which could not pass the parliament. The claim is that there must not be any limits to the power of the people. That phenomenon the most esteemed liberal magazine "The Economist" nicknamed coining the word "referendumania", apparently combining 'a mania' with 'referenda'. It has been received with a lot of sympathy by the general public, in circumstances when the television and the Internet shows all the misery of the numerous assemblies, not only in a new but also in the mature democracies. After the referendum on the Brexit has been used as an instrument of the political struggle in the mother of parliaments, Great Britain, which lead to the ongoing "melting down" of the highly valued British political system, it seems that the worst of prophecies are realized by advancing populist forces in a number of Euroepan states. Republic of Croatia has been for a long time exposed to such treats, by the political groups extremely opposed to governmental policies, first by the Catholic conservatives and most recently by the trade unionists. Due to the very inadequate regulation of the referenda on civil initiatives, whereas the decision is to be made by a majority of those who vote, without any quorum being provided, the posibilites of manipulation are enormous. In the lasting confusion, a number of politicians has already proclaimed their intention, if elected the president of the Republic, to use such a referendum in order to remove all the checks and balances between the chief of state and "the people". Taking such treats very seriously in the existing crisis of democracy, the author emphasizes hi plead for an interparty agreement which would enable the referendum to be properly regulated and thus incorporated into the system of a democratic constitutional democracy.


2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 389
Author(s):  
Lukman Santoso

Abstract: Pakistan, since independence, there are differences of opinion among the Muslims of Pakistan consisting of secularists, moderate Islamists about how should the implementation of the Islamic politics in Pakistan, giving rise to a prolonged political crisis when today. Pakistan's political turmoil unending birth Pakistani women politicians and thinkers, namely Benazir Bhutto. This paper will focus on the study of Benazir Bhutto thinking about the relationship between Islam and democration in Pakistan. Based on the results of the study, there are some findings: First, Benazir with thoughts that category substantivistik and relatively conflict with Muslim-majority Pakistan (traditionalists and fundamentalists), the ideas in tune with existence, articulation, and a manifestation of Islamic values are intrinsic in the climate modern democrations. Second, the idea of Benazir is a counter discourse to the idea that idealized which Islam should be the political system. Benazir thinking is in line with the paradigm who saw that Islam does not lay down a standard pattern of the theory of the political system must be organized by the people, except for the values and ethical principles. الملخص :كانت في باكستان – منذ حرّيتها – خلافات الآراء عند المسلمين بين العلمانيين والمتوسطين والإسلاميين عن كيفية تطبيق السياسة الإسلامية في باكستان حتى أدّت إلى النزاع السياسيّ الطويل إلى الآن. وظهرت في هذه الفترة النزاعية مفكّرة وسياسيّة بينزر بوطو. حاولت هذه المقالة التركيز في دراسة أفكارها عن التصالح الإسلامي والديموقراطية في باكستان. حصلت هذه الدراسة على النتائج : أولا، كانت بينزر بوطو بما لها من أفكار تميل إلى الأصالة وأفكارها متعارضة بأغلبية المسلمين التقاليديين والأصوليين، وكانت أفكارها موافقة بمكانة القيم الإسلامية الأصيلة وتمثيلها وتطبيقها في ضوء الديموقراطية الحديثة. ثانيا إن هذه الأفكار كردّ تجاه الفكرة المؤيّدة ليكون الإسلام أساسا للدولة. كانت هذه الأفكار تواكب بفكرة أن الإسلام لا يضع نظرية معيّنة لبناء الدولة يعتنقها المسلمون إلا الأسس العامة فقط  والقيم فيها. Abstrak: Pakistan, sejak kemerdekaannya, terdapat perbedaan pendapat dikalangan kaum muslim Pakistan yang terdiri dari kelompok sekular, moderat dan Islamis tentang bagaimana implementasi Islam politik di Pakistan, sehingga menimbulkan kemelut kekuasaan yang berkepanjangan hingga kini. Ditengah kemelut politik Pakistan yang tidak berkesudahan tersebut lahirlah politisi dan pemikir perempuan Pakistan, yakni Benazir Bhutto. Tulisan ini akan memfokuskan kajian pada pemikiran Benazir Bhutto tentang rekonsiliasi Islam dan demokrasi di Pakistan. Berdasarkan hasil kajian, terdapat beberapa temuan, yaitu: Pertama, Benazir dengan pemikirannya yang termasuk kategori substantivistik dan tergolong bertentangan dengan mayoritas muslim Pakistan (tradisionalis dan fundamentalis) ini, gagasannya selaras dengan eksistensi, artikulasi, dan manifestasi nilai-nilai Islam yang instrinsik dalam iklim demokrasi modern. Kedua, gagasan Benazir merupakan counter wacana terhadap pemikiran yang mengidealkan bahwa Islam harus menjadi dasar negara. Pemikiran Benazir ini selaras dengan paradigma yang melihat bahwa Islam tidak meletakkan suatu pola baku tentang teori sistem politik yang harus diselenggarakan oleh umatnya, kecuali nilai-nilai dan prinsip-prinsip etisnya.


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