scholarly journals The Dynamics of Social Movements in Unrecognized States—A Comparative Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilmi Ulas
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
International Interaction ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Political Realm ◽  
Shed Light

In the political realm, our world is currently experiencing both a massive decline in democracies as well as the quality of democratic regimes in all geographical regions, and a rise in pro-democracy social change movements. Meanwhile, extant scholarly research emphasizes that social movements can contribute to changes in political regimes, such as the undermining of authoritarian ones or simply causing a circulation of the elite. Nevertheless, there is a gap in the scholarly knowledge regarding when political activism becomes effective or can even take place without total annihilation in the context of unrecognized states. To address this gap, studying cases of pro-democracy movements in unrecognized states through a comparative schema is the most effective methodology. In these cases, some variables that affect movement outcomes, such as international diplomatic relations, NGO activity, multinational company pressures, etc. are more restricted due to these states lacking official diplomatic capacity. Therefore, in unrecognized states, domestic political-economic factors are primal and their effects can be observed much more easily, which then lends some tentatively generalizable insights as well. For the purposes of this paper, I will consider the emergence and ultimate outcomes of pro-democracy movements in three unrecognized states: North Cyprus, Abkhazia, and Taiwan. All three cases in comparative perspective can shed light on the dynamics of how nonviolent, pro-democracy movements unfold under the authoritarian-leaning settings of unrecognized states with minimal international interaction or oversight.

scholarly journals Assessing the Quality of Iron Ores for Bloomery Smelting: Laboratory Experiments

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Ivan Stepanov ◽  
Konstantin Borodianskiy ◽  
Adi Eliyahu-Behar
Keyword(s):  
Iron Ore ◽  
Analytical Techniques ◽  
Major Elements ◽  
Iron Ores ◽  
Southern Levant ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Trading Patterns ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Shed Light

There is fragmentary knowledge of iron ore sources exploited in the past for many regions including the Southern Levant. This missing information has the potential to shed light on political, economic, craft-production, and trading patterns of past societies. This paper presents the results of smelting experiments performed in graphite crucibles and a muffle furnace, using 14 iron ore samples from the Southern Levant, in an attempt to determine their suitability for smelting using ancient techniques. A range of analytical techniques, including optical and electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and portable X-ray fluorescence were used to comparatively investigate the mineralogy and composition of the precursor iron ores and their smelting products: Iron bloom and slag. Several parameters attesting to the ability of a given ore to be successfully reduced and consolidated into a solid metal mass were quantified. The generated results highlight the significance of a ‘correct balance’ between iron oxides and other major elements in the smelting system in order to form fluid slag and a well-consolidated bloom. These data contribute to the understanding of factors, potentially influencing choices of iron ore exploitation by past human societies in the Southern Levant.

A Political Economy Model of a Research University

2009 ◽  
pp. 132-143
Author(s):  
K. Sonin ◽  
I. Khovanskaya
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Structure ◽  
Information Structure ◽  
Research University ◽  
Hiring Decisions ◽  
Voting Rules ◽  
Economy Model ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Optimal Incentives

Hiring decisions are typically made by committees members of which have different capacity to estimate the quality of candidates. Organizational structure and voting rules in the committees determine the incentives and strategies of applicants; thus, construction of a modern university requires a political structure that provides committee members and applicants with optimal incentives. The existing political-economic model of informative voting typically lacks any degree of variance in the organizational structure, while political-economic models of organization typically assume a parsimonious information structure. In this paper, we propose a simple framework to analyze trade-offs in optimal subdivision of universities into departments and subdepartments, and allocation of political power.

Political Finance Reforms: How to respond to today’s policy challenges?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yukihiko Hamada ◽  
Khushbu Agrawal
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Election Campaigns ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Political Finance ◽  
Societal Changes ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Transparency And Accountability

Money is a necessary component of any democracy: it enables political participation, campaigning and representation. However, if it is not effectively regulated, it can undermine the integrity of political processes and institutions, and jeopardize the quality of democracy. Therefore, regulations related to the funding of political parties and election campaigns, commonly known as political finance, are a critical way to promote integrity, transparency and accountability in any democracy. Political finance regulations must adapt and adjust to political, economic and societal changes. This report contributes to the discussion of the future of political finance by exploring the following trends, opportunities and challenges related to money in politics that need to be taken into consideration when improving political finance systems: • mainstreaming political finance regulations into an overall anti-corruption framework; • supporting the implementation of existing political finance regulations and monitoring their performance; • harnessing digital technologies to ensure transparency and accountability in political finance; and • designing targeted political finance measures to encourage the inclusion of underrepresented groups in politics.

Abdullah Quilliam

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Siddique Seddon
Keyword(s):  
Working Class ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Working Classes ◽  
Political Influences ◽  
Union Movement ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Conversion To Islam ◽  
Class Struggles ◽  
Legal Advisor ◽  
Shed Light

This chapter explores the religious and political influences that shaped Abdullah Quilliam’s Muslim missionary activities, philanthropic work and scholarly writings in an attempt to shed light on his particular political convictions as manifest through his unique religiopolitical endeavors. It focuses especially on Quilliam’s Methodist upbringing in Liverpool and his support of the working classes. It argues that Quilliam’s religious and political activism, although primarily inspired by his conversion to Islam, was also shaped and influenced by the then newly emerging proletariat, revolutionary socialism. Quilliam’s continued commitment to the burgeoning working-class trades union movement, both as a leading member representative and legal advisor, coupled with his reputation as the "poor man’s lawyer" because of his frequent fee-free representations for the impoverished, demonstrates his empathetic proximity to working-class struggles.

The Baluch, Sunnism and the State in Iran

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stéphane A. Dudoignon
Keyword(s):  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Social Life ◽  
The State ◽  
First Century ◽  
Local Democracy ◽  
Oasis Area ◽  
Shed Light

Since 2002, Sunni jihadi groups have been active in Iranian Baluchistan without managing to plunge the region into chaos. This book suggests that a reason for this, besides Tehran’s military responses, has been the quality of Khomeini and Khamenei’s relationship with a network of South-Asia-educated Sunni ulama (mawlawis) originating from the Sarbaz oasis area, in the south of Baluchistan. Educated in the religiously reformist, socially conservative South Asian Deoband School, which puts the madrasa at the centre of social life, the Sarbazi ulama had taken advantage, in Iranian territory, of the eclipse of Baluch tribal might under the Pahlavi monarchy (1925-79). They emerged then as a bulwark against Soviet influence and progressive ideologies, before rallying to Khomeini in 1979. Since the turn of the twenty-first century, they have been playing the role of a rampart against Salafi propaganda and Saudi intrigues. The book shows that, through their alliance with an Iranian Kurdish-born Muslim-Brother movement and through the promotion of a distinct ‘Sunni vote’, they have since the early 2000s contributed towards – and benefitted from – the defence by the Reformist presidents Khatami (1997-2005) and Ruhani (since 2013) of local democracy and of the minorities’ rights. They endeavoured to help, at the same time, preventing the propagation of jihadism and Sunni radicalisation to Iran – at least until the ISIS/Daesh-claimed attacks of June 2017, in Tehran, shed light on the limits of the Islamic Republic’s strategy of reliance on Deobandi ulama and Muslim-Brother preachers in the country’s Sunni-peopled peripheries.

scholarly journals Threat or Corrective? Assessing the Impact of Populist Parties in Government on the Qualities of Democracy: A 19-Country Comparison

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Davide Vittori
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Quality Of Democracy ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Country Comparison ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Scholars have long debated whether populism harms or improves the quality of democracy. This article contributes to this debate by focusing on the impact of populist parties in government. In particular, it inquires: (1) whether populists in government are more likely than non-populists to negatively affect the quality of democracies; (2) whether the role of populists in government matters; and (3) which type of populism is expected to negatively affect the quality of liberal-democratic regimes. The results find strong evidence that the role of populists in government affects several qualities of democracy. While robust, the findings related to (2) are less clear-cut than those pertaining to (1). Finally, regardless of their role in government, different types of populism have different impacts on the qualities of democracy. The results show that exclusionary populist parties in government tend to have more of a negative impact than other forms of populism.

scholarly journals Burnout in Professional Caregivers and Quality of Life in Institutionalized Center Residents

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-53
Author(s):  
Juan P. Martínez ◽  
Inmaculada Méndez ◽  
Esther Secanilla ◽  
Ana Benavente ◽  
Julia García Sevilla
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽  
The Other ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Professional Caregiver ◽  
The One ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Professional Accomplishment

Starting from previous studies in professional caregivers of people with dementia and other diseases in institutionalized centers of different regions, the aim of this study was to compare burnout levels that workers present depending on the center, to create a caregiver profile with high professional accomplishment and to describe the quality of life that residents perceive Murcia and Barcelona. The instruments used were the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), the Professional Caregiver Survey developed ad hoc and the Brief Questionnaire of Quality of Life (CUBRECAVI in Spanish) on residents. The results show, on the one hand, that levels of professional accomplishment may be paradoxically higher in the case of catastrophe and, on the other hand, the 98.2% of users are satisfied with the residence in which is located and 81.8% with the manner in which occupy the time. The conclusions that are extrapolated from the study shed light on the current situation of workers and residents and the influence that an earthquake can have on them.

Harmony and Normalization

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy P. Storhoff
Keyword(s):  
Symphony Orchestra ◽  
The United States ◽  
Diplomatic Relations ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Transnational Ties ◽  
Cultural Implications ◽  
Florida Straits ◽  
Musical Exchange ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Policy Shifts

Harmony and Normalization explores cultural relations between Cuba and the United States during the Presidency of Barack Obama, who restored diplomatic relations with the island. Musical exchanges during this period act as a lens through which to view not only US-Cuban musical relations but also the larger political, economic, and cultural implications of musical dialogue between these two nations. Policy shifts allowed US and Cuban performers to more easily traverse the Florida Straits than in the recent past and encouraged them to act as musical diplomats, and their performances served as a testing ground for political change that anticipated normalized diplomatic relations. While government actors debated these changes, music created connections between individuals on both sides of the Florida Straits. This book describes how musicians were among the first individuals to take advantage of new opportunities for travel, push the boundaries of new regulations, and expose both the possibilities and limitations of licensing musical exchange. Through the analysis of both official and unofficial musical diplomacy efforts, including the Havana Jazz Festival, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba’s first US tour, the Minnesota Orchestra’s trip to Havana, and the author’s own experiences in Cuba, this ethnography demonstrates how performances reflect aspirations for stronger transnational ties and the common desire to restore the once thriving US-Cuban musical relationship.

Atlantic, Pacific, and world-wide features in English-lexicon contact languages

2001 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Baker ◽  
Magnus Huber
Keyword(s):  
World Wide ◽  
Statistical Feature ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Feature Based ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Shed Light

This article analyzes the earliest known attestations of 302 lexical, functional, and grammatical features in 13 English-lexicon contact languages in the Atlantic and the Pacific. The main aims are (i) to shed light on the historical relationships between the individual varieties, (ii) to learn about the mechanisms at work in their genesis and development, and (iii) to examine the significance of features common to both geographical regions. Overall, our intention is to demonstrate that a statistical feature-based approach as proposed here can yield valuable insights into the development and interrelationships between Pidgins and Creoles.

Estimating Rates and Probabilities of Origination and Extinction Using Taxonomic Occurrence Data: Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) Approaches

2010 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 81-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee Hsiang Liow ◽  
James D. Nichols
Keyword(s):  
Simultaneous Estimation ◽  
Mark Recapture ◽  
Sampling Process ◽  
Occurrence Data ◽  
Geographical Regions ◽  
Underlying Causes ◽  
Inherent Problem ◽  
Sampling Probability ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Replicate Sampling

We rely on observations of occurrences of fossils to infer the rates and timings of origination and extinction of taxa. These estimates can then be used to shed light on questions such as whether extinction and origination rates have been higher or lower at different times in earth history or in different geographical regions, etc. and to investigate the possible underlying causes of varying rates. An inherent problem in inference using occurrence data is one of incompleteness of sampling. Even if a taxon is present at a given time and place, we are guaranteed to detect or sample it less than 100% of the time we search in a random outcrop or sediment sample that should contain it, either because it was not preserved, it was preserved but then eroded, or because we simply did not find it. Capture-mark-recapture (CMR) methods rely on replicate sampling to allow for the simultaneous estimation of sampling probability and the parameters of interest (e.g. extinction, origination, occupancy, diversity). Here, we introduce the philosophy of CMR approaches especially as applicable to paleontological data and questions. The use of CMR is in its infancy in paleobiological applications, but the handful of studies that have used it demonstrate its utility and generality. We discuss why the use of CMR has not matched its development in other fields, such as in population ecology, as well as the importance of modelling the sampling process and estimating sampling probabilities. In addition, we suggest some potential avenues for the development of CMR applications in paleobiology.

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