Ethnic Mobilization without Prerequisites: The East European Gypsies

2002 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zoltan Barany

This article proposes a model that provides a tool to gauge the preparedness of ethnic and other groups for political mobilization. It argues that successful ethnic mobilization requires a well-specified bundle of “mobilization prerequisites” that can be used to evaluate political and social movements in a variety of contexts. The model is applied to elucidate the East European Gypsy communities' modest success at ethnic political mobilization. The article assesses the explanatory power of the independent variables and explains Gypsy electoral politics and behavior.

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2721
Author(s):  
Kanokwan Chancharoenchai ◽  
Wuthiya Saraithong

As potato chips are often found to contain a carcinogen, called acrylamide, less-risky chips can alternatively be made from cassava. This study aims at examining consumers’ preference and the factors determining their marginal willingness to pay for acrylamide-free cassava chips. The study is undertaken based on questionnaire surveys with 1077 respondents from all six regions of Thailand. Various socio-economic characteristics, and behavior and perception on relevant issues are included in the OLS estimations of marginal willingness, acting as independent variables. The study finds that people show their preference for acrylamide-free cassava chips, and are willing to pay a premium price of THB 5.86, on average. The results also statistically present, among others, the positive explanatory power of persons’ perception about food safety, especially the dangers of acrylamide, and the size of family on the preference of cassava chips. Adult consumers and those from the northeastern region surprisingly reveal an unfavorable willingness to pay more for non-acrylamide cassava chips. Moreover, the availability of sale promotion can encourage consumers to pay more for healthier cassava chips. The findings should allow producers to understand consumers’ buying behavior and their preference for cassava chips as a substitute product; in turn, this should help to commercialize these products in the wider market.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Ochieng' Opalo ◽  
Leonardo R. Arriola ◽  
Donghyun Danny Choi ◽  
Matthew Gichohi

In order to comply with electoral rules incentivizing cross-ethnic mobilization, candidates in divided societies often campaign in opponents’ strongholds among non-coethnics. In this paper, we show that such cross-ethnic campaign rallies may actually depress outgroup candidates’ support among non-coethnics. We argue that candidates’ holding of campaign rallies in non-coethnic constituencies can inadvertently trigger perceptions of intergroup competition, increase the salience of ethnicity, and depress support for non-coethnic candidates. We leverage a natural experiment that exploits the timing of an unscheduled campaign rally held by a presidential candidate in a non-coethnic county in his opponent’s stronghold during Kenya’s 2017 election. In comparing survey respondents before and after the rally, we find that the candidate’s post-rally favorability significantly decreased among non-coethnic voters, while the proportion of voters identifying in ethnic terms simultaneously increased. These findings have important implications for the efficacy of institutional design to promote cross-ethnic political mobilization in polarized societies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 630-648
Author(s):  
Cédric Jourde

This chapter explores the politics of social status hierarchies in the Sahel (freeborn, “castes,” slaves) and the rich literature devoted to this theme. It looks specifically at two themes. First, the paradoxical relationship between Islam and social status stratification. The doctrinal equality of the believers before God has often been negated in practice, as “freeborn” lineages have taken over positions of Islamic leadership. But recently some religious movements (Islamism, Sufism, perhaps some jihadism as well) and social movements have challenged the hierarchy of status differences, some in words only, others in deeds as well. The second theme covers the relationship between the construction of colonial and postcolonial states and status hierarchies. Officially, in postcolonial states all citizens are equal under the law. But informally, little is done to counter practices that perpetuate status discrimination such as slavery. Also, electoral politics can both crystalize social status differences and trigger mobilization against status inequalities.


2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 79
Author(s):  
Fariha Khalid Khan ◽  
Razia Musarrat

Elections make a fundamental contribution to democratic governance. In democracies political decisions are made directly by the citizens of the country. Elections serve as forum for the discussion of public issues and facilitate the expression of public opinion. Electoral politics is a figurative form of political participation. Success and failure of political institutions depends upon the political awareness of people and the process of electoral politics is the subject of free, fair and transparent elections. Like her counterparts Pakistan has election process defined by constitution. The electoral process in Pakistan was not regular and transparent but last three elections 2002, 2008 and 2013 were held according to the constitution.  In Pakistan elections and political process are dominated by the political personalities. Although there are multiparty system but people mostly preferred two main parties like PPP and PML-N but it is positive that third party PTI was emerged in country as third largest party of Pakistan. The study focuses on the 2013 elections and behavior of people of district Muzaffar Garh of Punjab. The purpose of this study is to observe the electoral politics at micro level in Pakistan.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Brosché ◽  
Hanne Fjelde ◽  
Kristine Höglund

Why do the first multiparty elections after authoritarian rule turn violent in some countries but not in others? This article places legacies from the authoritarian past at the core of an explanation of when democratic openings become associated with electoral violence in multi-ethnic states, and complement existing research focused on the immediate conditions surrounding the elections. We argue that authoritarian rule characterized by more exclusionary multi-ethnic coalitions creates legacies that amplify the risk of violent elections during the shift to multiparty politics. Through competitive and fragmented interethnic relations, exclusionary systems foreclose the forging of cross-ethnic elite coalitions and make hostile narratives a powerful tool for political mobilization. By contrast, regimes with a broad-based ethnic support base cultivate inclusive inter-elite bargaining, enable cross-ethnic coalitions, and reduce incentives for hostile ethnic mobilization, which lower the risk of violent elections. We explore this argument by comparing founding elections in Zambia (1991), which were largely peaceful, and Kenya (1992), with large-scale state-instigated electoral violence along ethnic lines. The analysis suggests that the type of authoritarian rule created political legacies that underpinned political competition and mobilization during the first multiparty elections, and made violence a more viable electoral strategy in Kenya than in Zambia.


2015 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. 191-208
Author(s):  
Ishwari Bhattarai

Nepalese society today is witnessing an unprecedented sharpening of ethnic boundaries. In the last couple of decades or so, there have been growing instances of inter-ethnic conflict and clashes. The clash among the Tharus and Pahadi (Bahun-Chhetri) communities that took place in the month of May, 2012 in the Nawalparasi district is one such example. Borrowing the conceptual idea from Fredreick Barth (1995) who critically engages with the question of culture, ethnicity, and contemporary nature of ethnic mobilization, this paper seeks to explore how such conflicts are an epiphenomena of tactical moves carried out what he calls as ‘middle echelon politicians’. Through the qualitative data collected with the help of open-ended interviews and couple of other illustrations, this paper argues that, the contemporary character of ethnic mobilizations in some way or the other, are manipulated by ethnic entrepreneurs who politicize cultural differences, ethnic sentiments, and collective backwardness which often result in violent confrontations. Despite the Tharus being diverse and sharply divided in terms of political allegiance and electoral behavior, the leaders or activists use politics of cultural difference, and attempt to mitigate internal differences, to present a consolidated picture of ethnic unity. Through such actions ethnic leaders or activists selectively mobilize ethnic sentiments and symbols in order to motivate members of an ethnic group and also assume leadership position at both local and national levels.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Germán A. Quimbayo Ruiz

Using research conducted in Bogotá, Colombia, I discuss in this article how urban nature has been used as a vehicle by social movements to contest urban commons. The article explores the "environmentalization" of strategies and repertoires of social movements in urban struggles dating back to the 1980s, which developed in parallel with public urban planning debates. In recent years these were nurtured in turn by environmental discourse in a quest to change the city's growth paradigm. I suggest that the legitimacy of knowledge and law about urban nature advocacy is co-created by communities confronting institutions that are supposed to represent state power. This case study analyses conceptualizations of urban nature in and from Latin America, and shows that urban politics and environmental issues are part of a process in which political mobilization is a key element to overcome socio-ecological inequalities.Key words: urban social movements; political ecology of urbanization; situated knowledge; socio-ecological inequalities; Latin America  


2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Gorlach ◽  
Michal Los˘ťák ◽  
Patrick H. Mooney

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 506-507
Author(s):  
Rebecca Kay

In the introduction, Valerie Sperling notes that "Russia's transition from communism toward capitalism and a more democratic political arrangement has been both good and bad for women, presenting both obstacles and opportunities for organizing" (p. 7). She goes on to produce an engaging and thought-provoking analysis aimed at broadening the scope and explanatory power of social movement theory, which, she argues, has been developed by scholars who focus primarily on social movements in the "contemporary core democracies" (pp. 52-3). In contrast Sperling develops "a cross-cultural model of social movement organizing and development that explores five interrelated opportunity structures: socio-cultural or attitudinal, political, economic, political-historical, and international" (p. 53). In each subse- quent chapter she tackles one of these opportunity structures and offers a number of fascinating insights into the world of post-Soviet social movements, based on the experience of her sample of women's organizations.


2014 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiang-Ming Lee ◽  
Tsai Chen ◽  
Min-Li Hung

This study examined the role of enjoyment in people's decision to barter online. A survey in barter BBS/discussion forums and websites collected data from 135 participants (30 men, 105 women; 71% in the age group of 21–30 years) who barter online. To test a modification of the Expectation Confirmation Model, perceived enjoyment, confirmation of expectations, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, and continuance intention were measured. The data analysis showed that the expanded ECM had good explanatory power, with all paths supported except for perceived usefulness-satisfaction. In the proposed model, 33.1% of the variance in continuance intentions was predicted by the independent variables. Thus, the expanded ECM can provide supplementary information that is relevant for understanding continued online bartering usage. Barter website managers may encourage users' intentions to continue using these websites by emphasizing enjoyable aspects of online bartering.


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