Constitutionalising the Right to Water in Kenya and Slovenia: Domestic Drivers, Opportunity Structures, and Transnational Norm Entrepreneurs

The international norm development that in 2010 culminated with the UN Resolution on the Human Right to Water and Sanitation changed international law. To what extent did this influence the parallel legal developments evident in many national constitutions across the globe? This article analyses the mobilisation for a constitutional right to water and sanitation in Kenya and Slovenia, identifying the main national and transnational actors involved and assessing their significance for the processes of constitutionalising the right. By analysing two very different cases, tracing their constitutionalisation processes through analysis of archival material, the article provides multifaceted insights into processes of norm diffusion from international norm entrepreneurs to the national level and the agency of domestic actors and their opportunity structures. We find that although the outcomes of the processes in Kenya and Slovenia are similar in that both constitutions contain articles securing the right to water, the framing of the right differs. Furthermore, we conclude that while there is involvement of international actors in both cases, domestic pro-water activists and their normative and political opportunity structures are more important for understanding the successful constitutionalisation of the right to water and differences in the framing of the right.

The Politics of Eco-violence: Why Is Conflict Escalating in Nigeria’s Middle Belt?

Competition for natural resources has intensified in recent years between nomadic Fulani herders and sedentary farmers in Nigeria's Middle Belt. What were initially sporadic conflicts over cropland and water resources have transformed into daily occurrences of mass violence. While extant research centres on the root causes of such conflicts, the reasons for their escalation remain insufficiently understood. This article examines how political developments have contributed to the escalation of conflicts in the region. Using Homer-Dixon's model, the findings show that changes in Nigeria's 'political opportunity structure' since 2014 were catalysts for escalating the conflicts. The consequences were the unvarnished adoption of nepotistic domestic policies and alliances between elites and militia members, which escalated the violent conflicts. It advocates the devolution of natural resource and security governance to prevent leaders from leveraging shifts in political opportunity structures to favour a specific demographic group.

Linguistic ambivalence amidst suburban diversity: LGBTQ2S municipal ‘social inclusions’ on Vancouver’s periphery

Social inclusion frameworks to enhance ‘diversity’ inform late neoliberal municipal governance in North American metropolitan areas, especially in central cities, but suburban LGBTQ2S constituencies are neglected by researchers. This paper, therefore, uses linguistic discourse and content analysis of an LGBTQ2S-inclusion archive of municipal public-facing communication in the Canadian peripheral municipalities of Burnaby, New Westminster, and Surrey, in the Vancouver city-region to trace the micro-patterns of linguistic ambivalence shaping suburban sexual citizenship. It demonstrates municipal variance in vernacular vocabularies of LGBTQ2S social inclusion that signals equivocation within divergent local linguistic political opportunity structures for suburban sexual and gender minorities. It concludes with a typological narration that details varied gradations of linguistic obfuscation, revealing patterns of civic ambivalence towards LGBTQ2S social inclusion amidst suburban diversity. Across a shared regional geography, the paper shows that LGBTQ2S populations are infrequently referenced relative to other marginalized social groups and that their presence in social inclusion frameworks is dictated by the extent to which they align with civic priorities, particularly festivalization and marketization, but also safety, welcoming newcomers, integrating seniors, and anti-discrimination initiatives.

Analysing how crises shape mass and elite preferences and behaviour in the European Union

The COVID-19 pandemic proved the latest stress test for the European Union, after Brexit, the Eurozone crisis and the large influx of refugees. This highly relevant and well-timed special issue examines how past crises have left an imprint on the opinions and behaviour of ordinary citizens and political elites regarding the European Union. This Forum article reviews the special issue contributions by spelling out which lessons we can learn from each of them and which paths for future research they have opened up. In terms of a path forward, I argue that scholars ought to pay more attention to (a) the role of political elites, (b) political opportunity structures, and (c) heterogeneity both between and within member states.

Protest Movements Against Sanctuaries in Odisha: Politics with Other Means

This study seeks to counter interpretations of tribal movements as reflecting parochial and perverse ethno-territorial aspirations, mostly in irrational violent forms. It compares two peaceful protest movements against wildlife sanctuaries located in different geographical and political-economic settings in the eastern Indian state of Odisha. As rational collective actions, both movements relied on the agency of project-affected persons who questioned state attempts to de-politicise development in the name of scientific conservation. The study shows how the legitimate concerns of such project-affected citizens were overshadowed by politics and the context-specific dialectical interface between three different factors, namely availability of indigenous organisational resources, political opportunity structures and identity construction.

Strategic clustering in right-wing-populism? ‘Green policies’ in Germany and France

Past research pointed to the idea that right-wing ideology and climate-change skepticism are inherently linked. Empirical reality proves differently however, since right-wing populist parties are starting to adapt pro environmentalist stances. In this paper, we look into two prominent cases of diametrical diverging environmental strategies by right-wing-populist-parties: France’s Rassemblement National and Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland. In order convey this point, we use comparative qualitative content analysis and examine several decisive determinants regarding environmental strategies of right-wing populist parties. We argue that right-wing-populism is remarkably adaptable considering political opportunity structures, even clustering in ideologically diametrical versions of the same issue while each party coherently extends its policy-orientation to its respective alignment of the issue. That means, populism might be far less ideological than assumed in the past.

‘It Is a Tradition in the Nuclear Industry . . . Secrecy’: Political Opportunity Structures and Nuclear Knowledge Production in France

Employing the example of France’s civil nuclear program, we connect political opportunity structures (POSs) to mechanisms of knowledge production, identifying how opposing stakeholders generate knowledge about a controversial technology. A history of nuclear dependence in France creates a context that praises, normalizes, and rationalizes nuclear energy while stigmatizing attempts to question or contest the nuclear industry’s dominant position. Integrating Bond’s knowledge-shaping process with Coy and colleagues’ concept of oppositional knowledge, we consider how the broader social, political, and economic context influences opposing stakeholder assessments of nuclear energy. Employing qualitative semi-structured interviews, we offer unique insight into the French nuclear debate, discussing the role of POS in shaping knowledge production.

MOVIMENTOS SOCIAIS POPULARES EM TEMPOS DE ASCENSÃO DAS NOVAS DIREITAS: a Marcha das Margaridas

<p>O artigo analisa a Marcha das Margaridas, uma mobilização feminista realizada no Brasil sob a liderança das mulheres do campo, da floresta e das águas, nos anos de 2015 e 2019, considerado o tempo de ascensão das novas direitas. A Marcha é organizada pelas mulheres do Movimento Sindical de Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras Rurais, em aliança com outros movimentos sociais, centrais sindicais e organizações internacionais. Adota-se uma abordagem teórica que considera a atuação dos movimentos sociais por meio dos conceitos de ações de reprodução social e formas de ação coletivas. Isso significa analisar a Marcha para além de suas expressões mais visíveis – uma grande marcha na cidade de Brasília e as negociações com agentes estatais (formas de ação coletiva). A mobilização envolve também um longo processo de organização, formação e<br />política de alianças com outros atores sociais (ações de reprodução social). Argumenta-se que analisá-las de maneira interdependente e vis-à-vis à estrutura de oportunidades políticas no tempo de ascensão das novas direitas aumenta a capacidade de compreensão de como movimentos sociais populares atuaram considerando o novo contexto.</p><p><strong>SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN TIMES OF THE RISE OF THE NEW RIGHT: the Marcha das Margaridas</strong><br /><br /></p><p>This article analyses the Marcha das Margaridas, a feminist mobilisation spearheaded by women from the Brazilian Union of Rural Workers in alliance with other social movements, trade unions, and international organisations in the years 2015 and 2019 – considered to be the time of the rise of the new right. From a theoretical approach that regard the performance of social movements based on the concepts of actions of social reproduction and forms of collective action, we analyse the Marcha beyond its most visible expression – that is, a large street protest in the city of Brasilia, and the negotiations with state agents (forms of collective action). Rather, we understand this movement as also involving a long process of organisation, mobilisation, political formation activities, and politics of alliances with other social actors (actions of social reproduction). By analysing them interdependently and vis-à-vis the political opportunity structures at the time of the rise of the new right, we will better understand how social movements acted considering the new context.</p><p>Keywords: Social Movements. New Rights. Collective Actions. Social Reproduction Actions. Marcha das Margaridas.</p><p><strong>LES MOUVEMENTS SOCIAUX POPULAIRES FACE A LA MONTEE DE LA NOUVELLE DROITE: la Marcha das Margaridas</strong><br /><br />L’article analyse la Marcha dasMargaridas, une mobilisation féministe qui a eu lieu au Brésil entre 2015 et 2019, période considéré comme celle de la montée de la nouvelle droite brésilienne. Dirigée par des femmes qui se réclament défenseuses de la campagne, des forêts et des eaux, la Marcha était organisée par des femmes du Mouvement Syndical des Travailleuses et Travailleurs Ruraux, en alliance avec d’autres mouvements sociaux, des centrales syndicales et des organisations internationales. L’approche théorique propose une analyse à partir du concept de “actions de reproduction sociale” et de “répertoires d’action collective”. Cela signifie qu’il faut analyser la Marcha au-delà de son expression la plus visible, à savoir, une grande marche à Brasília accompagnée des négociations avec les agents de l’État (répertoire d’action collective). La Marcha implique également un long processus d’organisation, de rassemblement, de formation et des politiques d’alliances avec d’autres acteurs sociaux (actions de reproduction sociale). Analyser ces éléments de manière interdépendante en fonction de la structure des opportunités politiques, et dans la période de montée de la nouvelle droite brésilienne, nous aide à mieux comprendre comment les mouvements sociaux populaires ont agi dans ce nouveau contexte. </p><p>Mots-clés: Mouvements Sociaux. Nouvelle Droite. Repertoires D’action Collectives. Actions De Reproduction Sociale. Marcha Dasmargaridas.</p>

Killing Two Birds with One Stone?

This article analyses the descriptive representation of immigrant-origin women in two local Spanish elections. On the basis of the influence of political opportunity structures and the role played by political parties, we quantify their presence on party lists and their degree of success in becoming councilwomen. Using the APREPINM database we compare their levels of representation across different immigrant-origin minorities and the degree of gender disparity within each group. Our results show that women originating from the EU and Latin America benefit from greater access to party lists than their male counterparts and their female peers from other groups. But when it comes to being elected as councilwomen, only Latin-American women maintain this comparative advantage.