Mainstream Voters, Non-Voters and Populist Voters: What Sets Them Apart?

Three different constituencies are becoming increasingly common across Western European electorates: mainstream voters, non-voters and populist voters. Despite their distinct behaviours in electoral politics, we have limited empirical knowledge about the characteristics that distinguish these three groups, given the typical underrepresentation of non-voters in surveys and the relative recency of large-scale research on populist voters. To address this gap, we analyse novel survey data from contemporary Germany that oversamples non-voters and includes a sizeable share of both populist radical left and populist radical right party supporters. Two main findings with broader implications stand out. First, populist voters resemble their mainstream counterparts in their expectations about democracy but correspond more closely to non-voters regarding (dis-)satisfaction with democracy. Second, non-voters and populist voters seem to reject mainstream democratic politics in distinct ways, throwing doubt on the (further) mobilization potential of abstainers for populist projects.

"Among the troops he chose brave warriors, who were battling through ranks...". On Some Peculiar Aspects of Amir Timur's Tactical Art

This article revises the peculiarities of Amir Timur's army tactical peculiarities, as well as their influence on the development of martial art of the Muslim East. It is established that Timur effectively used the mobilization potential of his state. The sedentary population of Chorasa and Transoxiana formed the infantry archery units who were taught to fight under cover of large standing shields - chapars. At the same time, loyal nomad tribes were the source of horse cavalry for the Timur's army. The base of battle formation was represented by a tactical "skeleton" formed of forced kanbuls, powerful advance guard and a reserve (that included elite warriors). Such battle formation allowed Timur to effectively face outflanking and frontal attacks of the enemy. Besides, such battle formation also fit for quick shift from defense to massive counterattack, performed by advance guard and kanbuls projected towards the enemy. The vulnerability of weakened flank corps was partially compensated by using infantry archery units with support of dismounted archers. As a rule, massive archery attack stopped the enemy's attack and provided for counterattack. The organizational and tactical autonomy of kul corps, which could embattle independently even if there was a front breakthrough or encirclement, played an important role. Dismounted, enshielded warriors of the corps could repulse the attacks until the deblocking unit approaches. A fast-moving reserve under Timur's personal command could be used for both repulsing an attack and augmenting the advancing troops.

RHETORICAL FORM, EMOTIONS, AND MOBILIZATION POTENTIAL IN THE MOVEMENT AGAINST SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Although social movement scholars are interested in social movement messaging, we know very little about how rhetorical form impacts viewer response. In this article, we use experimental methods to explore how rhetorical forms and the emotions they inspire help generate mobilization potential in the movement to end sexual assault and domestic violence. We explore these issues using a powerful randomized pre-test/post-test experimental design examining the effect of personal statements and data on sexual assault and domestic violence. Results suggest that both invoke a range of emotions and are effective at generating an increased interest in participating in protest and educational events. Those who react with disgust are more likely to have an increased potential for protest, while those who experience sadness show an increased interest in participating in an educational event. This study contributes to a growing literature on the roles of rhetorical form and emotion in generating mobilization potential.

Final Chords of M.N. Pokrovsky’s “Brainchild”: Society of Marxist Historians in the Early 1930s

Introduction. The Society of Marxist Historians established in 1925 went down in the history of Soviet historiography as a militant organization that did much to combat “old school” historians, assert the monopoly position of the Marxist-Leninist methodology, and draw a party line in historical science. Methods and materials. The research is based on traditional methods of historiographical analysis. It uses materials from historical journals of the 1920s and 1930s and archival documents. Analysis. The first all-Union conference of Marxist Historians (December 28, 1928 – January 4, 1929) became the apogee in the history of the Society. In the future, despite the growth in numbers and the creation of local structures, in the conditions of the “great turning point” it loses the features of an amateur organization and a number of functions of the scientific nature. The priority is to “actively participate in the socialist construction” by deploying mass propaganda of historical knowledge and fighting “distortions of Marxism-Leninism”, including in the ranks of the organization itself. The last debate and “study” of Stalin’s famous letter to “Proletarian revolution” journal had a negative impact on the internal state of the Society and strengthened the distrust of the results of his work from the government. In 1931–1932, the Society management unsuccessfully tried to make its work more popular, hold a plenum and re-registered a new charter. Results. However, at that time, the Central Committee of the CPSU(b) embarked on the path of reformatting the structure of societies and unions in the country and eliminating those of them that had exhausted their mobilization potential and did not meet the new ideological course. In addition to this circumstance, the rapid curtailment of the Society of Marxist historians by the end of 1932 was influenced by the position of the leadership of the Communist Academy and the death of M.N. Pokrovsky, the undisputed leader of Soviet historians.

Accounting for Numbers: Group Characteristics and the Choice of Violent and Nonviolent Tactics

Scholars have shown that nonviolent movements tend to be more successful than violent movements. A key explanation is that nonviolent movements have a mobilization advantage over violent campaigns. As nonviolent movements have lower barriers to active participation, they can expand quickly by mobilizing much larger numbers than violent movements. We argue that such a mobilization advantage is not universal, and that different movements are likely to have a comparative advantage in one tactic over another. We develop a simple model emphasizing how the ex ante potential for mobilization and prospects for success steer the choice of dissident tactics. Nonviolent tactics can be relatively more effective when a movement can mobilize more active participants than with violence, but movements with limited mobilization potential can have feasible prospects for violent dissent and a nonviolent mobilization disadvantage. We examine the implications of the model against empirical data for different types of dissident tactics and on resort to nonviolent and nonviolent dissent. We demonstrate very different actor profiles in nonviolent dissent and violent conflict, and show how each of the two types of dissent are more likely under very different settings. To compare success by types of dissent we must account for how differences in potential numbers or mobilization shape tactical choices.

The role of national symbols in the political protests: case of Mexico

This article explores the specificity of using national symbols in the political protests. The construction of the new meanings of national symbols by protest movements is viewed in the frame of collective memory. The goal of this research is to determine the peculiarities of involving unofficial national symbols in the protest discourse by the opposition political forces on the example of modern Mexico. It is demonstrated how the radical protest Neozapatismo movement uses the image of the country's national hero Emiliano Zapata for legitimizing the own agrarian program and rule in the state of Chiapas, as well as a resource for mobilizing the supporters of drastic agrarian reforms. The conclusion is made that due to such characteristics of national symbols as sacred nature, wide occurrence, recognition, they possess high mobilization potential, carrying out mobilization function in the political protests. It pertains to both, state symbols (flag, coat of arms, anthem) and unofficial symbols. National symbols can also be used by protest movements as a means of legitimation / deligitimation of authority. The author underlines that the use by political actors of national symbols, which may cause strong emotional response of the audience, should be considered as manipulative political technology.

Digitalization of the Educational Environment: Risk Assessment of Distance Education by Russian and Vietnamese Students

The digitalization of higher education is a long-term trend that gained a new impetus for further development because of the forced transition to distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the article is to analyze the impact of digital transformation on the educational process in universities and to describe the risks through the students’ eyes. The analysis is based on the results of a survey conducted by the authors in 2020 among students of two universities - Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) and the Institute of the Trade Union Movement of the General Confederation of Labor of Vietnam (IPLV).The article describes the methodology of the online survey. The attitude towards distance learning is interpreted as a three-level attitude with emotional, cognitive and behavioral aspects. It is suggested that students’ readiness to switch to distance learning is determined by a set of macro and micro factors. Among the macro factors are the national specifics of the educational system, traditions in the field of higher education, infrastructure, the national educational policy, and the mobilization potential of the population. Among the micro factors are the cognitive and other psychological characteristics of the students, the socio-psychological openness to innovation.According to the survey results, there is certain similarity in the way Russian and Vietnamese students assess their experience of distance learning. At the same time, significant differences in the perception of the outcome of the digital transformation of education have been revealed. For MGIMO students, major risks are associated with dehumanization, the severing of social ties, and the possible loss of student status. For Vietnamese students the most significant risks are mainly associated with the fears of the decreasing quality of education. It is therefore concluded that distance learning is both the field of opportunities and possible source of individual and institutional risks.