Inter-Group Relations and Support for Democratization: Evidence from Hong Kong

What drives ordinary citizens to participate in costly pro-democracy endeavors? Conventional theories of democratization emphasize the economic or political conflicts between citizens and elites. This article suggests a different mechanism of mobilization based on inter-group relations. We argue that as a pro-majoritarian institution, democracy may be sought after by members of a disenfranchised majority as a way to protect their interests and identity against perceived economic or political threats posed by certain minority outgroups. We evaluate this argument by drawing evidence from Hong Kong, a city that has recently witnessed major waves of pro-democracy uprisings. Two experimental studies on local university students reveal that subjects' attitudes toward the mainland Chinese visitors and immigrants are causally related to their support for democratization. Observational evidence from surveys and elections further shows that pro-democracy attitudes are stronger in areas that recently experienced a large influx of mainland Chinese. These findings underscore the powerful role of group-based sentiments in episodes of democratization.

"Some Corner of a Foreign Field That Is [Not] For Ever England”: Brexit and Poetry

Although it would be absurd to compare the 2016 Brexit referendum and whatever happened in its aftermath to the tragedy of the Great War, surprising as it may seem, the two have something in common. This is so because the 1914–1918 period triggered a flood of poetry, written not only by established literary figures, but also by thousands of civilians who found it a means of expressing their emotions. By the same token, the post-referendum years produced a poetic response on the part of ordinary citizens. This article tries to take a closer look at how once again British citizens turn to poetry to voice their fears and frustration.

Problems of excessive lawmaking in modern Russia

The article is devoted to the problems of a very significant number of federal laws adopted by the State Duma of Russia, especially over the past five years, as well as the weak understanding of legislative acts by officials and ordinary citizens related to these issues, which as a result entails practical non-enforcement of laws. Considering lawmaking as a process necessary for the normal functioning of the state, the author analyses, first of all, quantitative indicators for the annual adoption of federal laws, and he also provides examples from individual regulatory legal acts. As a result of the analysis, as well as taking into account more than twenty years of experience in public authorities, the author identified the causes of excessive lawmaking, conditions conducive to the emergence of a large number of laws. A table showing the number of adopted federal laws for the period from 1994 to 2020 is attached to the article. Based on the results of consideration of the above issues, the author formulated conclusions and suggestions.

Landemore: Response to Brennan

Despite the avalanche of facts that Jason Brennan brings against the average voter and his skepticism of deliberation among ordinary citizens, the resulting attack on democracy turns out to be surprisingly limited. In the end, Brennan concedes, democracy is still the best regime around, no matter how flawed, and we have a duty to fix it. He also concedes that deliberation among randomly selected citizens is going to be part of the solution. Landemore argues that Brennan’s solution, however—a combination of randomly selected mini-publics designing questionnaires and a weighted vote system based on these questionnaires—is still too elitist, empirically inattentive to existing experiments in deliberative democracy, and unlikely to work.

Hramatychni formy zvertanʹ u komunikatyvnomu prostori ukrayinsʹkoho suspilʹnoho radio

This article focuses on the study of various forms of the vocative case of nouns in the communicative space of Ukrainian public radio. The variety of forms of address is interpreted as a result of expansion of unofficial communication of authors and presenters with politicians, experts, independent experts, ordinary citizens. The paper proves the extensive use of etiquette words "pane", "pani" with proper names (personal names or surnames) and common nouns – names of persons by position, military or academic rank, other characteristics. The author analyses difficulties and typical errors in the use of forms of the vocative case of some male and female personal names or two proper names – personal name and patronymic. The obtained results indicate the new tendency to consistently distinguish the forms of the vocative case of common nouns depending on the sex of the person. The author concludes that the morphological norm, which is the grammatical specificity of the Ukrainian language, returns to the communicative space of the Ukrainian public radio.

Activities of anti-corruption bodies of Ukraine in the conditions of today: state and main challenges

The article considers the current conditions in which such anti-corruption bodies as the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, and the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine have to operate. Based on the opinions of scientists and experts, it has been established that anti-corruption bodies now face the following challenges: constant pressure from the authorities, irresponsibility of the majority of people's deputies, which makes it very difficult for these bodies to work; most citizens of our state perceive corruption as a relatively simple way to solve problems quickly. Ordinary citizens are accustomed, so to speak, to solving either complex or simple issues (in health care or education institutions, courts and other public institutions) "mainly through bribes to officials of lower levels of government who abuse their official position, using it for the purpose of illegal profit or for other selfish purposes; obvious abuse of power by top officials, misappropriation of state property, land, concealment of wealth. In view of this, corruption has been perceived for many years by scholars and ordinary citizens as perhaps the greatest threat to the progress of socio-economic development of the state, its formation as a democracy. The problem of combating corruption as one of the most dangerous phenomena of modern Ukrainian society, which has penetrated almost all spheres of life, is extremely acute not only in Ukraine but also in many developed European countries, including Italy, Germany, Great Britain, etc.). It has been proved that anti-corruption bodies have never become independent and autonomous in their activities. They are often pressured by the Prosecutor General's Office, deputies, and interfere in the investigation, which, of course, alarms international partners and civil society

Some Methodological Problems of Preventing Crimes Against Political Rights in Modern Democratic States (Philosophy-Legal Dimension)

This article is devoted to the problems of prevention of political crimes and crimes against political rights, which were in the focus of attention of the thinkers of the ancient world. The thinkers of ancient Greece developed many methods of preventing political crimes both on the part of representatives of political power and on the part of ordinary citizens. Modern realities demand to return to the problems identified in the ancient period and to consider the problems of preventing political crimes and crimes against political rights in the context of a modern democratic state. The problems of preventing political crimes and crimes against political rights in modern legal, democratic states are particularly acute in the process of forming state elected bodies, that is, in the process of citizens exercising their political rights. Based on a comprehensive analysis and taking into account modern democratic foundations around the world, it is proposed to expand the range of political crimes and, as prevention of one of the cornerstone problems – the problems of preventing political crimes, to provide for criminal and/or constitutional responsibility for (radical) evasion of the election program at the highest legislative level.

The Effects of Political Incivility on Political Trust and Political Participation: A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Research

A great deal of experimental research has focused on how political incivility affects ordinary citizens. A common finding is that incivility reduces political trust. Effects on political participation have also been investigated, but seem less consistent across studies. The results of a systematic review and meta-analysis, including a total of 24 manuscripts containing 35 studies, revealed that the estimated effect of political incivility on political trust was significant, Hedges’ g = −0.19 [95% CI: −0.30, −0.09]. The effect was small, however, and some indication of publication bias was found. The effect was stronger when the incivility was communicated through video versus other media, and for studies conducted in the United States versus Europe. The estimated effect of political incivility on political participation was almost non-existent, g = −0.02 [−0.11, 0.08], although it was significantly stronger (more negative) for studies conducted in Europe rather than in the United States.

THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF FRAUD CASES DURING THE PERIOD OF SELF-ISOLATION AND ORGANIZATIONAL AND PRACTICAL METHODS OF COMBATING FRAUDSTERS

Статья посвящена рассмотрению проблем, связанных с ростом числа мошенничества в период новой коронавирусной инфекции COVID-19. Рассмотрены тенденции роста мошенничества в период пандемии и самоизоляции, связанные с распространением новой коронавирусной инфекции COVID-19 и методы борьбы с правонарушителями. Разобраны такие явления, как мошенничество, фишинг как одна из самых распространенных интернет-угроз. Представлены примеры разнообразных действий мошенников в период самоизоляции, а также механизмы осуществления правонарушителями своих преступных деяний. В статье проведен сравнительный анализ показателей числа мошенничеств в период с апреля по июнь 2019 и 2020 г., основанный на открытых статистических данных портала Генеральной прокуратуры Российской Федерации. В работе даны рекомендации, соблюдение которых позволит потенциальным потерпевшим противостоять новым инструментам воздействия мошенников в период распространения коронавирусной инфекции COVID-19. The article is devoted to the problems connected with the increase in the number of fraud during the new coronavirus infection COVID-19. This article considers the trends in the growth of fraud during the pandemic and self-isolation related to the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 and organizational and legal methods of fighting, ways to resist intruders. The author analyzes such phenomena as fraud, phishing as one of the most common Internet threats. Specific examples of various actions of fraudsters during the period of self-isolation introduced in connection with the spread of the new coronavirus infection COVID-19 are presented, as well as the mechanisms by which attackers carry out their machinations against ordinary citizens and contrary to the activities of state bodies and private organizations. This article presents a graph of comparison of indicators of the number of fraud in a certain period, based on open statistical data of the portal of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. The article provides recommendations, compliance with which allows each potential victim to resist new tools of influence of intruders during the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus infection, when the implementation of the main processes of vital activity takes place remotely.