The Distortions and Realities of the Senate’s Constitutional Purpose: Setting the Record Straight on “Senate Exceptionalism”

Drawing on part of the argument from my recent book, The Senate: From White Supremacy to Government Gridlock (University of Virginia Press, 2021), I critique what I call “Senate exceptionalism:” the notion that the Senate is the framers’ particularly special or remarkable creation. I do so by contrasting the historical and constitutional distortions that support this institutional conceit with the realities of the founding and American political development. After reviewing the parallels between the ideas and tenets of American and Senate exceptionalism, I introduce four arguments from the book that undermine the basis of the Senate’s exceptionalism and in particular draw critical attention to the constitutional mythology surrounding and supporting the filibuster in the form of Senate Rule XXII and its three-fifths supermajority threshold for ending debate on many matters before the Senate.

Key problems of increasing Russia’s rating in the world economy

The article presents the results of a comprehensive analysis of the key problems that prevent Russia from raising the rating in the world economy, affecting the problem of the Russian Federation joining the five largest economies in the world. When studying the problems of increasing Russia’s ranking in the world economy, based on data from the Humanitarian Portal, estimates were made of the relative (in world comparison) level of development of the Russian Federation in terms of demographic development, social development, institutional development, political development, economic development, scientific and technological development, communication development, reputation development, global development. A distinctive feature of the studies presented is the reliance not on the country’s rating itself in the international comparison system, but on the relative assessment of this rating, taking into account the total number of countries covered by the corresponding rating. The analysis of the relative ratings of the international competitiveness of the Russian Federation was carried out using the desirability function H. D. Harrington (also known as the universal verbal-numerical scale), which allows you to translate relative quantitative assessments into qualitative ones. Based on the analysis, it is shown that at present Russia does not have objective prerequisites for joining the fi ve largest economies in the world, since the Russian Federation does not have a very high level of assessment according to the Harrington method according to none of the groups of indicators of international competitiveness. Most of the assessment groups (level of demographic, social, institutional, economic and social development) have an average level. A number of assessment groups (the level of scientifi c and technical, reputation and global development) have an average level. And the group for assessing the level of political development has a low level. Analysis of the structure of «pain points» of international competitiveness of the Russian Federation, corresponding to a very low level on the Harrington universal verbal-digital scale, showed that most of them are associated with problems of social development (suicide rate, level of quality of life, level of alcohol consumption, number of prisoners, level of happiness), indicating an insuffi cient level of motivation of the population for development.

Educational System and Institutions in Persian Civilization: An Historical Description and its Impacts on Present Iran

Persian civilization had its rich culture since the pre-Islamic era. It left its impacts on those areas where the Persian language had adopted like contemporary India, Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Tajikistan, and the Central Asian States. Its pre and post-Islamic educational system-generated hundreds of scholars which are well-nominated all over the world along with their inventions, philosophies, literature, and poetry. This article highlights an educational system in the Persian civilization since 2500 BC. Educational institutions before the conquest of Islam and post-Islamic changing patterns in it are going to be discussed in this article. There is also a focus upon educational institutions in modern Iran before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 that became the reason for the end of Pehlavi dynasty. Its hypothesis is that the present socio-economic and political development in Iran is a reason to strengthen the educational system that is protecting Persian civilization for centuries. The research is based on theoretically and historically descriptive, analytical, comparative, and qualitative and methods. The data is collected from books, research journals, newspapers, internet interviews, results of different dissertations, and personal visits to Iran in which attending several seminars, workshops, and training classes including visiting several universities and Research Centers in Qom and Tehran

Maghreb 2021: Political Development Impasses and Threats to the Subregional System

The article is devoted to the relevant issues of international relations in the Maghreb subregion, which became especially acute after the rupture of diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco in August 2021. The authors analyze the general parameters of the Maghreb subsystem of international relations and identify key trends in the internal political development of its member states. The growing tension in the bilateral relations between Algeria and Morocco is only a symptom of the general crisis of the regional subsystem. The study is based on the analysis of a wide array of information and analytical materials and documents, as well as the authors field research in the border regions of Morocco (2019) and Algeria (2018, 2019) and interviews with Maghreb politicians (2020, 2021). The first part of the article highlights the key parameters of the Maghreb subsystem, describes its internal architecture, reveals the interconnections with other regional subsystems, and identifies the development trends of the Maghreb that took shape in the 2010s. The second part analyzes the internal political dynamics in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. The current situation in each country can be described as an impasse, both in terms of the development of the democratic process and the possibilities for national consolidation on an authoritarian basis. The political elites of the region are unable to offer realistic strategies for state development and it leads to the growing alienation of societies. The third part of the article reveals the implications of political development crises for the regional relations. The authors conclude by putting forward a scenario of a partial reorientation of a number of Maghreb states from a deeper Mediterranean integration to finding other allies. They also identify prospects for rebalancing relations of Maghreb states with their Arab partners. In the framework of these processes the elites can use conflicting foreign policy agenda for the national consolidation of some countries. Finally, the authors raise the question of seeking new models of state and regional development in the Maghreb.

Hinduism in the Socio-Political Life of India

The article analyzes the importance of the religious factor in determining the ways of socio-political development of India. India remains a country with a multi-confessional population with a clear predominance of adherents of Hinduism. In addition to the infl uence of Hinduism on the life of orthodox society, where castes still play a special role, which determine the norms of behavior and rules of communication, the author analyzes the role of religion in the political agenda of the country. Under the conditions of colonialism, Hinduism was established as a national religion and the basis of a national tradition. The active involvement of Hinduism in political life began at the end of the nineteenth century, when such political parties as the Muslim League and Hindu Mahasabha appeared. The task of the latter was to create a Hindu state in India. The author also pays special attention to the analysis of the formation of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is characterized as the political wing of a group of Hindu nationalist organizations. The growing popularity of this party, which won the elections in 2014 and 2019, indicates the strengthening of the positions of communalist organizations. These trends show that the active inclusion of religion in the political agenda aff ects the nature of the country’s democratic institutions, gradually transforming the popular thesis that India is a country representing “unity in diversity”.

THE CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF POLITICAL INSTABILITY IN PAKISTAN FROM 1988 TO 1999 (SPECIAL REFERENCE TO SINDH PROVINCE)

This research article’s primary goal is to determine the triggers and implications of Pakistan’s political instability and its effects on the political situation of Sindh during the democratic decade from 1988 to 1999. Despite abundant natural resources, Pakistan is one of the only countries where political unrest has severely hampered the social and political development of the country. So, this paper aims to understand the leading factors of political instability that weakened the country’s political growth and led the nation in general and Sindh province, in particular, to suffer social and ethnic problems in society. To understand the issue deeply, the researcher used unstructured Interviews as a research tool with law-makers, academicians, and political scientists. However, many interviewees accepted that the lack of enthusiastic leadership, the Role of the weak judiciary, the passive role of civil bureaucracy, and political ethnicity had been the leading factors for political and social unrest. Thus, the study’s findings would help the law-makers and academicians of different colleges and universities to design their policies and curriculum. Additionally, this paper would help various nationalists and political parties of Sindh province to comprehend the genuine reasons for unrest in the area from 1988 to 1999. Key Words: Political instability, Weak Judiciary, Political ethnicity, Foreign interference, Role of civil bureaucracy

The Phantom at The Opera

Movements and parties have given rise to two largely separates specialties in the social sciences. This Element is an effort to link the two literatures, using evidence from American political development. It identifies five relational mechanisms governing movement/party relations: two of them short term, two intermediate term, and one long-term. It closes with a reflection on the role of movement/party relations in democratization and for democratic resilience.

Anchored in Justice: Yorùbá Philosophy and the Politics of a Diverse State

As a major ethnic nationality in the multinational state cobbled together and christened by Lord Frederick Lugard, the Yoruba have been an integral part of the politics of the Nigerian diverse state since 1914. From the vicissitudes of the politics of nationalist struggles against colonial imposition to the politics of independence and nation-building, the core traditional values and philosophical outlook of each of the ethnic nationalities are discernible in their approaches to the issues that confront the new state. In this paper, I identify the core traditional values of the Yoruba nationality. I focus specifically on the Yoruba fascination with justice as a guiding principle as they relate to other nationalities in dealing with the issues that confront the new state. I argue that this fascination is not an arbitrary recourse in the politics of the new state. Rather, obsession with justice has been a defining feature of intra-Yoruba dealings from precolonial times to the present. To illustrate, I recount a few historical and mythical examples from the radical and unconventional social critics, Kọrú Ọjà, Ọpálábà and Aróhánrán of the Old Ọyọ Empire, to the historical Àare ̣ Kúrunmí of Ìjàyè. Finally, I highlight a few episodes in the political development of Nigeria and the role that the Yoruba obsession with justice has played in the political journey of the country.