THE POLITICS OF A LOCAL SUFISM IN CONTEMPORARY INDONESIA

This article discusses the politics of local Sufi group (tarekat) in Indonesia, the Shiddiqiyyah. It addresses the locality of Shiddiqiyah tarekat and its politics during New Order Indonesia and following the fall of the regime. It is argued that the Shiddiqiyah, a local tarekat with its roots in East Java and later successfully welcomes national reputation, is an example of a tarekat that utilizes nationalistic slogan to expand its influence as well as to protect the tarekat from heretic accusation. Through a series of intensive fieldwork, the article argues that the Shiddiqiyyah has successfully maintained ideological patronage to the New Order Indonesia through nationalistic slogan which has been a core value of the group. The doctrine of nationalism has been translated in Sufi and Javanese idioms and become fundamental doctrine of the Shiddiqiyyah.

Swept to the Shores: An Analysis of Crisis Response Strategies by Canadian Political Leaders in the Aylan Kurdi Crisis

Motivation: This MRP explored Stephen Harper and Chris Alexander’s responses to the Aylan Kurdi crisis Canada faced in September 2015. Aylan Kurdi, a three-yearold boy, was found dead and photographed on the Turkish shore, close to where he drowned on September 2, 2015. Tima Kurdi, Aylan Kurdi’s aunt, told the media that the family had been trying to come to Canada through a G5 sponsorship agreement but had been denied entry by the Canadian government. Alexander and the Canadian government were criticized – and a crisis resulted. The crisis was particularly important as it came forward during the 2015 Canadian election, when the Conservative government’s refugee policies gained increasing attention. Arguably, this impacted professional image and reputation, as well as Canada’s national reputation. Purpose: The purpose of this MRP is to identify the types of image repair strategies Chris Alexander and Stephen Harper used to respond to the crisis in terms of both professional and national reputation. Methods: Two video responses were selected for examination; they were representative of Harper’s and Alexander’s initial responses to the Aylan Kurdi Crisis. The videos were chosen based on frequency of words such as: crisis, apologize, tragedy, failure, action, and blame. These words have come up frequently in the literature review conducted for this MRP. A content analysis was conducted for this MRP. Both videos were transcribed and coded to determine the types of crisis response strategies used by these leaders. The strategies examined are categorized into four types: denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness, and mortification. Descriptors for each category (or sub-strategies under each category) included shifting the blame, defeasibility, bolstering, and apology. All 15 descriptors were drawn from the works of Coombs and Benoit (based on Image Repair Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory). To quantify percentages, the entire numbers of crisis responses were divided the number of times a particular crisis response strategy was used. Results: Results indicated that both Harper and Alexander used crisis response strategies of reducing offensiveness, denial, evasion of responsibility, and mortification. Both leaders mainly focused on reducing offensiveness in terms of transcendence, bolstering, corrective action, and performance history. Through an analysis of their responses, it was evident that both leaders addressed Canada’s national reputation. Conclusion: The findings of this MRP present a key area for further exploration in crisis communication: how nations use image repair strategies to restore a tarnished image.

Swept to the Shores: An Analysis of Crisis Response Strategies by Canadian Political Leaders in the Aylan Kurdi Crisis

Motivation: This MRP explored Stephen Harper and Chris Alexander’s responses to the Aylan Kurdi crisis Canada faced in September 2015. Aylan Kurdi, a three-yearold boy, was found dead and photographed on the Turkish shore, close to where he drowned on September 2, 2015. Tima Kurdi, Aylan Kurdi’s aunt, told the media that the family had been trying to come to Canada through a G5 sponsorship agreement but had been denied entry by the Canadian government. Alexander and the Canadian government were criticized – and a crisis resulted. The crisis was particularly important as it came forward during the 2015 Canadian election, when the Conservative government’s refugee policies gained increasing attention. Arguably, this impacted professional image and reputation, as well as Canada’s national reputation. Purpose: The purpose of this MRP is to identify the types of image repair strategies Chris Alexander and Stephen Harper used to respond to the crisis in terms of both professional and national reputation. Methods: Two video responses were selected for examination; they were representative of Harper’s and Alexander’s initial responses to the Aylan Kurdi Crisis. The videos were chosen based on frequency of words such as: crisis, apologize, tragedy, failure, action, and blame. These words have come up frequently in the literature review conducted for this MRP. A content analysis was conducted for this MRP. Both videos were transcribed and coded to determine the types of crisis response strategies used by these leaders. The strategies examined are categorized into four types: denial, evasion of responsibility, reducing offensiveness, and mortification. Descriptors for each category (or sub-strategies under each category) included shifting the blame, defeasibility, bolstering, and apology. All 15 descriptors were drawn from the works of Coombs and Benoit (based on Image Repair Theory and Situational Crisis Communication Theory). To quantify percentages, the entire numbers of crisis responses were divided the number of times a particular crisis response strategy was used. Results: Results indicated that both Harper and Alexander used crisis response strategies of reducing offensiveness, denial, evasion of responsibility, and mortification. Both leaders mainly focused on reducing offensiveness in terms of transcendence, bolstering, corrective action, and performance history. Through an analysis of their responses, it was evident that both leaders addressed Canada’s national reputation. Conclusion: The findings of this MRP present a key area for further exploration in crisis communication: how nations use image repair strategies to restore a tarnished image.

Germany

This chapter tests the book’s premises on a case of mixed-member proportional representation (MMP) representation, using the case of legislative committees in the Bundestag of Germany. Its results cover the two largest parties, the Christian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party. German parties should have a strong tendency to use the expertise model, because the MMP system means that votes cast anywhere in the country are of approximately equal value in maximizing seats. Thus, parties are able to emphasize their national reputation for policy, for which matching the expertise of their personnel to committee function is valuable. The MMP system also creates local single-seat districts in which nearly half of members are elected. Thus, aspects of the electoral–constituency model also should apply, as parties seek to develop connections to constituencies through local and personal vote of their legislators. The results offer strong support for the premises of the theory.

Corruption in Action in an Emerging Democracy: The Case of Socio-Pragmatic Metaphors in Cameroon English Usage

In recent times, the Cameroon society has witnessed a decline in social and moral values, which has greatly influenced people’s use of language. Over the years, English has equally witnessed a degradation of the language to such an extent that one can talk of corrupt language. Corruption is a key subject that has gained the keen attention of political and social scientists as it affects the political, economic, social and cultural life of a society. This paper sets to identify the systems or rules and conventions according to which the language of corruption operates and concerns the semantic description of the typical words and expressions Cameroonians use to denote this practice in contemporary Cameroon. The idea is that the language we use is a reflection of the society in which we live and a representation of the social reality. This investigation aims to identify, collect and analyse specimens of utterances characteristic of corruption vocabulary and to describe this form of language use from a socio-pragmatic perspective. The scope of study is limited to establish a relationship between people, the language and a complex multilingual society as Cameroon. Data was collected from both oral and written sources as a representation of the opinions gathered from a cross section of Cameroonians. The significance of our study lies in the linguistic description of some characteristic of corruption related discourse. Using the participant observation, both spoken and written data were collected from different sources from the vantage point of functional lexicology and cognitive linguistics. A combination of different known theories, notably; the variation theory, speech act theory, lexico-semantics and the Pragmatic theory relevant to describe an utterance as a speech forms capable of a communicative performative action. Findings reveal that corruption is ubiquitous, corrosive and a dishonest deviant behaviour that severely damages personal and national reputation. To counter this, those engaged in the practice use different speech features such as borrowings, coinages, synonyms, clichés, metaphors and euphemisms. Metaphors and euphemisms are indirect ways speakers communicate important information. The language of corruption is strikingly similar in its soothing, euphemistic tone. Inadvertently, as language users have developed myriads of indirect and camouflage ways to refer to corruption, the language of corruption is also developing its own lexicon and linguistic features.

COVID-19 will test brittle South African health system

Significance President Cyril Ramaphosa on March 15 declared a state of national disaster and announced stringent measures to help combat the outbreak. While South Africa is relatively well equipped to manage the early stages of a crisis, a surge in infections could overwhelm the country’s hospitals. Impacts The crisis has enhanced Ramaphosa’s national reputation, giving him respite from internal ANC opposition with a key party meeting postponed. Efforts to combat COVID-19’s spread will further strain already weak public finances, with a ratings agency downgrade looming. The survival of embattled national carrier South African Airways is in further doubt amid global airline upheaval.

THE INSTITUTIONAL PERSONA: WHEN THEATRES BECOME PERSONAS AND THE CASE OF BRISTOL OLD VIC

This article proposes a definition and terminology for identifying and analysing a concept of institutional persona in relation to theatre. The essay posits the theatre institution as an example of a ‘composite persona’, whereby cultural value is produced through the interplay between theatre as building, theatre as organisation, and theatre as event. Using the case-study of Bristol Old Vic, I examine how executives and practitioners involved in a specific historic theatre ensured its post-war survival in the 1940s by connecting the prestigious heritage of a local landmark with the national reputation of two London-based organisations. I suggest that theatre institutions offer a particularly rich investigative ground for the application of persona study theory in their need to mobilise individual and organisational personas for the purposes of reinventing a ‘good story’ and brand over time.