scholarly journals URBAN MOVEMENTS IN THE PROCESS OF THE LEGITIMATION OF LIBERAL DEMOCRACY: ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVITIES OF ALTERNATIVE GROUPS AND CIVIL ORGANISATIONS AT A TIME OF EUROPEAN CRISIS

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 49-68
Author(s):  
BARBARA LEWENSTEIN

This paper constitutes an analysis of urban movements, marked in the research as alternative groups and civil organisations, in terms of the new politics characteristic of new social movements. In particular it indicates that these movements, ostensibly urban, actually express demands towards the broader social system, delegitimating it in a twofold manner.  Firstly, the acceptance of certain general principles in democratic values and rules is coupled with criticism of how the system functions in practice and of the political elites in Poland, via protest, lobbying, and watchdog activities. A separate type of delegitimation embraces organisations among which we may list cooperatives and squats, as well as organisations managing concrete spaces and withdrawing from participation in public life, shutting themselves away within autonomous spaces and realising a different cultural and democratic model. In both of these groups we are thus dealing with a strongly accentuated anti-systemic and anti-capitalist attitude towards the political reality of the period of transformation in Poland. The research delivered confirmation of the overall research hypothesis adopted in the Lifewhat project, according to which in response to economic crisis civil society responds with the emergence of alternative forms of resilience, not only alleviating the consequences of the crisis but which also, as time passes and the scale of their activities increases, may give rise to a new quality – including in a political sense. The research constitutes a part of the international Lifewhat project. It was conducted on a sample of eighteen purposefully selected civil groups and organisations operating in large cities in Poland, using the method of in-depth interviews.

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 53-68
Author(s):  
Mihai Murariu

This article deals with the movement known as “Patriotic Europeans against the Islamisation of the Occident,” or Pegida, focusing primarily on the nativist dimension which often takes centre stage in its ideological discourse. Pegida describes itself as a defender of Western Civilization and of its Christian legacy from what it sees as the perils of Islamisation on the one hand, and of globalist political elites on the other. In the context of the political changes and rise of alternative visions of civil society, particularly in Central and Eastern Europe, Pegida should arguably be seen as a representative of a growing European nativist wave. Lastly, the article looks at the “Prague Declaration,” a document which was signed in 2016 by Pegida and a number of allied movements from outside of Germany.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (10) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Ahmed Adnan Kazem ◽  
Jassem Mohammed Ahmed

The Turkish governments had witnessed dramatic changes during several decades ,So the article researched in realistic situations to estimate the contemporary events according to what happened now a days . Therefore , many challenges must be tackled in order to assessment the political scene specially after several military intervention in political life ,So these developments required making of amendments in constitutional law to change the political system toward presidential order instead of parliamentary system , and this  was happened in constitutional amendments which hold in sixteenth of April 2017 as a result of it . Turkish policies were stable politically and lawfully according to practicing democracy ,and it could be easily to know the nature of political participation as followed constitutionally .So the potentially strongest forces are being enabled to renew the political elites ,and the economic miracle would redistribution of roles among active actors in political life .Erdoğan's supporters point out since the attempted coup which happened in amid of July 2016 ,So the governing party and its government tried to reconstruction of trust between the peoples and political elites mutually , in order to override all challenges and to  stabilize the process of democracy


2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 27-47
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Jasiewicz-Betkiewicz ◽  
Mikołaj Cześnik ◽  
Michał Kotnarowski ◽  
Marta Żerkowska-Balas

The aim of the authors is to describe the political knowledge of ordinary Poles, including the structure of their knowledge about politics and ways of thinking about it. The empirical material analyzed here comes from in-depth interviews conducted with interviewers differing by age, level of education, and degree of interest in matters connected with politics and public life. As a theoretical framework, the authors use Shawn W. Rosenberg’s concept. The authors’ analyses serve to show Poles’ process of thinking about politics; their main lines of argumentation and justification of appraisals, opinions, and views; and their most important sources of information. Due, among other things, to the growth in easy access to sources of information, it would appear above all that the ability to select information has greatly increased in importance, and the striking quality of Poles’ political knowledge is its fragmentation, ephemerality, emotionality, and low degree of systematicity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 38-43
Author(s):  
MARIETA EPREMYAN ◽  

The article examines the epistemological roots of conservative ideology, development trends and further prospects in political reform not only in modern Russia, but also in other countries. The author focuses on the “world” and Russian conservatism. In the course of the study, the author illustrates what opportunities and limitations a conservative ideology can have in political reform not only in modern Russia, but also in the world. In conclusion, it is concluded that the prospect of a conservative trend in the world is wide enough. To avoid immigration and to control the development of technology in society, it is necessary to adhere to a conservative policy. Conservatism is a consolidating ideology. It is no coincidence that the author cites as an example the understanding of conservative ideology by the French due to the fact that Russia has its own vision of the ideology of conservatism. If we say that conservatism seeks to preserve something and respects tradition, we must bear in mind that traditions in different societies, which form some kind of moral imperatives, cannot be a single phenomenon due to different historical destinies and differing religious views. Considered from the point of view of religion, Muslim and Christian conservatism will be somewhat confrontational on some issues. The purpose of the work was to consider issues related to the role, evolution and prospects of conservative ideology in the political reform of modern countries. The author focuses on Russia and France. To achieve this goal, the method of in-depth interviews with experts on how they understand conservatism was chosen. Already today, conservatism is quite diverse. It is quite possible that in the future it will transform even more and acquire new reflections.


Author(s):  
Nikita Ravochkin

From the standpoint of historical (macro) sociology, the article examines the main directions of transformation of the sources of power identified by the English scientist M. Mann in the realities of post-modern society. The essential characteristics of the four sources of social power, which include ideology, military forces, economics and political characteristics of the organization of states, are considered. The vectors of transformations of these sources of power, contributing to changes in the image of power at the present time, are noted. The interdependence of transformations and the specificity of their manifestation at the institutional level in the political and legal sphere of public life are shown.


Author(s):  
Мохаммад Исаак Шафак

Аннотация: В данной статье автор исследовал феномен победы действующего президента Мохаммада Аршаф Гани, выигравшего во второй раз президентские выборы у своих оппонентов, его персональные качества в отличие от его оппонентов, проигравших выборы на пример Абдуллы Абдуллы. Названы глубинные причины возникновения политического кризиса, как недоговороспособность политических элит Афганистана, разрозненных личными и местечковыми интересами своих кланов. Сделан анализ, почему годами оставаясь у власти, оппоненты Ашрафа Гани, не использовали свои властные полномочия не улучшили политическую ситуацию Афганистана. Автором приведены аналитические выводы их отрицательного влияния на развитие политических процессов, это связано большей частью для сохранения собственных корыстных интересов и благ. Автор на примере анализа деятельности президента и его оппонентов на выборах, выразил собственное экспертную оценку вокруг сложившийся политической ситуации вновь избранного действующего президента Ашрафа Гани Ахмадзая, как политической персоны, выделив его слабые и сильные стороны и оппонентов. Ключевые слова: феномен победы, политический кризис, выборы. Аннотация: Автордун бул илимий макаласында, Мохаммад Ашраф Ганидин экинчи мөөнөткө 2019 -жылы 28-сентябрда болуп өткөн президенттик шайлоодо атаандаштарын утушу, Абдулла Абдулла жана да башка оппонентеринин президенттик шайлоодогу жеке сапаттарын изилдеген. Ооган саясий элитасынын ар түрдүү жеке жана ичи тардык, кызгануу сыяктуу эле кызыкчылыктарын, саясий башаламандык кыймылы жөнүндө жана ошол себептер менен саясий кризис курчуунун негизги себептерин атады. Алардын (эски элитанын) бийликте калуу максатында кыймылдарынын терс таасири тууралуу аналитикалык корутунду көрсөттү, бул инсандар негизинен өздөрүнүн жеке керт башынын кызыкчылыктары менен пайдасын сактоо менен байланыштуу, шайлоодо президенттин иш-аракеттери жана оппоненттери боюнча сереп-талдоо жазылган. Ооганстандагы саясый кырдаал жакшырган жок, саясий жараяндар таатал боюнча калууда, Ашраф Гани менен оппоненттеринин күчтүү жактарын жана кемчиликтери касиеттери жөнүндө, учурдагы Ооганстанда саясий кырдаал тууралуу өзүнүн серебин билдирди. Түйүндүү сөздөр: жеңүүнүн феномени, саясий кризис, шайлоо Annotation: In this article, the author explored the phenomenon of victory of incumbent President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, who won the second time the presidential election against his opponents, his personal qualities, unlike his opponents, who lost theelection by the example of Abdullah Abdullah. The underlying causes of the political crisis are identified as the lack of maturity of the political elites of Afghanistan, fragmented by the personal and local interests of their clans. An analysis is made of why staying in power for years, opponents of Ashraf Ghani, did not use their power, did not improve the political situation in Afghanistan, the author gives analytical conclusions of their negative impact on the development of political processes, this is mainly due to preserving their own selfish interests and benefits. The author, using an example of analysis of the activities of the president and his opponents in the elections, expressed his own expert assessment around the current political situation of the newly elected incumbent president Ashraf Gani Ahmadzai as a political person, highlighting his weaknesses and strengths and opponents. Keywords: the phenomenon of victory, political crisis, elections.


Author(s):  
Camille Bedock

Whereas the shortening of the presidential term was a long-debated, largely consensual, institutional topic in the story of the French Fifth Republic, the matter of the reordering of the electoral calendar was a circumstantial result of the dissolution and proved very divisive. The chapter shows how, paradoxically, two reforms that followed logically from one another in the minds of reformers, and emerged around the same time, followed hugely distinctive logics in terms of emergence and adoption, were separated sequentially, and were supported by different coalitions each time. This is the case because the reforms were perceived as having different natures: a consensual reform for the five-year term, a divisive reform for the reordering of the calendar. Whereas the quinquennat was debated and adopted through a supermajoritarian process involving deliberation among the vast majority of the political elites, the reordering of the calendar followed a purely majoritarian logic.


Author(s):  
Mark Bovens ◽  
Anchrit Wille

How can we remedy some of the negative effects of diploma democracy? First, we discuss the rise of nationalist parties. They have forced the mainstream political parties to pay more attention to the negative effects of immigration, globalization, and European unification. Next we discuss strategies to mitigate the dominance of the well-educated in politics. We start with remedies that address differences in political skills and knowledge. Then we discuss the deliberative arenas. Many democratic reforms contain an implicit bias towards the well-educated. A more realistic citizenship model is required. This can be achieved by bringing the ballot back in, for example, by merging deliberative and more direct forms of democracy through deliberative polling, corrective referendums, and more compulsory voting. The chapter ends with a discussion of ways to make the political elites more inclusive and responsive, such as descriptive representation, sortition, and plebiscitary elements.


Author(s):  
Ross McKibbin

This book is an examination of Britain as a democratic society; what it means to describe it as such; and how we can attempt such an examination. The book does this via a number of ‘case-studies’ which approach the subject in different ways: J.M. Keynes and his analysis of British social structures; the political career of Harold Nicolson and his understanding of democratic politics; the novels of A.J. Cronin, especially The Citadel, and what they tell us about the definition of democracy in the interwar years. The book also investigates the evolution of the British party political system until the present day and attempts to suggest why it has become so apparently unstable. There are also two chapters on sport as representative of the British social system as a whole as well as the ways in which the British influenced the sporting systems of other countries. The book has a marked comparative theme, including one chapter which compares British and Australian political cultures and which shows British democracy in a somewhat different light from the one usually shone on it. The concluding chapter brings together the overall argument.


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