The Role of Political Elites in the Transition from Communism to Democracy

Author(s):  
Wesolowski Wlodzimierz
Keyword(s):  
2021 ◽  
pp. 186810342110278
Author(s):  
Inaya Rakhmani ◽  
Muninggar Sri Saraswati

All around the globe, populism has become increasingly prominent in democratic societies in the developed and developing world. Scholars have attributed this rise at a response to the systematic reproduction of social inequalities entwined with processes of neoliberal globalisation, within which all countries are inextricably and dynamically linked. However, to theorise populism properly, we must look at its manifestations in countries other than the West. By taking the case of Indonesia, the third largest democracy and the largest economy in Southeast Asia, this article critically analyses the role of the political campaign industry in mobilising narratives in electoral discourses. We use the Gramscian notion of consent and coercion, in which the shaping of populist narratives relies on mechanisms of persuasion using mass and social media. Such mechanisms allow the transformation of political discourses in conjunction with oligarchic power struggle. Within this struggle, political campaigners narrate the persona of political elites, while cyber armies divide and polarise, to manufacture allegiance and agitation among the majority of young voters as part of a shifting social base. As such, we argue that, together, the narratives – through engineering consent and coercion – construct authoritarian populism that pits two crowds of “the people” against each other, while aligning them with different sections of the “elite.”


Author(s):  
N. Lapina

This article deals with the impact of various factors on the perception of Russia in different European countries. The focus is on the role of mass media, expert and political elites in forming of Russia's image, especially in the context of Ukrainian crisis. In this article, the reaction of different European counties to events in Ukraine, the polarization of European space is analyzed: some countries prefer to put a pressure on the Russian Federation, other – to find a way out of the critical situation and reach a compromise. Some political establishment representatives in France, Germany, Czech Republic support Russia and the reunification with Crimea, dispute sanctions against Russia. For such politicians, this support results from anti-American views and independent foreign policy aspirations. Other representatives of the European elite demand tougher approach and more pressure on Russia by any means whatsoever (including military ones). European business-communities reveal great interest in solving issues related to sanctions. Many entrepreneurs in Europe (in particular major corporations in France, UK, Germany, Italy), who profit from long and fruitful cooperation with Russia, are against anti-Russian sanctions. In view of the Ukrainian crisis, Russia has to face and solve various important issues. How can Russia implement a modernization project after burning all traditional bridges to the West and western friends and partners? What is the right way for Russian foreign policy to support and defend Russian-speaking people all over the world? Which European political forces can provide support to Russia? How can civil society affect and influence cooperation between Russia and Europe?


2014 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Malka ◽  
Christopher J. Soto

AbstractWe argue that the political effects of negativity bias are narrower than Hibbing et al. suggest. Negativity bias reliably predicts social, but not economic, conservatism, and its political effects often vary across levels of political engagement. Thus the role of negativity bias in broad ideological conflict depends on the strategic packaging of economic and social attitudes by political elites.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 226-238
Author(s):  
Daria V. Stanis ◽  
Konstantin P. Kurilev

This article discusses one of the key components of the mechanism of formation of the ruling elites in the United States - economic. Representatives of large business, financial circles and political clans, capable of fighting for power and possessing the necessary resource base and tools, form elite groups. The authors focus on the study of US large business as a supplier of cadres for the American political elites that determine US domestic and foreign policy. In their work, the authors set the following tasks: to analyze the mechanism of the formation of political elites in the USA; to consider the experience of Trump Organization in the context of the acquisition by her leader of the highest political status in the USA in 2016 and the prospects for his re-election to this post in 2020; to assess the role of large business in the formation of political elites in the United States. To achieve the objectives, the authors used a few methods of political science: structural, systemic, functional, comparative and historical methods. The methodology of economic science was also involved: the method of scientific abstraction, the method of normative and functional analysis. The study, in its conceptual basis, is based both on the theory of political elites and on the economic theory of competition.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E Wilson ◽  
Victoria Parker ◽  
Matthew Feinberg

Political polarization is on the rise in America. Although social psychologists frequently study the intergroup underpinnings of polarization, they have traditionally had less to say about macro societal processes that contribute to its rise and fall. Recent cross-disciplinary work on the contemporary political and media landscape provides these complementary insights. In this paper, we consider the evidence for and implications of political polarization, distinguishing between ideological, affective, and false polarization. We review three key societal-level factors contributing to these polarization phenomena: the role of political elites, partisan media, and social media dynamics. We argue that institutional polarization processes (elites, media and social media) contribute to people’s misperceptions of division among the electorate, which in turn can contribute to a self-perpetuating cycle fueling animosity (affective polarization) and actual ideological polarization over time.


Politics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-153
Author(s):  
David S Moon

This article draws out the significant similarities between the political insurgencies of Jesse Ventura in 1999 and Donald Trump in 2016, charting their own premillennial political collaborations as members of the Reform Party, before identifying wider lessons for studies of contemporary celebrity politicians through a comparison of their individual campaigns. Its analysis is based upon the concept of the ‘politainer’, introduced by Conley and Schultz, into which it incorporates Mikhail Bakhtin’s conception of the carnival fool. The heterodox nature of both Ventura and Trump’s political campaign styles, it argues, is in part explained by the nature of the cultural spheres within which their public personas were produced; specifically, the fact that these personas, which they carried over from the entertainment to political spheres, were produced within genres of popular culture generally positioned as having ‘low’ cultural value. This, it argues, furnished both with an anti-establishment ethos as ‘no bullshit’ straight-talkers, marking them as outsider candidates able to act as conduits for political protest by an electorate alienated from mainstream political elites. It concludes by emphasising the potential importance that political celebrities’ specific cultural production can play in shaping a subsequent political campaign in general.


2020 ◽  
pp. 001041402095768
Author(s):  
Joshua Robison ◽  
Rune Stubager ◽  
Mads Thau ◽  
James Tilley

Recent elections have featured various politicians directly appealing to the working class, yet we know little about how citizens react to class appeals from candidates. We investigate this question using survey experiments conducted in the United States and Denmark. We show that symbolic class rhetoric substantially influences candidate evaluations and ultimately polarizes these evaluations across class lines. We also unpack how class appeals work and find that while they increase perceptions of representation among working class voters, they have a more limited effect on perceptions of candidates’ ideological position. Our results help explain how class affects voter decision-making and contribute to broader discussions about the role of political elites in activating social cleavages.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karam Dana ◽  
Bryan Wilcox-Archuleta ◽  
Matt Barreto

AbstractDespite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary, popular perceptions in the United States, especially among political elites, continue to believe that religious Muslims oppose American democratic traditions and values. While many studies find positive relationships between mosque attendance and civic participation among U.S. Muslims, an empirical and theoretical puzzle continues to exist. What is missing is research that examines the relationships between the multi-dimensional concept of religiosity and how this is associated with public opinion and attitudes towards the American political system among Muslim Americans. Using a unique national survey of Muslim Americans, we find a positive relationship between religious beliefs, behavior, and belonging and perceptions of compatibility with American democratic traditions. Quite simply, the most religious are the most likely to believe in political integration in the United States.


Author(s):  
MARKO CEHOVIN

Abstract Shortly after Independence, and even more profoundly after joining NATO, the issue of defence and security in Slovenia was set aside. It has been quickly forgotten that an army is a fundamental element of statehood, and that several times in history Slovenes have been forced to defend their existence with an armed force. “Budgetary malnutrition”, in combination with malfunctioning human resource management, has pushed the defence system into a spiral quest for the lowest point. By failing to fulfil its commitments on the level and structure of defence spending, Slovenia has lost much of its credibility in the Alliance in recent years. Slovenia gained a great deal by joining NATO. Geopolitically it has (re)positioned itself as part of the most developed world. The most significant benefit of membership is collective security, which has brought manifold effects, including economic ones; defence is much cheaper today than it would be if Slovenia were not a member of the Alliance. After fifteen years of NATO membership, Slovenia is still divided between peace idealism and realism that historically confirms that allies are required. The defence system needs to be renovated, transformed and integrated, and solutions that have been repeatedly already identified must be implemented. The role of the political elites is to recognize, lead and guide these challenges. Key words Defence system, NATO, critical analysis, reforms.


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