scholarly journals The Myth of Civil Society’s Democratic Role: Volunteerism and Indonesian Democracy

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 237
Author(s):  
Hurriyah Hurriyah
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Democratic Consolidation ◽  
Democratic Process ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Realistic Assessment

Is a flourishing civil society’s political activism positively correlated with the deepening of Indonesian democracy? This article addresses this question by examining the role of civil society in the 2014 presidential election in Indonesia, focusing on the collective actions of volunteer groups (known as Gerakan Relawan) that shaped both the election process and its result. While some studies on civil society activism in the 2014 presidential election suggested the connection between the role of volunteer movement and the democratic process in Indonesia, this paper suggests that the overpraised assumptions regarding the connection between civil society’s role and democratic consolidation, in the case of volunteer movement, needs to be reconsidered. This paper argues that although the activism of the volunteer movement has positively contributed to the democratic process of the 2014 election, however, realistic assessment of the volunteer movement confirms its problematic nature and the limits of volunteer activism that may contribute to the disconnection of civil society and democratic consolidation in the country.

Indymedia in Belgium: the delicate balance between media activism and political activism

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 1031-1038
Author(s):  
Robin Van Leeckwyck ◽  
Pieter Maeseele ◽  
Maud Peeters ◽  
David Domingo
Keyword(s):  
Social Movements ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Political ◽  
Media Activism ◽  
The Media ◽  
Original Website

Belgium was one of the first European countries to establish a local ‘national’ branch of the global Indymedia network. The diversity of those involved in this ‘national movement’ ultimately turned out to be both the strength of the original website and the cause of its decline. Indeed, due to political and organizational disagreement, many activists decided to create their own ‘local’ Independent Media Centre (IMC). This article distinguishes two perspectives on the role of Indymedia: the political activists saw Indymedia as a means to an end, as an instrument to discuss strategies and tactics, and to coordinate social movements and grassroots movements. The media activists, on the contrary, saw Indymedia as an end in itself, as a platform for civil society organizations to make their voices heard and facilitate democratic debate – in this vein, the experience of Indymedia.be was transformed into the alternative news site DeWereldMorgen.be.

scholarly journals CATHOLICS AND THE 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-312
Author(s):  
Corwin Smidt
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Political Change ◽  
The United States ◽  
Popular Vote ◽  
The Past ◽  
Swing Vote ◽  
Election Process

This article examines the role of Catholics within the 2020 presidential election in the United States. Although Catholics were once a crucial and dependable component of the Democratic Party’s electoral coalition, their vote in more recent years has been much more splintered. Nevertheless, Catholics have been deemed to be an important “swing vote” in American politics today, as in recent presidential elections they have aligned with the national popular vote. This article therefore focuses on the part that Catholics played within the 2020 presidential election process. It addresses the level of political change and continuity within the ranks of Catholics over the past several elections, how they voted in the Democratic primaries during the initial stages of the 2020 presidential election, their level of support for different candidates over the course of the campaign, how they ultimately came to cast their ballots in the 2020 election, and the extent to which their voting patterns in 2020 differed from that of 2016.

scholarly journals Youth participation in socio-political life of the U.S. in 2020

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Aleksei Sergeevich Butorov ◽  
Viktor Vyacheslavovich Bulkin
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Youth Participation ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Cultural Conflicts ◽  
Election Process ◽  
Cultural Processes ◽  
Presidential Election Campaign ◽  
The U.S

The object of the research is the participation of American youth in socio-political life of the country in 2020. The authors consider the main prerequisites and processes of youth participation in protests. The article contains the review and analysis of the most significant reasons of youth participation in protests. The authors study the growth of protest sentiment in the U.S. as a result of the recent escalation of socio-political and socio-cultural conflicts strengthened by the range of political, ethnic, and race factors and the COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention is given to the analysis of the role and importance of youth participation in the presidential election campaign in 2020, and the peculiarities of the influence of social media on the involvement of youth into the election process and protest movement. The scientific novelty of the research consists in the fact that the role of youth is socio-political life in the U.S. in the context of the escalation of socio-political and socio-cultural processes, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, hasn’t been studied sufficiently enough in Russian academic discourse. The main conclusion of the research is as follows: the growth of protest sentiment in the U.S. is the result of the recent escalation of socio-political and socio-cultural conflicts aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It is obvious that the role of youth in the modern political life in the U.S. will keep steadily growing.  

scholarly journals Experiencias de incidencia política de la sociedad civil en el Norte de África

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 31-48
Author(s):  
Laurence Thieux
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Political Transformation ◽  
Political Systems ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
North African ◽  
Complex Processes ◽  
The North ◽  
Sociedad Civil

Este artículo analiza el papel de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil en los procesos de transformación política de varios países del Norte de África. A través de diferentes casos de estudios se analizan experiencias concretas de incidencia política así como su rol en los procesos de movilización colectiva que han impulsado los procesos de reforma o transformación política en estos países. Lejos de presentar un panorama homogéneo, las “primaveras” han acentuado las disparidades y la heterogeneidad que caracteriza la evolución política de las sociedades norteafricanas. Mientras que algunos países han mantenido sus sistemas políticos autoritarios (Argelia), otros han conseguido mantener las estructuras y equilibrios de poderes al adoptar reformas sin cambiar la naturaleza del sistema (Marruecos). Otros (Túnez y Egipto) están inmersos en complejos procesos de transición en los cuales las organizaciones de la sociedad civil han tenido mayor o menor influencia según el caso. This article analyses the role of civil society in the process of political transformation in several countries in North Africa. Through different case studies, concrete experiences of advocacy strategy and the role of CSO in the mobilization of collective actions that have driven reform processes or political transformation in these countries are highlighted. Far from presenting a homogeneous scenario, "Arab Springs" have accentuated disparities and divergences in the political evolution of the North African societies. While some countries have maintained their authoritarian political systems (Algeria), others have managed to maintain the structures and balances of powers and they have tried to adopt reforms without changing the nature of the system (Morocco). Others (Tunisia and Egypt) are involved in complex processes of transition in which civil society organizations have had varying influence accordingly. 

Role of newspaper advertisements in the democratic process: the case of the 2007 presidential election in Nigeria

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 265-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rotimi Williams Olatunji ◽  
Sunday Adekunle Akinjogbin
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Democratic Process

Collective angst and group continuity as predictors of collective action for progressive city policies

2021 ◽  
pp. 136843022098760
Author(s):  
Michał Jaśkiewicz ◽  
Tomasz Besta ◽  
Judyta Borchet
Keyword(s):  
Collective Action ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Action Intention ◽  
Willingness To Engage

Paweł Adamowicz, the liberal mayor of Gdańsk, Poland, died on January 14, 2019, after being stabbed by a man who rushed onstage during a charity event. Four studies were carried out to analyze the predictors of willingness to engage in collective action in support of the progressive city policies he initiated. In Study 1 ( N = 214), collective angst was related to collective action intention. Identification with Gdańsk mediated this relation. In the next two studies, we tested the role of the perceived continuity of the in-group. The relationship between collective angst and willingness to support collective actions was mediated by perceived essentialist continuity of the group (Study 2, on snap election day, N = 121). Moreover, results confirmed that collective angst predicted strength of identification with Gdańsk. This identification was related to the perceived essentialist continuity of the group, which in turn was linked to willingness to engage in collective actions in support of progressive policies (Study 3, N = 98). In Study 4 ( N = 456), conducted within a few days before the presidential election in Poland, we replicated the model of mediation obtained in Study 3, and showed that contextualized collective angst also predicted collective action intentions.

THE 2020 U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, TRUMPISM AND THE ROOTS OF NEGATIVE DISTRUST

2021 ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Erik Alfred Olsen ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
The United States ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Negative Campaigning ◽  
Election Process ◽  
First Time ◽  
The U.S

This article explores the role of negative distrust as applied to the 2020 U.S. presidential election focusing specifically on the campaign and sup- porters of President Donald J. Trump. I survey negative campaigning rhetoric, the enlistment of far-right militant groups to his cause and the general political discourse of the Trump campaign and its allies and how these elements created a dangerous environment within the United States leading to the 6 January attack on the U.S. Capitol. Furthermore, I examine how the sowing of con - spiracy theories, fear and disinformation had led directly to a degradation of the presidential election process and for the first time in U.S. history, there was not a safe and smooth transfer of power from one presidential administration to another. Finally, I conclude how the active employment of negative distrust amongst the electorate contributes to political and national instability that threatens not merely constitutional crisis, but the invalidation of the electoral process in the United States in general.

Politics of hashtags: Social network analysis of online contestation in the 2019 Indonesia presidential election

2021 ◽  
pp. 151-170
Author(s):  
Caroline Paskarina ◽  
Rina Hermawati Nuraeni
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Social Network Analysis ◽  
Network Analysis ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Public Issues ◽  
Strategic Role

This article uses social network analysis of online contestation on Twitter from September 2018 to April 2019 to reveal how netizens' engagement in election de-bates is polarized by the politics of hashtags. This study finds that hashtags are operated to construct dichotomist debate focusing on both presidential candi-dates' figure. This finding indicates: first, the weak position of citizens in deliberat-ing public issues; second, the ineffectiveness of social media, especially Twitter as an online forum for articulating public issues; and third, online influencers, who create and propagate hashtags, play a strategic role in deliberating public issues. Strengthening the role of social media needs to be combined with contemporary citizenship political strategies that can extend access for civil society and online influencers to play an active role in articulating public issues more argumentative-ly.

Migration Policies and Uncertainty

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 28-45
Author(s):  
Jeanne Rey
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Religious Community ◽  
Migration Policies ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
New Perspective

Abstract This article addresses the role of migrant congregations as civil society players through the practice of prayer. By combining the notion of political activism and the theory of subjectivation, it offers a new perspective on Pentecostal practice and migrant congregations in Europe as a way of addressing uncertainty linked to migration policies and mobility regimes. In Switzerland, where conditions for migrants have become increasingly restrictive, political and social forms of exclusion are challenged by African Pentecostal migrants who engage in prayer that contests restrictions on mobility, assignation to subaltern positions, as well as other forms of discrimination. Yet, this ritual resistance rarely takes the form of a political action; neither does it formulate concrete claims towards immigration procedures and policies. Rather, it is expressed through prayer in the protective space of a religious community, allowing the migrants to reassess subjectivations and to imagine new subjectivities.

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