The Image of Women Strike in “Wiadomości” TVP and “Fakty” TVN news services from October 22 until November 2 2020, in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

The article presents an analysis of the contents of news stories broadcasted by the news services of two leading Polish TV stations dedicated to the social protests sparked by the ruling of the Constitutional Tribunal of 22 October 2020 on tightening the law on abortion in Poland. Moreover, a closer look was taken on the frequency and method of connecting the coverage of the protests with the matter of COVID-19 pandemic. The obtained results were set in the context, of the theory of the framing and agenda-setting. The outcome of the analyses presents essential differences in the methods in informing the public of the social protests used by the newsroom of ”Wiadomości” TVP and ”Fakty” TVN.

Teatr a sprawa Boska. Golgota Picnic, Klątwa, O twarzy. Wizerunek Syna Boga – czyli spektakle obrażające uczucia religijne widziane oczami teologa

Social protests connected with the performances of “Golgotha Picnic”, “The Curse” or “On the Concept of the Face Regarding the Son of God” arouses an understandable interest of the theologian in the phenomenon of “slighting of religious feelings” and the reasons why these stage works evoke such reactions. The article presents an analysis of the content of the mentioned above performances in the context of the words of the Bible as well as the teachings of different Christian Churches. It is aimed at finding points (scenes) in which the content presented on the stage is inconsistent with Christian teaching, distorts it or presents it in an ironic way. The article also tries to find potential artistic justifications for such performances. Referring to earlier published artistic reviews, rather than scientific publications, it defines common features that characterize performances that offend religious feelings, but also indicates areas where the situation of slighting of such feelings is not unambiguous. The article does not deny the possibility that someone’s feelings have been touched or slighted by the discussed performances, but it points out the possibility that the offense of religious feelings is more the result of knowledge, motivation or attitude of the audience than from the presented content itself.

Między Marokiem a Algierią

Between Morocco and Algeria: Mauritania and the question of Western Sahara Following the change of government and the election of a new president, Mauritania makes it clear that it hopes to resolve the issue of Western Sahara, which has divided Morocco and Algeria since the mid-1970s and still poses a serious problem to Mauritanian foreign policy. Mauritania in this dispute is between the proverbial rock and a hard place, trying not to come into conflict with any of the powerful neighbors, each of whom aspires to the role of a leader in the region. The conflict also casts a shadow on regional cooperation within the Arab Maghreb Union, which, if it functioned, could greatly help in the economic development of the region, especially important for the economically weakest Mauritania. Over the last few years, Nouakchott has maintained the position of the so-called “positive neutrality” which irritated the authorities in Rabat and created tense political relations with Morocco. The current striving for a more active role in the process of resolving the Western Saharan conflict seems to be largely dictated by the internal situation in Algeria and its troubles related to social protests demanding changes at the top of the government. Algeria has been the greatest ally of the Polisario Front and the Sahrawi cause so far. It is also not without significance that Morocco, after years of absence, returned to the African Union – the move, which definitely strengthened Morocco’s position among the countries of the continent.

Instability will follow presidential run-off in Chile

Significance Gabriel Boric, on the left, and Jose Antonio Kast, on the right, represent very different paths forward as Chile grapples to understand and respond to the wave of social protests that swept the country in late 2019. Impacts After three decades dominating politics, the centre no longer has effective leadership. For either candidate, fiscally unsustainable measures will be an important temptation. The absence of clear majorities in Congress could prompt virtuous agreements or a vicious circle of legislative paralysis.

Analysis of the Political Situation of the Protests: Cuba, between Disenchantment and Deprivation

This article seeks to provide a brief reflection on the causes of the recent social protests in Cuba that took place in July 2021, addressing in a special way the deprivation of services and rights as the main trigger for satiety and claims. As in 1994 protests were marked by the “special period”, in 2021 protests were set by the covid-19 pandemic and the unilateral coercive sanctions of the United States with an impact on three fundamental areas: tourism, remits and fuel supply.

The Radicalization of Young Protesters in Hong Kong: Under the Context of Globalization and Power Relations

This paper takes the social unrest in 2019 as a case study and identifies three factors that contributed to the radicalization of social protests in Hong Kong: globalization, digitalization and the U.S. meddling in Hong Kong affairs. First, with the deepening of globalization, the worsening of social-economic conditions had bred populism among the youth. Second, digital technologies and social media platforms also made it easy for young people in Hong Kong to protest in a more covert and radical way. Third, the U.S. support for the Hong Kong opposition leaders added fuel to the radicalization of youth protesters. All these factors finally led to radicalized social protests in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, following the implementation of the National Security Law in Hong Kong SAR, violent activities were largely stopped and social order was gradually restored.

Objects as battlefields in the struggle for civil rights: The archaeology and analysis of contemporary material culture and heritage in Chile

In October of 2019 began, as a manifestation of growing discontent, in Santiago de Chile a movement of social protests popularly known as “Estallido social”. This movement marched against social inequality and high cost of living, targeting the neoliberal system established during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet as responsible. Although Chile has been a democracy since 1990, inequality and social injustice has perpetuated in democracy. We reflect on the role of the contemporary objects, their contexts and the position of archaeology in revealing current struggle discourse of civil rights, social diversity and social conflicts. Likewise, we analyze the transformation process of cultural heritage meanings through time, observable both in the appropriation of quotidian objects as way as protest as the resignification of the traditional monuments erected in the city.

The Knife Edge Election of 2020: American Politics Between Washington, Kabul, and Weimar

This paper analyzes the 2020 election, focusing on voters, not political money, and emphasizing the importance of economic geography. Drawing extensively on county election returns, it analyzes how spatial factors combined with industrial structures to shape the outcome. It treats COVID 19’s role at length. The paper reviews studies suggesting that COVID 19 did not matter much, but then sets out a new approach indicating it mattered a great deal. The study analyzes the impact on the vote not only of unemployment but differences in income and industry structures, along with demographic factors, including religion, ethnicity, and race. It also studies how the waves of wildcat strikes and social protests that punctuated 2020 affected the vote in specific areas. Trump’s very controversial trade policies and his little discussed farm policies receive detailed attention. The paper concludes with a look at how political money helped make the results of the Congressional election different from the Presidential race. It also highlights the continuing importance of private equity and energy sectors opposed to government action to reverse climate change as conservative forces in (especially) the Republican Party, together with agricultural interests.

Planetary well-being

Tensions between the well-being of present humans, future humans, and nonhuman nature manifest in social protests and political and academic debates over the future of Earth. The increasing consumption of natural resources no longer increases, let alone equalises, human well-being, but has led to the current ecological crisis and harms both human and nonhuman well-being. While the crisis has been acknowledged, the existing conceptual frameworks are in some respects ill-equipped to address the crisis in a way that would link the resolving of the crisis with the pivotal aim of promoting equal well-being. The shortcomings of the existing concepts in this respect relate to anthropocentric normative orientation, methodological individualism that disregards process dynamics and precludes integrating the considerations of human and nonhuman well-being, and the lack of multiscalar considerations of well-being. This work derives and proposes the concept of planetary well-being to address the aforementioned conceptual issues, to recognise the moral considerability of both human and nonhuman well-being, and to promote transdisciplinary, cross-cultural discourse for addressing the crisis and for promoting societal and cultural transformation. Conceptually, planetary well-being shifts focus on well-being from individuals to processes, Earth system and ecosystem processes, that underlie all well-being. Planetary well-being is a state where the integrity of Earth system and ecosystem processes remains unimpaired to a degree that species and populations can persist to the future and organisms have the opportunity to achieve well-being. After grounding and introducing planetary well-being, this work shortly discusses how the concept can be operationalised and reflects upon its potential as a bridging concept between different worldviews.