Political Demand Channels in the Processes of American and British Imperial Expansion, 1870–1913

1975 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Cooney

Before one can make conclusive statements about the causes of western imperialism, one must comprehend the network of political processes and administrative relations by which expansionist demands were fed into the political systems of imperial powers. The channels followed by demands which led to British and American imperial expansion are mapped through reference to historical studies based on a wide range of primary source materials. Expansionist demand channels are studied within the framework of Easton's concept of the political system, and of linkage theories concerning the relation of national political systems to the extra-societal environment. The British and American systems provide contrasting examples of simple and complex linkage. American expansion can be studied within the simple domestic-international linkage framework developed by contemporary authors; to comprehend the process of British expansion, one must consider the complicating factor of local imperial demands.

2020 ◽  

The authors of the book analyze domestic political processes and international relations in the post-Soviet space. They examine the balance of political forces in Belarus after the presidential elections in August 2020, and transformations of political systems in Ukraine and Moldova. The main features of formation of the political institutions in the countries of South Caucasus and Central Asia and the latest trends in their devel-opment are analyzed. Attention is paid to the Karabakh and Donbass conflicts. The book examines the policy of major non-regional actors (USA, EU, China, Turkey) in the post-Soviet space. The results of develop-ment of the EAEU have been summed up. The role in the political processes in the post-Soviet space of a number of international organizations and associations (the CIS, the Union State of Russia and Belarus, the CSTO etc.) is revealed.


1987 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 257-273
Author(s):  
Matthew Schoffeleers

Ever since Malinowski formulated his concept of myths as charters, there has been a tendency among anthropologists to regard origin myths more or less as post factum constructs designed to legitimize existing privileges and positions. A classic example of this pragmatist view is Leach's study of political systems in highland Burma, in which he attempts to demonstrate that origin myths change with clocklike regularity in response to shifts in the political constellation. More recently, however, voices have been raised, particularly among historians, which insist that a society's past cannot always be manipulated at will, but that under certain conditions it has to be treated circumspectly in the way one deals with any scarce resource.My own interpretation of this view is that accounts of the past, when they concern important aspects of a society, are often (or perhaps always) constructed in such a way that the original event is somehow preserved and recoverable. The qualification “somehow” is added on purpose to make clear that the phrase ‘oral history’ refers to such a wide range of genres and mnemonic techniques, and that the methods at our disposal to extract the original event are still so rudimentary--despite the progress made over the past dozen years or so--that for the moment one cannot do more than express belief in our ultimate capability to discover what happened in actual fact.


2021 ◽  
pp. 0094582X2110591
Author(s):  
Maíra Machado Bichir

The analysis of Theotônio dos Santos, a central reference of the Marxist theory of dependency, of the counterrevolutionary political processes in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s, reflecting what he observes as an advance of fascistization, proposes the concept of a dependent fascism to characterize some of the military governments that materialized in the region. His writings on the subject are part of a wide range of debates that took place in Latin America during the 1970s, which focused on the context of political radicalization between revolution and counterrevolution, a tug-of-war that led to a consolidation of military coups. These writings express his position on both the political crisis that took place in Latin American countries at that time and the transformations of the political regime and the state itself. Efforts to renew these debates are anchored in the expectation that they may shed light on recent Latin American history. A análise de Theotônio dos Santos, referência central da teoria Marxista da dependência, sobre os processos políticos contrarrevolucionários na América Latina nas décadas de 1960 e 1970, ao observar um avanço da fascistização, propõe o conceito de fascismo dependente para caracterizar alguns dos governos militares que se concretizaram na região. Seus escritos sobre o tema se inscrevem em um amplo campo de debates que tiveram lugar na América Latina durante a década de 1970, os quais se debruçavam sobre o contexto de radicalização política entre revolução e contrarrevolução, no qual a consolidação de golpes militares estava imersa, e expressam o posicionamento do autor em relação tanto à crise política que teve lugar nos países latino-americanos naquele então, quanto às transformações do próprio regime político e do Estado. O esforço de recuperar tal debate está ancorado na expectativa de que tais reflexões possam lançar luz sobre a história recente latino-americana.


1993 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 361-367
Author(s):  
Pino Akotia

Judicial and legal records in the National Archives of Ghana headquarters repositories are important primary source materials for historians, social scientists, and other researchers, and in particular practicing lawyers. The holdings of the national archives service, both in Accra and its network, cover records relating to the political and bureaucratic activities of government. This paper focuses on the Accra holdings pertaining to judicial and legal records, in order to draw attention to the decisive attractiveness of these record series in general and, in particular, the Accra judicial and legal records to a generation inclined to both quantification and sociological analysis and to provide a guide to prospective users.The headquarters of the national archives service, where the judicial and legal records are located, is situated on Castle Road in Accra near the junction with Barnes Road. The offices are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday. The search room functions between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. The formal requirement for admission to use the archives materials is the searcher's ticket obtained from the Search Room Officer on the spot.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-76
Author(s):  
Oleh Tkach

Formulation of the problem: The features of model of presidencialism in modern terms, possibility of application of presidencialism in democracy are analysed in the article. Analis of concept: politics, decision of political conflicts. The political factors of political strategies of presidencialism are considered, of institute of the president, as subject of conceptual power and democratic political system, as its object is investigated. It is shown, that the real model of political system contains oligarchic and antiolygarchic components, each of which can become prevailing. Purpose of the research: The purpose of the article is to carry out a theoretical and methodological analysis of the essence of the presidency as a subject of conceptual power in democratic political systems, to identify the structure of conceptual power, its role and place in the political system of society, to identify trends and to analyze the role of the processes of oligarchization in the functioning of democratic political systems, to uncover conceptual functions of the institution of presidency in western democratic political systems. The conceptual management of political system, preservation its of democratic definiteness, is a major task of presidential power. Using theoretical models D. Easton, E. Sedov, theory of needs A. Maslow and theory of social mobility of P. Sorokin has allowed to reveal static and dynamic parameters of political system, which optimization enables to support evolutionary character of political development.There are several alternative concepts of democracy. At the same time, one of them is legally codified and reigns. That is why political power is usually forced to act in an anti-democratic way on an alternative concept. Institutions of state power, thanks to sustainability, mobility and resource intensiveness, can support and even impose those norms and goals that are not entirely in the interests of society as integrity, or vice versa – the interests of individual, usually the most active individuals and social groups are not taken into account and even sacrificed in general. There is a significant imbalance of interests that threatens the existence of a democratic social system. Consequently, the task arises to develop objective indicators, which should be guided by the head of state, in order to assess the favorable or unfavorable tendencies in the political system.The purpose of the article and the task. Research methods: The following research methods were used to address the issues set in the article: general scientific methods – descriptive, hermeneutic-political, systemic, structural-functional, comparative, institutional-comparative; general logical methods – empirical, statistical, prognostic modeling and analysis; special methods of political science. The preference was given to the method of political-system analysis, by which the common and distinctive characteristics of the basic components of soft power strategies were identified, reflecting existing political, public, information and other challenges and global development. For empirical research, the factual basis was used, which was compiled by an expert survey of Ukrainian specialists-political scientists. Practical and systematic methods were used to analyze the system of relations from four perspectives: influence presidents power. Functional and general historiographical methods were also used. Methods of analysis and synthesis allowed exploring the features. In order to implement these methods, such methodological techniques as analogy, comparison, generalization and extrapolation were used. The method for analyzing the situation (studying documents, comparing, etc.) was used to study international and political processes in the USA, exploratory methods (in particular, content analysis) for the analysis of high-level documents and speeches, which in turn helped identify and outline the trends in foreign policy of the countries of the region. Conclusions. The experience of western (Western, liberal-democratic) political systems suggests that the function of supporting the democratic model of the political system is the responsibility of the president. In this case, the president plays the role of either the head of the executive (political manager of the higher rank), or the formal head of state, or these functions combine. In the context of the political crisis, the president takes steps to preserve the democratic system of society. The complex of these activities includes the function of supporting the democratic nature of the political system.


2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (7) ◽  
pp. 64-70
Author(s):  
M. Terskikh

The article focuses on the peculiarities of Vietnam’s position in the orbit of the ideological and theoretical influence of China. The author examines the most important party documents of both states, reveals their main similarities and differences. The author concludes that Hanoi scrupulously studies, critically assesses, and actively uses the experience of Chinese economic and political reforms. The party and state leadership of Vietnam, when carrying out major transformations of recent decades, was directly guided by the successful experience of their Chinese colleagues. This led to the situation where today’s political systems of Vietnam and China are quite similar, but still are not (and will never be) twin brothers. At the same time, the countries developed a wide network of inter-party contacts which is used not only as an instrument of exchanging views on adapting Marxism-Leninism to current realities, but also as an additional and mutually beneficial channel of communication on a wide range of issues. Despite this, the similarity of the political systems does not necessarily lead to a change in foreign policy. China has an impressive array of tools to influence its southern neighbor, but their ideological closeness is definitely not the most important of them. It is concluded that the role of ideology in Vietnam’s policy, although it remains noticeable, is significantly inferior to the role of national interests and pragmatic views.


1999 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 162
Author(s):  
Harry F. Recher

There is more to being a scientist than completing a research project and communicating the results to one's peers and the general public. Scientists have a wide range of responsibilities both within the scientific community and within society as a whole. I have frequently urged my colleagues to participate in the political processes of environmental management and conservation. It is equally necessary for scientists to contribute to the mechanics of keeping the scientific community functional. Individuals need to take responsibility for organizing scientific meetings, administering scientific societies, reviewing grant applications, and publishing professional journals. Peer review of the work and research proposals of colleagues is a necessary contribution of time if the machinery of science is to function smoothly. As editor of this journal, I can assure you that not all scientists accept these responsibilities.


First Monday ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nena Bloom ◽  
Cynthia Stout

Using digitized primary source materials with K–12 students makes learning content more engaging and relevant, and helps students develop a wide range of skills. This paper highlights the use of primary source materials in Colorado classrooms and provides a brief overview of what educators’ needs are in order to use digitized primary source materials more efficiently and effectively with students.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 298-312
Author(s):  
Troy Vettese

Walter Johnson’s River of Dark Dreams is a book on the political economy of the Mississippi basin in the six decades before the American Civil War. The book’s three aims are to show, firstly, the racial, ecological, gender, and economic contradictions inherent within this society; secondly, the mechanisms of power maintaining a slave-holding oligarchy; and finally, its attempts at imperial expansion in the Gulf of Mexico. This book is exceptional as an example of integrating a wide range of poststructuralist approaches within a Marxist framework. Johnson mixes methods to vividly portray the ‘Cotton Kingdom’ as a vital, imperialist and capitalist polity that was in no way in decline, but rather the centre of the global industrial economy. This book is excellent, but flawed for avoiding theoretical issues and because Johnson is unable to prove broad support for private imperialist adventurers (‘filibusters’).


2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 243-260
Author(s):  
Jose A. Puppim de Oliveira ◽  
Alexey G. Barabashev ◽  
Christopher Tapscott ◽  
Lisa Ingrid Thompson ◽  
Haoqi Qian

Abstract Globally, policy environments have become increasingly more complex with the growth in the number of wicked problems, such as that posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In their response to these problems, public administrations have, from necessity, become heavily reliant on their intergovernmental relations systems, as the challenges posed generally require multilevel responses. This paper analyzes the role of intergovernmental relations in shaping the responses of the BRICS countries when confronted with COVID-19. We develop an analytical framework to understand the dynamics of intergovernmental relations in these countries. Based on this we assess the capacity of the state and political systems to manage intergovernmental relations and ensure effective responses to the COVID-19 crisis. This framework is based on an analysis of three dimensions of the policy domain: the political and state system, formal and informal institutions, and the political alignment between them. Whilst state and political systems were found to be instrumental in formulating an immediate response to the crisis, informal institutions and political processes also played a prominent role in determining the extent to which strategies were implemented, particularly in countries that are more decentralized. Countries lacking the robust formal institutions needed to facilitate intergovernmental relations and to ensure swift policy responses, tend to deliver ineffective and inefficient results when confronted with wicked problems.


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