Symbols in the Ukrainian Public Discourse (Analysis of Presidential Speeches on the Occasion of Constitution Day)

This article develops the understanding of symbols as a certain type of signs, the meaning of which is established by agreement or habit. There is an opinion that symbols in public discourse are a reflection of values and anti-values of the society, which are formed in the process of mass communication. This article identifies the main features of the characters, including emotional engagement, attachment to a particular act of communication, as well informativeness. The types of meaning are determined, and the mechanism of nomination is explained. The article reveals the concept of semantic competition. M. Edelman’s opinion that value structures can be divided into mono-, bi- and multimodal — depending on the number of values assigned to key symbols. The presidential speeches delivered before the Ukrainian Constitution Day in 2017–2020 were analyzed in this article. Thanks to the content analysis of emotionally colored words, the symbols, which are characteristic for the speeches of P. Poroshenko and V. Zelensky, were identified focusing both on similarities and differences of Ukrainian values and anti-values. This article analyzes the nominations used by speakers to give meaning to key symbols. Aspects of semantic competition of the key symbols are defined here as well. It was revealed that during the tenure of President Poroshenko, other symbols circulated mostly in the Ukrainian public discourse than those during the presidency of V. Zelensky. Among the common key values for both presidents, we can find “Constitution,” “Constitution Day” and “freedom”. There is a semantic competition in their use. Both presidents underline the negative meaning of the term “parliamentary immunity.” Poroshenko expresses the threat using symbols such as “Russian aggressor”, “fifth column,” “corruption,” “Russian Empire” and “war.” On the other hand, V. Zelensky does not use symbols of external threat. It was found that the value structure formed by Poroshenko’s speeches showed signs of bimodality, and the one created by V. Zelensky’s speeches — multimodality.

Far-Right Extremism’s Threat to Police Safety and the Organizational Legitimacy of Law Enforcement in the United States

Цель: to analyze the far-right extremism’s anti- government ideology as an external threat to law enforcement officers. Methods: dialectical approach to cognition of social phenomena, using the general and specific research methods based on it. Results: The relationship between far-right extremism and law enforcement in the United States has a long and complicated history. In 2020, this relationship was on display as both far-right extremists and law enforcement agencies were brought into the national spotlight for their roles in multiple unprecedented events. This research discusses how far-right extremism’s anti- government ideology represents an external threat to law enforcement officers. This threat is discussed through the presentation of 30-years of data on law enforcement officers killed in the line-of-duty by far-right extremists from the Extremist Crime Database. In addition, the research also examines law enforcement’s implicit and explicit support for far-right extremism, which creates an internal threat against the legitimacy of the profession. Finally, policy initiatives that come from, and build upon, prior research are discussed to reduce these threats.Scientific novelty: for the first time, the work substantiates that far-right extremists threaten the safety of law enforcement officers in the United States. Antigovernment extremists, who do not believe that they are subject to the laws of the jurisdiction where they live, pose the risk of escalating to violent acts when encountering law enforcement when they engage in both ideologically motivated and routine criminal activity. In addition, law enforcement agencies who hire far-right extremists face the very real prospect of becoming illegitimate in the eyes of the communities to whom they are sworn to serve and protect. Decades of criminological research has shown that lack of trust in law enforcement makes the job of policing a community more difficult and more dangerous. Although multiple paths forward were outlined that build on prior research and empirical knowledge, only decisive action by law enforcement and policymakers will result in outcomes that reduce the risk of external violent victimization to police and protect law enforcement agencies from being delegitimized by the presence of far-right extremists within their ranks.Practical significance: the main provisions and conclusions of the article can be used in scientific, pedagogical and law enforcement activities when considering issues related to the prevention, suppression and investigation of extremist crimes.The article was first published in English language by Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society and The Western Society of Criminology Hosting by Scholastica. For more information please contact: [email protected] original publication: Parkin, W. S., Mills, C. E., Gruenewald, J. (2021). Far-Right Extremism’s Threat to Police Safety and the Organizational Legitimacy of Law Enforcement in the United States, Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 2021, Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 1–24. Publication URL: https://ccjls.scholasticahq.com/article/26321-far-right-extremism-s-threat-to-police-safety-and-the-organizational-legitimacy-of-law-enforcement-in-the-united-states

Allied but Deviating NATO in the Multipolar World

“How long can NATO last in a post-US hegemonic, multipolar world?” has become an important question in contemporary world politics. By statistically analyzing NATO alliance cohesion since its inception, this analysis contributes to the literature by developing an original set of indicators that rely on the ideal point estimates from a recent UN General Assembly voting dataset. It empirically verifies that NATO members have higher cohesion than other UN members, although the United States has been the most significant deviating member since 1980. The findings support some earlier proposals such as the external threat hypothesis. They also contradict some others, notably the literature on the Donald Trump administration’s withdrawal doctrine, and the decline of US hegemony and its policy implications. The article concludes that the future challenge for NATO cohesion not only would be the possibility of US abdication or abandonment, but also other members’ balancing the United States as the hegemon.

Reconstruction of the Motives and Goals of the First Colonizers of Siberia Based on the Materials of the Russian Colonization of the Far East

The article reconstructs individual characteristics of the subjects of the initial colonization of Siberia and the Far East and episodes of their advance to new lands. The main methodological approach of the research is the principle of historicism, as well as the principle of “activity constitutes”, widespread in psychological science, according to which identical activities and external conditions should give rise to similar worldview systems. On the basis of this premise, the possibility of judgments by analogy is substantiated in relation to the motives and goals of the first colonizers of Siberia based on the materials of the development of the Far East by the Russians. On the basis of materials of personal origin, the author examines the strategies of legitimizing individual actions of the pioneers through forcing the factor of external threat, as well as using the idea of “state good”. The colonialists use these arguments as a justification for their own actions in the east. At the same time, the acts of colonization undertaken by them have an adventurous connotation characterized by actions with a pronounced emotional component of the decisions made. The problems of relations with aborigines are considered separately. It is concluded that the idea of “peaceful peasant colonization”, which has a civilizing significance for the local population is untenable, as well as the conventionality of the transition of the aborigines under the authority of the Moscow government, which is fully realized by the pioneers.

EU Public Diplomacy Transformation: From the Crisis of Narrative towards External Threat

he paper deals with the recent transformation of EU public diplomacy. Changes in EU public diplomacy organizational structure are considered as well as programming documents, funding, statements of EU leadership, and expert evaluations. The problem of EU self-representation and positioning has exacerbated after the crisis of 2008. It is concluded that EU public diplomacy is in the midst of significant changes: emphasis on unique, multilateral, and peaceful nature of EU is being sidelined by the issue of external threat and securitization of EU communications. This is being carried out in expectation of consolidation of support for the integration project as well as expanding the authority of EU institutions. It is argued that financing plans for 2021‒2027 period, planning documents of European Commission, and general directorates for the next 5 years map out expansion of external threat messages within EU framework programmes. Implementation of such plans will highly likely lead to increased confrontation between the EU and Russia.

Evaluation of E-Marketing Implementation in Improving Decisions to Use Finance Credit Funds for Suzuki Car Purchases at Pt Suzuki Finance Indonesia Medan Branch

The decision to purchase a product on credit or through financing is one of the marketing strategies to increase product or service sales. Many factors can influence purchasing decisions through financing, especially E-Marketing which includes Product, Price, Promotion, People (Community), Place (Distribution), Branding and Process and Physical Evidence where Branding plays two roles in marketing strategy, especially branding as part of marketing strategy. This research is a survey research with a qualitative descriptive approach which aims to get a descriptive picture of the implementation of E-Marketing by PT Suzuki Finance Indonesia Medan Branch in order to market car products so that car purchases can be further increased. The population in this study were 10 informants which included staff and employees of PT Suzuki Finance Indonesia Medan Branch. The sample selection used purposive sampling method in order to obtain 10 informants. Collecting data using interview and observation methods. Data analysis using SWOT analysis. The results of the study prove that the prioritized strategies in increasing suzuki car purchasing decisions through financing are increasing customer facing resources (providing funds) to respond to increasing market share, overcoming security risks to increase interest in buying suzuki cars, improving relationship marketing management to meet suzuki car needs. The most dominant internal strength factor influencing the strategy to improve suzuki car purchasing decisions is the availability of E-Marketing facilities and a wider market reach. While the most dominant internal weakness factor is the limited internet capabilities of consumers. The most dominant external opportunity factor is the increase in market share and internet technology. External threat factors are the rapid growth of competitors, easy to imitate business strategies, the economic recovery due to COVID-19 and a skewed view of Suzuki cars. It is recommended to PT Suzuki Finance Indonesia Medan Branch to make financing easier, especially in terms of obtaining financing requirements so that the decision to purchase Suzuki cars through financing can be maximized. Keywords: E-Marketing, Purchase Decision, Financing.

Based on the Software Complexity Measurement of Complex Networks under Big Data Technology

With the development of the times, computer technology is booming, so the network is becoming more and more complex, software design is becoming more and more complex, because of the protection against a variety of internal or external risks. The internal risk is that the traffic carried by the system is too large to cause the system to crash or the system to crash caused by the code operation error, and the external threat is that hackers use computer technology to break into the system according to security vulnerabilities, so the purpose of this paper is based on big data technology, the software complexity of complex networks is measured and studied. With the consent of the school, we used the school’s internal network data, and after consulting the literature on the complex construction and analysis of complex networks and software, modeled and analyzed it using the improved particle group algorithm. The experimental results show that there is a certain correlation between complex network and software complexity. Because complex networks determine that software requires complex construction to withstand potential risks to keep the software running properly.

Why Talk Tough? Explaining Japanese Prime Ministers’ Proactiveness in National Defense Rhetoric

What explains variations in the proactiveness of Japanese Prime Ministers (PMs) toward national defense? Although the Japanese Constitution renounces the use of force, leaders sometimes speak assertively over national security. Drawing on competing international relations and Japanese foreign policy theories, this study seeks to quantitatively model and analyze predictors of political rhetoric in PMs’ speeches and statements from 2009 to 2019. Each statement is coded into four sets of binary dependent variables through content analysis and tested against five competing hypotheses. The main finding reveals that leaders become more likely to advocate for specifically assertive national security policy when Chinese vessel intrusion increases, but not when North Korea missile tests and aircraft scrambles increase. Instead of a diversionary use of words, an emboldening effect is evident in rhetoric that evokes responsibility in international defense, moderated by ruling government strength. The findings advance academic understandings of Japanese national security policy messaging and highlight the effect of external threat perception on political rhetoric.

Democracy, external threat, and military spending

A number of studies find that democracies spend less on their military than non-democracies. Yet there are well known counter-examples, including but not limited to the United States and Israel. We contend that these counter-examples are part of a larger pattern. The relationship between regime type and military spending is conditional on external threat. Among countries that do not perceive a significant external threat to their interests, democracies allocate considerably less to the military than non-democracies. However, democracies with a significant external threat do not allocate less to the military than non-democracies. The reason prior research consistently finds that democracies, on average, spend less on the military, even while controlling for external threat, is that democracies are much less likely to have a high external threat. For example, autocracies are nearly twice as likely as democracies to have a significant external threat in our sample. An empirical analysis of military spending from 1952–2000 is consistent with these expectations.

Environmental activists’ hysteresis as a driving force for establishing environmental actions against urban forest privatization in Bandung, Indonesia

Despite the huge and growing environmental movement to protect urban forests in Indonesia, the tensions between environmental activists’ past engagements with nature and the emerging environmental problems are under-studied. The inner contradiction between the intensive nature of the connections and experiences that the actor maintains and the recent external threat to the environment is the key energizer of an environmental movement. Through Pierre Bourdieu’s seminal concept of hysteresis, this article explores how activists’ previous experiences with nature suffer disjuncture caused by the threat of urban forest privatization occurring in their neighborhood. Drawn from in-depth interviews with the co-founders of an environmental movement organization, the activist narratives in this article reveal that the development of their current struggles was driven by feelings of disappointment, anxiety, anger and a fear of losing the urban forest. The urban forest, for them, not only constitutes a physical space, but serves social and spiritual purposes, represents local identity and is the basis for everyday life.