German Social Democracy and Hitler's “National Revolution” of 1933: A Study in Democratic Leadership

1953 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lewis J. Edinger
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Total Power ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Democratic Leadership ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Foreign Governments ◽  
Democratic Norms

The comparative ease with which authoritarian groups have come to power in nations where large parties stood pledged to defend the democratic order to the bitter end has become one of the most disturbing elements in modern world politics. Such developments have brought into question the validity of accepted liberal-democratic norms governing the behavior of responsible leaders, both in the domestic opposition to the authoritarian regime and in foreign governments whose security arrangements are adversely affected by the suppression of free institutions. Basically, these traditional norms have implied non-interference with constitutional political processes and acceptance of their consequences. On June 23, 1933, Hitler outlawed the German Social Democratic Party (SPD), which for over four decades, until 1932, had been the largest German party and, since the founding of the Weimar Republic iri 1918, the principal advocate and defender of the democratic system and a peaceful foreign policy. In considering the actions of its leadership from the accession of Hitler to the outlawing of the party, this article seeks to contribute to a re-examination of these accepted norms, particularly insofar as they concern the behavior of a liberal-democratic mass party faced with a government seeking total power.

scholarly journals DYNAMICS OF THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY’s AGENDA IN THE 2010s

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-326
Author(s):  
M.V. Grabevnik
Keyword(s):  
Democratic Party ◽  
Political Agenda ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
National Party ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Scottish National Party ◽  
Party Manifestos ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Scottish Independence

The article focuses on measurement and analysis of the dynamics of the political agenda of the Scottish National Party during the 2010s. The relevance of the study is justified by the current political processes in the United Kingdom, which allows to consider the issue of Brexit and a second referendum as factors in the dynamics of the party agenda. Based on the content analysis of party manifestos, the dynamics of agenda of the Scottish National Party is emphasized. It flexibly and adaptively includes both regionalist and national topics and issues in SNP’s rhetoric and argumentation. Scottish nationalists are increasingly borrowing the agenda of national parties (Conservatives and Labours). At the same time, the SNP consciously positions itself both as a party that remains loyal to regionalist content and as a national party that can compete with large party actors. Being a regionalist social democratic party, the SNP uses two different models of the formation of the party agenda, depending on the political situation. The topics of Brexit, European Union membership and a second referendum on Scottish independence are actively used by the SNP as arguments for expanding their own political subjectivity and regional autonomy, as well as tools for fighting in the domestic political parliamentary and electoral arenas.

scholarly journals Lessons of the Great Patriotic War and World War II for Contemporary Russia

2015 ◽  
pp. 84-93
Author(s):  
I. I. Belousov
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Modern World ◽  
World War ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The World ◽  
Independent States ◽  
The Right ◽  
Second World

After the Second World War 70 years have passed. Essentially already gone a generation of people for whom it was not a story, and the nationwide disaster and personal experience. And let time more and more we move away from the victory of 1945, the value and results of the war are enormous for the future of the modern world. Memory of the Great Victory presents to all of us now living, special requirements, the main of which consists in the fact that based on the analysis draw the necessary lessons from the past, draw the right conclusions for the safety of modern Russia. Over the years, the world has changed considerably. On the stage of world politics, a host of new independent states. There are new centers of economic development, and hence the new poles of power. Meanwhile, the events of recent months show that the main results of the Victory have not lost their importance today. This is best spoken of their incessant attempts to challenge by distorting the main points of the war and its lessons. And, obviously, it is no accident the day before and during the celebration of 70th anniversary of Victory wishing her to steal the peoples of Russia have been particularly active, as they claim - stiff and awkward. For domestic historiography it is not something unexpected. On the socio-political, military and economic results of the Second World War written many works, but probably in the light of the development of military-political processes in the world of individual instructive lesson it is important not to forget.

Spirituality as World Politics Factor

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
pp. 148-167
Author(s):  
Sergey V. Perevezentsev
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Development Economic ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Traditional Religions ◽  
Spiritual Crisis

he article examines the phenomenon of the spiritual factor of historical development, its influence on the emergence of various historical phenomena, and proposes to take into account the spiritual factor along with other factors of historical development (economic, political, social, climatic, etc.). The concepts of “spirit”, “spirituality”, “spiritual crisis”, “spiritual confrontation” are considered in the traditional for those concepts religious key. From the traditionalist point of view, the concept of “humanism” as the religion of man-God is analyzed. The article shows the confrontation between the teachings of humanism and traditional religions, as spiritual confrontation of various religious teachings. The main spiritual and political processes in the modern world are revealed.

A grounded theory of local ownership as meta-conflict in Afghanistan

2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-234
Author(s):  
Andrew EE Collins ◽  
Chuck Thiessen
Keyword(s):  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Primary Role ◽  
Local Ownership ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
International Peacebuilding ◽  
External Actors ◽  
Conflict Affected States ◽  
And Control ◽  
Democratic Norms

Internationally sponsored interventions in fragile and conflict-affected states are often resisted by domestic actors who have deep local knowledge, profoundly different expectations of political processes, and keen desires to shape their country’s future. Many forms of local resistance can damage or stall the progress of externally driven peacebuilding, but the critical peacebuilding literature has suffered from an inability to articulate coherent strategic alternatives to the dominant paradigm of liberal interventionism. This paradigm, we argue, is actually part of what fuels continued resistance: as external actors seek to implant liberal democratic norms into local bureaucratic and political cultures, countless sites of conflict emerge, with local and international actors jockeying between and amongst each other for position, resources, and control over the specificities of reform. These struggles – effectively a competition over local ownership – are at the centre of peacebuilding and will determine short- and long-term intervention outcomes. Focusing on the case of political reform in Afghanistan, this article develops a grounded theory of ownership as ‘meta-conflict’, in which participant voices from local and international peacebuilding leaders, working in-country, are given a primary role in determining the compatibility of the donor community’s prevailing liberal agenda with local requirements for building peace.

scholarly journals SOKA GAKKAI AS A CHALLENGE TO JAPANESE SOCIETY AND POLITICS

2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-96
Author(s):  
Okuyama Michiaki
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Political Movement ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Social ◽  
Soka Gakkai ◽  
Restructuring Process ◽  
The Cold War

A new Buddhist group Soka Gakkai started its movement in 1930. After World War II it grew rapidly to claim more than eight million families as its members in Japan in 2005. Soka Gakkai International (SGI), which Soka Gakkai organized as its international network in 1975, now extends to over 190 countries and areas worldwide, claiming twelve million members globally, according to their own calculations. Soka Gakkai started a domestic political movement in the early 1960s, establishing Komeito in 1964 that would mostly keep the third position between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Social Democratic Party throughout the Cold War era. When the political scene in Japan saw a restructuring process in the 1990s, Komeito joined in the coalition government with the LDP in 1999. The general election in 2009, however, turned out to be a failure both to the LDP and Komeito, while the Democratic Party of Japan won the election to lead the new government, almost for the first time since the establishment of LDP in 1955. This paper tries to situate Soka Gakkai and Komeito in the context of Japanese politics and society and attempts an evaluation of the current situation after the 2009 election.

The Drone Age

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Boyle
Keyword(s):  
World Politics ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Modern World ◽  
War And Peace ◽  
Strategic Choices ◽  
Terrorist Organizations ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
State Actors ◽  
Foreign Governments ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

This book explores how the unique features of drone technology alter the strategic choices of governments and non-state actors alike by transforming their risk calculations and expanding their goals on and off the battlefield. It considers how drone technology will impact the patterns of war and peace in the next century: Will drones produce a more peaceful world because they reduce risk to pilots, or will the prospect of clean, remote warfare lead governments to engage in more conflicts? Will drones begin to replace humans on the battlefield or will they empower soldiers and peacekeepers to act more precisely and humanely in crisis zones? How will terrorist organizations turn this technology back on the governments that fight them? How will drones change surveillance at war—and at home? As drones come into the hands of new actors—foreign governments, law enforcement, terrorist organizations, humanitarian organizations, and even UN peacekeepers—it is even more important to understand what kind of world they might produce. By changing what these actors are both willing and able to do, drones are quietly altering the dynamics of wars, humanitarian crises, and peacekeeping missions, while generating new risks to security and privacy. An essential guide to a potentially disruptive force in modern world politics, The Drone Age argues that the mastery of drone technology will become central to the ways that governments and non-state actors seek power and influence in the coming decades.

A Step Toward One-Party Predominance: Japan’s General Election of 20 October 1996

1997 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-64
Author(s):  
Takashi Inoguchi
Keyword(s):  
House Of Representatives ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Liberal Democratic Party ◽  
General Election ◽  
Social Democratic Party ◽  
Japanese Politics ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Minority Government ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Frontier

THE GENERAL ELECTION IN JAPAN OF OCTOBER 1996 brought back the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to a position of predominance, if not preponderance, in the House of Representatives. Out of 500 seats, the LDP acquired 239, while the second largest New Frontier Party (FNP) won 156, the newly-formed Democratic Party 52, the Communist Party 26, the Social Democratic Party of Japan (SDPJ) 15, and the Sakigake New Party two seats. Prior to the general election, the LDP, the SDPJ and the Sakigake had cooperated in a coalition government with 211, 30 and 9 seats, respectively. After the election, the LDP formed a minority government without making a formal coalition arrangement with the much enfeebled SDPJ and Sakigake. Why was the LDP able to make this sort of comeback? Why have ‘reformist parties’, starting with the New Japan Party, the Renewal Party, the New Frontier Party and most recently the Democratic Party, experienced such a brief period of increased power before their fall (or stagnation)? These are the questions that this article addresses in describing and explaining Japanese politics today.

scholarly journals Diasporas and Armed Conflicts: beyond Being “Third Party”

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-56
Author(s):  
I. D. Loshkariov
Keyword(s):  
World Politics ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Structural Level ◽  
Theoretical Terms ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Third ◽  
First Case ◽  
The Third Party

The article discusses an essential dimension of modern diaspora research related to the functional status of diasporas in contemporary armed conflicts. The conventional point of view is that diasporas can only act as the “third party” of the conflict by either contributing to the deepening of the contradictions between the opposing parties or acting as an intermediary between them. In theoretical terms, the author relies on the concept of “new” or network wars (netwars) and tries to demonstrate that there are the prerequisites for more active involvement of diasporas in armed conflicts at the structural level of modern world political processes. To identify the structural requirements for such participation, the author turns to the analysis of two cases. The first case is the emergence and functioning of the 1st Polish Corps in 1917-1918 in Russia, which was formed when the Polish population of Russia was separated from their territory of origin as a result of the First World War. An analysis of the documents shows that the leadership of the corps quite clearly evaded political subordination to the Russian authorities and retained only military subordination, implying that the task of this unit was to participate in the restoration of Polish statehood. The second case is the genesis and evolution of the “Secret Army” of General Wang Pao in Laos in 1960-1974. This unit played an essential role in the Civil War in Laos, as it managed to restrain the onslaught of the superior forces of the Patet Lao Front and troops from North Vietnam. Such long-term participation in hostilities was made possible thanks to US special services' logistical and technical support. The two case studies allow us to conclude that there were armed units in previous historical periods with a clear diaspora component: they made a significant contribution to the overall dynamics of the confrontation between major parties to the conflict. This experience helps analyze contemporary conflicts with the diaspora component, especially in the context of the gradual erosion of power resources in world politics. The participation of diasporas in armed conflicts outside the “third party” framework is associated with the achievement of several conditions, both internal and external ones.

scholarly journals «Desire to be Observed»: Francis Fukuyama in Search of Explanation for the New Tendencies in World Politics

2020 ◽  
pp. 134-144
Author(s):  
Timofey DMITRIEV
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Identity Crisis ◽  
Review Article ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Francis Fukuyama

The review article provides a critical analysis of the main points of Francis Fukuyama's latest book, which deals with the identity crisis of Western liberal democracy. The author focuses on Fukuyama's assessment of actual global developments from the perspective of struggle of nations and groups for recognition. Special attention is given to the role that a broadly understood national identity could play in stabilizing social and political processes of the modern world.

scholarly journals School of History

2014 ◽  
pp. 79-86
Author(s):  
V. I. Ukolova
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Historical Science ◽  
Historical School ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
Global Vision ◽  
History Of

The current international processes and events, world politics at the beginning of the 21 century have once again clearly demonstrated that their meaning often emerges through the historical context without which the understanding of what is happening is hardly possible. Rector of MGIMO A.V. Torkunov in his talk on International relations as an educational discipline remarked that "as for sciences the basis of professionalism is mathematical skills and competencies, for international relations such a basis is history". Historical disciplines are taught at MGIMO from the very start of education process. MGIMO is one of the leading centers of research in the fields of history, political sciences and humanities. Here, in different years academics E.V. Tarle, L.N. Ivanov, V.G. Trukhanovskiy, A.L. Narochnitskiy and other prominent scholars and historians taught. Historical School of MGIMO has united important areas of historical science: the history of political processes in the twentieth century, modern history, the history of international relations and diplomacy, historical regional studies and cultural studies, oriental, philosophy and theory of history. The best traditions of the MGIMO historical school incorporated by its founders, make the foundation of its development at present. In 1992, the Department of MGIMO world and national history was established. The principle innovation was the combination of two components - historical education and historical science. This made it possible to present the story of Russia as an important part of the world history, opened up prospects for the implementation of comparative history, the synthesis of specific historical approaches and generalized global vision of civilization and human development. The historical school has realised a number of research projects, including "Alexander Nevsky" and the multi-volume "Great Victory", the work continues on a research project "Russia in the Modern World", and on a project "Synchronous History", etc.

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