USA in Modern Times: society, State and law. Part 2. 1800-1877 years

The textbook examines the processes of development of American civilization in the XIX century, assesses various aspects of the life and activities of the American state. Special attention is paid to the most important periods, such as "Jeffersonian democracy", "the era of good consent", "Jacksonian democracy", "the brewing of inevitable conflict", the Civil War and Reconstruction. The political activities of American presidents, various parties and movements are analyzed. A separate chapter is devoted to the development of law in the XIX century . It is intended for students of historical faculties studying the academic discipline "History of regions (on the example of the USA)", students of historical and law faculties studying the history of the USA in Modern times, the history of international relations, the development of the state and law of this country, the constitutional law of foreign countries, as well as for students of cultural studies, students of foreign language faculties and anyone interested in the history of the USA.

Intellectual (Neo-) Imperialism: The Examples of “Islam[ism(s)]” and “Jihad[ism(s)]”

In any scientific endeavour, or considered as such, methodology and epistemology are paramount, not to mention ontology: what is the nature of the reality that we are studying? What is the nature of the knowledge that is being produced and its rationality? What are the methods applied to the field of study? However, when it to comes to “Islam”, the “Middle East”, or the “Orient”, the starting points are assumptions and truisms, particularly in “scientific” fields such as Political Science or International Relations, especially when the subject is the relation between politics and religion. In the last few decades, Islam has become a central point of reference for a wide range of political activities, arguments and opposition movements. The term “political Islam”, or “Islamism”, has been adopted by many scholars in order to identify this seemingly unprecedented irruption of Islamic religion into the secular domain of politics and thus to distinguish these practices from the forms of personal piety, belief, and ritual conventionally subsumed in Western scholarship under the unmarked category “Islam”. There have been tremendous, innumerable websites, voluminous publications and many projects on “Islamism(s)” and “Post-Islamism(s)”, the idea that political Islam had failed. However, when reality did not confirm that prediction, a new term was coined: “neo-Islamism”. This paper aims to explore the thesis that, as in other fields, these labels are nothing more than an attempt by Area Studies within Western academia to mould reality according to preconceived ideas and according to policy-oriented circles and funded by governmental organizations, and that, when dealing with “Islam” and “politics”, we are urgently in need of a different epistemology.

Social Media and Youth Political Participation at the Time of Political Polarization: A Study on University Students in Indonesia during the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election

<p>Some studies theorized social media as fostering youth political participation by facilitating the development of online participatory cultures (Jenkins, 2009). Online participatory cultures provide young citizens with opportunities to discuss and gain information about political topics, create capacity for action by promoting digital skills and norms for group interaction, and facilitate recruitment into civic and political life (Kahne et al., 2013). Against the backdrop of this discourse, this research aims to investigate social media and youth political participation in Indonesia’s context. This project’s research questions ask: How politics is experienced by Indonesian youth and how social media is used by them to engage with political activities? To answer those questions, this research conducted a survey (n=265) and interviews (n=29) with students from three universities in Jakarta. This research adopted grounded theory approach in analysing the data. This research revealed that social media in general provides affordances for youth to engage with activities related to political conversation and social-political campaign (as indicated by the findings that social media attracts more numbers of youth participating in these two categories of activity). Thus, this research in part support propositions advocated by the thesis of online participatory cultures that social media facilitates youth political participation. However, under the specific context of ethnic and religious-based political polarization which happened during this research, this research also revealed that the salient form of social media use by youth is in fact monitoring political conversation. This activity is driven by the sense of “kepo” (the drive to asses how others are thinking, feeling, and responding to certain political issues) and has the effect on youth’s fear of social isolation (in the form of fear of breaking relationship with others). Eventually, this activity leads youth to the act of silence (in the form of refraining political expression on social media). In this case, this research (unintentionally) confirm the theory of spiral of silence proposed by Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann (1984). Finally, this research contributes to the academic discourse by providing a critical insight into the way social media could lead its users to the process of spiral of silence i.e. by exacerbating the fear of social isolation obtained from the activity of social surveillance (in the form of monitoring political conversation).</p>

Social Media and Youth Political Participation at the Time of Political Polarization: A Study on University Students in Indonesia during the 2017 Jakarta Gubernatorial Election

<p>Some studies theorized social media as fostering youth political participation by facilitating the development of online participatory cultures (Jenkins, 2009). Online participatory cultures provide young citizens with opportunities to discuss and gain information about political topics, create capacity for action by promoting digital skills and norms for group interaction, and facilitate recruitment into civic and political life (Kahne et al., 2013). Against the backdrop of this discourse, this research aims to investigate social media and youth political participation in Indonesia’s context. This project’s research questions ask: How politics is experienced by Indonesian youth and how social media is used by them to engage with political activities? To answer those questions, this research conducted a survey (n=265) and interviews (n=29) with students from three universities in Jakarta. This research adopted grounded theory approach in analysing the data. This research revealed that social media in general provides affordances for youth to engage with activities related to political conversation and social-political campaign (as indicated by the findings that social media attracts more numbers of youth participating in these two categories of activity). Thus, this research in part support propositions advocated by the thesis of online participatory cultures that social media facilitates youth political participation. However, under the specific context of ethnic and religious-based political polarization which happened during this research, this research also revealed that the salient form of social media use by youth is in fact monitoring political conversation. This activity is driven by the sense of “kepo” (the drive to asses how others are thinking, feeling, and responding to certain political issues) and has the effect on youth’s fear of social isolation (in the form of fear of breaking relationship with others). Eventually, this activity leads youth to the act of silence (in the form of refraining political expression on social media). In this case, this research (unintentionally) confirm the theory of spiral of silence proposed by Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann (1984). Finally, this research contributes to the academic discourse by providing a critical insight into the way social media could lead its users to the process of spiral of silence i.e. by exacerbating the fear of social isolation obtained from the activity of social surveillance (in the form of monitoring political conversation).</p>

The Advocacy Universe: A Methodology to Identify Politically Active 501(C)(4) Organizations

This article provides a framework that defines politically active 501(c)(4)s organizations and describes a methodology for identifying them among more than 80,000 social welfare organizations. We estimate that approximately 15% of (c)(4)s likely pursue advocacy or political action, while most are engaged in unrelated activities. Understanding the distinctive features of the social welfare sector and the politically engaged organizations within it are essential tasks for nonprofit scholars, yet the methodological and empirical challenges are complex and significant. To date, there has been no systematic study of the nature and efficacy of these organizations. We create a multistage methodology that allows researchers to identify politically active (c)(4)s and to investigate subgroups focused on different policy issues and with different member groups. This article summarizes how we identify organizations and strategies needed to reveal whether an organization is engaged in political activities. We explain the approach we took and the challenges we encountered.

Voice and Accountability

The article assesses the importance of citizen engagement in engendering good governance in the health sector. However, citizens need an effective ‘voice' in order to be heard. Thus, the article argues for the need to utilise existing civic organizations like the rural women's associations as platforms of civic engagements. Using Akwa Ibom state as a study location, the article investigated the role of rural women's associations in citizen engagement in the primary health sector. Findings reveal that although rural women's associations are engaged in diverse socio-economic and political activities, they however do not engage in socially accountable activities. Nevertheless, findings further reveal that associations have the potentials of becoming platforms for social accountability if harnessed by development partners. The argument of the study is anchored on the participatory development approach which argues about the need for beneficiaries of development to become active participants in the development process.

Student Acceptance of a Civic Engagement Graduation Requirement in an Urban Community College

Civic engagement is an essential part of a democratic society, though it has recently tended toward adversarial political conflict. Although many college administrators favor encouraging or requiring student civic engagement, little is known about whether students themselves would support this, and how student characteristics are related to acceptance. Past and present civic activities of 2,327 students at a large, very diverse urban community college were surveyed using the newly developed KCC Civic Engagement Scale. Results showed strong agreement that the college had a responsibility to develop civically engaged students, but that the term “civic engagement” is unclear to many. Principal components analysis revealed four distinct factors: general non-political civic engagement, and low-effort, high-effort, and unconventional political activities. Level of student participation in various activities is primarily determined by a student's time availability and secondarily by a complex assortment of personal characteristics, including residency status.

Działania wojenne gen. Żeligowskiego wobec Litwy. Próby rozstrzygnięcia konfliktu przez ligę narodów

The situation after World War I was far from stabilizing, and the area of the Vilnius region became the subject of a conflict that for many years cast a shadow on Polish-Lithuanian relations. One should look at this conflict from the perspective of one hundred years, remembering that it turned into an antagonism so sharp and fierce that it even aroused the amazement of bystanders. The taken up topic has been presented in many aspects: events in August and September 1920 preceding the occupation of Vilnius, the position of General Lucjan Żeligowski to this situation, warfare (called "rebellion"), the establishment of Central Lithuania and an attempt to sanction the situation in the League of Nations forum. This paper is about a military and political activities of occupation of Vilnius and its neighboring areas by the Poland in October 1920. The originator of this undertaking was Józef Piłsudski. He admitted to it after years, exactly on the 24th and 25th of August 1923 during the lectures in the hall of the Grand Theater in Vilnius. Polish-Lithuanian relations in the analyzed years should be considered far from accepted international standards. Both Poles and Lithuanians can be held responsible in point of above facts. Awareness of these events is extremely important for both nations for mutual understanding and agreement.

Development trends of state policy on women in Uzbekistan and its media coverage

The article analyzes the role of women in Uzbekistan in public life, their role in our socio-political life, the attention paid to them today and the coverage of these issues in the media. In addition, the role of women in public administration and their role models for other women in our society, as well as the influence of the media on these issues are covered today. In addition, the state policy on the formation of a woman to further enhance her status in society was considered. At the same time, there is a lack of material in the press on the spiritual image, enlightenment, life and social aspirations and aspirations of women in the system of state power and administration, their attitude to the painful points of society, their human qualities. The issue of women's involvement in "big politics" is also covered mainly during the election campaign, and in many cases, the materials in this area are presented in a formal way. It is advisable to increase the number of materials dedicated to girls who have decided to engage in political activities in the future.