scholarly journals Rice Bunnies vs. the River Crab: China’s Feminists, #MeToo, and Networked Authoritarianism

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39
Author(s):  
Vlady Guttenberg
Keyword(s):  
Free Speech ◽  
Social Mobilization ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Political Repression ◽  
Domestic Security ◽  
Scale Resistance ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
The Media ◽  
Connective Action ◽  
Media Censorship

As censorship algorithms for digital communications evolve in China, so do netizens’ evasion techniques. In the last two decades, strategic users have employed the language of satire to slip sensitive content past censors in the form of euphemisms or analogies, with messages ranging from lighthearted frustration to wide scale resistance against repressive government policies. In recent years activists have used spoofs to discuss controversial subjects, including the president, violent arrests by the Domestic Security Department, and even the #MeToo movement. In addition to providing an outlet for criticism and free speech, spoofs can also be a powerful organizational tool for activists in authoritarian societies through their ability to facilitate decentralized, personalized, and flexible connective action. This paper investigates how feminists used spoofs for social mobilization throughout China’s #MeToo movement while evaluating potential frameworks for measuring activists’ success against the media censorship and political repression of a networked authoritarian regime.

Applause for the Wrong Reasons: The Use of Applications for Political Purposes in Paris Theatres, 1780–1830

1989 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-270 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. W. J. Hemmings
Keyword(s):  
Government Policies ◽  
Law And Order ◽  
Tobias Smollett ◽  
Political Repression ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
John Moore

John Moore, the Glasgow physician and friend of Tobias Smollett, after attending a few performances at the Théâtre-Fran¸ais during a visit to the French capital in 1779, commented as follows on the surprisingly subversive behaviour of the Parisian parterre at that date: ‘By the emphatic applause they bestow on particular passages of the pieces represented at the theatre, they convey to the monarch the sentiments of the nation respecting the measures of his government.’ Moore gives no precise instances, but it is clear what he is referring to, and there were plenty of other contemporary observers to testify to the growing habit of making applications, and using this method to express opposition to certain government policies which, in the prevalent atmosphere of political repression, it might have been dangerous to contest too openly anywhere else. The theatre auditorium was the ideal place for voicing anonymous criticism with impunity. The guard in the theatre, entrusted with the task of preserving law and order, was powerless to prevent the parterre applying a maxim or simple phrase spoken from the stage to some matter of burning political import, and showing, by their vociferous applause, where exactly their sympathies lay.

The Influence of the Media on Policies in Practice: Hungarian Refugee Resettlement in the Netherlands in 1956

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-53
Author(s):  
Marlou Schrover ◽  
Tycho Walaardt
Keyword(s):  
The Netherlands ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Supportive Role ◽  
The Press ◽  
Freedom Fighters ◽  
The Media ◽  
Women And Children ◽  
Changes Over Time

This article analyses newspaper coverage, government policies and policy practices during the 1956 Hungarian refugee crisis. There were surprisingly few differences between newspapers in the coverage of this refugee migration, and few changes over time. The role of the press was largely supportive of government policies, although the press did criticise the selection of refugees. According to official government guidelines, officials should not have selected, but in practice this is what they attempted to do. The refugees who arrived in the Netherlands did not live up to the image the press, in its supportive role, had created: there were too few freedom fighters, women and children. This article shows that the press had an influence because policy makers did make adjustments. However, in practice selection was not what the media assumed it was, and the corrections were not what the media had aimed for.

In the Name of God: State and Religion in Contemporary Italy

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-104
Author(s):  
Carlo Panara
Keyword(s):  
Immigration Policy ◽  
Catholic Church ◽  
Artificial Insemination ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Political Situation ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
The Media ◽  
Silvio Berlusconi ◽  
The Church ◽  
Law Making

AbstractDuring the last few years the influence of the Catholic Church on law-making and government policies in Italy has dramatically increased. The Italian Episcopal Conference established a solid alliance with the Centre-Right led by the media tycoon Silvio Berlusconi. This political situation favoured the introduction of a number of hyper-conservative policies on ethical matters, from artificial insemination to abortion. In contrast, the influence of the Church was not significant in other key areas such as immigration policy. This article argues that the Church-inspired hyper-conservatism has led to the introduction of considerable restrictions to individual rights and freedoms. This situation is undermining the secular character of the Italian State and the original liberal-democratic inspiration of the Constitution.

Freedom of Speech

2020 ◽  
pp. 191-213
Author(s):  
Alison Scott-Baumann ◽  
Mathew Guest ◽  
Shuruq Naguib ◽  
Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor ◽  
Aisha Phoenix
Keyword(s):  
Free Speech ◽  
Liberal Democracy ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Free Expression ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Face To Face

Media and government accuse students of being libertarian (encouraging reckless free speech) or of too much no-platforming (banning external speakers). Both accusations are exaggerated but influential and make it difficult for students to develop face to face conversations about difficult and controversial topics. Government policies on securitization (Prevent) encourage risk averse behaviour, particularly but not exclusively among Muslims. Staff also feel constrained by these pressures and so staff and students self-censor. Analysis of free speech models available in a liberal democracy show two main types, each of which can become an extreme version of itself. The liberal model advocates legal free expression; however if exaggerated the liberal model becomes libertarian and can be offensive. The second approach is the guarded liberal model that seeks to protect minorities but if exaggerated it can turn into no platforming. Students and staff can learn to use combinations of all four approaches and increase face to face discussions.

Echoes of victimhood: on passionate activism and ‘sex trafficking’

2019 ◽  
pp. 146470011988130
Author(s):  
Sealing Cheng
Keyword(s):  
Sex Workers ◽  
Women Activists ◽  
Sex Trafficking ◽  
The State ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Moral Outrage ◽  
Transnational Activism ◽  
Feminist Discourse ◽  
The Media ◽  
Symbolic World

The sexually violated woman has become a salient symbol in feminist discourse, government policies, the media and transnational activism at this historical juncture. In this article, I seek to understand the conviction of anti-prostitution activists that all women in prostitution are victims (despite evidence to the contrary), and their simultaneous dismissal or condemnation of those women who identify as sex workers. The analysis identifies the centrality of victimhood to the affective logic of women activist leaders in the anti-prostitution movement, and its embeddedness in discourses of suffering and redemption in Korean nationalist historiography. Sexual victimhood thus acquires the power to incite moral outrage, compel consensus and inhibit dissent. Sex workers further come to bear the historical and political burden of righting all that is wrong with the nation, making their elimination essential for the nation’s rescue. Critiques of capitalism and the state become footnotes and silences in this process. In effect, the victimhood of ‘prostituted women’ allows women activists to circulate effectively in the affective economy of the nation as well as in the global anti-trafficking campaign. The passionate activism of anti-prostitution women activists may say less about the state of prostitution than about the activists’ subjectivity as historical and global subjects, and the symbolic world that they locate themselves in.

scholarly journals The Impact of Media Censorship: 1984 or Brave New World?

2019 ◽  
Vol 109 (6) ◽  
pp. 2294-2332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuyu Chen ◽  
David Y. Yang
Keyword(s):  
New World ◽  
Authoritarian Regimes ◽  
Social Transmission ◽  
Free Access ◽  
Sensitive Information ◽  
Transmission Of Information ◽  
The Media ◽  
Brave New World ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Media Censorship

Media censorship is a hallmark of authoritarian regimes. We conduct a field experiment in China to measure the effects of providing citizens with access to an uncensored internet. We track subjects’ media consumption, beliefs regarding the media, economic beliefs, political attitudes, and behaviors over 18 months. We find four main results: (i) free access alone does not induce subjects to acquire politically sensitive information; (ii) temporary encouragement leads to a persistent increase in acquisition, indicating that demand is not permanently low; (iii) acquisition brings broad, substantial, and persistent changes to knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and intended behaviors; and (iv) social transmission of information is statistically significant but small in magnitude. We calibrate a simple model to show that the combination of low demand for uncensored information and the moderate social transmission means China’s censorship apparatus may remain robust to a large number of citizens receiving access to an uncensored internet. (JEL C93, D72, D83, L82, L86, L88, P36)

Indian attempts to curb media may deter investors

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Freedom Of Speech ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Foreign Investors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Censorship ◽  
Central Level

Subject Media censorship in India. Significance The media represents one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Indian economy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has striven to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) from the estimated 4.3 billion dollars in 2016 and 4.0 billion dollars in 2015. Yet potential investors may be wary of the difficult political climate currently surrounding the industry, as indicated by the recent case of NDTV, whose Hindi-language service was threatened with a 24-hour ban by the broadcasting authorities. Impacts Prospective foreign investors risk becoming involved in legal battles over freedom of speech. Firms advertising on television and in print could be affected by such battles. Media freedoms will be tested at both the regional and central level.

scholarly journals The Quality of Interactive Multimedia in Indonesian Language Learning at the 5th Grade of Elementary School: The Practicality and Effectiveness after Wide-Scale Tryout

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 105-109
Author(s):  
Hasnul Fikri ◽  
Ade Sri Madona ◽  
Yetty Morelent
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Interactive Multimedia ◽  
Development Phase ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
The Media ◽  
5Th Grade

Development of interactive multimedia is one solution to problem unsatisfactory Indonesian language learning outcomes. This research is a research and development, especially the development phase, namely a wide-scale tryout. From the data analysis, it's found that the media is very practical seen from the students and teachers' responses. The media are also very effective from two aspects, namely the students’ learning outcomes and the students’ activities. Thus, the developed media can be applied and disseminated for Indonesian language learning in 5th elementary schools.

scholarly journals The Naturalization Policy in Online News Media

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 456
Author(s):  
Dian Purworini ◽  
Engkus Kuswarno ◽  
Purwanti Hadisiwi ◽  
Agus Rakhmat
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
News Media ◽  
Online News ◽  
Government Policies ◽  
Internal Conflict ◽  
Framing Analysis ◽  
Royal Palace ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

Mediation by the government in the Royal Palace of Surakarta’s internal conflict was considered reasonable and appropriate policy by the media. The approach to the conflict did not emphasize a strong cultural aspect of that culture-based organization. This research aimed to examine how online news media reported on the Royal Palace of Surakarta’s internal conflict. Furthermore, this research used framing analysis as proposed by Stephen D Reese to analyze the news published in February 2014. The outcome indicated that there was framing construction of the government policies. The content of the news presented that framing processes occurred. Those started from the transmission of the various debated about government policy, then reinforced through elections sentence that supported certain policy and continued to the naturalization process. The final process was an important strategy to make mediation as an accepted policy that should be done by the government. In the conclusion, the perception to be formed was that government policies were appropriate, and so everyone should hold it. The conflict resolution could be achieved through the mediation as already conducted.

Regional risk will force Jordan to step up security

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Security Measures ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Security Services ◽  
Domestic Security ◽  
Online Activism ◽  
The Media ◽  
Will Force ◽  
Palestinian Population

Significance Jordan is surrounded by conflict and struggling to accommodate over a million Syrian refugees. The economy is faltering and the country’s security services are fully occupied with potential salafi-jihadist threats from without and within. Regional crises in Syria and Israel-Palestine exacerbate rising domestic discontent. Impacts Domestic security measures, including surveillance of online activism and curbs on the media, will be ramped up. Tourism is unlikely to recover in the short term. Efforts will intensify to secure international financial aid, already at record levels. Lack of progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace could alienate Jordan's majority-Palestinian population.

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