WorldWideScience

Sample records for political economic religious

  1. Political liberalism and religious claims

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    This article gives an overview of 4 important lacunae in political liberalism and identifies, in a preliminary fashion, some trends in the literature that can come in for support in filling these blind spots, which prevent political liberalism from a correct assessment of the diverse nature of religious claims. Political liberalism operates with implicit assumptions about religious actors being either ‘liberal’ or ‘fundamentalist’ and ignores a third, in-between group, namely traditionalist religious actors and their claims. After having explained what makes traditionalist religious actors different from liberal and fundamentalist religious actors, the author develops 4 areas in which political liberalism should be pushed further theoretically in order to correctly theorize the challenge which traditional religious actors pose to liberal democracy. These 4 areas (blind spots) are: (1) the context of translation; (2) the politics of exemptions; (3) the multivocality of theology; and (4) the transnational nature of norm-contestation. PMID:28344375

  2. Spiritual Politics, Political Religion, and Religious Freedom in Burma

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gravers, Mikael

    2013-01-01

    A state of the art artcle on academic work on religion, politics, and religious freedom in Burma......A state of the art artcle on academic work on religion, politics, and religious freedom in Burma...

  3. Beyond Essentialist and Functionalist Analyses of the "Politicisation of Religion": The Evolution of Religious Parties in Political Catholicism and Political Islam

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joerg Baudner

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The debate about “politics and religion” has already rejected essentialist claims of fundamental differences in the impact of religion on politics in different cultures. This article will argue that political Islam in Turkey and political Catholicism in Italy and Germany adopted remarkably similar patterns of cross-class coalitions and policies for a “reconciliation of capitalism and democracy”. First, religious parties developed as mass integration parties which already encompassed cross-class coalitions. Second, in the aftermath of political and economic crises these parties transformed into catch-all parties with a pronounced neo-liberal agenda which was given a religious justification. Third, at the same time these parties continued to sponsor policies and organizations which cushioned and supplemented an uneven economic development. Fourth, the parties kept traditional family policies which helped attracting a significant female electorate. “Organized religion” provided religious parties with a potential electorate, ancillary organizations and ideological concepts; however, their role in this political evolution changed. The conclusion will discuss whether these findings can be generalized.

  4. Sex, secularism and religious influence in US politics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Elizabeth; Jakobsen, Janet R

    2010-01-01

    Through an analysis of alliances between secular and religious actors in US politics and a specific case study on anti-trafficking policy, we show that the intertwining of religion and politics in the US comes from two sources: 1) the secular political and cultural institutions of American public life that have developed historically out of Protestantism, and which predominantly operate by presuming Protestant norms and values; and 2) the direct influence on US politics of religious groups and organisations, particularly in the past quarter-century of lobby groups and political action committees identified with conservative evangelical Christianity. The sources of policies that promote gender and sexual inequality in the US are both secular and religious and we conclude that it is inaccurate to assume that religious influence in politics is necessarily conservative or that more secular politics will necessarily be more progressive than the religious varieties.

  5. Political liberalism and religious claims: Four blind spots.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoeckl, Kristina

    2017-01-01

    This article gives an overview of 4 important lacunae in political liberalism and identifies, in a preliminary fashion, some trends in the literature that can come in for support in filling these blind spots, which prevent political liberalism from a correct assessment of the diverse nature of religious claims. Political liberalism operates with implicit assumptions about religious actors being either 'liberal' or 'fundamentalist' and ignores a third, in-between group, namely traditionalist religious actors and their claims. After having explained what makes traditionalist religious actors different from liberal and fundamentalist religious actors, the author develops 4 areas in which political liberalism should be pushed further theoretically in order to correctly theorize the challenge which traditional religious actors pose to liberal democracy. These 4 areas (blind spots) are: (1) the context of translation; (2) the politics of exemptions; (3) the multivocality of theology; and (4) the transnational nature of norm-contestation.

  6. Religious Education for Political Thinking and Citizenship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papastephanou, Marianna

    2008-01-01

    The curricular accommodation of religious education is almost always dissociated from the latter's political significance and the teaching of religious worldviews is often limited to serving social, (multi)culturalist and epistemological purposes. When RE is made relevant to political identity this occurs strictly within the confines of a liberal…

  7. The political downside of dual identity: group identifications and religious political mobilization of Muslim minorities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinovic, Borja; Verkuyten, Maykel

    2014-12-01

    Research on the political mobilization of ethnic minorities has shown that dual ethno-national identification facilitates involvement in political action on behalf of the ethnic group. This study extends this research by proposing that a dual identity can impede political mobilization on behalf of another relevant in-group--the religious community - especially if this in-group is not accepted by the wider society. Using a sample of 641 Muslims of Turkish origin living in Germany and the Netherlands, dual ethno-national identity (Turkish-German/Turkish-Dutch) was examined in relation to religious Muslim identification and religious political mobilization. Dual identity was expected to be indirectly related to lower mobilization via decreased religious group identification. Further, this mediating process was predicted to be stronger for Turkish Muslims who perceived relatively high religious group discrimination. In both countries we found support for the mediating hypothesis, however, the moderating role of discrimination was confirmed only for the Netherlands. Turkish-Dutch identification was associated with lower support for religious political mobilization because of lower Muslim identification only for Turkish-Dutch participants who perceived high levels of discrimination. These findings indicate that a strong dual (ethno-national) identity can undermine minority members' support for political rights and actions on behalf of a third relevant in-group, and therefore qualify the social psychological benefits of the dual identity model. © 2014 The British Psychological Society.

  8. Political, religious and occupational identities in context: placing identity status paradigm in context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solomontos-Kountouri, Olga; Hurry, Jane

    2008-04-01

    This study critically contrasts global identity with domain-specific identities (political, religious and occupational) and considers context and gender as integral parts of identity. In a cross-sectional survey, 1038 Greek Cypriot adolescents (449 boys and 589 girls, mean age 16.8) from the three different types of secondary schools (state, state technical and private) and from different SES completed part of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status-2 (EOMEIS-2). The macro-context of Greek Cypriot society is used to understand the role of context in adolescents' identities. Results showed that Greek Cypriot young people were not in the same statuses across their global, political, religious and occupational identities. This heterogeneity in the status of global identity and of each identity domain is partially explained by differences in gender, type of school and SES (socio-economic status). The fact that identity status is found to be reactive to context suggests that developmental stage models of identity status should place greater emphasis on context.

  9. RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION AND SOCIAL DISTANCE BETWEEN RELIGIOUS GROUPS IN YOGYAKARTA

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    Cahyo Pamungkas

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper explains how political, religious, and economic changes in Yogyakarta affect the formation of religious identity and social distance between different religious groups. The strengthening of religious identity in this area took place in the period of the Diponegoro War (1825-1830 when religious issues were used in the mobilization against the Dutch colonialist. Then, the spread of Christianity in Java at the end of 19th led to several tensions between missionaries and several Islamic organizations, but never developed into communal violence. In 1930s, the relation between religious groups remain harmonious due to the development of tolerant culture and pluralism. During the 1980s, the use of religious identity grew both in urban and rural areas in line with social processes of modernization. Da’wat activities on Campus (Lembaga Dakwah Kampus plays important roles in promoting religious life in urban areas. The 1998 political reform marked the rise of religious fundamentalist movements that to a certain degree contributes to social distance between religious groups.

  10. Religious and Ethnic Discrimination: Differential Implications for Social Support Engagement, Civic Involvement, and Political Consciousness

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    Renate Ysseldyk

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Social identity threats, depending on the content of the identity targeted, may evoke varying socio-political responses. In this regard, religious discrimination may be especially threatening, challenging both the social group and its belief system, thereby promoting more active collective responses. This research examined how religious and ethnic identification differentially evoked engagement with support resources (ingroup and spiritual, civic involvement (including individual and collective action-taking, and political participation (voting or political consciousness following group-based threats. Study 1 drew from the Canadian Ethnic Diversity Survey (N = 1806. Participants who reported religious discrimination demonstrated greater religious identification, ingroup social engagement, and civic involvement—comparable associations were absent for ethnic discrimination. Study 2 (N = 287 experimentally primed participants to make salient a specific incident of religious or ethnic discrimination. Although ethnic discrimination elicited greater ingroup support-seeking and political consciousness, religious discrimination was perceived as especially harmful and evoked more individual and collective action-taking. Further to this, religious high-identifiers’ responses were mediated by engagement with ingroup or spiritual support in both studies, whereas no mediated relations were evident for ethnic identification. Findings are discussed in terms of distinct socio-political responses to threats targeting identities that are grounded in religious belief systems.

  11. Religious freedom and political correctness in United Europe.

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    Ks. Artur Aleksiejuk

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available We live in times that are particularly sensitive to issues such as freedom and are differentiated by strong aspirations for personal and societal freedom. One speaks of political-societal freedom, freedom of religion, artistic freedom and freedom to choose one’s own lifestyle. It would be possible to make a long list of the various kinds or manifestations of freedom, which modern individuals indentify in their lives. My essay considers the ways the law functions in regards to religious freedom in the context of the currently prevailing and implemented political visions in United Europe. Strictly speaking, this paper concerns the definition of place, which was assigned for religious convictions of citizens of the European Union and their role in shaping their personal and societal lives.

  12. On Welfare and Terror: Social Welfare Policies and Political-Economic Roots of Terrorism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burgoon, Brian

    2006-01-01

    This article argues that social welfare policies may reduce international and domestic terrorism. Social policies likely affect terrorism in offsetting ways but, on balance, should diminish preferences for terrorism by reducing economic insecurity, inequality, poverty, and religious-political extremism. Thus, countries with more generous welfare…

  13. The relationship between change and religious movements

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    Kirsti Suolinna

    1976-01-01

    Full Text Available Change constitutes different things for the groups, as the position of one group may improve, but that of another deteriorate. Social change is a consequence of how the different groups act, and their actions again depend on their social and economic interests. In other words, there are groups in society (social classes, professional groups, the agrarian population, industrial workers, which come more or less openly in conflict with each other when looking after their interests. Thus this way of thinking is based on a conflict model. One sees social change as a consequence of people trying to protect their social and economic interests. Viewed this way even religious organizations and movements are involved in protecting the interests of social groups. However, the interesting point in this connection is that religious movements differ from political movements and groups, as the religious movements express the social interests of a group more indirectly than the political movements. The religious movements gather people from similar living conditions, and so to speak, prepare them for political work. They defend and justify the way of living of a group, and thus give ideological material for political groupings. They may also form coalitions with political groups and parties. The author analyzes Laestadianism from this point of view. Before going into the connection between religious dynamics and social change it is necessary to present a few general features of Laestadianism as a religious movement of the peasant population.

  14. Explaining Why More Americans Have No Religious Preference: Political Backlash and Generational Succession, 1987-2012

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    Michael Hout

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Twenty percent of American adults claimed no religious preference in 2012, compared to 7 percent twenty-five years earlier. Previous research identified a political backlash against the religious right and generational change as major factors in explaining the trend. That research found that religious beliefs had not changed, ruling out secularization as a cause. In this paper we employ new data and more powerful analytical tools to: (1 update the time series, (2 present further evidence of correlations between political backlash, generational succession, and religious identification, (3 show how valuing personal autonomy generally and autonomy in the sphere of sex and drugs specifically explain generational differences, and (4 use GSS panel data to show that the causal direction in the rise of the “Nones” likely runs from political identity as a liberal or conservative to religious identity, reversing a long-standing convention in social science research. Our new analysis joins the threads of earlier explanations into a general account of how political conflict over cultural issues spurred an increase in non-affiliation.

  15. Political Reform, Socio-Religious Change, and Stability in the African Sahel

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-12-08

    research project This project proposed to analyze the socio- political factors affecting stability and instability in a set of six African countries...AFRL-AFOSR-VA-TR-2016-0360 Political Reform, Socio-Religious Change, and Stability in the African Sahel Leonard Villalon UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA...STATEMENT DISTRIBUTION A: Distribution approved for public release. 13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES 14. ABSTRACT 15. SUBJECT TERMS Political stability

  16. Religious and political leadership in Brazil at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries – the case of Father Cícero

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    Renata Agnieszka Siuda-Ambroziak

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Brazil is a very interesting place for academic research regarding religious and political leadership. It does not happen only due to the continuous supply of religious leaders, but also owing to their social and political influence. One of good examples of such leaders at the turn of the XIX and XX centuries is certainly Father Cicero, who, in spite of the problems connected with the disapproval of his activity on the part of the Vatican, is still regarded as a perfect example of both an outstanding politician and a non-canonized popular saint with the place of his earthly religious and political activity turned long ago into destination of pilgrimages and important popular religiosity shrines. Using the biographical method and coming out of the Weberian concepts of charismatic leadership, the author tries to explain the reasons behind his tremendous popularity and a conflict with the Catholic hierarchy, as well as to comment on the background of his cult in the context of social, economic and political changes taking place in Brazil during his lifetime.

  17. The philosophy and method of integrative humanism and religious ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper titled “Philosophy and Method of Integrative Humanism and Religious Crises in Nigeria: Picking the Essentials”, acknowledges the damaging effects of religious bigotry, fanaticism and creed differences on the social, political and economic development of the country. The need for the cessation of religious ...

  18. Political mobilization of Dutch Muslims : religious identity salience, goal framing and normative constraints

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Phalet, Karen; Baysu, Gülseli

    2010-01-01

    This article addresses the question of when and for what purpose Muslims will act collectively in the political arena. The impact of religious identity salience, goal framing, and normative constraints on political mobilization was examined in two Muslim communities with different group positions in

  19. Political Islam and Religious Violence in Post-New Order Indonesia

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    Abdil Mughis Mudhoffir

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper tries to understand why religious violence increasingly occurs in post-New Order Indonesia. There are two dominant views in understanding this. First, the security approach that perceives the violence as a result of the emergent of “radical” agent of political Islam in the more open political space. In this regard, the state is considered weak because the iron hand as used by the authoritarian regime in the past New Orderhas disappeared. Thus, the strong security instruments are needed as a solution, such as the law on anti-terrorism and the police force of anti-terrorism (Densus 88. Second, the cultural approach views violence as caused by the inability of society to build the religious tolerance. Society is considered weak. Religious expression in the political arena is believedas the source of the emergent of intolerant acts. To conquer this, intensive inter-religious dialogues are required. The author argues that those two approaches are not adequate. The historical fact shows that the emergence of political Islam today is the result of the oscillated relationship between Islam and the authoritarian state during the New Order period. In addition, the Indonesian historical experience also clearly illustrates that the presence of political Islam is nothing but a form of response to the critical social-politicaleconomic situation. Political Islam does not appear in a vacuum, but it emerges from the crisis where another populist response from the left is absent.Tulisan ini berupaya memahami mengapa kekerasan agama meningkat di Indonesia pasca Orde Baru. Selama ini, ada dua pandangan dominan dalam memahami persoalan di atas. Pertama, pendekatan keamanan yang memandang kekerasan agama sebagai hasil dari munculnya agen Islam politik yang radikal dalam arena politik yang semakin terbuka. Dalam konteks ini, negara dianggap lemah karena kehilangan tangan besinya seperti yang sebelumnya digunakan oleh rezim otoriter

  20. Religious identification and politicization in the face of discrimination: support for political Islam and political action among the Turkish and Moroccan second generation in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleischmann, Fenella; Phalet, Karen; Klein, Olivier

    2011-12-01

    Taking an approach from religion as a social identity and using large-scale comparative surveys in five European cities, we investigate when and how perceived discrimination is associated with religious identification and politicization among the second generation of Turkish and Moroccan Muslims. We distinguish support for political Islam from political action as distinct forms of politicization. In addition, we test the mediating role of religious identification in processes of politicization. Study 1 estimates multi-group structural equation models of support for political Islam in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. In line with a social identity model of politicization and across nine inter-group contexts, Muslims who perceived more discrimination identified (even) more strongly as Muslims; and high Muslim identifiers were most ready to support political Islam. In support of a competing social stigma hypothesis, however, negative direct and total effects of perceived discrimination suggest predominant depoliticization. Using separate sub-samples across four inter-group contexts in Belgium, Study 2 adds political action tendencies as a distinct form of politicization. Whereas religious identification positively predicts both forms of politicization, perceived discrimination has differential effects: Muslims who perceived more discrimination were more weary of supporting political Islam, yet more ready to engage in political action to defend Islamic values. Taken together, the studies reveal that some Muslim citizens will politicize and others will depoliticize in the face of discrimination as a function of their religious identification and of prevailing forms of politicization. ©2011 The British Psychological Society.

  1. Cyclical Evolution of Nursing Education and Profession in Iran: Religious, Cultural, and Political Influences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mura, Pari; Mura, Aubin

    1995-01-01

    Nursing education in Iran has been influenced by cycles of religious and political change, including fluctuations in women's status, the modernization attempts of the Pahlavi Dynasty, and the shift from secular science-based education and health care back to a system based on religious and cultural principles in the Islamic Republic of Iran. (SK)

  2. Komodifikasi Upacara Religi Dalam Pemasaran Pariwisata

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    Dhyah Ayu Retno Widyastuti

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Development of tourism program is basically done as an effort to support income sources. Policy of tourism is a key factor in its. Facts showed that the policy has not been fully align ed to the local societies. Commodification of religious ceremony is a form of marketing process undertaken to attract tourists. Critical theory approach is used which the implications can be explored through the political economy perspective in the case studies. The results showed that policies of tourism lead to economic political activities in the form of commodification of religious ceremony. Hindu’s communities as an “object” of tourism policy implementation.

  3. ECONOMIC, POLITICAL, AND CIVIL SOCIETIES AT PEMUTERAN VILLAGE, BALI IN COASTAL AND MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL PRESERVATION

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    I Wayan Mudana

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available This study was focused on questions (1 what factors caused the economic, political, and civil societies to invest their social capital in the preservation of marine and coastal environments at Pemuteran Village? (2 What was the social capital invested by the economic, political, and civil societies in the preservation of coastal and marine environments at Pemuteran Village like? (3 What was done to discipline the maintenance of the social capital invested in the preservation of the coastal and marine environments at Pemuteran Village? Some critical theories were used to analyze the answers to the problems. Qualitative research method with the approach of cultural studies was employed in this study. The data were collected through observation, in-depth interview, and library research. The data were qualitatively and descriptively analyzed. The result of the study showed that the cooperation among the economic, political, and civil societies to invest their social capital in the preservation of the marine and coastal environments at Pemuteran Village was based on the awareness of the condition of the natural environment, ecological smartness, meaningfulness which was economic, political, sociological, and socio-religious in nature, and developmental policy. The social capital invested by the economic, political and civil societies was in the forms of the ideologies of tri hita karana, nyegara-gunung, menyama braya, kinship system, neighborhood relation, traditional village, and administrative village. It was maintained through cultural socialization process, and physical and spiritual disciplining process.

  4. From Religious Diversity to Political Competition: The Differentiation Process of Pentecostalism in Brazil

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    Alberto da Silva Moreira

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The growing religious diversity in Brazil has more to do with a differentiation process within Pentecostalism itself than with the presence of very diverse religious groups. Starting with the analysis of such differentiation process, the article aims to discuss the need of terminological improvement and eventually the necessity of Keynesian rules adopted by the State to regulate ultraliberal religious markets. In unequal societies and religious markets such as those in Brazil, Pentecostal leaders’ greedy attitudes regarding their own adherents and aggressive intolerance against other religions’ followers are coherent with a functionalist religious market conception. In this view, highly aggressive strategies of some Pentecostal churches vis-à-vis other adversaries are seen as belonging to the normal functioning of a (neo-liberal self-regulated social subsystem. Therefore, reflections on religious diversity inspired on a market model assume neoliberal macro conditions (total deregulation and free competition as granted or desirable. Religious diversity would appear as the “natural” consequence of religious competition. However, put in Beckford’s terms, how can religious pluralism be achieved under terrible conditions of religious diversity? Intolerant attitudes of neo-Pentecostal leaders undermine the very bases of democracy and put the discussion on religious diversity and pluralism under new theoretical and political exigencies.

  5. The psychological advantage of unfalsifiability: the appeal of untestable religious and political ideologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friesen, Justin P; Campbell, Troy H; Kay, Aaron C

    2015-03-01

    We propose that people may gain certain "offensive" and "defensive" advantages for their cherished belief systems (e.g., religious and political views) by including aspects of unfalsifiability in those belief systems, such that some aspects of the beliefs cannot be tested empirically and conclusively refuted. This may seem peculiar, irrational, or at least undesirable to many people because it is assumed that the primary purpose of a belief is to know objective truth. However, past research suggests that accuracy is only one psychological motivation among many, and falsifiability or testability may be less important when the purpose of a belief serves other psychological motives (e.g., to maintain one's worldviews, serve an identity). In Experiments 1 and 2 we demonstrate the "offensive" function of unfalsifiability: that it allows religious adherents to hold their beliefs with more conviction and political partisans to polarize and criticize their opponents more extremely. Next we demonstrate unfalsifiability's "defensive" function: When facts threaten their worldviews, religious participants frame specific reasons for their beliefs in more unfalsifiable terms (Experiment 3) and political partisans construe political issues as more unfalsifiable ("moral opinion") instead of falsifiable ("a matter of facts"; Experiment 4). We conclude by discussing how in a world where beliefs and ideas are becoming more easily testable by data, unfalsifiability might be an attractive aspect to include in one's belief systems, and how unfalsifiability may contribute to polarization, intractability, and the marginalization of science in public discourse. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved.

  6. When ingroups aren't "In": perceived political belief similarity moderates religious ingroup favoritism.

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    Carlee Beth Hawkins

    Full Text Available Motivated thinking leads people to perceive similarity between the self and ingroups, but under some conditions, people may recognize that personal beliefs are misaligned with the beliefs of ingroups. In two focal experiments and two replications, we find evidence that perceived belief similarity moderates ingroup favoritism. As part of a charity donation task, participants donated money to a community charity or a religious charity. Compared to non-religious people, Christians favored religious charities, but within Christians, conservative Christians favored religious charities more than liberal Christians did. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the perceived political beliefs of the charity accounted for the differences in ingroup favoritism between liberal and conservative Christians. While reporting little awareness of the influence of ideology, Christian conservatives favored religious charities because they perceived them as conservative and liberal Christians favored the community charity because they perceived it as liberal.

  7. AHP 21: Tibetans and Muslims in Northwest China: Economic and Political Aspects of a Complex Relationship

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    Bianca Horlemann

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In the past and today, Tibetan-Muslim relations in Qinghai and Gansu are often associated with violent conflicts sparked by religious differences or 'interethnic hatred'. A more nuanced study of the history of Tibetan-Muslim relations, however, reveals complexity as well as considerable local difference with regard to how and when contacts were established, maintained, and broken off. Tibetan Muslim encounters were manifold and varied, including interethnic marriages, close business relations, political alliances, and armed conflicts. To illustrate this wide range of encounters, examples chosen for this paper, i.e., the relations between Amdo Tibetans and the Muslim Baoan nationality, the Muslim Ma warlords, and the Chinese xiejia institution, span different eras and localities. This study suggests that Tibetan-Muslim relations were predominantly shaped by socio-economic and political factors rather than by religious differences or 'interethnic hatred' as is often assumed.

  8. Legal Aspects of the Financing of Religious Groups in Spain

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    ÓSCAR CELADOR ANGÓN

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Spanish public polices in the financing of churches and religious organizations. According to this approach, and taking in account that the Spanish legal frame lack of a common regulation for all religious groups, this paper aims to provide analysis of the following issues: the constitutional principles of the Spanish political system relevant to the religious freedom, the cooperation agreements between the State and the religious groups, and the economic and fiscal regime of the Catholic Church and the religious minorities.

  9. Political institutions as substitute for democracy: a political economy analysis of economic growth

    OpenAIRE

    Pereira, Carlos; Teles, Vladimir Kühl

    2009-01-01

    This manuscript empirically assesses the effects of political institutions on economic growth. It analyzes how political institutions affect economic growth in different stages of democratization and economic development by means of dynamic panel estimation with interaction terms. The new empirical results obtained show that political institutions work as a substitute for democracy promoting economic growth. In other words, political institutions are important for increasing economic growth, ...

  10. RELIGIOUS DEMOCRATIZATION IN INDONESIA: STRENGTHENING THE PRO-CEDURAL AND SUBSTANTIAL RELIGIOUS DEMOCRACY

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    Eka Hendry AR.

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Inspired by the book of Michael Mann about the dark side of democracy that discusses the paradox between the ideality of democratic values and empirical realities of violence in the name of freedom (democracy, this paper begins with the exposure of the paradox, such as the rise of the violent conflict between groups of people (both ethnic and religious-based and the high prevalence of violence between religious groups in Indonesia. Even worse, a very wrenching violence involves state actors (rulers. This paper tries to understand the roots of the paradox, with a look at how the relationship between state and religion and the religious community trend of Indonesia (especially Muslims. The author argues that the democratization of religion is a solution to the issues. To answer what kind of religious democracy lives in Indonesia, the author analyzes through a religious procedural (or constitutional democratic dimension and religious substantial democratic dimension. The phenomenon of disobedience of law and system and the euphoria of law-making that reflects “intolerance” in several places in Indonesia display the fundamental issue in the religious procedural democracy. Whereas in the context of religious substantial democracy, the prevailing trend of religion that serves as a political and economic vehicle and ignores religion as a substantial aspect of the behavior of the Indonesian society has resulted in the marginalization of religious position and function. Then, the infiltration of the model of political Islam has also led to alienation of the character of the Islamic society of Indonesia, from a democratic pattern to a revival (radical one. In this light, the author needs to present a strategy to encourage religious democracy in Indonesia, structurally through formulating the ideal relation model between state and religion and culturally through a substantial pattern of religion embedded with the character of Indonesian religious

  11. Economic Integration and Political Disintegration

    OpenAIRE

    Alberto Alesina; Enrico Spolaore; Romain Wacziarg

    1997-01-01

    Trade liberalization and political separatism go hand in hand. In a world of trade restrictions, large countries enjoy economic benefits because political boundaries determine the size of the market. In a world of free trade and global markets even relatively small cultural, linguistic or ethnic groups can benefit from forming small and homogeneous political jurisdictions that trade peacefully and are economically integrated with others. This paper provides a formal model of the relationship ...

  12. SOUTHEAST ASIA: HISTORY, MODERNITY, AND RELIGIOUS CHANGE

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    Sumanto Al Qurtuby

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia, with more than six hundred million populations, is home to millions of Buddhists, Muslims, Confucians, Protestants, Catholics, and now Pentecostals, as well as many followers of local religions and spiritual beliefs. Notwithstanding its great historical, political, cultural legacies, however, the region has long been neglected as a site for religious studies in the Western academia. Aiming at filling the gap in Asian and religious studies as well as exploring the richness of Southeast Asian cultures, this article discusses the dynamics, diversity, and complexity of Southeast Asian societies in their response to the region’s richly political, cultural, and religious traditions spanning from pre-modern era to modern one. The article also examines the “integrative revolutions” that shaped and reshaped warfare, state organization and economics of Southeast Asia, particularly in the pre-European colonial era. In addition, the work discusses the wave of Islamization, particularly since the nineteenth century, as well as the upsurge of religious resurgence that shift the nature of religiosity and the formation of religious groupings in the area. The advent of Islam, with some interventions of political regimes, had been an important cause for the decline of Hindu-Buddhist traditions in some areas of Southeast Asia, especially Indonesia, the coming of Pentecostalism has challenged the well-established mainstream Protestantism and Catholicism, especially in Indonesia and the Philippines. Keywords: history, modernity, religious change, Southeast Asia

  13. Old and New Criteria for the Governance of Political and Economic Structures on the Basis of the Bible and the Quran

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    Varga Norbert

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study presents a sociological analysis of the Holy Books of two world religions (the Bible and the Quran since, according to prognoses and risk analyses, a political, economic, cultural, and religious confrontation between the world religions will be unavoidable. Special economic and political aspects also contribute to the up-to-datedness of the topic in the democratic world; in fact: the economic crisis at the beginning of the 21st century, the difficulties of managing the crisis with traditional micro- and macroeconomic tools as well as the Europe-wide issue of migration processes. These challenges have directed our attention to alternative economic solutions and policy options, including theories on ethical basis. Modern academic discourse has recently started to direct research at leadership skills as acknowledged forms of talent. The priority of moral talent is never disputed in the Bible and the Quran, more so by certain leaders holding political or economic positions.

  14. National Integration, Citizenship, Political Participation

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    USER

    attainment of a successful democratization process and national stability. ... insecurity, sectarian violence, ethnic strifes, political instability and threats of .... of nation-states out of disparate socio-economic, religious, ethnic and geographical.

  15. When Ingroups Aren’t “In”: Perceived Political Belief Similarity Moderates Religious Ingroup Favoritism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hawkins, Carlee Beth; Nosek, Brian A.

    2012-01-01

    Motivated thinking leads people to perceive similarity between the self and ingroups, but under some conditions, people may recognize that personal beliefs are misaligned with the beliefs of ingroups. In two focal experiments and two replications, we find evidence that perceived belief similarity moderates ingroup favoritism. As part of a charity donation task, participants donated money to a community charity or a religious charity. Compared to non-religious people, Christians favored religious charities, but within Christians, conservative Christians favored religious charities more than liberal Christians did. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the perceived political beliefs of the charity accounted for the differences in ingroup favoritism between liberal and conservative Christians. While reporting little awareness of the influence of ideology, Christian conservatives favored religious charities because they perceived them as conservative and liberal Christians favored the community charity because they perceived it as liberal. PMID:23251406

  16. Religious and Political Conservatism and Beliefs About Same-Sex Parenting in Portugal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pedro Alexandre Costa

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available AimDuring the last decade, there have been political changes regarding the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT individuals in Portugal, such as the right to marry. However, parenting by same-sex couples is not legally allowed. The purpose of this study was to assess Portuguese heterosexuals’ beliefs about same-sex parenting, and the role of religious and political conservatism in shaping these beliefs.MethodA total of 993 participants, aged between 18 and 69 years (M = 34; SD = 11, responded to one of three questionnaires that included a case vignette depicting a different-sex, a female same-sex, or a male same-sex couple wishing to adopt a child. Participants were then asked to evaluate whether the couple would be suitable to adopt a child, and whether they anticipated any social and emotional problems with the child.ResultsParticipants consistently anticipated more children’s social and emotional problems if they were adopted by a same-sex couple. Men evaluated same-sex couples less favourably than women, and even less so the male same-sex couple.ConclusionIt was found that both religious conservatism and right-wing political leaning were associated with more sexual prejudicial beliefs regarding same-sex couples.

  17. The Economics and Sociology of Religious Giving: Instrumental Rationality or Communal Bonding?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peifer, Jared L.

    2010-01-01

    Religious individuals commonly make sizable monetary sacrifices by contributing to their congregations. This social action resides in the overlap of religious and economic realms of behavior, creating a certain tension. Following a Weberian approach to social inquiry, I treat religious giving as social action whereby individuals direct their…

  18. Religious Identification and Modes of Civic and Political Participation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rezaei, Shahamak; Goli, Marco; Møballe, Svend

    are represented in public debate. It appears that the most politically active immigrants at the local and national levels and in the media are individuals who focus on issues related to Islam, or are considered to have Islamic affiliations. Danish policy of contradiction (that is formal openness and substantial....... For instance, not only was there a remarkable cut down in the number of immigrants entering the country, but there was also a decline in supporting immigrant population’s participation in civic areas. It seems that the scope, the content and the intensity of the debate, as well as the overall discursive...... and public debate, provide the religious and ethnic identification and participation with an attractive mode of civic and political participation among immigrants; whether these are newcomers or ‘old’ immigrants. There exists a rather substantial variation in the extent to which immigrant groups...

  19. Religião, política e cultura Religion, politics and culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanildo A. Burity

    2008-11-01

    Full Text Available Este artigo se propõe a ser uma metareflexão sobre a construção de uma interrogação quanto ao vínculo entre religião e política na contemporaneidade. O que vemos entre religião e política na contemporaneidade? Como nos posicionamos - para ver e em face de que vemos? Que lugar é esse do/no qual vemos? Essas questões são formuladas ao longo do texto, a partir do que seria o cenário perceptível das relações entre religião e política: a no plano da cultura e do cotidiano, da esfera pública e da política, os atores religiosos se movimentam e trazem a público sua linguagem, ethos, demandas, nas mais diversas direções; b isso ora contribui para caracterizar formas pluralistas e dialógicas, ora aponta para o estreitamento dos canais de comunicação e para a escalada da violência e da intolerância; c articulando ou deixando-se cruzar por questões de identificação nacional/étnica/racial/de gênero/de classe/etária e reivindicações políticas, tais processos geram "reconhecimentos", "valorizações" e "diálogos" entre atores laicos e religiosos. O cenário suscita reposicionamentos temáticos e teóricos dos cientistas sociais, que são identificados e discutidos no texto.This article is offered as a meta-reflection on the links between religion and politics in the contemporary world. What do we see? How do we position ourselves - both in order to see and in response to what we see? What is this place in/from which we see? These questions are posed over the course of the text, which pursues the following hypotheses: a at the level of culture and everyday life, the public sphere and politics, religious actors circulate and publicly express their language, ethos and demands, with a variety of implications; b this either contributes to the emergence of pluralistic and dialogic forms, or indicates a narrowing of the communication channels and the escalation of violence and intolerance; c processes of 'recognition

  20. Politics of Meaning in Mathematics Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skovsmose, Ole

    2016-01-01

    By a politics of meaning I refer to the social, economic, cultural and religious conditions for experiencing meaning. I refer as well to the layers of visons, assumptions, presumptions and preconceptions that might construct something as being meaningful. By addressing different politics of meani...... of such factors. Politics of meaning can be analysed with reference to sexism, racism, instrumentalism, the school mathematics tradition, critical mathematics education, and the banality of expertise....

  1. The effects of name and religious priming on ratings of a well-known political figure, President Barack Obama.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Gary A; Guichard, AnaMarie C; An, JungHa

    2017-01-01

    Priming with race-typed names and religious concepts have been shown to activate stereotypes and increase prejudice towards out-groups. We examined the effects of name and religious word priming on views of a specific and well-known person, President Barack Obama. We predicted that politically conservative participants primed with President Obama's middle name (Hussein) would rate him more negatively and be more likely to view him as a Muslim than those not shown his middle name. We also examined whether conservatives primed with concrete religious words would rate President Obama more negatively and be more likely to view him as Muslim than those primed with other word types. Furthermore, we predicted that those who mis-identify President Obama as Muslim would rate him more negatively than would those who view him as Christian. The results provided mixed support for these hypotheses. Conservatives primed with President Obama's middle name rated him significantly more negatively than did those in the control condition. This effect was not found for politically liberal or moderate participants. Name priming did not significantly affect views of President Obama's religious affiliation. Although not statistically significant, conservatives primed with abstract religious words tended to rate President Obama more negatively than did those primed with other word types. Religious word priming significantly influenced views of President Obama's religious affiliation; interestingly, participants primed with abstract religious words were more likely to think President Obama is Muslim than were those primed with religious agent or non-religious words. As predicted, participants who thought president Obama was Muslim rated him significantly more negatively than did those who thought he was Christian. Overall, our results provide some evidence that ethnic name and religious word priming can significantly influence opinions, even with a well-known and specific person.

  2. Economic Growth as a Factor of Political Stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Анна Олеговна Ярославцева

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes actual problems of the impact of economic growth on the political stability of different state. The author shows that despite the undoubted correlation of the level of economic development and political stability, economic growth by itself is not a panacea for destabilization risks because of the effects of inflated expectations and transformations of social consciousness. The author argues that the impact of economic growth on political stability is largely ambivalent. On the basis of “Tocqueville's law” and the range of theories of “relative deprivation”, the author makes a conclusion about the principal limitations of predictive and interpretive capabilities of economic indicators (primarily economic growth for the analysis of political stability.

  3. Recent Economic Perspectives on Political Economy, Part II*

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewan, Torun; Shepsle, Kenneth A.

    2013-01-01

    In recent years some of the best theoretical work on the political economy of political institutions and processes has begun surfacing outside the political science mainstream in high quality economics journals. This two-part paper surveys these contributions from a recent five-year period. In Part I, the focus is on elections, voting and information aggregation, followed by treatments of parties, candidates, and coalitions. In Part II, papers on economic performance and redistribution, constitutional design, and incentives, institutions, and the quality of political elites are discussed. Part II concludes with a discussion of the methodological bases common to economics and political science, the way economists have used political science research, and some new themes and arbitrage opportunities. PMID:23606754

  4. Economic and Other Determinants of Political Trust

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    William R. DiPietro

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Political trust is important for the effective functioning of government. This paper uses cross country regression analysis to see whether three different measures of economic performance matter for political trust. The results lend support to the hypothesis that political trust is influenced by economic growth, the standard of living, and the appropriate use of government spending. In addition, the paper considers two institutional variables, perceived independence of the judiciary and the degree of democracy to assess their effect on political trust. It finds that perceived judicial independence has a positive effect on political trust, but democracy has a negative effect.

  5. Catachresis in Côte d’Ivoire: Female Genital Power in Religious Ritual and Political Resistance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura S. Grillo

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Ivoirian women vehemently protest the violence and calamity of civil war by deploying an embodied rhetoric of ritual, appealing to the traditional religious concept of “Female Genital Power”. I propose that their imagistic resistance to the postcolonial state represents a catachresis, with a few interesting twists. Most salient is that what women reinscribe onto the political scene is not as a feature of the imperial culture but the concept-metaphors of indigenous religion, and especially the image of Woman as the source of moral and spiritual power from which proceeds all political, religious, and juridical authority. Whereas the logocentrism of the academy, and postcolonial theory in particular, leads to aporia, ritual remands scholars into the situation of the actual world, where women are actively engaged in self-representation that both defies projected depictions of them and rejects their absence from state conceptions of power.

  6. IMPACT OF CIVILIZATIONAL SPECIFICS OF THE BIGGEST COUNTRIES ON THEIR SOCIAL, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. I. Lunev

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to civilizational factors of the largest Asian states, which attract much academic attention around the world, India and China, and the infl uence of these factors and their peculiarities on social, political and economic development. The article is prepared as a discussion of two books prepared by the Institute of World Economy and International Relations of the Russian Academy of Sciences: “Indian Civilization in the Globalizing World” and “Chinese Civilization in the Globalizing World”. The authors rely on comparative method to analyze civilizational codes of India and China, to define key peculiarities of cultural and political development of the both states, to speculate on their historical paths, political systems, religious and ideological factors in the context of civilizational codes. Moreover, the article discusses international environment and the level and trends of economic development. The authors draw a number of conclusion about similarities and differences in two ancient civilizations, as well as their modernization patterns.

  7. The politics and anti-politics of social movements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Burchardt, Marian; Patterson, Amy S.; Mubanda Rasmussen, Louise

    2013-01-01

    's poverty. Religious HIV/AIDS activities must be analysed in a conceptual space between a civil society/politics approach and a service-provider/anti-politics framework. That is, religious mobilisation may at times seek to engage the public realm to shape policies, while at other times it may shun politics...

  8. Religious Soft Power as Accountability Mechanism for Power in World Politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sherrie Steiner

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available This case study of the InterFaith Leaders’ Summit(s from 2005 to 2010 expands the concept of “soft power” as an accountability mechanism to include religious soft power. This article explores the theoretical validity of a Faith-Based Accountability Mechanism (FAM as a macro-level explanatory unit. The interfaith leaders exercise public reputational and peer accountability among their constituents in relation to the G8/G20 leaders. The theoretical validity of the dialogue process is not contingent on political leader responsiveness but is ascertained using a complex theoretical standard for assessing the legitimacy of global governance institutions against which observations are then gauged. The InterFaith Dialogue Mechanism is a specific illustration of a FAM that shows increasing compliance with the complex standard between 2005 and 2010. The Dialogue Mechanism FAM is a form of religious soft power that combines soft institution with soft technique. The next stage in the research is to identify specific characteristics of the FAM ideal type.

  9. Political Instability and Economic Growth

    OpenAIRE

    Alberto Alesina; Sule Ozler; Nouriel Roubini; Phillip Swagel

    1992-01-01

    This paper investigates the relationship between political instability and per capita GDP growth in a sample of 113 countries for the period 1950-1982. We define ?political instability? as the propensity of a government collapse, and we estimate a model in which political instability and economic growth are jointly determined. The main result of this paper is that in countries and time periods with a high propensity of government collapse, growth is significantly lower than otherwise. This ef...

  10. Paths of Research in Religion and Politics: An Introduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberta Giorgi

    2014-03-01

    organizations (both movements and parties and political mobilizations, and analysing the religious factor neither as a mere effect of conflicts driven by non-religious factors, such as economic or utilitarian motives, nor as essentialist phenomena driven by non-rational logics of action.

  11. Understading neoliberal politics by the mediation of institutional economics

    OpenAIRE

    Akansel, İlkben

    2014-01-01

    Neoliberalism, which cannot be described by a certain rule, includes a wide range of perspective. Therefore, it is a highly effective notion in terms of economics and politics. This efficiency has a mutual meaning in socio-cultural area. However, it is obvious that the most effective area of neoliberal politics is economics, because intended efficiency in politics and socio-cultural levels are provided through applicable economics politics. Although it has some certain notions derived from al...

  12. Growing Economic Inequality and Its (Partially Political Roots

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kay Lehman Schlozman

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Growing economic inequality fosters inequality in the political processes of American democracy. Since the 1970’s inequalities in earnings and wealth have increased dramatically in the United States creating a higher level of inequality in disposable income than in other developed democracies. The United States also lags behind other rich nations in the way it provides for those at the bottom of the income distribution, and there is no evidence that the opportunities for success promised by the American Dream compensate for inequality in America. Technological and economic developments are significant causes of this growing economic inequality. The role of politics is more controversial, but government policy influences the distribution of income and education by the way it determines government benefits, taxes and the way markets function. For a number of reasons—including, most importantly, the relationship between education and income and the ability of the affluent to make large campaign donations—those who are economically well-off speak more loudly in politics. They are more likely to engage in most forms of individual political participation—not only ones that involve using cash but also ones that cost nothing except time. Moreover, when it comes to political voice through organizations, a professionalized domain dominated by hired experts in which the volume of political voice can be altered to reflect available economic resources, affluent interests are more likely to be organized and active. This essay considers the growing economic inequalities that form an important part of the backdrop for unequal political voice.

  13. Managing Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: The Inter-Religious ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria with over 150 million people consists of muslims and christians who live across the country. The religious divide in the country crisscrosses more than 250 ethnic groups as well as deep political divisions that cross religious lines. Over the last decade, numerous 'hotspots' around the country have suffered from ...

  14. THE ECONOMIC INSTRUMENTARY OF THE "SOFT POWER" IN THE INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC RELATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zlatka Kushelieva

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available "Soft power" is a complex instrument of international politics. It is an organized set of interactions and relationships predetermined to a large extent by the psychological element. Its core qualities are attraction, persuasion and legitimacy. The "soft power" acts in international relations through a complex instrumentation consisting of actions in the military, political, economic, cultural, sports, ideological, religious spheres, but all its manifestations must be supported by the economic instrument. To this end, many countries have set up special bodies. It is expected that "soft power" will be a major instrument of international politics in the coming epoch.

  15. Religiousness and economic security of the west: to the problem of correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuliia Y. Medviedieva

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was evidence that religious faith and its associated values are in a stable relationship with economic security and the level of modernization of society. In this context, the theory of secularization involved and their impact on society. The latter had the basis for understanding the origin of the modernization process and its importance to society. In addition, it was noted that the view of the world, which is primed to traditional beliefs and values, had to give way to a scientific worldview. Within the scientific outlook was replaced unexplained mystical «logic» on the logic of materialistic and secular. Rather than seek spiritual salvation, rescue people changed motivation motivation economic achievements, which identified their main goals and commitment to modern society. From the above named follows that secularization and modernization are inextricably linked with one. Both have a negative impact on religion, encouraging people to use their knowledge to control their environment and destiny, rather than relying on traditional beliefs religious doctrines. If you agree with this postulate, it becomes clear that the modernization which is movable secular outlook, leading to prioritize economic values over religious beliefs and values. The relationship between religiosity and decrease the level of economic security can be empirically-proven. In order to confirm the thesis was marked asked to secondary data analysis study of seven Western countries, which showed that five of the seven countries fit in the defined trend. On the modernization of the surveyed communities in particular - in the US - have greatly influenced religious movements that have arisen as a result of Reformation Catholic Church. Compared to traditional kinds of Christianity, these new religions, sects and religions in religious ethics have expressed tolerance and accumulation of entrepreneurial success, but economic self-actualization as a

  16. NATIONAL-RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM AND POLITICAL TERROR OF NATIONALISTS AS THE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND THE ETHNOGENESIS OF ARMENIAN ETHNICITY (ESSAY ON SOCIAL-POLITICAL HISTORY)

    OpenAIRE

    Kuznetsov, Oleg

    2014-01-01

    The author traces the ethnogenesis of the Armenian people and analyzes its content to demonstrate how organized national and religious extremism, political terror, and terrorism affected the vector and intensity of social modernization of Armenian ethnicity between the last quarter of the nineteenth and the late twentieth century.

  17. Economic, Political and Communicative power in the neoliberal societies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Bergés-Saura, Ph. D.

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyses the relations between the economic, political and communicative powers in the socioeconomic model of neoliberal capitalism. Firstly, it examines the transformations in the economic power, to analyse later the various mechanisms linking this changing economic power to the media performance. Among these mechanisms, the article analyses the control of ownership and other external financial sources; the origin of commercial income; and business management techniques, while simultaneously investigating the relations between these variables and the transformations in the economic sphere. Following the political economy tradition, the article addresses the implications that the concentration of economic, political and communicative power have on democracy and freedom, taking into account the evolution of the socioeconomic and political system in the last decades.

  18. A demographic-economic explanation of political stability: Mauritius as a microcosm.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lempert, D

    1987-06-01

    "This paper examines current models of economic and political development--social modernization theory, political and economic characteristics of stable regimes, and cross country analysis of political stability--and tests them on the Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius. The analysis continues with a causal explanation for political stability in Mauritius' recent history, derived from an examination of economic policies and demographic patterns. Political change in Mauritius over the past sixty years seems to be explained best by a model for political stability which integrates specific economic and demographic factors. The model, applicable to development in other third world nations, revises Malthus' conclusion that population and economic conditions move in an oscillatory relationship and replaces it with a more comprehensive theory, suggesting that political stability is a function of both economic development and a repeating cyclical relationship between economics and population." excerpt

  19. Oil: economic and political factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayoub, A.

    1994-01-01

    This article deals with the evolution of the international petroleum sector since 1973 with a special view to interdependence between the economic and political factors that influence it. Two issues are focused upon: (1) the effects of the nationalization of oil companies on the sharing of oil rents and on changes in the structure of the oil market; and (2) the determination of oil prices. The latter involves a discussion of, on the one hand, the political and economic behaviour of the United States and Saudi Arabia and, on the other, the combination of cooperation and conflict that has tended to characterize relations among OPEC countries. (author). 30 refs

  20. Political Investment in Economic Protection: A Note

    OpenAIRE

    Arsenio M. Balisacan

    1987-01-01

    This note presents some aspects of the neoclassical political economy of economic protection. It develops a conceptual framework which focuses on the costs and benefits of investment in political in?uence to certain conditions in the society and how the benefit-cost structure may affect the level of economic protection and the amount of what Bhagwati called "directly unproductive profit-seeking" activities.

  1. The genetic architecture of economic and political preferences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benjamin, Daniel J.; Cesarini, David; Van Der Loos, Matthijs J.H.M.; Dawes, Christopher T.; Koellinger, Philipp D.; Magnusson, Patrik K.E.; Chabris, Christopher F.; Conley, Dalton; Laibson, David; Johannesson, Magnus; Visscher, Peter M.

    2012-01-01

    Preferences are fundamental building blocks in all models of economic and political behavior. We study a new sample of comprehensively genotyped subjects with data on economic and political preferences and educational attainment. We use dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to estimate the

  2. The genetic architecture of economic and political preferences

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    D.J. Benjamin (Daniel J.); D. Cesarini (David); M.J.H.M. van der Loos (Matthijs); C.T. Dawes (Christopher T.); Ph.D. Koellinger (Philipp); P.K. Magnusson (Patrik); C.F. Chabris (Christopher F.); D. Conley (Dalton); D. Laibson (David); M. Johannesson (Magnus); P.M. Visscher (Peter)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractPreferences are fundamental building blocks in all models of economic and political behavior. We study a new sample of comprehensively genotyped subjects with data on economic and political preferences and educational attainment. We use dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to

  3. Economic and political hybridity: Patrimonial capitalism in the post-Soviet sphere

    OpenAIRE

    Robinson, Neil

    2013-01-01

    Hybridity in non-democratic states can be economic as well as political. Economic hybridity is produced by the same kind of pressures that create political hybridity, but the relationship between economic and political hybridity has not been as much studied by political scientists. This article uses the concept of patrimonial capitalism to look at economic hybridity, its stability and relationship to political hybridity. Using examples from Russia and other former Soviet states it argues that...

  4. Does Political Ideology Affect Economic Growth?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnskov, Christian

    2005-01-01

    This paper asks the question whether political ideology affects economic growth. Voters may demand inefficient levels of redistribution and government intervention, and they may care too little for aspects that really matter for the economy. Their norms and perceptions of society might, via...... their political ideology, affect economic performance. The paper presents evidence suggesting that rightwing societies have grown faster in the last decades than other democratic societies. Further analysis suggests that these societies develop better legal systems and less government intervention, which in turn...

  5. Social religious movement in java 19Th - 20Th century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumarno; Trilaksana, A.; Kasdi, A.

    2018-01-01

    Religious social movements are very interesting to be studied because this phenomenon is affecting the urban and rural communities, among the rich and the poor people, the educated and the less educated. The purpose of this study was to analyze several religious social movements in Java in the 19Th - 20Th centuries. The methods used are historical methods that include: Source feeding (main source is reference), Source Critique (source test), Interpretation of fact (analyzing the fact), and Historiography (writing research results) in the form of Journal Articles. Religious Social Symbols arise as a result of a depressed society, oppressed by the political system, or poverty as a result of colonial exploitation. For indigenous and less religious societies social pressures breed social protest movements and social revolutions. Meanwhile, in the Javanese society that has social and religious characteristics make the nature of the movement multidimensional. The form of movement is a blend of social movements that lead in the form of protests and revolutions, on the other hand formed religious movements that are politer nature because it is related to the life of the world and the hereafter. In various religious social movements in Java include the Nativist movement, Millennial/millenarianism, Messianic, Nostalgic, sectarian, and Revivalist. The movement emerged as a social impact of the Dutch colonization in the form of Cultivation which gave birth to the suffering of the people in the economic and social fields.

  6. Politics of religious minoritisation and glocalisation: notes towards a study of religious networks of transnational

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joanildo Burity

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This article offers a preliminary analytical framework for the study of one of the main forms of global expression of religious movements in the contemporary scenario and its specific impact on the public sphere: the involvement of networks of social and political activism at translocal, trasnational and global levels. This is done through the analysis of the relationship between religion and globalisation, with particular attention to Christian groups, stressing two sets of processes: first, the dynamics of visibility and latency within these experiences; and second, the convergence betweenprocesses of minoritisation and imbrication of local and global (which will be developed though the concept of glocalisation. The study will be conducted as a comparative analysis of existing networks between Brazil, Argentina and the United Kingdom. 

  7. Economic Liberalization and Political Violence : Utopia or Dystopia ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-08-06

    Economic Liberalization and Political Violence : Utopia or Dystopia ? Couverture du livre Economic Liberalization and Political Violence : Utopia or Dystopia ? Editor(s):. Francisco Gutiérrez et Gerd Schönwälder. Publisher(s):. Pluto Press, CRDI. August 6, 2010. ISBN: 9780745330631. 360 pages. e-ISBN: 9781552504826.

  8. The Political Economy of Recent Economic Growth in India

    OpenAIRE

    Raghbendra Jha

    2004-01-01

    The political economy of India’s economic growth is an issue of abiding interest. Higher and sustained economic growth has, all over the world, been the surest and most time tested means of raising living standards and reducing poverty. Further, given that it is a functioning democracy, economic policy in India can often be dictated by political expediency as political parties indulge in competitive populism in the face of improvements in social indicators such as literacy, infant mortality a...

  9. Religious extremism as a challenge to tertiary education in Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Extremists use religion as a shield either for political or economic agenda and manipulate their gullible followers in order to impose their ideology on them. The reality of religious extremism in Nigeria is a challenge to tertiary education to search for a lasting solution that will enable Nigerians overcome the problem and focus ...

  10. Political instability and economic growth: an empirical evidence from the Baltic states

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ladislava Grochová

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available For more than last 20 decades, new political economics has been dealing with theories of economic growth (for example influential contributions by Mancur Olson, Dani Rodrik. However, less attention has been paid to their empirical verification. The new political economics growth theory defines some factors that are necessary for economic growth among which political stability. Our aim is to test the theory focused on political stability empirically in order to enrich the studies with recent European results. The paper uses a single-equation model to reject a hypothesis that political stability is a necessary condition for economic growth finding a relationship between economic growth and political instability. A demonstration that political stability is not a crucial factor for economic development in general then represents the main goal of the contribution. There are distinguished two types of political instability – elite and non-elite – in topical literature. While non-elite political instability concerns about violent coups, riots or civil wars, elite political instability is represented with “soft changes” such as government breakdowns, fragile majority or minority governments. A number of government changes is used as a proxy of elite political instability. The disproof of the hypothesis is demonstrated on data from the Baltic states where number of government changes takes place and still fast economic growth could be seen within last two decades. Since it is shown that political instability has almost no impact on economic growth, we consider the hypothesis regarding a necessity of political stability for economic development to be only a specific non-generalizable case.

  11. Economic Liberalization and Political Violence : Utopia or Dystopia ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Economic Liberalization and Political Violence : Utopia or Dystopia ? Couverture du livre Economic Liberalization and Political Violence : Utopia or Dystopia ? Directeur(s):. Francisco Gutiérrez et Gerd Schönwälder. Maison(s) d'édition: Pluto Press, CRDI. 6 août 2010. ISBN : 9780745330631. 360 pages. e-ISBN :.

  12. Economic and Political Liberalization in Tanzania and its ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    With the onset of globalization one-party state regimes were forced to liberalize politically and economically. Liberalization was seen as beneficial for it opened up both the political and economic space for all actors in the development process. Liberalization was embraced because of its perceived advantages to all sections ...

  13. An Agent-Based Dynamic Model of Politics, Fertility and Economic Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zining Yang

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available In the political economy of development, government policy choices at a single point in time can dramatically affect a country's development path by impacting fertility, economic and political decisions across generations. Combining system dynamics and agent-based modeling approaches in a complex adaptive system, a simulation framework of the Politics of Fertility and Economic Development (POFED is formalized to understand the relationship between politics, economic, and demography change at both macro and micro levels. First, a new political capacity measurement is used; and the system dynamics model is validated with the latest data. Second, the endogenous attributes are fused with non-cooperative game theory in an agent-based framework to simulate the interactive political economic dynamics of individual intra-societal transactions. Finally, macro and micro levels are connected with policy levers of political capacity and political instability by merging system dynamics and agent-based components. This paper also explores the agent-based model's behavioral dynamics via simulation methods to identify paths towards economic development and political stability. This model demonstrates micro level human agency can act, react and interact, thus driving macro level dynamics, while macro structures provide political, social and economic environments that constrain or incentivize micro level human behavior.

  14. Exploring the Intersectionality of Bisexual, Religious/Spiritual, and Political Identities from a Feminist Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Eric M; Lytle, Megan C; Vaughan, Michelle D

    2013-07-01

    While there is a small but growing body of work that examines the religious and spiritual lives of bisexuals, there is a strong need for additional research that further explores the intersectionality of these distinct identities. Motivated by the feminist notions that the personal is political and that individuals are the experts of their own experiences (Unger, 2001), the specific aim of this study is to better understand the intersection of multiple identities experienced by bisexual individuals. Relying upon data collected by Herek, Glunt, and colleagues during their Northern California Health Study, in this exploratory study we examine the intersection of bisexual, religious/spiritual, and political identities by conducting an archival secondary analysis of 120 self-identified bisexual individuals. Among the significant findings, results suggest that higher LGB self-esteem scores and openness about sexual orientation correlated with higher levels of spirituality. Further, attraction to same sex partners was associated with perceiving sexual orientation as a choice, identifying as bisexual at a younger age, more likely to disclose one's sexual orientation, less likely to view religion as being socially important, and a higher score on the belief statement. We discuss the implications of these results and make suggestions for future research on the role of religion and spirituality in bisexual lives.

  15. Market and Money: Economic Instruments of Political Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Florina Pînzaru

    2006-10-01

    Full Text Available By the creation of the unique currency, the European construction advanced, in the late twenty years, more in economic terms than in political ones. Still, at a closer look there can be found interesting arguments to sustain the idea of a political background for this surprising economic acceleration. Creating the common market and a new currency are things which have been possible only because of favourable factors in economy and of strong political will. This paper analyses the market as a frame of a political construction, and euro as a decisive tool for the purpose of the United Europe. For the first time in history, there is a space which approaches beliefs and values with the “help” of a currency, integrated in the political agenda.

  16. UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE IN INDONESIA: Theological, Structural and Cultural Analyses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Salehudin

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Lately Indonesia is facing a lot of tremendous experience about religious violence. Indonesian Islam which is previously assumed as peaceful religion is suddenly changing to be frightening religion. The destruction in some places such as Bali Bombing, JW Marriot Bombing, and Sampang riot in some places Islam is the trigger of religious violence. This paper discusses the repetition of religious violence in Indonesia especially after New Order era. The writer argues that religious violence in Indonesia is as natural disaster, historical process in human evolution and as close experience that presenting and relating to human history. It may be caused by political condition and the response to economic injustice. In doing so, it is kind of social acceleration toward the process of change and also being a factor of the emergence of new agenda. This is because every disaster, including religious violence, requires an adjustment and a new formulation of the functions that have been damaged.

  17. Political-economic transition in Georgia and its implications for tourism in Svaneti

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Voll Frieder

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Private tourism entrepreneurship relies on special knowledge of the service sector with a strong focus on individual action and a general service mentality. The organization and regulation of tourism in post-socialist European countries experienced a shift from being state-driven to being determined by individual entrepreneurs. Yet in some cases, the adoption of the new entrepreneurial business principles is contested by different cultural understandings of how tourism should be 'produced'. With examples from the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia (Svaneti we will demonstrate that these different understandings can play a major role in creating barriers for developing community-based tourism. Shortly after the transition to the market economy, a number of different small-scale, community-based tourism projects emerged, with individual entrepreneurship contesting the traditional values of hospitality in these regions (predominantly based on religious and 'tribal' values and norms rather than purely on entrepreneurial values. The methods used for this preliminary study of post-socialist tourism development included a short-term, mobile ethnography consisting of semi-structured interviews of tourism producers in the region, participant observation, as well as mapping occupancy of buildings according to unoccupied, agriculture and agritourism and second homes categories based on the condition of the gardens. Further changes in the political-economic framework have now shifted the focus towards larger-scale tourism developments supported by public-private partnerships. This paper analyses the impacts of these political-economic changes on the development of community-based tourism in Svaneti and explores in particular the friction between collective traditions and individual entrepreneurship in the experience economy of transition countries and its relationship with regional economic growth and rural depopulation.

  18. An Agent-Based Dynamic Model of Politics, Fertility and Economic Development

    OpenAIRE

    Zining Yang

    2016-01-01

    In the political economy of development, government policy choices at a single point in time can dramatically affect a country's development path by impacting fertility, economic and political decisions across generations. Combining system dynamics and agent-based modeling approaches in a complex adaptive system, a simulation framework of the Politics of Fertility and Economic Development (POFED) is formalized to understand the relationship between politics, economic, and demography change at...

  19. Managing Diversity as A Foundation of Religious Tolerance: A Study in Sidoasri Village, The Regency of Malang

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dhanny Septimawan Sutopo

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Amongst other things, Indonesian history was rife with religious conflicts. Religious differences had thus far been factored in the causes of intolerance amongst believers of different religions. This study examined how religious tolerance that was established in Sidoasri village where Christians and Muslims were living together. This research used a qualitative descriptive method, where it would describe and explain data from the subject research on the form of religious tolerance in Sidoasri village. The results of this research show that religious tolerance is always built through the long process by way of mediating various past conflicts. Religious dogma has never been a cause of intolerance. Social, cultural, political, and economic factors are decisive in founding religious tolerance. 

  20. Political instability and economic growth: an empirical evidence from the Baltic states

    OpenAIRE

    Ladislava Grochová; Luděk Kouba

    2011-01-01

    For more than last 20 decades, new political economics has been dealing with theories of economic growth (for example influential contributions by Mancur Olson, Dani Rodrik). However, less attention has been paid to their empirical verification. The new political economics growth theory defines some factors that are necessary for economic growth among which political stability. Our aim is to test the theory focused on political stability empirically in order to enrich the studies with recent ...

  1. Do Crisis Response Operations Affect Political and Economic Stability?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2003-05-01

    military presence itself actually affects overall levels of political and economic stability is still an open question. We look at the following two...relationship between military actions and political and economic stability . In this paper, we focus only on the crisis response piece of the overseas presence issue.

  2. Socio-economic institutions in classical political economy of Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu.V. Ushchapovskyy

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Fragmentary researches of socio-economic institutions by classical political economy are caused by the absence of social components in its methodological «core». The article concentrates on the ideas of institutionalism in the context of classical political economy formation. The author underlines the necessity to adapt the analysis of socio-economic institutions in the heritage of classical political economy in Ukraine of the 19-th century to the creation of an integral conception of genesis and evolution of institutionalism in Ukrainian economic thought. Following the traditions of European economic science, Ukrainian scientists tried to take into account social contradictions, the needs in democratic transformations of social relations in their works. In spite of absence of the category of «standard (rule» among Adam Smith’s followers, and Ukrainian economists paid attention to a social problematic in the context of traditional researches of classical political economy, there is the necessity to examine socio-economic institutions in their heritage and the possibility of its application to the formation of the paradigm of modern institutionalism. Michail Baludyanskiy considered that a state could limit the freedom of an economic activity only on the base of generally accepted standards, but in this case contributing to safety and freedom of an economic activity. National system of economy, its legislative and management systems must conceptually obey economic policy, Anthropocentrism defined the philosophical conception of Tihon Stepanov’s political economy. He followed methodological holism as he concluded the characteristics of an individual on the base of characteristics of institutions (society. Ivan Vernadskiy’s researches concerning behavior of an individual and his trials to characterize value from a consumer’s point of view don’t fully correspond to traditional classical political economy. To improve Adam Smith’s study

  3. Analyzing Inflation and Its Control: A Resource Guide. Economics-Political Science Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salemi, Michael K.; Leak, Sarah

    Background information for teachers on inflation and self-contained learning activities to help students view inflation from both economic and political perspectives are provided. The introduction contains economics and political science frameworks for analyzing policy issues. How to integrate economics and political science is also discussed.…

  4. 'Economic' and 'Political' cooperation in various climate policy scenarios

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamaide, Bertrand

    2003-01-01

    Cooperation in the economic sense considers efficiency issues. Cooperation in the political sense, like the Kyoto Protocol, considers other issues like equity and historical responsibility. The environmental and economic impacts of the Kyoto Protocol and other scenarios are thus examined. The US pullout may then be viewed, among others, as the result of not untying 'economic' and 'political' cooperation; and since the Protocol will be much less effective without the US, it is shown that an external economic stimulus should and may theoretically be found for retaining their participation

  5. The genetic architecture of economic and political preferences

    OpenAIRE

    Benjamin, Daniel J.; Cesarini, David; van der Loos, Matthijs J. H. M.; Dawes, Christopher T.; Koellinger, Philipp D.; Magnusson, Patrik K. E.; Chabris, Christopher F.; Conley, Dalton; Laibson, David; Johannesson, Magnus; Visscher, Peter M.

    2012-01-01

    textabstractPreferences are fundamental building blocks in all models of economic and political behavior. We study a new sample of comprehensively genotyped subjects with data on economic and political preferences and educational attainment. We use dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to estimate the proportion of variation in these traits explained by common SNPs and to conduct genome-wide association study (GWAS) and prediction analyses. The pattern of results is consistent with ...

  6. Religious content of hallucinations in paranoid schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krzystanek, Marek; Krysta, Krzysztof; Klasik, Adam; Krupka-Matuszczyk, Irena

    2012-09-01

    Different environmental factors are thought to be responsible for 15-20% of schizophrenia pathogenesis. Religion has long been considered a major force in human life, regardless of economic, social or political affiliation. How the perception of religion has changed over time, especially in the context of mental illness, was the focal point of this long-term comparative study. A random selection of 100 case histories from the years 1932, 1952, 1972 and 1992 was selected. By reviewing the subject history and medical notes, information on the presence of religious hallucinations and/or delusions were collected and grouped. Religious topics were demonstrated in 46.8% of the test population. Whereas there was a clear diversity of religious-themed delusions, "God", "Christ", "Mary", "Satan/devil" and "hell" all figured prominently across all reviewed years. There is a progressive decrease in the number of religious topics in paranoid schizophrenia. The transfer of holiness from historical saints onto a subject was observed. Evil dominates over good in productive symptoms in paranoid schizophrenia. The phenomenon of apocalyptic subjects in paranoid hallucinations and delusions increased after the Second World War. Religious topics of hallucinations and delusions change over time and relate to objective historical events and reflect changes in religiosity in society.

  7. Homegrown religious radicalization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Khawaja, Iram

    It has been reported that a growing number of youngsters from Western Europe are engaging in conflicts motivated by religious and political conflicts in the Middle East. This paper explores the reasons behind this seemingly religious radicalization from the point of view of the youngsters...... youngsters and parents of youngsters who have chosen a radicalized path in life. The paper will shed light on how the sense of and yearning for belonging and recognition have to be taken into account in our understanding of homegrown religious radicalization...

  8. Narratives of the gypsy awakening. Religious innovation, gypsy leadership and identity politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela Cantón-Delgado

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The Roma people are the largest ethnic minority in Europe (10-12 mill. From the 1950s they began to congregate in Pentecostal churches across the continent, spreading and increasing structure and influence rapidly, especially in France and Spain. This article provides new data to analyze ethnic and religious phenomenon in the process of rapid growth, of American/African-American origin, that among the Spanish gypsy population shows its own peculiarities: a self-managed movement, alien to the conventions of Rom activism, political identity and public policies to promote minorities, and led by gypsy ministers or supported on a new narrative on primitive Gypsyism with biblical justification.

  9. Political institutions and economic volatility

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klomp, Jeroen; de Haan, Jakob

    We examine the effect of political 'institutions' on economic growth volatility, using data from more than 100 countries over the period 1960 to 2005, taking into account various control variables as suggested in previous studies. Our indicator of volatility is the relative standard deviation of the

  10. Essays in Labor Economics and Political Economy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harmon, Nikolaj Arpe

    This dissertation consists of three chapters, each representing a self-contained research paper in labor economics and political economy. The first chapter studies the impact of immigration and ethnic diversity on political outcomes in immigrant-receiving countries, focusing on the case of immigr......This dissertation consists of three chapters, each representing a self-contained research paper in labor economics and political economy. The first chapter studies the impact of immigration and ethnic diversity on political outcomes in immigrant-receiving countries, focusing on the case...... in particular. The effects appear present both in municipal and national elections, despite the very different issues decided at the two levels of government. The second chapter (co-authored with Raymond Fisman, Emir Kamenica and Inger Munk) studies the effect of a salary reform in the European Parliament...... to learn about the impact of salaries on the behavior and composition of legislators. Increases in salaries cause large increases in the willingness to hold office but do not affect the level of effort exerted while in office. For the composition of legislators, increases in salaries leads to elected...

  11. USSR Report, USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology, No. 7, July 1984

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    1984-01-01

    .... This document contains articles about economics, politics and ideology. Some topics discussed are energy, nuclear nonproliferation, foreign policy, conservation, political science, labor, and book reviews of political books...

  12. Political regime change, economic liberalization and growth accelerations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jong-A-Pin, Richard; De Haan, Jakob

    We examine whether the type of political regime, regime changes, and economic liberalization are related to economic growth accelerations. Our results show that growth accelerations are preceded by economic liberalizations. We also find that growth accelerations are less likely to happen the longer

  13. How does political instability affect economic growth?

    OpenAIRE

    Aisen, Ari; Veiga, Francisco José

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to empirically determine the effects of political instability on economic growth. Using the system-GMM estimator for linear dynamic panel data models on a sample covering up to 169 countries, and 5-year periods from 1960 to 2004, we find that higher degrees of political instability are associated with lower growth rates of GDP per capita. Regarding the channels of transmission, we find that political instability adversely affects growth by lowering the rates of pr...

  14. Radical atheism and religious power: new atheist politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stuart McAnulla

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The increased visibility of assertive forms of atheism has provoked much public debate. This article argues that new atheism primarily seeks to contest what it considers to be the unjustifiably powerful role of religion through a multifaceted challenge to religious beliefs, practices and institutions. Influential theories of power are drawn upon to unpack the character of new atheist positions. It is proposed that new atheism seeks to challenge four perceived ‘dimensions‘ of religious power, in particular (i religion’s role in public decision-making; (ii the ability of religious groups to shape policy agendas; (iii the power of religion to create preferences that run counter to an individual’s true interests and, (iv the role of religion in constituting forms of subjectivity more generally. Focussing particularly on the role of atheism in the UK, the paper also considers the implications such thinking has had on atheist practice and activism. The paper also considers how defenders of religion have reacted to the challenges posed by new atheism. It is argued that religious groups and authors have largely focussed on defending the role of religious faith and the significance of God in people’s lives, rather than explicitly defending what new atheists consider to be the unfair institutional privilege accorded to some religious organisations.

  15. How do Five American Political Science Textbooks Deal with the Economic Dimension?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Madsen, Poul Thøis

    2011-01-01

    Politics and economics interact. As a consequence, political science textbooks must often relate to the economic dimension—implicitly or explicitly. But we know very little about how these textbooks relate to economics. Are they merely unreflective customers of neoclassical economics or do...... they strive for a cross-disciplinary approach? An analysis of five American textbooks identifies two very different and concurrent interactions between politics and economics. The first is a theoretically conceived market economy in which market forces independently drive growth and create equilibrium, where...... politics has a rather secluded role. The second is the actually existing mixed economy, characterized by increased inequality, economic concentration, power, and environmental problems, influenced by a state forced to regulate. The problems of operating with such a dichotomy— and possible solutions...

  16. Political Ideology and Economic Freedom across Canadian Provinces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjørnskov, Christian; Potrafke, Niklas

    This paper examines how political ideology influenced economic freedom in the Canadian provinces. We analyze the dataset of economic freedom indicators compiled by the Fraser Institute in 10 Canadian provinces over the 1981-2005 period and introduce two different indices of political ideology......: government and parliament ideology. The results suggest that government ideology influenced labor market reforms: market-oriented governments promoted liberalization of the labor market. Parliamentary ideology did not influence economic liberalization at all. This finding (1) identifies differences between...... leftist and rightwing governments concerning the role of government in the economy and (2) indicates that ideological polarization concerns governments but less parliamentary fractions in the Canadian provinces. ...

  17. Corruption, Political Instability and Economic Development in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS: Is There a Causal Relationship?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurudeen Abu

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Despite the abundant research on economic development, corruption and political instability, little research has attempted to examine whether there is a causal relationship among them. This paper examines the causal relationship among corruption, political instability and economic development in the ECOWAS using the Granger causality test within a multivariate cointegration and error-correction framework for the 1996-2012 period. The findings indicate that political instability Granger-causes economic development in the short term, while political instability and economic development Granger-cause corruption in the long term. In addition, we employed the forecast error variance decomposition and impulse response function analyses to investigate the dynamic interaction between the variables. The results demonstrate positive unidirectional Granger causality from political instability to economic development in the short term and positive unidirectional Granger causality from political instability and economic development to corruption in the long term in ECOWAS countries. Thus, ECOWAS governments should employ policies to promote political stability in the region.

  18. The Religious Quest As Transformative Journey: Interspiritual Religious Belonging And The Problem Of Religious Depth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    McEntee Rory

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available As scholars and the public grope towards understanding emergent forms of religiosity (multiple-religious belonging, spiritual but not religious, interspirituality, notions of discernment, religious depth, and spiritual practice figure prominently in defining and assessing these forms. Some form of commitment to a particular religious tradition is often considered the most important factor in the discernment of religious depth, while “spiritual but not religious” is often seen as the amorphous searching or the drifting whims of an immature ego. I will argue, however, that failing to take into account the most mature forms of emerging religiosity is bound to miss important developments, just as similar methodologies would for traditional religions. Further, I point out problems with correlating religious depth with belonging to a particular religious tradition, and offer an alternate way to conceive of religious depth. In doing so I develop the concept of the religious quest as transformative journey, allowing for a more capacious understanding of religious consciousness. I then introduce interspiritual religious belonging, contrasting it with certain understandings of “multiple-religious” belonging, and providing mature examples of its embodiment. Finally, utilizing new surveys from Pew and PPRI showing accelerating growth among the “spiritual but not religious” and “religiously unaffiliated”-as well as expanding religious and racial diversity within the United States-I briefly reference potential political ramifications the interspiritual movement might have, and address the importance of developing mature theological perspectives from within it. It is my hope that the Theology Without Walls project can provide academic space for the latter.

  19. Secularization and its Impact on the Jews’ Religious Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasile Adrian

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Secularization brings forward a desacralized world, exclusively oriented to the material and concerned with the “fashion of the day” rather than with the Spirit of God. Secularism made man wander from god and ignore the religious, spiritual and moral principles found in Christianity and Judaism. Secularization caused all social, economic or political aspects be expressed outside these principles and, many times, against them. Man’s religiousness has become something personal and original that has nothing to do with community or the life of the community, thus becoming a strictly private or intimate option, and in many case even a taboo. Therefore we speak about a privatization of the religious feeling that has no connection to Christianity or Judaism. Unfortunately Judaism has been affected in some other way besides what concerns religious life. We are referring to the anti-Semite feeling that reached its peak at the beginning of the last century and tragically ended in the holocaust in which millions of Jews lost their lives.

  20. Political and economic factors of late transition in Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josifidis Kosta L.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The transition in Serbia is late, from the aspects of both its start and course. The initial conditionality, strategy, sequentially, prospects and results shape transition profile. Key factors of the late transition are grouped within a complex of political and economic factors, which are themselves ambivalent - their external and internal effects are evident. An institutional vacuum is especially limiting complex, with a significant influence on the political and economic aspects of the transition. An analysis of the two groups of intertwined factors serves as a basis for making a projection of future course and reform dynamics in Serbia. Different scenarios are present. An increase or decrease in the transition dynamics is conditioned by elimination of negative impacts of political and economic factors, i.e. by promotion of positive aspects of the solutions.

  1. The Biblical Matrix of Economics

    OpenAIRE

    Grigore PIROŞCĂ; Angela ROGOJANU

    2012-01-01

    The rationale of this paper is a prime pattern of history of economic thought in the previous ages of classic ancient times of Greek and Roman civilizations using a methodological matrix able to capture the mainstream ideas from social, political and religious events within the pages of Bible. The economic perspective of these events follows the evolution of the seeds of economic thinking within the Fertile Crescent, focused on the Biblical patriarchic heroes’ actions, but a...

  2. South African oil dependency : geo-political, geo-economic and geo-strategic considerations

    OpenAIRE

    2012-01-01

    Ph.D. There is little research undertaken on the economic assessment of oil security of supply from the dimensions of geo-politics, geo-economics and geo-strategy. This study seeks to bridge the gap by providing new analytical and empirical work that captures the impact of geo-politics, geo-economics and geo-strategy on oil supply, consumption and price. This study is the first to define, analyse and contextualise the South African oil security of supply from a geo-political, geo-economic ...

  3. The Political and Economic Perspectives of the Tiv-Jukun Conflicts ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    These conflicts, which have political and economic undertones, hinge on the struggle for political appointments and control of cherished economic resources in the area such as farmland. In order to achieve lasting peace in the area, the paper proposes reconciliatory efforts on the part of the belligerents. On the other hand, ...

  4. Religious Fundamentalism/Religious Modernism: Conceptual Adversaries or Ambivalent Phenomena?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. GOLOVUSHKIN

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Both religious modernism and religious fundamentalism appeared as problems in academic and theological literature at the beginning of the 20th century. They came about as the result of the dynamic development of modernistic ideology in Russia, the United States, Western Europe and the Islamic world. Today, the concepts of religious modernism and religious fundamentalism are widely used to describe religious processes and phenomena which are the result of interaction between religion (as a dynamic spiritual and social subsystem and society - as a social system experiencing evolution. The concept of religious modernism is traditionally associated with religious renewal, the contemporary world, and innovation. Fundamentalism, on the contrary, is an ideological commitment to the “roots and origins” of religion. Under the aegis of fundamentalism, any religious idea, value or concept has a right to exist. Religious Studies, during the course of time and the production of ever new material, encountered a serious theoretic-methodological problem: How can various religious movements and religious traditions be organized into groups since some of them combine elements of religious modernism and of religious fundamentalism? Already at the end of the nineteen-eighties, the well-established view defining “fundamentalism-modernism” as contrary positions had to be rethought. Studies dating from the nineteen-nineties and the beginning of the new millennium concentrated on noting the social origins and the political character of these phenomena. They demonstrated that neither fundamentalism nor modernism present the whole picture. The lines dividing them are so blurred, that they become confl uent. Consequently, the author concludes that religious fundamentalism and religious modernism are ambivalent phenomena, which can, on occasion, interact with each other.

  5. Relative Importance of Political Instability and Economic Variables on Perceived Country Creditworthiness

    OpenAIRE

    Suk Hun Lee

    1993-01-01

    This paper examines the relative importance of political instability and economic variables on perceived country creditworthiness. Our results indicate that both political instability and economic variables are taken into account in evaluating country creditworthiness; however, it appears that bankers assign larger weight to economic performances, which we except of reflect longer term political stability. In addition, the frequency of changes in the regime and armed conflict, both proxying f...

  6. Economic Growth and the Rise of Political Extremism

    OpenAIRE

    Markus Bruckner; Hans Peter Gruner

    2011-01-01

    In many western democracies, political parties with extreme platforms challenge more moderate incumbents. This paper analyses the impact of economic growth on the support for extreme political platforms. We provide a theoretical argument in favor of growth effects (as opposed to level effects) on the support for extreme political parties and we empirically investigate the relationship between growth and extremist votes. Lower growth rates benefit right-wing and nationalist parties, but do not...

  7. Struggle for Autonomy and Ethno-Religious Factor in Political Life of the People's Republic of Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    М С Хак

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of struggle for autonomy in the context of ethno-religious factor in the political life of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The historical roots and contemporary features of the conflict between the government and the representatives of Jumma peoples compactly inhabited in the Hill area bordered upon India and Burma named Chittagong Hill Tracts are investigated. The different conceptions, methods and mechanisms of settlement of the conflict are considered, the role of local as well as international factors in the achievement of political consensus are evaluated. The conclusion about a necessity of the subsequent searching of the most optimal tools and methods of solving of such deep-rooted conflicts is made.

  8. Religious Texts as Models of Exclusion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kastfelt, Niels

    2010-01-01

    The chapter analyses the connection between Biblical interpretation and the making of political communities in northern Nigeria in the 20th century. Generally, it studies the use of religious scriptures in developing models of society which can both include and exclude particular religious...

  9. The Impact of China on South American Political and Economic Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Steen Fryba

    2018-01-01

    The analysis compares three typologies of South American countries in terms of the impact of China on their political and economic development.......The analysis compares three typologies of South American countries in terms of the impact of China on their political and economic development....

  10. Nudge this : behavioural economics & political marketing

    OpenAIRE

    Passera, Mark

    2011-01-01

    Nudge This – Behavioural Economics & Political Marketing\\ud \\ud A key aspect of a behavioural economic paradigm is that there are limitations in defining the citizen as an informed rational processing machine. Arguing that rationality is bounded: human motivation and behaviour can be viewed as more likely to be influenced by biases, perceptions and general rules of thumbs (heuristics). \\ud \\ud Sunstein & Thaler (2008) in Nudge debunk the assumption of homo economicus and focus instead on desi...

  11. Green Taxation in Question: Politics and Economic Efficiency in Environmental Regulation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Daugbjerg, Carsten; Svendsen, Gert Tinggaard

    these policy recommendations are second best in strict economic terms, they are the best economic designs given that they must be politically feasible. Understanding the politics of green taxation is the prerequisite for the development of effective green taxation models which have a chance of being...

  12. Varieties of Religious Pluralism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olusegun Noah Olawoyin

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Religious Pluralism is one of many forms of pluralism in contemporary globalised world.  Some others include ethnic pluralism, value pluralism, doctrinal pluralism, ethical pluralism, political pluralism.  Religious pluralism is, however, one of the most important in contemporary society, considering globalization and the role of religions in many conflicts.  It has its root in poltitical liberalism. Religious pluralism is a hot debate in social sciences and in Theology and Religious Studies. This paper argues that religious pluralism, which is an acceptance of plurality as normative, is not a monolithic theory. The different religious context in which it is being discussed, the different disciplinary and philosophical influences resulted in various and even contradictory types.  However, this paper is a ‘mapping’ of the contour of contemporary discussions.  Critically reviewing relevant literature, two major theories of religious pluralism were identified: identist and differential/complementary.  Each of these also has subdivision.

  13. [Economic and political aspects of prostate cancer prevention].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durand-Zaleski, I

    2008-04-01

    Deciding on a health policy in practice means dedicating human and financial resources and prioritising spendings. The economic evaluation of prevention strategies attempts to establish a relationship between the medical benefit of prevention and its additional cost (or in some cases cost reduction) compared to no prevention. Decisions on reimbursing drugs, interventions or funding health programmes do not usually follow efficiency criteria which define economic rationality. Politics may for example decide to make prostate cancer a public health priority if mortality in a country or in some regions of the country appears to be excessively high. Economic rationality alone is not an appropriate factor on which to base a decision which may be purely political, reflecting the actual values of the society at a given point in time.

  14. Society as a victim of bearers of economic and political power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanjević Nataša

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In the transition countries, politics and economics are so connected and interrelated that many individuals who take high governmental positions or who have economic power abuse their status in order to make huge profits and commit criminal acts without impunity. The aim of this paper is to indicate the basic characteristics of this kind of crime and its negative consequences to the society as a whole. The abuse of economic and political power results in increasing economic inequalities, decreasing chances of entering foreign direct investments, and falling economic growth. Besides, this contributes to creating fertile soil for populism and supporting political elites that are not committed to building rule of law, stable democratic society and fair market economy. As a result, citizens’ confidence in the state and its institutions weakens, while the normative system of values in the society is jeopardized. In this way, the society becomes the victim of irresponsible individuals, and of those who abuse their economic and social power.

  15. Social conflict and sacrificial rhetoric: Luther’s discursive intervention and the religious division of labor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christopher Roberts

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available ‘Sacrifice’ is a religious term whose use extends far beyond the church door. People from all walks of life speak of ‘sacrifice’ when they want to evoke an irreducible conflict in the relations between self, family, and society. In America, hardly a speech goes by without political leaders insisting upon the necessity and virtue of sacrifice, but rarely will they clarify who is sacrificing what, and to whom. Indeed, this is not only an American phenomenon, as a number of recent texts examining ‘sacrifice’ as a term in various national discourses have shown. Such a political and economic deployment of a religious figure demands interpretation, for not only does the rhetoric of sacrifice span the globe, it constitutes a problem with a long genealogy. As a key moment in the Western segment of this genealogy, this article examines the way that Luther’s exegetical work rhetoricalized sacrifice, and, in doing so, constructed a new discursive position, the pastor as anti-sophist, or parrhesiast, in the religious division of labor.

  16. GLOBALIZATION AS A POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL PHENOMENON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Victoria Flores Trujillo

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Globalization is defined as a process that integrates knowledge worldwide, has its historical reference on changes in the ways processes, methods and information are addressed; documented its inception in the late twentieth century, Castells, M. (2001 beyond the discrepancy about whether it is a product of technological development or an inevitable evolution of capitalism, research arises from the formulation of the following questions: How important is the study of globalization ?, What has produced important contributions in the scientific community about globalization? And What are the perspectives or approaches addressed? . This work aims to show how the scientific community has produced knowledge about this phenomenon addressing the political, economic and social approaches: From the economic point of view reconfigures how to address the processes of production, distribution and consumption of goods and services in the world, permeating this way all international economic events. From the political point of view, besides the redistribution of emerging geopolitical blocs, it establishes a new category of state, transnational state. From the social point of view, it shows evidence of the negative effects of globalization on resizing the category personal, local or regional or even in global risk-Global group. The research is documentary literature, their contribution to social science evidence to characterize globalization as political, economic and social phenomenon of the century that permeates all areas of study applied.

  17. Politics, Economics, and Testing: Some Reflections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feuer, Michael J.

    2011-01-01

    In this keynote address, the author shares his reflections on politics, economics, and testing. He focuses on assessment and accountability and begins with some data from large scale written educational testing, "circa 1840". The author argues that people's penchant for accountability and their appetite for standardized testing are, in…

  18. Secular Religious Establishment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lægaard, Sune

    2013-01-01

    Secularism as a political doctrine claims that religion and politics should be separated. The compatibility question is whether secularism can accept some forms of religious establishment in the form of institutional linkages between state and organised religion. I argue that the answer...... to the compatibility question is not obvious and requires a systematic analysis of secularism. Based on a distinction between a general concept and specific conceptions of secularism I offer a general structure for conceptions of secularism that incorporates both a) basic values, e.g. political equality and freedom...

  19. The Effect of Political and Economic Factors on Corporate Tax Rates

    OpenAIRE

    Hansson, Åsa; Porter, Susan; Perry Williams, Susan

    2012-01-01

    Economists and political scientists have long been interested in factors that affect the statutory tax rate on businesses set by federal governments. In this study, we examine the impact of political and economic factors on several measures of tax rates and tax incentives offered across 19 developed countries for the years 1979 through 2005. Our results indicate that while economic conditions such as openness, strategic interaction, budget constraints, economic downturns and an aging populati...

  20. Politics sans economics: commentary on the political economy of demonetization in India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zaad Mahmood

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Between 8th November and 31st December 2016 the Indian government instituted one of the biggest demonetisation exercises in the world by withdrawing 86 percent of all currency in the form of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes. This paper looks at the debate surrounding the demonetisation exercise and attempts to provide a political economy logic. Interrogating the various arguments around demonetisation, it argues that demonetisation has been reduced to a political posturing as the economic consequences remain highly debated.

  1. Gender, religion and democratic politics in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Zoya

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the impact of identity politics on gender equality. More specifically it explores the paradoxical and complex relationship of religion and politics in a multi-religious society and the complicated ways in which women's activism has both reinforced and challenged their gender identities. Contrary to the argument that religious politics does not always negate gender equality, the article argues that the Hindu religious politics and women's activism associated with it provides a compelling example of the instrumentalisation of women to accomplish the political goals of the Hindu right. It also examines the approach and strategies of influential political parties, women's organisations and Muslim women's groups towards legal reform and the contested issue of a uniform civil code. Against those who argue that, in the current communal conjuncture, reform within Muslim personal laws or Islamic feminism is the best strategy for enhancing the scope of Muslim women's rights, the article argues that such an approach tends to freeze identities within religious boundaries. It shows how women's and minority rights are used within the politics of religion to sideline the agenda of women's rights.

  2. Political Ideonomy of Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Mozafarinia

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The conditions of success and reasons for failure of development strategies and plans, are among the most important “development studies” issues. This has been explained in different ways: for example, there is a strong relationship between the efficiency of development strategies and plans and development theories. Based on paradigmatic-implicative theory, which explains the relationship between development theories and political thought and considers the development theory as one of the practical implications of political thought, a condition for the success of development strategies and development plans can be found to be rooted in the political thought foundation. Therefore, in the present article we explore the political thought supporting Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth theory, as one of the oldest and most important development theories which in the 1960s resulted in understanding development as “growth”. We use qualitative content analysis method to show that the political foundation of Rostow’s Stages of Economic Growth theory is based on the principle of “the most utility for the most people” in accordance with Bentham’s utilitarian political thought.

  3. Economics, Politics and Education. Sociology of the School.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawkins, David

    This monograph, one in a series on theory and educational issues in Australia, explores links between education and political and economic structures. Two sections provide an analysis of an education-work program and five readings. The Transition Education Program is described as a government response to the 1979 economic crisis. The policy and…

  4. ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL FACTS AND PERSPECTIVES OF 2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liviu RADU

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Following the turbulent year of 2016, with deep geopolitical changes, the new year of 2017 promises to be full of challenges in what concerns the economic, social, political and geostrategic area. The key events of the last year (the Brexit, the elections in the USA, the events in Turkey, the force demonstrations of Russia, the situation of the migration wave etc. shall have an impact on the global economic development and on the repositioning of its main actors. This paperwork intends to analyze the main consequences of the recent events on the short term progress in what concerns the economic, social, political and geostrategic area. We hereby intend to review the facts and the main potential progress on the economic status of this year which was so complicated, both for the European Union and for every member of it.

  5. Resource mobilization for health advocacy: Afro-Brazilian religious organizations and HIV prevention and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garcia, Jonathan; Parker, Richard G

    2011-06-01

    Brazil's national response to AIDS has been tied to the ability to mobilize resources from the World Bank, the World Health Organization, and a variety of donor agencies. The combination of favorable political economic opportunities and the bottom-up demands from civil society make Brazil a particularly interesting case. Despite the stabilization of the AIDS epidemic within the general Brazilian population, it continues to grow in pockets of poverty, especially among women and blacks. We use resource mobilization theories to examine the role of Afro-Brazilian religious organizations in reaching these marginalized populations. From December 2006 through November 2008, we conducted ethnographic research, including participant observation and oral histories with religious leaders (N = 18), officials from the National AIDS Program (N = 12), public health workers from Rio de Janeiro (N = 5), and non-governmental organization (NGO) activists who have worked with Afro-Brazilian religions (N = 5). The mobilization of resources from international donors, political opportunities (i.e., decentralization of the National AIDS Program), and cultural framings enabled local Afro-Brazilian religious groups to forge a national network. On the micro-level, in Rio de Janeiro, we observed how macro-level structures led to the proliferation of capacity-building and peer educator projects among these religious groups. We found that beyond funding assistance, the interrelation of religious ideologies, leadership, and networks linked to HIV can affect mobilization. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. Radical atheism and religious power: new atheist politics

    OpenAIRE

    Stuart McAnulla

    2012-01-01

    The increased visibility of assertive forms of atheism has provoked much public debate. This article argues that new atheism primarily seeks to contest what it considers to be the unjustifiably powerful role of religion through a multifaceted challenge to religious beliefs, practices and institutions. Influential theories of power are drawn upon to unpack the character of new atheist positions. It is proposed that new atheism seeks to challenge four perceived ‘dimensions‘ of religious power, ...

  7. The genetic architecture of economic and political preferences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benjamin, Daniel J; Cesarini, David; van der Loos, Matthijs J H M; Dawes, Christopher T; Koellinger, Philipp D; Magnusson, Patrik K E; Chabris, Christopher F; Conley, Dalton; Laibson, David; Johannesson, Magnus; Visscher, Peter M

    2012-05-22

    Preferences are fundamental building blocks in all models of economic and political behavior. We study a new sample of comprehensively genotyped subjects with data on economic and political preferences and educational attainment. We use dense single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data to estimate the proportion of variation in these traits explained by common SNPs and to conduct genome-wide association study (GWAS) and prediction analyses. The pattern of results is consistent with findings for other complex traits. First, the estimated fraction of phenotypic variation that could, in principle, be explained by dense SNP arrays is around one-half of the narrow heritability estimated using twin and family samples. The molecular-genetic-based heritability estimates, therefore, partially corroborate evidence of significant heritability from behavior genetic studies. Second, our analyses suggest that these traits have a polygenic architecture, with the heritable variation explained by many genes with small effects. Our results suggest that most published genetic association studies with economic and political traits are dramatically underpowered, which implies a high false discovery rate. These results convey a cautionary message for whether, how, and how soon molecular genetic data can contribute to, and potentially transform, research in social science. We propose some constructive responses to the inferential challenges posed by the small explanatory power of individual SNPs.

  8. Putin's and Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union: A hybrid half-economics and half-political “Janus Bifrons”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bruno S. Sergi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The Eurasian Economic Union is an institution formalized in January 2015 for the purpose of regional economic integration; it includes five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan, and may include Mongolia and Tajikistan in the future. With a GDP of $1.59 trillion in 2015, an industrial production of $1.3 trillion in 2014, and population of almost 200 million as of 2016, the EEAU could represent a geopolitical success that supports both Putin's ambitious political agenda and the Union's economic prospects. Although the efforts of this Union are ongoing and long-term success is not certain, the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union can be considered a hybrid half-economics and half-political “Janus Bifrons” that serves as a powerful illustration of what Putin envisions for the post-Soviet space. Despite promising steps so far, more should be done toward the achievement of economic development and balanced opportunity for all Eurasian countries. Russia's longstanding role within the Union, as well as its power and political motivations, are all considerations that must be accounted for.

  9. the Arab boycott of Israel: economic political warfare against Israel.

    OpenAIRE

    Gilat, Eliyau Zeev

    1992-01-01

    Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited This thesis examines the effectiveness of the Arab Boycott of Israel from an economic and a political perspective. This study covers the Arab boycott from 1946 until 1990. It demonstrates that economically and politically, the Arab boycott had three distinct phases. The first of these was the period from the declaration of the Arab boycott in 1946 until the 1973 War. The second phase took place between the 1973 War...

  10. The religious tourism in Greece: Case study of Saint John Russian in N. Evia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aggeliki Chantziantoniou

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The prevailing political and economic conditions both in Greece and around the world determine the general development of all forms of tourism. The development of specific forms of tourism, such as that of religious tourism, gains tremendous interest in the present economic circumstances, as it is a factor in strengthening the national economy and at the same time a legacy for the future with enormous social, cultural and environmental significance. The development of a strategic approach to religious tourism can build on the comparative advantage of our country in this field by creating new tourist sites to attract tourists with intellectual pursuits and special interests. The Prefecture of Evia has a rich range of natural and cultural resources, with particular characteristics of beauty, uniqueness, and authenticity, elements that are required for the design and development of specific forms of tourism. In the case study on religious tourism in Saint John Russian in the Prefecture of Evia, an attempt is being made to explore the contribution of religious tourism tolocaldevelopmentandthepreconditionsforthepromotionofthepilgrimageof SaintJohn Russian to a major destination of religious and cultural interest of international scope. Additionally, an effort is made to highlight the importance of religious tourism as a special form of tourism that contributes to the development of areas hosting religious monuments. Identifying the opportunities and opportunities that exist, exploring its growth prospects and identifying emerging markets, dictates the formulation of policy proposals where combined with the existing specific forms of tourism it will show it as an essential factor in the systematic organization, exploitation and promotion of the Area.

  11. Growth and Women's Economic Empowerment: Can Political ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    This research project will generate evidence on how women's political ... Kingdom's Department for International Development, The William and Flora Hewlett ... support 11 projects addressing barriers to women's economic empowerment and ... Call for new OWSD Fellowships for Early Career Women Scientists now open.

  12. Revolution, Modernity and (Trans)National Shi`i Islam: Rethinking Religious Conversion in Senegal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leichtman, Mara A

    2009-07-01

    The establishment of a Shi`i Islamic network in Senegal is one alternative to following the country's dominant Sufi orders. I examine Senegalese conversion narratives and the central role played by the Iranian Revolution, contextualizing life stories (trans)nationally in Senegal's political economy and global networks with Iran and Lebanon. Converts localize foreign religious ideologies into a 'national' Islam through the discourse that Shi`i education can bring peace and economic development to Senegal. Senegalese Shi`a perceive that proselytizing, media technologies, and Muslim networking can lead to social, cultural and perhaps even political change through translating the Iranian Revolution into a non-violent reform movement.

  13. Political and economic aspects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Neil, C.

    1997-01-01

    The political and socio-economic aspects of oil and gas exploration in Canada's Arctic and the Beaufort Sea were reviewed. The federal government was very interested in developing the North because they saw oil and gas development in the North as a means of strengthening sovereignty claims. The projected profits from Northern oil and gas development were also very attractive, and after dealing with environmental and social concerns, the government granted the necessary drilling permits. The federal government also made allowances for huge tax incentives for the oil and gas companies to encourage exploration. Although oil has been found, large-scale production in the Beaufort Sea never materialized. During the period from 1984 to 1988, world prices for oil fell and it was no longer economical to undertake frontier production. Beaufort Sea operation were shut down as the oil industry changed its focus to more cost-effective reservoirs in southern Canada. 1 fig

  14. Analyzing Crime and Crime Control: A Resource Guide. Economics-Political Science Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butterfield, Ruth I.; And Others

    This document, the fourth in a series of resource guides emphasizing economic-political analysis of contemporary public policies and issues, focuses on crime control. Designed as a three-week unit for secondary school students, the guide is presented in three sections. The introduction presents an economic and a political science framework for…

  15. Analytic cognitive style predicts religious and paranormal belief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pennycook, Gordon; Cheyne, James Allan; Seli, Paul; Koehler, Derek J; Fugelsang, Jonathan A

    2012-06-01

    An analytic cognitive style denotes a propensity to set aside highly salient intuitions when engaging in problem solving. We assess the hypothesis that an analytic cognitive style is associated with a history of questioning, altering, and rejecting (i.e., unbelieving) supernatural claims, both religious and paranormal. In two studies, we examined associations of God beliefs, religious engagement (attendance at religious services, praying, etc.), conventional religious beliefs (heaven, miracles, etc.) and paranormal beliefs (extrasensory perception, levitation, etc.) with performance measures of cognitive ability and analytic cognitive style. An analytic cognitive style negatively predicted both religious and paranormal beliefs when controlling for cognitive ability as well as religious engagement, sex, age, political ideology, and education. Participants more willing to engage in analytic reasoning were less likely to endorse supernatural beliefs. Further, an association between analytic cognitive style and religious engagement was mediated by religious beliefs, suggesting that an analytic cognitive style negatively affects religious engagement via lower acceptance of conventional religious beliefs. Results for types of God belief indicate that the association between an analytic cognitive style and God beliefs is more nuanced than mere acceptance and rejection, but also includes adopting less conventional God beliefs, such as Pantheism or Deism. Our data are consistent with the idea that two people who share the same cognitive ability, education, political ideology, sex, age and level of religious engagement can acquire very different sets of beliefs about the world if they differ in their propensity to think analytically. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Impact of Globalisation On Economic Growth in Romania: An Empirical Analysis of Its Economic, Social and Political Dimensions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olimpia Neagu

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses the link between globalisation and economic growth in Romania for a time span of 24 years. Data from World Bank were used in an econometrical model in order to highlight the impact of globalisation, expressed by the KOF globalisation index and its components (economic, social and political globalisation indices on economic growth rate. A statistical strong and positive link is found between GDP per capita dynamics and overall globalisation index as well as between GDP growth rate and economic and political globalisation, except the social dimension of globalisation which has a negative impact on economic growth in Romania for the time span 1990-2013.

  17. Corruption, Political Instability and Economic Development in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): Is There a Causal Relationship?

    OpenAIRE

    Nurudeen Abu; Mohd Zaini Abd Karim; Mukhriz Izraf Azman Aziz

    2015-01-01

    Despite the abundant research on economic development, corruption and political instability, little research has attempted to examine whether there is a causal relationship among them. This paper examines the causal relationship among corruption, political instability and economic development in the ECOWAS using the Granger causality test within a multivariate cointegration and error-correction framework for the 1996 - 2012 period. The findings indicate that political instability Granger-caus...

  18. Viewing India from Religious Angle

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Qiu Yonghui

    2004-01-01

    @@ It would be impossible to understand India without any knowledge about the religions of this country. India is a developing country with many religions, nationalities and languages. This nation has long been noted for its democratic politics and multiculture. India was founded on the principle of secularism, but at the same time it has suffered from religions. Therefore, to have a clear idea about the basic conditions of India's multiple religious beliefs is the foundation for studies of its religions of the country, and is also one key to grasping Indian social politics. In early September 2004, the Indian government published religious data from the 2001 census. Accordingly, we can make some basic judgments about the religions in today's India.

  19. The Biblical Matrix of Economics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grigore PIROŞCĂ

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The rationale of this paper is a prime pattern of history of economic thought in the previous ages of classic ancient times of Greek and Roman civilizations using a methodological matrix able to capture the mainstream ideas from social, political and religious events within the pages of Bible. The economic perspective of these events follows the evolution of the seeds of economic thinking within the Fertile Crescent, focused on the Biblical patriarchic heroes’ actions, but also on the empires which their civilization interacted to. The paper aims to discover the path followed by the economic doctrines from the Bible in order to find a match with economic actuality of present days.

  20. The economic and political integration of Europe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This book covers issues concerning US coal and mineral exports to Europe in the wake of the economic and political integration of Europe. Topics addressed include: The European Energy Charter; the implications of the European Energy Charter for coal companies; and tax issues, coal development and the European Common Market

  1. China Update: Economic Reforms and Political Realities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eaton, Jana Sackman

    1999-01-01

    Illustrates that China has been undergoing an unprecedented rapidity of change. Discusses the high unemployment rates, job markets, reform movements, differences in economic equality, the role of the National People's Congress, and the changing political climate. Reveals that freedom is subtly beginning to permeate the lives of Chinese citizens.…

  2. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLITICAL INSTABILITY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: THE CASE OF TURKEY (1987-2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SELİM ŞANLISOY

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Economy and policy are always in mutual interaction. Especially the fact that sharp judgement between economical variables and democratization cannot be put forward shows that the relationship between political instability and economical variables should be analysed. In recent studies political stability or instability variables including more comprehensive variables instead of democratization variables have been used. The main aim of this study is to analyse the effects of political instability often experienced in Turkey’s conditions on economic growth. Here in terms of the analysis of variables (data time series a model with single equation was established and within the framework of this model some analyses were carried out with the help of main and control variables. To the findings, in accordance with the literature, it is verified that there is a reverse relationship between political instability and economic growth in Turkey and in the light of the findings, some policy suggestions are also made.

  3. Essays in political economy and resource economic : A macroeconomic approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rodriguez Acosta, Mauricio

    2016-01-01

    This dissertation consists of four chapters in Political Economy and Resource Economics from a macroeconomic perspective. This collection of works emphasizes the endogenous nature of institutions and their importance for economic development. The four chapters revolve around two central questions:

  4. Security Reasoning, Spatial Politics, Patriarchy and the Economic ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Security Reasoning, Spatial Politics, Patriarchy and the Economic Rights of ... find a job, start a business, and participate in the formal or informal economy. ... and engage in public policy dialogue will be an important aspect of this project.

  5. Critical prophecy and political leadership in biblical, African and Islamic worldviews

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.O. Abioje

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the socio-political influence of prophecy in traditional African and the biblical perspectives, in order to challenge contemporary African religious men and women to serve as the conscience of society. There is hardly any doubt that political leaders are usually prone to abuse of their positions and they need to be reprimanded and lampooned. A discussion on Islam is included, because, together with Christianity, it dominates, to a large extent, socio-political and economic leadership in Africa. It is the view of many scholars that neither Christianity nor Islam have been applied sufficiently to political leadership in Africa to have an impact on mass socio-political and economic welfare, although some heroic individual exceptions are noted. The materials were gathered through a literature study. The study is comparative in the sense that it compares prophecy in traditional Africa with what is obtained from the Bible and the church as we know it today. The study recommends critical prophecy in the two dominant Old Testament religions, namely Christianity and Islam, and in African Traditional Religion, for improved political leadership and development in Africa.

  6. The law, economics and politics of international standardisation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Delimatsis, Panagiotis

    2015-01-01

    In an era of increased reliance on private regulatory bodies and globalised economic activity, standardisation is the field where politics, technical expertise and strategic behaviour meet and interact. International standard-setting bodies exemplify the rise of transnational governance and the

  7. Religious Co-option in Autocracy: A Theory Inspired by History

    OpenAIRE

    Auriol, Emmanuelle; Platteau, Jean-Philippe

    2016-01-01

    The relationship between religion and politics is explored from a theoretical standpoint, assuming that religious clerics can be coopted by the ruler acting as an autocrat. The comparative effects of decentralized versus centralized religions on the optimal level of cooperation between the autocrat and the religious clerics, which itself impinges upon political stability, is analysed. The paper shows that the presence of a decentralized body of clerics makes autocratic regimes more unstable. ...

  8. THE EFFECTS OF ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAWS AND POLICIES ON POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STABILITY OF EUROPEAN UNION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merim Kasumović

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Development of a civil society and social systems for protection of different groups is directly related to well functioning political and economic systems. If the level of economic development or political stability is not continuous the implementation of antidiscrimination laws would most likely be at a very low level. In this case development of social rights along with implementation of antidiscrimination rights may be marginalized due to three factors: lack of cooperation among political and economic spheres, lack of knowledge about antidiscrimination laws and absence of political will for adoption and implementation of antidiscrimination laws. Therefore, we focus on the examination of specific issues concerning the three aforementioned factors primarily focusing on EU and divergence in the level of political and economic development among the member states.We will argue that antidiscrimination laws are not welcome in new member states, especially since they increase political and economic costs for the governments of respective countries. Level of political development has much to do with the acceptance and inclusion of AD laws in the decision making process. Economic development has much to do with social and living standards within a country which is directly related to the general perception of the population on AD laws. Therefore, one could say that implementation of AD laws heavily depends on the preparedness of people, economic and political system and their will to cope with costs and benefits of implementing those laws.

  9. Political Violence and the Mediating Role of Violent Extremist Propensities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nele Schils

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Research into violent extremism is lacking integrated theoretical frameworks explaining individual involvement in politically or religiously motivated violence, resulting in a poor understanding of causal mechanisms. Building on situational action theory, the current study moves beyond the dominant risk factor approach and proposes an integrated model for the explanation of political/religious violence, distinguishing between direct mechanisms and “causes of the causes.” The model integrates mechanisms from different but complementary traditions. Following previous work, this study focusses on the causes of the causes influencing direct key mechanisms, violent extremist propensity, and exposure to violent extremist moral settings that explain political/religious violence. The theoretical model is tested using structural equation modelling. The analyses are based on a web survey (N = 6,020 among adolescents and young adults in Belgium. Results show that violent extremist propensity and exposure to violent extremist moral settings have direct effects on the likelihood of political/religious violence. These direct mechanisms are in turn determined by a series of exogenous factors: perceived injustice and poor social integration. The relationship between perceived injustice and poor social integration and political/religious violence is further mediated by perceived alienation, perceived procedural justice, and religious authoritarianism. The implications of these findings are discussed.

  10. When the mosque goes Beethoven: Expressing religious belongings through music

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Salzbrunn

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The present article will provide insight on music as a vector of religious belonging: a female choir at a mosque in the Lake Geneva Metropolitan Region has reinterpreted Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with new text about the glory of the Messenger, and a regional political and religious event which has united music from Syria, Kosovo and Tunisia in order to put on stage the cosmopolitan characteristics of Swiss Muslims. Religious and national belonging as well as cultural references can be expressed in different ways through ritual practices (prayer, celebrations, food or clothing. These practices, influenced by gender and age, are highly diverse. Celebrations that are performed in public also depend on the local and global political context, the specific social situation and the specific place (location, public, legal framework etc.. As part of a broader research project on “(Invisible Islam in the city,” a research team directed by Monika Salzbrunn has observed various forms of celebration – both religious and secular festive events – in which Muslim citizens are involved. At what audience are these musical performances directed? Can we really separate an analysis of religious belongings from an analysis of political and/or cultural performances?

  11. Radicalización ideológico-política y terrorismo: un enfoque psicosocial (Ideological-political radicalization and terrorism: a psychosocial approach)

    OpenAIRE

    Jorge Torres-Marín; Ginés Navarro-Carrillo; Marcos Dono; Humberto Manuel Trujillo

    2017-01-01

    Ideological-political radicalization and terrorism generate a series of disastrous consequences for the correct functioning of society. Nowadays, polarization and ideological-political radicalization are on the rise. Factors contributing to this are situations of social upheaval like the migratory and economic crisis, as well as terrorism of an ideological-religious nature. The proposal of effective preventive interventions requires a multidisciplinary and systematic s...

  12. Has Political Science Ignored Religion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kettell, Steven

    2012-01-01

    A common complaint from political scientists involved in the study of religion is that religious issues have been largely overlooked by political science. Through a content analysis of leading political science and sociology journals from 2000 to 2010, this article considers the extent of this claim. The results show that political science…

  13. The fluctuating female vote: politics, religion, and the ovulatory cycle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Durante, Kristina M; Rae, Ashley; Griskevicius, Vladas

    2013-06-01

    Each month, many women experience an ovulatory cycle that regulates fertility. Although research has found that this cycle influences women's mating preferences, we proposed that it might also change women's political and religious views. Building on theory suggesting that political and religious orientation are linked to reproductive goals, we tested how fertility influenced women's politics, religiosity, and voting in the 2012 U.S. presidential election. In two studies with large and diverse samples, ovulation had drastically different effects on single women and women in committed relationships. Ovulation led single women to become more liberal, less religious, and more likely to vote for Barack Obama. In contrast, ovulation led women in committed relationships to become more conservative, more religious, and more likely to vote for Mitt Romney. In addition, ovulation-induced changes in political orientation mediated women's voting behavior. Overall, the ovulatory cycle not only influences women's politics but also appears to do so differently for single women than for women in relationships.

  14. The Politics and Anti-Politics of Social Movements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    This book explores the nature, significance and consequences of the religious activism surrounding AIDS in Africa. While African religion was relatively marginal in inspiring or contributing to AIDS activism during the early days of the epidemic, this situation has changed dramatically. In order...... to account for these changes, contributors provide answers to pressing questions. How does the entrance of religion into public debates about AIDS affect policymaking and implementation, church-state relations, and religion itself? How do religious actors draw on and reconfigure forms of transnational...... connectivity? How do resource flows from development and humanitarian aid that religious actors may access then affect relationships of power and authority in African societies? How does religious mobilization on AIDS reflect contestation over identity, cultural membership, theology, political participation...

  15. Argentina: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sullivan, Mark P

    2006-01-01

    Argentina's restructuring of over $100 billion in defaulted bond debt in June 2005 demonstrated the country's emergence from its 2001-2002 economic crisis that had caused severe stress on the political system...

  16. Religion and Politics in Africa: The Future of “The Secular”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jon Abbink

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This essay discusses the continued importance that religion holds in African life, not only in terms of numbers of believers, but also regarding the varieties of religious experience and its links with politics and the “public sphere(s”. Coinciding with the wave of democratization and economic liberalization efforts since about 1990, a notable growth of the public presence of religion and its political referents in Africa has been witnessed; alongside “development”, religion will remain a hot issue in the future political trajectory of the continent. Its renewed presence in public spheres has also led to new understandings of what religion means and how it figures into both “world-making” and identity politics. This will prolong the challenges associated with the role and status of religion in the “secular state model” found in most African countries. Can these states, while “besieged” by believers, maintain neutrality among diverse worldviews, and if so, how? The paper discusses these issues in a general manner with reference to African examples, some taken from fieldwork by the author, and makes a philosophical argument for the development of a new kind of “secular state” that can respect the religious commitments of African populations.

  17. Designer ecosystems, capitalism, and boom-bust economic cycles: linking political economy and hydroecology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Doyle, M. W.; Rigby, J.

    2011-12-01

    The basic premise of the term "anthropocene" is that human practices are becoming a primary force in shaping ecosystems even at the global scale. Ecohydrologists and hydroecologists often consider human effects to be a collective term that is culturally and politically invariant. "Anthropogenic change" is often cited regardless of whether these changes occur in liberal democracies or totalitarian autocracies. Yet there is potential for socio-politically driven variation in basic human impacts on the environment. Analyzing the anthropocene requires considering the rise in global population convolved with dramatically shifting political and economic conditions. How humans affect the environment, and how environmental change feedbacks operate, are likely highly dependent on cultural and political contexts. We posed the question, "Does capitalism leave a distinct signature on the hydroecological landscape?" We analyzed emerging designer ecosystems markets using Mankiw-Whinston free-entry equilibria model coupled with simple species-area curves and tested it with an extensive database of ecosystem service trades in North Carolina. Free-entry leads to a diffusion of small restored ecosystems whereas restricted entry leads to fewer, large sites; the difference in site locations and sizes in turn impact regional species distribution and water quality. We next analyzed the effect of deregulating electricity markets on river flow regimes in North Carolina; market deregulation increases potential profits derived from rapid power production in response to price changes on the spot market to which hydropower is uniquely able to respond. Results showed the potential for increased flow variability associated with price volatility in purely market-driven cases, but additional constraints required of infrastructure (e.g., flood control) restrict purely market-driven flow regimes. Changes in macro-economic conditions may also leave distinct signatures, often reflecting political

  18. Islam, religiosity, and immigrant political action in Western Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Just, Aida; Sandovici, Maria Elena; Listhaug, Ola

    2014-01-01

    The issues of migration and immigrant political integration in western democracies have become increasingly intertwined with debates on religion, particularly Islam. To date, however, we have surprisingly little systematic research on how religious beliefs are related to immigrants' political engagement. In this study, we argue that religion has a capacity to mobilize immigrants politically but the strength of this relationship depends on immigrant generation, religiosity, and the type of religion. Using survey data collected as part of the European Social Survey (ESS) 2002-2010 in 18 West European democracies, our analyses reveal that religion is indeed linked to political engagement of immigrants in a complex way: while belonging to a religion is generally associated with less political participation, exposure to religious institutions appears to have the opposite effect. Moreover, we find that, compared to foreign-born Muslims, second-generation Muslim immigrants are not only more religious and more politically dissatisfied with their host countries, but also that religiosity is more strongly linked to their political engagement. This relationship, however, is limited to uninstitutionalized political action. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Religious Musings de S. T. Coleridge: a theological and political interpretation for the romantic literature.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laura Gavilán

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The poem Religious Musings, a Desultory Poem, Written on the Christmas Eve of 1794 (1794-96 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge describes the French Revolution as a divine event that opens up the first stage of the Millennium. The active relationship between schemes of interpretation and categories that proceeds from literature and theology during in the late eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth century is markedly important in order to analyze whereby romanticisms are constituted in Europe. In England, this connection has a distinctive feature since from the seventeenth century, the wars of religion, through government institutions –that is Parliament and the Crown- play a crucial role in politics. Coleridge’s later rejection of the millennial tradition of 1790’s literature, that which regards Revolution as a sign of the biblical prophesy’s fulfillment, occurs in time with the conservative turn of many poets that adhere to the high romanticism canon. Acknowledging the intensity of the link between the French Revolution and the rise of new forms of literary meanings, this article aims to look into the ways in which Religious Musings applies and elaborates upon theological concepts and subjects as a way of giving history a new significance.Keywords: literature – theology – revolution – history – romanticism.

  20. Superstition, religion and the political / Superstição, religião e o político

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michel Despland

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract/presentationAlthough a respected researcher of religion in both the European and North American intellectual scene, Michel Despland is to date still little known in Brazilian religion studies circles. Among his several publications, we name but a few: Kant on history and religion: with a translation of Kant's On the failure of all attempted philosophical theodicies (McGill-Queen's University Press, 1973; The education of desire, Plato and the philosophy of religion (University of Toronto Press, 1985; Les hierarchies sont ebranlees, politiques et theologies au XIXe siècle, (Fides, 1998; Comparatisme et Christianisme: questions d'histoire et de methode (L'Harmattan, 2002. In the paper before us, which was presented during the 12th Symposium of the Brazilian Association for the History of Religions (2011, UFJF, Professor Despland starts from the anthropological premise that religion is “something people do”. Drawing on Spinoza’s work, Despland elects the category of “superstition” as the most adequate tool for the analysis of the religious realm, rather than, for instance, “the sacred”. The author’s immediate goal is first to understand Spinoza’s own construal of the religious and political realms in their interrelatedness – both in conceptual continuity and rupture with the Western/Christian traditions of political theology. He then proceeds to probe historically into the moral and social dimensions of religion as embedded both in its own institutions and in the ever growing third realm of civil society vis-à-vis the state. This discussion, enriched by the contribution of other important writers such as J.-J. Rousseau, A. de Tocqueville, B. Constant and C. Lefort, should serve as a test for his theoretical choices. Despland hopes to have shown, at the end, that a consideration of religion as inevitably rooted in human nature, together with the analysis of the particular historical configuration of the political and

  1. Gifted Education's Reflection of Country-Specific Cultural, Political, and Economic Features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frantz, Roger S.; McClarty, Katie Larsen

    2016-01-01

    Educational policies and practices are influenced by cultural, political, and economic factors, and this is also true of specialized educational approaches such as gifted education. Factors such as a country's cultural tendency toward egalitarianism or meritocracy, whether the political system is centralized or decentralized, and the degree to…

  2. An assessment of potential hydro-political tensions in transboundary river basins using environmental, political, and economic indicators

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Stefano, Lucia; Petersen-Perlman, Jacob; Sproles, Eric; Eynard, James; Wolf, Aaron T.

    2015-04-01

    Globally 286 river basins extend across international borders, covering over 61.9 million km2 of the earth's surface and hosting a total of approximately 2.7 billion people. In these basins, transboundary water resources support an interdependent web of environmental, political, and economic systems that can enhance or destabilize a region. We present an integrated global-scale assessment of transboundary watersheds to identify regions more likely to experience hydro-political tensions over the next decade and beyond based upon environmental, political, and economic indicators. We combine NASA's Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) measurements of changes in terrestrial water storage with metrics of projected climate change impacts on water variability, the institutional capacity of countries to manage shared water resources, the development of new water infrastructure, per capita gross national income, domestic and international armed conflicts, and recent history of disputes over transboundary waters. The construction of new water-related infrastructure is on-going or planned in many basins worldwide. New water infrastructure is foreseen also in areas where instruments of international cooperation are still absent or limited in scope, e.g. in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central America, the northern part of the South American continent, and the southern Balkans as well as in different parts of Africa. Moreover, in Central and Eastern Africa, the Middle East, and Central, South and South-East Asia there is a concomitance of several political, environmental and socioeconomic factors that could exacerbate hydropolitical tensions. Our analysis integrates political, economic and environmental metrics and is part of the United Nation's Transboundary Waters Assessment Programme to provide the first global-scale assessment of its type.

  3. Economic Impact of Religious Tourism in Mardin, Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Istvan Egresi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Following a worldwide trend, the number of religious tourists to the province of Mardin, in Southeastern Turkey has increased continuously during the last decade. Using a combination of methods this study aimed to assess the impact of religious tourism development on the local community and economy. We found that the effect is mainly positive. The hotels have high occupancy rates throughout the year and many new hotels have been built during the last five years. Also most visitors eat in local restaurants at least once a day and patronize local shops and businesses. The development of religious tourism has also led to the creation of many new jobs.

  4. Thinking Like an Economist: The Neoliberal Politics of the Economics Textbook

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zuidhof, P.W.

    2014-01-01

    This article surveys 10 introductory economics textbooks to examine whether and how economics contributed to the rise of neoliberalism. It defines neoliberalism as a political rationality characterized by market constructivism. In contrast with conventional liberal approaches that view limited

  5. Religious education in public schools and religious identity in post-communist Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avramović Sima

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The author analyses types of religious education in European and Serbian state-run schools searching for an innovative approach to existing classifications. He suggests four criteria to differ and categorize types of religious education in public schools, claiming that the actual taxonomy is often insufficient, inconsistent or perplexed (having usually been based upon one or two elements. He proposes categorization which encompasses point of view and interests of tax payers, of the politics, of the pupils and of the religious teachers. More criteria could lead to a better assessment of particular system of religious education. He also suggests that, apart from usual categorization in confessional and non-confessional religious education, it would be useful to introduce categories like 'mostly confessional' and 'mostly non-confessional', as clear-cut models are very rare. In addition to this he offers arguments why 'cognitive' type of religious education would be more proper label instead of 'non-confessional'. Further on the author examines controversies, disputes and manner of reintroduction of religious instruction in Serbian legislation after the fall of the communist regime in 2000 and presents the current situation, including very recent changes considering curricula. He points to some very distinctive features of religious education model in Serbia which could be of interest in comparative perspective, particularly in the time when many states in Europe tend to improve their religious education system. Finally, he points to importance of religious education in building religious identity of young generations in post-communist countries, and differs two types of religious identity - perceptive (intuitive and cognitive (rational. He concludes that 'educating into religion' has to exist for some time in post-communist countries due to historical circumstances (within more or less confessional model. Additionally, he finds that it should be

  6. Economic Liberalization and Political Violence: Utopia or Dystopia ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    2010-08-06

    Aug 6, 2010 ... Economic Liberalization and Political Violence: Utopia or Dystopia? ... Narrowing the concept of globalization to the more manageable notion of “neoliberalism,” ... Asian outlook: New growth dependent on new productivity ... of its 2017 call for proposals to establish Cyber Policy Centres in the Global South.

  7. Religious Freedom Ethic’s Dimensions: Individual vs. Communitarian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ben-Oni Ardelean

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Vivid debates were encountered in recent years on the subject of religious freedom ethics. The politic correctness attitude became many times a coercion instrument for suppressing the communitarian interests by promoting individual interests, instituting the minority tyranny that reduced to silence the communitarian interests. This might also create a disproportional representation in society for communitarian religious interests. The question is: whose religious interests should prevail? Should there be more guarantees given by the governments for the long existing, larger, and traditional religious groups, compare with the guarantees provided for the newer and smaller religious groups? Those questions provide a glimpse of the existing tension in the society on the subject of religious freedom. The present paper should answer these types of questions, explaining the tension and giving possible answers from a religious freedom normative approach.

  8. Social, economic, and political forces affecting the future of occupational health nursing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, M A

    1989-09-01

    1. By monitoring the major social, economic, and political forces affecting health care, one can predict how these forces may impact the role of occupational health nurses. 2. Nursing can and must chart its own course in the midst of these social, economic, and political changes. 3. Changes which have major implications for occupational health nurses are: health care needs, cost containment, multi-hospital chains, alternative approaches to health care, the workplace, ethical concerns, biomedical technology, nursing shortage, and oversupply of physicians. 4. Nursing implications can also be drawn in the areas of autonomy, political skills, and education. Active involvement and a desire to shape professional change and the future of nursing are keys.

  9. 'Grounded' Politics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Garbi

    2012-01-01

    play within one particular neighbourhood: Nørrebro in the Danish capital, Copenhagen. The article introduces the concept of grounded politics to analyse how groups of Muslim immigrants in Nørrebro use the space, relationships and history of the neighbourhood for identity political statements....... The article further describes how national political debates over the Muslim presence in Denmark affect identity political manifestations within Nørrebro. By using Duncan Bell’s concept of mythscape (Bell, 2003), the article shows how some political actors idealize Nørrebro’s past to contest the present...... ethnic and religious diversity of the neighbourhood and, further, to frame what they see as the deterioration of genuine Danish identity....

  10. How do political and economic institutions affect each other?

    OpenAIRE

    Braunfels, Elias

    2014-01-01

    This paper provides evidence for the mutually reinforcing relation of political and economic institutions. To overcome problems of endogeneity I utilize lag instruments within a GMM framework for dynamic panel data. Employing recently developed tests, I show that limiting the number of lag instruments and collapsing the instru- ment matrix eliminates many and weak instrument biases. My major findings are that (i) improving economic institutions has a large positive effec...

  11. Oil: Economics and politics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayoub, A.

    1994-01-01

    A review is presented of the evolution of the international petroleum sector since 1973 with a special emphasis on the interdependence between the economic and political factors that influence it. Two issues are focused on: the effects of the nationalization of oil companies on the sharing of oil rents and on changes in the structure of the oil market; and the determination of oil prices. Definitions are presented of oil rents, and the reasons for OPEC nationalization of oil companies are explored. The effects of nationalization on market structures, expansion of free markets, and vertical integration are discussed. The existence of an oil price floor and the reasons for such a floor are examined. It is shown that nationalization induced an internalization of rents by the producing countries, leading to the emergence of a differential rent supported by the politics of the industrialized countries. Nationalization led to the breakup of systems of vertical and horizontal integration, with replacement by a new dual structure with OPEC controlling the upstream activities of the oil sector and oil companies controlling the downstream ones. Prices move between a floor price set by the costs of substitute deposits in the U.S., while the determination of ceiling levels by OPEC rests on successive fragile compromises. Overall oil is still a strategic product, despite the existence of spot markets, forward trading options, etc. 29 refs

  12. Beyond Political Rhetoric and Discourse: What Type of Educational, Socio-Economic, and Political Change Should Educators Expect of President Barack Obama?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Orelus, Pierre W.

    2009-01-01

    This article critically analyzes Obama's singular political victory. The author begins by laying out current racial, socio-economic, educational and political challenges that await President-elect Obama. He goes on to analyze Obama's political discourse and then questions whether or not Obama would be able to meet these challenges. The author…

  13. Economic Prospects for African Americans, 2001-2010: Politics and Promises.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brimmer, Andrew F.

    Given the different economic policy approaches of the two candidates for the 2000 presidential election, Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George W. Bush, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies analyzed and assessed the plans put forth by both candidates, focusing on the expected impacts on African Americans. Six analyses were…

  14. Gender Panics about Transgender Children in Religious Right Discourse

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Amy L.

    2018-01-01

    This paper is a content analysis of political flyers and messages developed by Religious Right campaigns between 1974 and 2013 to fight legislation supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals. The analysis focuses on 16 campaigns in which Religious Right groups made claims about transgender adults and children. In…

  15. Muslim gay men: identity conflict and politics in a Muslim majority nation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdi, Nassim; Lachheb, Monia; Anderson, Eric

    2017-12-08

    While a number of investigations have examined how gay Muslim men view homosexuality in relation to religious Western homophobia, this research constitutes the first account of the experiences of self-identified gay men living in an African, Muslim nation, where same-sex sex is both illegal and actively persecuted. We interviewed 28 gay men living in Tunisia in order to understand how they assimilate their sexual, religious and ethnic identities within a highly homophobic culture. Utilizing notions of homoerasure and homohysteria (McCormack and Eric Anderson ,b), and examining the intersection of identity conflict and new social movement theory, we highlight four strategies that participants use to negotiate the dissonance of living with conflicting identities in a context of religious homophobia: (1) privileging their Islamic identities and rejecting homosexuality as a legitimate sexual identity; (2) rejecting Islam and accepting homosexuality as a legitimate sexual identity; (3) interpreting Islam to be supportive of homosexuality; and (4) creating a non-penetrative homosexuality to be compatible with literal Qur'anic interpretations. We discuss the multiple difficulties these men face in relation to religious intolerance and ethnic heteronormativity, and reflect upon the possibilities and obstacles of using Western identity politics towards the promotion of social justice within a framework of growing homohysteria. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2017.

  16. Telecommunications, politics, economics, and national sovereignty: A new game

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bugliarello, G.

    1996-12-31

    The impact of telecommunications on politics, economics and national sovereignty is creating a new game. Political and economic power may operate over the same territory, as in the now-rare case of isolated economies, but, more often, their domains do not coincide. Increasingly, telecommunications create major challenges for countries preoccupied with issues of national sovereignty because the national state has only a limited ability to control these intrinsic and at times potentially destabilizing powers of telecommunications and the {open_quotes}telecommunities{close_quotes} they make possible. As many traditional aspects of sovereignty are becoming weakened by telecommunications, and as the intense dynamics of networks and the expansion of telecommunities revolutionize business and politics, there is a need to prevent the situation from becoming chaotic and uncontrollable, even while recognizing the possibilities of enhanced opportunities. This requires focusing on a more flexible conception of sovereignty which can enhance the state`s attractiveness for telecommunications infrastructure, while addressing issues of ethics and morality in the new telecommications environment. A new, broad socio-technological research agenda needs to be developed - with the ultimate purpose of providing society with the tools to play the new game and thrive. 10 refs., 3 tabs.

  17. The Political Economy of India’s Economic Reforms: Three Periods from 1947-2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-06-01

    ECONOMY OF INDIA’S ECONOMIC REFORMS: THREE PERIODS FROM 1947–2016 by Vinamra V. Pande June 2016 Thesis Advisor: Naazneen Barma Co-Advisor...COVERED Master’s thesis 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF INDIA’S ECONOMIC REFORMS: THREE PERIODS FROM 1947–2016 5. FUNDING NUMBERS 6...India’s economic history. This research explores some of the most notable parts of India’s political economy and analyzes the domestic and

  18. Political and economic situation in Ukraine: results and prospects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katerina Gennadievna Ilinova

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available After November events of 2013 in Ukraine there were big political transformations: early presidential and parliamentary elections were as a result held. But whether economic and political reforms during war are possible - for Ukraine it is one of the main issues. 22-year history of the Ukrainian state including history of the "new" power (since February, 2014, testify that Ukraine everything leaves from reforms further: unstable rate of national currency, production falling, decrease in GDP, deterioration of economic and social situation of the country. The authorities of Kiev still hope that the credits from the West will help with the short term, and in long-term - Ukraine the new European markets will open. The prolonged course of Kiev on the EU, can lead not to integration, and to degradation of the Ukrainian economy.

  19. Sovereign Wealth Funds as Global Economic and Political Actors: Defining of Notions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Андрей Алексеевич Кинякин

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The article devoted to consideration of sovereign wealth funds (SWF as economic and political actors as well as analysis of different forms of their activity in the contemporary global economics and politics. The author comes to the conclusion, that sovereign wealth funds play not only the role of providers of interests of the national states, but being the special purpose vehicles (SPV, designated to fulfill the different tasks, turn out to be the new type of global actors.

  20. Plea bargaining and the religious cum socio-cultural concept of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plea bargaining and the religious cum socio-cultural concept of Yoruba ọmọlúàbí in the Nigerian political landscape. ... Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies ... It therefore, attempts to define what is meant by plea bargaining, introduction as to its ...

  1. Economic and Social Political Ideology and Homophobia: The Mediating Role of Binding and Individualizing Moral Foundations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnett, Michael D; Öz, Haluk C M; Marsden, Arthur D

    2018-05-01

    Previous research has linked conservative political ideology with homophobia. Political ideology has also been linked to differences in moral decision-making, with research suggesting that conservatives and liberals may use different values in their moral decision-making processes. Moral foundations theory is a model of moral decision-making that proposes that individuals emphasize different domains in moral decision-making. Conservatives tend to emphasize binding foundations, while liberals tend to emphasize individualizing foundations. Utilizing large, ethnically diverse college samples, the purpose of these two cross-sectional studies (Study 1 N = 492; Study 2 N = 861) was to explore whether moral foundations mediate the relationship between political ideology and homophobia. These studies explored economic and social political ideology separately and utilized a two-factor model of moral foundations theory (individualizing and binding foundations). Results of both studies found that conservative economic and social political ideology was positively associated with homophobia. Study 1 found that both conservative economic and social political ideology had an indirect effect on homophobia through binding foundations. Study 2 found that both economic and social political ideology had an indirect effect on homophobia through both binding and individualizing foundations. Overall, the results were consistent with the notion that moral foundations may explain the relationship between political ideology and homophobia.

  2. EU Enlargement between Economic and Political Criteria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Romeo-Victor Ionescu

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available The paper answers at two important questions: Is the EU able to support new adhering processes? and Is the Euro area able to enlarge in 2014? The comparative analysis in the paper covers four economic competitors: EU, USA, China and Japan, and is based on GDP growth rate, unemployment and inflation rates. The second part of the paper deals with an economic forecast during 2015-2016, focused on EU27, Euro area, Croatia and Latvia, in order to discuss the effects of the adhering to EU and Euro area. The results of the two-level analysis are supported by pertinent diagrams and annexes. The analysis uses a neutral statistical database – Eurostat – and dedicated forecast software. The main conclusion of the paper is that the adhering processes from 2013 and 2014 are based on economic and political criteria.

  3. Jewish national cultural-and-religious public motion in Ukraine in 1920th

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. O. Dotsenko

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The article is based on the archived documents, periodic press and monographic literature analysis and deals with the problem of cultural-and-religious development of Jewish society’ public initiative in Ukraine in 1920th. The special features of activity of religiously-elucidative public associations are determined, their relationships with Communist Party organs. Anti-religious work of Communist Party organs is illuminated. At the beginning of 1920th Ukrainian Jewishness actively supported and heard the confession Judaism that remained next to languages Yiddish and Hebrew like instrument for maintenance of jewries national identity in the new soviet state. At the beginning of 1920th the cells of many public associations of religiously-cultural and educational aspiration functioned in Ukraine. Religious organizations developed in Jewish cult buildings. Separately maintenance of national identity of jewries was assisted by educational establishments that were actively helped by religious communities and societies. From the first years the Communist Party organs began active attacks on Jewish religious public motion. Active politics of division of jewries on atheists and believers was conducted. The last was constantly pursued and yielded to the repressions. Active voice in an anti-religious campaign was accepted by Jewish-section at the Central Committee of CP(bU. For their assistance local authorities closed synagogues, converted them into working clubs, khati-chital’ni (reading homes. Headers and eshibotes were closed, the retinues of Thora, prayer books and other religious literature were destroyed. During the Jewish holytides and on Saturdays, various atheistic actions, trials of rabbis and Judaism. got organized among the Jewish young people, workers and intelligentsia. With rolling down of New Economic Policy and beginning of mass population sovietization at the end of 1920th pressure on religious Jewish public motion from the side of

  4. Religious revival and the search for a sense of religion in radicalized modernity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Carlos de Oliveira Boaretto

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on the attempt to question the social role that takes the fi gure of the devil in the ethic-religious sphere of the Universal Church. Thus, it seems that by using the feature is a cosmological and spiritual universe in which the fi gure of the devil is associated with numerous social ills, economic and political individuals, builds on the subject desired a subjective sense of security before an objective and historical reality in which the normative horizons of certainties are shaken to their core reliability and legitimacy.

  5. Theory and methodology of social, political and economic processes risks determining in different countries of the world

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yashina Nadezhda, I.

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The study deals with the problems of the theory and methodology of social, political and economic processes risks in different countries with relative indicators of the socio-economic development level, as well as the size and condition of the public debt. Developed by the authors the methodology of determining the risks of social, political and economic processes of public policy around the world revealed close relationship between socio-economic situation of the countries and their public debt. Within the framework of this methodology two groups of factors characterizing the socio-political and economic processes in the country are being developed. After that each exponent and indicator are being processed, using expert procedures. Maximum statutory values for tentatively referenced countries with effective and ineffective government policies are identified. Then standardization (specification and definition of integral (generalized indexes of socio-political and economic processes in the country are taking place. After that the ranking of countries by aggregated standardized ratio is arranged, taking into account the significance of the developed indicators. The final phase of implementation methodology is identifying risks of social, political and economic processes of public policy around the world. This is the ranking of countries by ratio of stability in public policy (stability of economic and socio-political processes in the country. As the result of implementation methodology the following output was received: what really makes a difference is not the amount of the country's debt, but how effectively it manages this debt, whether it has a goal to improve social and economic indicators. Practical testing methodology has proven that studied indicators fully characterize the development of the countries, their political, social and economic situation on the world stage.

  6. Religious Freedoms In Republic Of Macedonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Metaj-Stojanova Albana

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available With the independence of Republic of Macedonia and the adoption of the Constitution of Macedonia, the country went through a substantial socio-political transition. The concept of human rights and freedoms, such as religious freedoms in the Macedonian Constitution is based on liberal democratic values. The Macedonian Constitution connects the fundamental human rights and freedoms with the concept of the individual and citizen, but also with the collective rights of ethnic minorities, respecting the international standards and responsibilities taken under numerous international human rights conventions and treaties, of which the country is a party. Republic of Macedonia has ratified all the so called “core human right treaties” and now the real challenge lies in the implementation of the international standards. Some of these international conventions and treaties of the United Nations and of the Council of Europe are inherited by succession from the former Yugoslavian federation. Religious freedoms are guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of human rights (1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966, the European Convention on Human Rights (1953, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (1981 (all documents ratified by the Republic of Macedonia. According to the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia “The freedom of religious confession is guaranteed. The right to express one's faith freely and publicly, individually or with others, is guaranteed„. After the conflict of 2001 the Ohrid Framework Agreement secured group rights for ethnicities that are not in majority in the Republic of Macedonia. The present Law on the legal status of the church, religious communities and religious groups of 2007, repealed the Law on religion and religious groups of 1997.

  7. The Political Economy of Postwar Economic Development in Sri Lanka

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prasanna-Perera Welgamage Lalith Prasanna-Perera

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Thirty years of civil war in Sri Lanka has affected economic, political, social, cultural and psychological aspects of the society significantly. This paper presents an overview of postwar development strategies in Sri Lanka and compares it with the prewar economy from a political economic perspective. The paper specifically examines the progress of the overall postwar development in the war affected Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Using mixed methodologies data was gathered on critical aspects related to political economy. According to the current study, no clear progress has been made in the areas of economic growth, FDI growth, household income, and poverty and income inequality in the postwar economy of Sri Lanka when compared with the prewar economy. Government fiscal policy targets the postwar reconstruction works while monetary policy enjoys the amalgamation of North and East provinces to country’s aggregate supply apart from introducing very few loan schemes. Security phobia of the government of Sri Lanka limits local, national, regional and international none-government organizations especially in the North and East. There is a considerable amount of progress made in the area of infrastructure development and resettlement of displaced persons. However, primary data from the study indicates these strategies lack conflict sensitivity and public trust. This study emphasizes that postwar economic development strategies should address the critical determinants of sustainable recovery, peace and development aiming at protecting human rights, ensuring rule of law, establishing efficient public service system and finally offering constitutional reforms in Sri Lanka.

  8. Very Nice Indeed: Cyprian Latewood's Masochistic Sublime, and the Religious Pluralism of Against the Day

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Jarvis

    2013-04-01

    conversation around Pynchon’s oeuvre and the meaning of the evolution of the author’s religious vision. None, so far as I know, have commented on the expressly Manichaean concepts in the work, and the consequences of the presence of this specific cosmological binary. Lastly, by making the heroic Cyprian the focus of the novel’s transcendental religious narrative, the author complicates two assumptions which have lingered unquestioned for far too long in Pynchon studies, namely the anti-metaphysics of his earth-centered onto-epistemology, and the inherent homophobia present in  a worldview which privileges the nuclear, procreative family structure and seems to use homosexuality and sadomasochism strictly in negative significations, as metaphors for unequal political and economic power dynamics (see Julie Christine Sears’ “Black and White Rainbows and Blurry Lines”.  This paper resists the reductive impulse towards conclusiveness, but rather seeks to complicate existing readings while pushing forward into new territory by synthesizing areas of discourse around the author, his works, and mythology and politics, which are usually considered only as discrete entities. Pynchon’s postmodern playfulness in his arrangement of historical, religious, and political signifiers resists organization into a singular narrative, but is rather designed to lead readers to question the ways in which knowledge is produced and belief is rationalized, and to consider alternatives to a future which marches blindly in lockstep with our past and present realities.

  9. Boko Haram: The Development of a Militant Religious Movement in Nigeria Boko Haram: Die Entwicklung einer militanten religiösen Bewegung in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roman Loimeier

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Since 2009, the radical Muslim movement in northern Nigeria known as Boko Haram has become widely known in Western media for both its militant actions and its ultra-fundamentalist programme. This analysis examines Boko Haram from a historical perspective, viewing the movement as a result of social, political and generational dynamics within the larger field of northern Nigerian radical Islam. The contribution also considers some of the theological dimensions of the dispute between Boko Haram and its Muslim opponents and presents the different stages of militant activity through which this movement has gone so far. The article shows that movements such as Boko Haram are deeply rooted in northern Nigeria’s specific economic, religious and political development and are thus likely to crop up again if basic frame conditions such as social injustice, corruption and economic mismanagement do not change.Seit 2009 wurde die unter dem Namen Boko Haram bekannte radikale muslimische Bewegung in Nordnigeria in westlichen Medien für ihre militanten Aktionen und ihr ultrafundamentalistisches Programm bekannt. Der vorliegende Beitrag untersucht die Bewegung aus historischer Perspektive und sieht die Entstehung von Boko Haram als Ergebnis sozialer, politischer und generationsbezogener Dynamiken innerhalb des radikalen Islam im Norden Nigerias. Der Autor verweist zudem auf theologische Dimensionen der Auseinandersetzung zwischen der Bewegung und ihren muslimischen Gegnern und stellt die verschiedenen Phasen militanter Aktionen Boko Harams dar, die bislang erkennbar sind. Der Beitrag belegt, dass Bewegungen wie Boko Haram tief in den spezifischen ökonomischen, religiösen und politischen Bedingungen im Norden Nigerias verwurzelt sind und daher immer wieder entstehen können, sollten sich wesentliche Rahmenbedingungen – wie soziale Ungerechtigkeit, Korruption und ökonomisches Missmanagement – nicht ändern.

  10. Political Capitalism: The Interaction between Income Inequality, Economic Freedom and Democracy

    OpenAIRE

    Krieger, Tim; Meierrieks, Daniel

    2015-01-01

    In this contribution we study the relationship between income inequality and economic freedom for a panel of 100 countries for the 1971-2010 period. From a panel causality study we find that income inequality has a negative causal effect on economic freedom, while causation does not run in the opposite direction. We argue that the negative effect of inequality on economic liberty is due to the elite's political power stemming from its disproportionate control over a country's economic resourc...

  11. RELIGIOUS RESPONSES TO GLOBALISATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hatib A. Kadir

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Sociological discussion of globalisation is preoccupied with the political, economic, and military dimension of it, with little attention to its religious aspect. This paper attempts to trace the impacts of globalisation on religion and religious responses, the argument of which derives mainly from the so-called “Bridge-Building Program” organised by CRCS & ICRS-UGM in 2008. It argues that though they share a common concern, people of different faiths are at risk of deepening the problems rather than offering solutions in view of their different responses for which we categorise them into different but overlapping categories -ideological, ambivalent, integrative, exclusive, and imitative. It then leads to a more fundamental question of whether interfaith cooperation is possible given those different and sometime opposing responses. [Dalam kajian sosiologi, diskusi mengenai globalisasi kerap kali semata-mata ditinjau dari sisi politik, enonomi dan militer, sementara dimensi agama sering kali dikesampingkan. Artikel ini membahas dampak globalisasi terhadap agama dan respon komunitas agama terhadap globalisasi. Data yang muncul dalam artikel ini diambil dari sebuah workshop berjudul“Bridge- Building Program.” Melalui artikel ini, saya berpendapat bahwa, meskikomunitas agama-agama memiliki keprihatinan yang sama terhadap dampak globalisasi, namun respon mereka cenderung mempertajam persoalan yang diakibatkan globalisasi, ketimbang memberikan solusi. Respon tersebut dalam dikategorikan –meski tidak kaku- dalam: respon ideologis, ambivalen, integratif, ekslusif dan imitatif. Selanjutnya, artikel juga mengulas pada pertanyaan mendasar mengenai apakah kerjasama antar agama mungkin dilakukan menyimak ragam respon yang saling bertentangan tersebut.

  12. Political freedom and the response to economic incentives: labor migration in Africa, 1972-1987.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barkley, A P; Mcmillan, J

    1994-12-01

    This study examines the thesis that political institutions and the freedoms and civil rights generated by these institutions affect migration decisions. The hypothesis is based on one stated by Adam Smith in 1776, that economic conditions that reflect greater political freedoms and civil liberties harbor higher levels of resource mobility in response to economic incentives. Pooled cross-sectional and time-series analysis is based on data from the World Bank for 32 African countries during 1972-87. Findings support the hypothesis that migration rate is more affected by the expected returns ratio to labor in countries where civil liberties are greater than in nations with fewer civil liberties. The implication, from the inclusion of institutional factors in the model, is that civil liberties have an indirect impact on the rate of labor migration out of agriculture in Africa. The impact is a mix of economic incentives and civil liberties. In the political rights model, the most free countries had the largest migration elasticity. The findings on political rights impacts support findings by Friedman and McMillan that civil liberties are a more important determinant of economic growth than political rights. Further testing for measurement error confirmed that the data were flawed, but not so greatly that the basic findings were overturned. The migration out of African agriculture was found to be sensitive to the effect of price signals, which were conditioned by the degree of political rights and civil liberties. Policy makers are urged to consider both changes in pricing and institutions.

  13. Economics, funding and the influence of politics on the UMTRA Project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamp, S.

    1993-01-01

    This presentation discusses the factors contributing to the cost of the Uranium Mill Tailings Remediation Action Project and the political process involved in the funding. Topics covered include the following: Funding estimate and growth of estimate; Management actions during process; how the political process worked; cost of completed sites; economic benefit analysis of the project to Colorado; cost reduction program for the UMTRA project

  14. Differences in negativity bias probably underlie variation in attitudes toward change generally, not political ideology specifically.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ludeke, Steven G; DeYoung, Colin G

    2014-06-01

    Many of the characteristics cited in Hibbing et al.'s account are ineffective predictors of economic conservatism. However, these same characteristics are often associated with differences not only in social conservatism but also in religiousness and authoritarianism. Hibbing et al. may have offered a useful explanation of traditionalism and attitudes toward change across domains rather than of general political attitudes.

  15. Declinaciones de la religión en la modernidad.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garcia, José Luís

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the metamorphoses of the religious element in contemporary western societies. Acknowledging the idea that the constitution of a political community implies feelings of union and identification of religious character, I proceed to the definition of the concepts of secular religion, civil religion and political religion. I also argue that a political community, and the legitimisation of power and authority in a democracy, requires secular cults according to the imperatives proper to the formation of an open and cohesive society. Other contemporary cults, like the ones born of the illusions of technology, in the free market and in the trivialities of the mass media, are considered phenomena that render the sacred futile and impoverished.

    Este artículo analiza las metamorfosis del elemento religioso en las sociedades occidentales contemporáneas. Admitiendo la idea de que la constitución de una comunidad política implica sentimientos de unión e identificación de corte religioso, se procede a la definición de los conceptos de religión secular, religión civil y religión política. Se defiende también que una comunidad política, y la legitimación del poder y autoridad en una democracia, requieren cultos seculares acordes con los imperativos propios de la formación de una sociedad abierta y cohesionada. Otros cultos contemporáneos, como los que nacen de las ilusiones de la tecnología, en el mercado libre y en las trivialidades de los mass media, son considerados fenómenos que hacen fútil lo sagrado y lo empobrecen.

  16. RELIGIOUS QUESTION AND SECULAR STATE: CRISIS OF REGULATION BY DANI LE HERVIEU-L GER

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. V. Trophimov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The proposed paper outlines concepts of the Religious individualism in modern Western society analyzed by the French sociologist Danièle Hervieu-Léger in “Religion in movement (1999”. Author proposes an assessment of the religious situation in the French society at the end of the XX century and discuss some examples. Particular attention is given to crisis of secular regulation of the religious in the modern society. The weakening of the regulatory capacity of religious institutions leads to a weakening of the secular state. Religious institutions should be able to implement the regime of the truth of faith, which makes the institutional power of the superior guarantor of common faith principles shared by all believers of the denomination. The system of “copying” the structures of the Catholic Church of the XVIII century adopted by the secular state, today is not more correspond nor religious organizations in general, neither even the modern structures of the organization of the Catholic Church in France, that become a problem for a state-confessional relation. Modern institutional disorganization in the religious field, contributing to the destabilization of the French model of secularism, weakened by political cultural and economic liberalization that undermine its principles values that historically based secular system itself. Institutional crisis of the truths of faith approval favours an increase in the number of belief systems of individual communities. The problem can not be solved a priori, legally separating the traditional, “recognized by law” and other religions. The changing religious situation the state must find a new model of interaction with religious groups and organizations. The material is useful for comparative studies of the religious situation in Russia and Western Europe.

  17. The impacts of tourism, energy consumption and political instability on economic growth in the MENA countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Chor Foon; Abosedra, Salah

    2014-01-01

    Using panel data of 24 countries in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region from 2001 to 2009, the purpose of this study is to examine the impacts of tourism, energy consumption and political instability on economic growth within the neoclassical growth framework. To address the objective of this study, we utilise both the static panel data approach as well as the dynamic generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator to examine the impact of candidate variables. Our results show that energy consumption and tourism significantly contribute to the economic growth of countries in the MENA region. Hence, our study lends some support to the existence of the tourism-led growth and energy-led growth hypotheses in the region. In line with our expectation, our estimation results also reveal that political instability impedes the process of economic growth and development in the MENA region. Therefore, macroeconomic policies to promote expansion in tourism and energy consumption will directly stimulate economic growth. Additionally, efforts to help the region overcome its history of political instability would attract more international tourist arrivals and further invigorate economic growth. - Highlights: • Tourism and energy consumption have positive impacts on GDP growth. • GDP reacts negatively to political instability. • Energy-led growth and tourism-led growth hypotheses are validated in MENA countries. • Supporting tourism, energy use and political stability will enhance economic growth

  18. THE ROLE OF THE ECONOMIC RENTS IN THE POLITICAL TRANSFORMATION OF TURKEY AFTER THE 1980S*

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bugra Kalkan

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available It is claimed in this article that one of the main aims of the “bureaucratic tutelage” system in Turkey is to control the distribution of the economic rents created by the import-substituting industrialization. Thus, economic statism and the bureaucratic control over elected politicians were compatible with each other until economic liberalization in 1980. Even a limited economic liberalization created great opportunities for the politicians to weaken the power of the bureaucratic elites, particularly military officers. Thus, there is a strong relationship between economic liberalization and democratization in Turkey after 1980. However, even though, bureaucratic tutelage is regressed, Turkey is still far from having a transparent government and efficient public organizations. The conventional explanations are not adequate to grasp the intermingled relations between economic and political institutionalization in Turkey. Therefore, public choice may help to understand the role of the economic motivations of the political actors/elites in the context of shaping the political institutions. The political actors are seen as utility maximizers within the limits of institutional rules and practices, and the institutional change is explained with the help of changing interests and power relations of these actors. Enlarging economic liberties have gradually forced bureaucratic tutelage system to dissolve. For sure, dissolving the bureaucratic tutelage system is not a perfect or an intended process but examining this process from Turgut Ozal to Tayyip Erdogan gives us a theoretical framework to understand the political transformation of Turkey in the era of an open economy.

  19. "Let's talk about love": An analysis of the religious and economic factors determining the choice of marital property regime in Italy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gabriele Ruiu

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: In sociological literature, expectations about marriages' duration are generally considered to be one of the main determinants in the pooling of economic resources between spouses. According to Catholic precepts, religious marriages are indissoluble, and Italy is characterized by a Catholic religious monopoly, with an anomalously high level of religious attendance for a developed country. Objective: It may therefore be surmised that religious marriages should be characterized by a high propensity for opting for a pooled patrimonial system. Is this hypothesis confirmed by data? Methods: We studied comprehensive data on all the marriages solemnized in Italy for the period 2007‒2009. We then use multivariate logistic regressions to assess which factors are associated with a greater propensity for opting for the pooled patrimonial system. Results: We find that religious marriages are not characterized by a higher probability of wealth pooling with respect to civil marriages. Contribution: To our knowledge, this is the first work to analyze the relationship between the choice of a religious marriage and the choice of the marital patrimonial system. We conclude that religious marriages in Italy do not reflect genuine adherence to the Catholic principle of the indissolubility of marriage.

  20. The political-economic transition and the building of the welfare state in Spain (1975-1986

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Muñoz de Bustillo Llorente

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the economic policy in Spain during the govern- ments of the Spanish political transition from 1975 to 1986. It considers the different areas of economic policy with special emphasis on the development of welfare state issues in this period. Taking into account the difficult economic and political situation in 1975, there were some important advances in social policy and progressive taxation during the period. The transition to democracy in Spain changed the role and size of the public sector above all from 1975 to 1986. The social demands over the political system were possible improvements in the progressive and redistributive policies in education, health, and social programs. Spain’s transition to democracy and the first period of welfare state show a mutually reinforcing and its consequences were the modernization of the Spanish economy. However, from 1986 the economic develop- ment and the progress of welfare state have had a different growth.Key words: Welfare state, Economic transition, Spain.

  1. Major socio-economic and political developments in Nigeria and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The socio-economic and political developments that affected economy of the country in general and its currency in particular, during the period under review included: attainment of independence on 1st October, 1960, attainment of republican status in 1963, the country's civil war (1967-1970), decimalization of currency in ...

  2. The faces of God in America: Revealing religious diversity across people and politics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua Conrad Jackson

    Full Text Available Literature and art have long depicted God as a stern and elderly white man, but do people actually see Him this way? We use reverse correlation to understand how a representative sample of American Christians visualize the face of God, which we argue is indicative of how believers think about God's mind. In contrast to historical depictions, Americans generally see God as young, Caucasian, and loving, but perceptions vary by believers' political ideology and physical appearance. Liberals see God as relatively more feminine, more African American, and more loving than conservatives, who see God as older, more intelligent, and more powerful. All participants see God as similar to themselves on attractiveness, age, and, to a lesser extent, race. These differences are consistent with past research showing that people's views of God are shaped by their group-based motivations and cognitive biases. Our results also speak to the broad scope of religious differences: even people of the same nationality and the same faith appear to think differently about God's appearance.

  3. Malaysia: Political, Security, Economic, and Trade Issues Considered

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-02-13

    general election. Key observers have also pointed to decisions by Parti-Islam sa- Malaysia (PAS), Parti Keadilan Rakyat , and the Democratic Action Party...Sultan fulfills this function. Each state has a state legislature. The lower house of Malaysia’s Parliament, the Dewan Rakyat , has 193 members elected...Order Code RL33878 Malaysia : Political, Security, Economic, and Trade Issues Considered February 13, 2007 Bruce Vaughn, Coordinator Specialist in

  4. Natural gas reserve/production ratio in Russia, Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan: A political and economic perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Esen, Vedat; Oral, Bulent

    2016-01-01

    In this study, changes in natural gas reserve/production ratio (R/P) of the four countries having the highest natural gas reserves (Russia, Iran, Qatar, Turkmenistan), the importance of which increases in the world market each day due to developing technology and the demand for clean energy, has been analyzed depending on the economic and political developments in national and international fields. Change of R/P ratio depending on years has been displayed on graphics from different sources and these alterations have been tried to be associated with such issues as natural gas agreements in history, handover of political authority, economic crises etc. Therefore; it has been put forward whether or not political and economic changes of the countries are factors on the amount of natural gas production and the discovery of new reserve fields with the addition aim of providing a general overview on natural gas market. - Highlights: •Russia, Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan are the top four countries with the highest natural gas reserves. •R/P ratios of Russia, Iran, Qatar and Turkmenistan are presented in this study. •Change of R/P ratio has been associated with the political and economic events of the countries are being analyzed. •The effect of political and economic changes on the ratio of natural gas R/P has been proposed.

  5. Origins and Consequences of Religious Restrictions: A Global Overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finke, Roger

    2014-01-01

    Despite the international controversies surrounding religious restrictions and freedoms, the topic has only recently received substantial research attention. Drawing on this new body of research, and multiple research projects in progress, this address explores both the origins and consequences of religious restrictions in the global arena. To understand the motives for restrictions, I propose hypotheses in three areas: the relationship or lack of relationship between institutional religion and the state, the willingness and capacity of the state to ensure freedoms, and the larger social and cultural pressures restricting freedoms, including social and political movements targeting minority religions. Turning to the consequences of religious restrictions, I explore how and why restrictions alter the religious economy (i.e., formation, supply and operation of religions) and are associated with higher levels of religious persecution, religious violence and intrastate conflict in general. Finally, I review additional areas where research is needed. PMID:25364225

  6. Politics and economics in the Asia-Pacific region: Beyond the Cold War

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Byung-Joon Ahn

    1995-01-01

    Linked inexorably by geopolitics and geo-economics, Asia and North America are facing a number of common challenges in the aftermath of the Cold War. The prospects of a North Korea armed with nuclear weapons and medium-range ballistic missiles, and of China becoming another superpower, are impelling both Asia and America, and the US, Japan, and South Korea in particular, to strengthen their partnership for security, interdependence, and democracy. Politics and economics in the Asia-Pacific region are at a crossroads, facing a new era of post-Cold War uncertainty. This chapter addresses the major trends emerging in the region in terms of changing national and international perspectives. It is important to examine what these changes imply for a new security and economic framework in Asia and the Pacific. The gravity of the world's political economy is shifting to this region

  7. The Naturalization of Domination and Legitimate Power in Classical Political Theory

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eleni Varikas

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available The reflection developed here deals with one of the greatest political paradoxes of modern political thought: the turning of a political community into a human artifact while basing it on premisses which are pre-political and therefore precede human action. As it reinvented the political as a free space, modernity reinvented the natural as a limit to this human freedom which religion could no longer contain. In such a context, the witch-hunt is a result both of a religious or superstitious obscurantism and of a rational enterprise based on efficacy. The political implications of cognitive polytheism, which explode in the plurality of scientific perceptions on human nature and on the nature of things, establish a close connection between the authority of modern “science” as a model for the knowledge of nature and that of a religious and temporal kind. The naturalization of the sexual hierarchy in the modern world is at the same time the archetype and the manifestation of this historical process which dislocates the legitimation of domination from the religious to the natural realm.

  8. Economic crisis and levels of political participation in Europe (2002-2010): the role of resources and grievances

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kern, A.; Marien, S.; Hooghe, M.

    2015-01-01

    This article examines the effect of the recent economic crisis on political participation levels in Europe. As the civic voluntarism model and grievances theory predict different effects of economic downturn on political participation, the crisis provides a unique context to evaluate the explanatory

  9. The Role of Muslim Mentors in Eritrea: Religion, Health and Politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvia Bruzzi

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The role of Islam and the participation of Muslim shaykhs, in both defining and implementing colonial policies in Eritrea, have roused less interest among scholars than Christian and missionary activities. This article sheds more light on the Islamic players and especially on the role of a holy family: the Mīrghanī. During the Colonial occupation of Eritrea this family adapted to the political and economic context imposed by the colonial rule. Our aim is to point out their activity not only as religious representatives, but also as medical mentors for local people. As a social and religious focal point, it is remarkable to see their growing interest, not only in endogenous and Islamic practices, but also in colonial medicine within the context of their charity work for the sick.

  10. ISLAMIC PARTIES AND THE POLITICS OF CONSTITUTIONALISM IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mukrimin Mukrimin

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This article examines the relationship between religion and the state in Indonesia by exploring how Islam is used by political parties to shape the politics. The study shows that Islamic politics is a complementary in both nationhood and statehood in Indonesia. From the early days of the new-born nation-state, Muslims in Indonesia had played significant role in shaping the nation; nonetheless, they have never dominated the political power. Fragmentation among Muslims themselves and internal political parties is among the reason why religious (Islamic parties failed in bringing religious identity to the state arena. Political subordination-inclusion-ignorance-confrontation is the circular game that features Islamic politics in Indonesia. The debatable issue on shari‘ah law, which is frequently used by Islamic parties, always becomes the core problem of the relation between Islam and the state. Even though Islam has played an important role in colouring the Indonesian politics, its existence remains complementary.

  11. Iran's Islamic Revolution: the Ulama, the West, nationalism, and the growth of political consciousness

    OpenAIRE

    Von Nordheim, Alex

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation seeks to offer an explanation for the Islamic Revolution, taking into account not only the social, political, and economic conditions of the time, but also religious and cultural elements. It seeks to determine the origins of the trends it identifies as important to an understanding of the causes of the Islamic Revolution. These include the rise of nationalism, Iran’s exploitation by foreign powers, and the assertive posture of the Shi’a ulama.

  12. A complicated answer to a simple question: Are believers and members of minority religions, churches and religious communities in postdayton BiH discriminated?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagradić Slobodan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The work treats the real social position of minority religions, denominations, religious communities and churches in postdayton Bosnia and Herzegovina. In other words, the author researches real social, political, legislative, mass-media-communicational, economic status and a status of so called small religious communities and churches in other spheres of existence like education, culture, public health etc., and seeks to answer to, from rhetorical point of view, simple question: are minority religions, denominations, religious communities and churches, as defined and treated by the Law on Freedom of Religion and Legal Position of Churches and Religious Communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, discriminated or not. In the focus of the author's analyses are equally institutional sphere or so called minority religious communities as such, but also and individuals, believers and followers of those institutionalized and formalized religious-denominational- ecclesial subjects having been named religious communities and churches. The results of the author's empirical-theoretical researches can be condensed into nuanced and complex answer whose content leads to conclusion that minority religions, churches and their members in several spheres of life are, after all, in inferior position, in spite of declarative equality of all religions, denominations, religious communities and churches. The author supports such conclusion with numerous and plausible arguments.

  13. Relationships between Institutional Economics of Cooperation and the Political Economy of Trust

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Hernandéz

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the relationship between institutional economics of cooperation and the political economy of trust. Transactions costs, principal-agent theory, market power, increasing-returns theory and value creation, strategic management: competitive forces, resource-based theory, organisationtal knowledge and learning, strategic choice theory and collective efficiency theory are reviewed. Lastly, the political economy of trust is sustained.

  14. Local Politics and Religion in Papua

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Idrus Al Hamid

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Local political conflicts become an integral part of Indonesia. Various cause roots are assumed come from a religious dimension, in addition to ethnicity. In cases of Jayapura, Papua, local political dimensions of the conflict was obviously display as factors that religion should be integrating factor, but in fact religion become disintegrating factor. The various power of groups interconnect with a religious impulse that local political tensions grew louder and spread. The aim of this study is to describe analytically about the emergence of a strain on the local level in Jayapura Papua in the field of religion. To elaborate the analysis in this article, the excavation data through in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and literature studies or documents on issues that occur on local level.

  15. Decommissioning wind energy projects: An economic and political analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ferrell, Shannon L.; DeVuyst, Eric A.

    2013-01-01

    Wind energy is the fastest-growing segment of new electrical power capacity in the United States, with the potential for significant growth in the future. To facilitate such growth, a number of concerns between developers and landowners must be resolved, including assurance of wind turbine decommissioning at the end of their useful lives. Oklahoma legislators enlisted the authors to develop an economically-sound proposal to ensure developers complete their decommissioning obligations. Economic analysis of turbine decommissioning is complicated by a lack of operational experience, as few U.S. projects have been decommissioned. This leads to a lack of data regarding decommissioning costs. Politically, the negotiation leading to the finally-enacted solution juxtaposed economic theory against political pragmatism, leading to a different but hopefully sound solution. This article will provide background for the decommissioning issue, chronicle the development of the decommissioning component of the Oklahoma Wind Energy Act, and frame issues that remain for policymakers in regulating wind power development. - Highlights: ► Wind energy is the fastest-growing component of U.S. power generation. ► Decommissioning wind projects is policy concern for wind development. ► Little public information on wind turbine decommissioning costs exists. ► Oklahoma’s solution attempts to account for both costs and risks. ► Additional research is needed to create a more precise policy solution.

  16. Religion, culture and political corruption in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dhikru A. Yagboyaju

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available For so long, development theories and practices have either deliberately neglected or simply overlooked the possible interconnections between religion, culture and the attainment of development goals. Against this background, this article reviews the literature on corruption, as a major factor of underdevelopment in Nigeria, particularly as it relates to religion and culture in the country. In its analysis, this article argues that corruption in Nigeria, especially in view of the country’s multi-ethnic and multi-religious status, must be conceived as a phenomenon transcending legal, political and economic boundaries. The study adopts an interpretative and descriptive methodology for its analysis.

  17. [Political ecology, ecological economics, and public health: interfaces for the sustainability of development and health promotion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porto, Marcelo Firpo; Martinez-Alier, Joan

    2007-01-01

    This article proposes to focus contributions from political ecology and ecological economics to the field of collective health with a view towards integrating the discussions around health promotion, socio-environmental sustainability, and development. Ecological economics is a recent interdisciplinary field that combines economists and other professionals from the social, human, and life sciences. The field has developed new concepts and methodologies that seek to grasp the relationship between the economy and ecological and social processes such as social metabolism and metabolic profile, thereby interrelating economic, material, and energy flows and producing indicators and indexes for (un)sustainability. Meanwhile, political ecology approaches ecological issues and socio-environmental conflicts based on the economic and power dynamics characterizing modern societies. Collective health and the discussions on health promotion can expand our understanding of territory, communities, and the role of science and institutions based on the contributions of political ecology and ecological economics in analyzing development models and the distributive and socio-environmental conflicts generated by them.

  18. Plasma technology: a technical economical and political challenge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abreu, V.A. de; Vicente, L.C.; Bender, O.W.; Sanches Junior, O.

    1987-01-01

    To survey the State of the Art and Technic in Material, Process and Products by Plasma, it was needed to assemble economic, political and managerial variables that will affect the absortion and implantation of this technology in Brazil. Through a survey in industries, universities, research centers, energy agencies and financial and forster institutions it was possible to build a frame that gave us conditions to forecasting and suggest some mesures to Plasma sector. (author) [pt

  19. Maritime Piracy: Socio-Economic, Political, and Institutional Determinants

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas Gries; Margarete Redlin

    2014-01-01

    Over the last twenty years piracy has become an increasing threat. Yet there are only very few econometric studies that examine under which conditions this phenomenon arises. As the number of maritime piracy and armed robbery incidents is characterized as count data and exhibits overdispersion, we apply random-effects negative binomial regressions for a panel dataset covering the period 1991-2010. Our results indicate that poor socio-economic, political, and institutional conditions in the ho...

  20. The Economic Crisis and the Protestant Congregations in the Contemporary Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina G. Kargina

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The political paradigm shift after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the economic crisis, and the provision of religious freedom were all conducive to the aspirations of a vast majority of the population. They yearn, on one hand, to determine new value guidelines and, on the other, to compensate for the stress, fear, and uncertainty caused by reforms and crisis by means of religion. This can be clearly seen in the unprecedented surge of the levels of religiosity in the country and is directly influenced the dynamic of the diversity of religious organizations. In the last 20 years, a confessional distribution of believers typical of a mosaic cultural tradition and the composition of nationality in Russia has been formed. The overwhelming majority are orthodox, followed by (in descending order Muslims, Protestants, Catholics, Buddhists, Judaists, and others. At the same time, religiosity in Russia is quite discordant. It is commonplace to consider it to be very spiritual and orthodox-orientated. But research often points at the opposite. For example, the level or religious practice amongst Orthodox Russians is fairly low. In this context, Protestant religious denominations in Russia feature a high level of commitment to all kinds of religious practice within its congregation, extensive involvement in religious dogmas, and a drive towards consolidation and every-day cooperation. Protestants are the most pluralistic and dynamically developing segment of the Russian religious field. Research shows that in the last 20 years, in conditions of the dominant influence of the Orthodox Church on Russian society, a protestant community has been formed, which is economically independent, socially organized, and is one of the most dynamic religious movements. According to expert opinion, even though the number of Protestants is relatively low, the protestant religious denomination can function as a socially and economically active minority, capable of exerting

  1. How great is Latvia's success story? The economic, social and political consequences of the recent financial crisis in Latvia

    OpenAIRE

    Austers, Aldis

    2014-01-01

    The current state of Latvia can be best described in medical terms: the patient is pale, but alive. The financial woes have been successfully resolved, but economic, social and political challenges remain. The crisis is continuing to affect the fabric of social and political life in Latvia. This paper looks at the economic, social and political consequences of the recent financial crisis and the ensuing economic collapse in Latvia and suggests some remedial actions.

  2. Accommodating religious claims in the Dutch workplace: Unacknowledged Sabbaths, objecting marriage registrars and pressured faith-based organizations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeulen, F.; El Morabet Belhaj, R.

    2013-01-01

    This article analyses religious claims in the workplace arising from tensions related to religious diversity in the Netherlands. On the basis of interviews with leaders in the religious, political and public sectors, we look at the perception of such tensions and discuss the feasibility of

  3. Issues in Political Development: Implications for Counsellors ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Two research questions guided the study. Questionnaire was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean scores. The findings revealed. that some impediments to political development include; Religious intolerance, poor leadership, structural imbalance, moral decadence, political instability, and ...

  4. More Media for Southern Africa? The Place of Politics, Economics ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    In line with global trends, media in Southern Africa in the past decade has been moving slowly towards mergers, partnerships and multi-platform publishing. Driven by politics and facilitated by technology, the process has had to confront the difficulty of establishing viable economic models, the lack of regional integration ...

  5. Football in inter-war Northern Ireland: Ballymena Football and Athletic Club Limited - religious and political exclusivity or civic inclusivity?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laverty, David; Garnham, Neal

    2010-01-01

    Historians have almost universally seen association football in the north of Ireland as a divisive influence. The impacts of sectarian and political tensions on the game have been stressed, alongside the extent to which this sport supposedly feeds into existing divisions. Much of the work carried out has concentrated on the last four decades, though even studies outside this period of widespread civil disorder have highlighted these problems. This paper uses the surviving records of the Ballymena Football and Athletic Club, the local press, census returns and other records to consider aspects of one particular Northern Irish club in the 1920s and 1930s. This short consideration of the players, supporters and shareholders suggests that at least in this case football was successful in bringing together and developing cooperation between men of widely differing political and religious views. While the club was a not a financial success, it was a social and sporting one. The evidence available suggests there was little exhibition of sectarian tension at any level.

  6. From Kundun to Mulan: A Political Economic Case Study of Disney and China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongmei Yu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This case study examines the Walt Disney Company’s foray in the Chinese market from a political economic perspective. It focuses on two film-related events: 1 the 'Kundun' incident in 1996 that displays the ideological confrontation between Disney and China in the post-Cold War era, and 2 the production of 'Mulan 'in 1998 as both a political compromise and a strategic marketing decision for Disney to regain the Chinese market. The conflicts and negotiations between Disney and China provide a telling example to study the local operation of global capitalism, especially in terms of its interaction with the state. While many believe that the advent of globalization will open more free markets for fair competition, this study reveals how government policy intervenes in the global entertainment industry, and sheds light on the political and economic struggles behind the silver screen.

  7. Social traditionalism and economic conservatism: two conservative political ideologies in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, S D; Tamney, J B

    2001-04-01

    The authors surveyed by telephone a random sample of voters in the 1996 presidential election from the Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area of Muncie, IN ("Middletown"; R. Lynd & H. Lynd, 1929) to test a model describing the nature of 2 conservative political ideologies--social traditionalism and economic conservatism. The model, based on functions of attitudes theory, predicted (a) that the 2 political ideologies would appeal to 2 rather distinct constituency groups--the former, to conservative Protestants; the latter, to people of higher incomes--and (b) that social traditionalists would be more dogmatic and economic conservatives would be more open-minded in their respective views. The findings were consistent with those predictions.

  8. The Department of Boyacá on the basis of the political project of the regeneration 1886-1903. Thoughts from the political, administrative and religious views.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Liliana Monroy Hernández

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This article pretends to analyze the project of nation in Colombia during the period of the Regeneration, taking the specific case of the Department of Boyacá. This was a project that pretended the consolidation of a modern state through the elements of power as the religion, the education and the language, which allowed organizing a new political – administrative system of a centralistic status, in other words, that through the constitution of 1886 a social order be imposed, establishing a strong State, moved by a central government. Through these elements, it will be explained how the change from a Sovereign State of Boyacá to a Political and Administrative Department happened, which lead to a series of reforms of an economical, political and social status, that next to the transition of a secular education to a confessional education, determined the destiny of the Department from a Political Project of the Regeneration.

  9. Gender, Politics and Democratisation in Cameroon

    OpenAIRE

    Kassea, B. Raul

    2006-01-01

    Gender perceptions, religious belief systems, and political thought have excluded women from politics, for ages, around the world. Combining feminist and modernisation theorists in my theoretical framework, I examine the trends in patriarchal Europe and I highlight the gender-sensitive model of the Nordic countries. Retracing local gender patterns from precolonial to postcolonial eras in sub-Saharan Africa, I explore the links between perceptions, needs, resources, education and women's polit...

  10. Political Parties and Social Policy Responses to Global Economic Crises

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Starke, Peter; Kaasch, Alexandra; van Hooren, Franca

    2014-01-01

    Based on empirical findings froma comparative study onwelfare state responses to the four major economic shocks (the 1970s oil shocks, the early 1990s recession, the 2008 financial crisis) in four OECD countries, this article demonstrates that, in contrast to conventional wisdom, policy responses...... to global economic crises vary significantly across countries. What explains the cross-national and within-case variation in responses to crises?We discuss several potential causes of this pattern and argue that political parties and the party composition of governments can play a key role in shaping crisis...

  11. DYNAMIC SOCIAL INTEGRATION: SOCIAL INTEGRATION OF RELIGIOUS FOLLOWERS IN AMBON

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saidin Ernas

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The social dynamics in post-conflict Ambon, Maluku, 1999-2004, indicated that even though people were segregated in the ​​Islamic-Christian areas, gradually social integration began to occur naturally. The process of integration that occurred also gave birth to new values ​​and inclusive views that give hope to future peace building. Using the theory of social integration of dynamic adaptation of the Parsonian structural-functional classic paradigm and combined with a qualitative research model, this study successfully formulated several important findings. First, social integration occurred in the city of Ambon could run naturally through economic interactions, consensus on political balance and inclusive religious spirit. In addition, the presence of public spaces such as offices, schools, malls and coffee shops served as a natural integration medium that is increasingly important in the dynamics of the society. Second, the new social integration has created an increasingly important meaning that leads to a model of active harmony characterized by a process of the increasingly active social interaction between different religions, as well as strengthening pluralism and multiculturalism insight due to campaign by educational institutions and civil society groups. Third, this study also reminds us that although there has been a process of the increasingly positive social integration in Ambon city, people still need to be aware of the growth of radical religious ideologies at a certain level, and also of strengthening identity politics in the long run that will potentially give birth to primordial and ethnocentric attitudes that are harmful to the development of peace.

  12. Earth stewardship on rangelands: Coping with ecological, economic, and political marginality

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangelands encompass 30-40 percent of Earth's land surface and support 1-2 billion people. Their predominant use is extensive livestock production by pastoralists and ranchers. But rangelands are characterized by ecological, economic, and political marginality, and higher-value, more intensive land ...

  13. Log Linear Models for Religious and Social Factors affecting the practice of Family Planning Methods in Lahore, Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farooq Ahmad

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available This is cross sectional study based on 304 households (couples with wives age less than 48 years, chosen from urban locality (city Lahore. Fourteen religious, demographic and socio-economic factors of categorical nature like husband education, wife education, husband’s monthly income, occupation of husband, household size, husband-wife discussion, number of living children, desire for more children, duration of marriage, present age of wife, age of wife at marriage, offering of prayers, political view, and religiously decisions were taken to understand acceptance of family planning. Multivariate log-linear analysis was applied to identify association pattern and interrelationship among factors. The logit model was applied to explore the relationship between predictor factors and dependent factor, and to explore which are the factors upon which acceptance of family planning is highly depending. Log-linear analysis demonstrate that preference of contraceptive use was found to be consistently associated with factors Husband-Wife discussion, Desire for more children, No. of children, Political view and Duration of married life. While Husband’s monthly income, Occupation of husband, Age of wife at marriage and Offering of prayers resulted in no statistical explanation of adoption of family planning methods.

  14. What kind of political education we seek today?

    OpenAIRE

    Lafaye, Caroline Guibet

    2008-01-01

    Facing contemporary cultural and religious pluralism associated to the demands of recognition from minorities in multicultural societies, neither classical republicanism nor political liberalism gives satisfactory orientation to shape a political education accomodated to this social context. Education will contribute to social pacification and social compromises only if we elaborate a political education which takes into account and responds properly to the main actual political goal: living ...

  15. Religious Beliefs and Environmental Behaviors in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Yang

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The role of religion in the environment has yet to be empirically investigated in the country with the largest atheist population across the globe. Using data from the Chinese General Social Survey 2013, we examined the effects of religious beliefs on environmental behaviors in China. Dependent variables of private and public environmental behaviors were identified by factor analysis. The estimation revealed a contradictory result that most religious beliefs had negative effects on private environmental behaviors while having positive effects on public environmental behaviors. The findings suggest a religion–politics interactive mechanism to enhance pro-environmental behavior in China.

  16. Movement of Campus’ Mosque at UGM and UIN Sunan Kalijaga In Order to Understand National Politic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Flavius Florls Andrles

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The emerging religious movement in campus areas after the reformation era is an interesting phenomenon to be researched. The aim of this study is to answer these questions:   how to reconstruct the idea of religion and how the implementation of such idea in the religious movement to response the political problems. This research was conducted in two campuses with different background, Gadjah Mada University representing secular campus and Islamic state university Sunan Kalijaga representing religious campus. Findings of this research show that there is different religious understanding on the religious movement. In Gajah Mada mosque, the political problem is not discussed and is not included in the preaching. The reason is that the material is not relevant to mosque function. On the other hand, there is no problem to discuss about politics and also to say it in a preaching at the mosque in Islamic State University Sunan Kalijaga. This can happen because education about politics for people is part of mosque responsibility as a representation of muamalat in Islam.

  17. Political competition, economic reform and growth : theory and evidence from transition countries

    OpenAIRE

    Pavletic, Ivan

    2010-01-01

    Which political and institutional factors trigger reforms that enable the poor to benefit from the process of economic growth? How can the incentives of policy makers be influenced in order to achieve such a dynamic? These are the questions this study seeks to address by examining the transition process in post-communist countries. The author argues that political competition within an accepted and respected institutional environment has been a driving force in shaping the direction and succe...

  18. Religious pluralism into Lusophony: a question of freedom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisete S. Mendes Mónico

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to contribute with a reflection about religious pluralism and religious freedom into Lusophony. Reviving pieces of history since the 15th century to the current post-colonial Portuguese society, Lusophony is analyzed in two complementary perspectives: That of the colonizing people and that of the colonized nations. Evangelization, colonization and Lusophony are, and always will be, inseparable. In addition to linguistic uniformity, Lusophony gave its distinctiveness in acculturation, miscegenation, plasticity, and Christianization policy. Using the census data in the 90’s, 2000’s, and 2010’s, with a documentary approach, it is established a general overview of religious affiliation in Lusophony. Moving from a faith of obligation to a faith of conviction, Lusophony is nowadays characterized by a pluralist position in religious matters. The current situation of religious freedom is analyzed from the AIS report and the GRI (Government restriction index and SHI (social hostilities involving religion indexes. From multiculturalism to acculturation, the plasticity, eclecticism, and religious syncretism acted as moderators towards the imposition of a new belief. The article ends by appealing to the inclusion of religious freedom in the political agenda, in order to defend human rights and peace in the world.

  19. The role of finance in economic development : Benefits, risks, and politics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beck, T.H.L.; Müller, D.C.

    2012-01-01

    This article explores the role of the financial sector for economic growth, the causes and consequences of financial fragility, and the politics behind financial deepening and fragility. In doing so, it identifies the critical role of the financial sector within capitalist economies, a role with

  20. Ancient Ephesus: Processions as Media of Religious and Secular Propaganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lilian Portefaix

    1993-01-01

    Full Text Available The significance of religious rituals often reaches beyond their strict religious intentions. Specifically a procession, performed in front of the public, is a most effective instrument of disseminating a message to the crowds. Consequently, this ritual, as is well known, has often been used not only in religious but also in secular contexts; a procession under the cloak of religion can even become a politically useful medium to avoid popular disturbances on peaceful terms. This was the case in ancient Ephesus, where Roman power conflicted with Greek culture from the middle of the first century B.C. onwards. In the beginning of the second century A.D. the public religious life in the city of Ephesus was to a great extent characterized by processions relating to the cult of Artemis Ephesia. The one traditionally performed on the birthday of the goddess called to mind the Greek origin of the city; it was strictly associated with the religious sphere bringing about a close relationship between the goddess and her adherents. The other, artificially created by a Roman, was entirely secular, and spread its message every fortnight in the streets of Ephesus. It referred to the political field of action and intended to strengthen the Roman rule over the city. The Greek origin of Ephesian culture was later included in the message of the procession, reminding the Greeks not to rebel against Roman rule.

  1. The equilibrium price range of oil: economics, politics and uncertainty in the formation of oil prices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giraud, P.-N.

    1995-01-01

    This paper attempts to clarify the articulation between economic and political factors in the formation of petroleum prices. The essential point is that when factors control significant low cost reserves and will not or cannot adopt behaviour of a 'substantial economic rationality' then the economic analysis does not allow a unique dynamic equilibrium price to be determined. However, it does permit definition of an equilibrium price range within which political preferences may be expressed. Finally, the paper draws some conclusions on what could be discussed within the scope of a new oil producer-consumer dialogue. (author)

  2. [Economics, politics, and public health in Porfirian Mexico (1876-1910)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrillo, Ana María

    2002-01-01

    The article examines the scientific, political, and economic elements that permitted the birth of modern public health in Mexico under the Porfirio Díaz administration (1876-1910). Firstly, a portion of Mexican physicians were open to the discoveries of microbiology, immunology, and epidemiology. Secondly, the State's growing concentration of power in public health matters ran parallel to its concentration of disciplinary political power and enabled this new knowledge to be placed at the service of collective health problem prevention. Lastly, both imperialism and the Porfirian elite needed to protect their business interests. The article evaluates public health achievements and limitations during the Porfirian period, abruptly interrupted by the revolution begun in 1910.

  3. POLITICAL ECONOMY OF RELIGIOUS AND CULTURAL SYMBOLS IN THE SOAP OPERA OF TUKANG BUBUR NAIK HAJI AT RCTI

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yasir

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Television is a very influential media and important tool in capital accumulation. This study aims to reveal the use of Islamic and Betawi ethnic symbols, workers, and also the audiences of Tukang Bubur Naik Haji (TBNH soap opera at RCTI. This research used a political economy of communication perspective. The data were collected by using interview, observation, documentation, and literature study. The result shows that the religious symbols of Islam and Betawi culture have been exploited as comodity to be traded. Those symbols have been commercialized dan manipulated through the use of sensational, provocative, and hyperbole words or sentences to entertain audiences and to attract the advertisers. The hyper-comercialization and politicization of symbols caused the soap opera workers and Moslem audiences have been exploited.

  4. Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-22

    RN) and the rightist Independent Democratic Union (Unión Demócrata Independiente , UDI). A third coalition, the “Broad Party of the Socialist Left...independents and members of the Regionalist Party of Independents (Partido Regionalista de los Independientes , PRI), who are unaffiliated with either of the...Wilde, “Piñera Won. Will he uphold Chile’s post -Pinochet moral legacy?” Christian Science Monitor, January 18, 2010. Chile: Political and Economic

  5. Tales of two cities: political capitals and economic centres in the world city network.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Taylor

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The majority of major cities in the world city network are capital cities. Between primacy and political specialization there are examples of countries where the capital city and a second city remain as major rival cities in contemporary globalization. In this paper we focus upon situations where the capital city is less important in global economic capacity: Rome and Milan, Berlin and Frankfurt, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Delhi and Mumbai, Islamabad and Karachi. This is an exercise in double comparisons: between cities in each pairing and between the pairings. Despite the massive differences – economic, cultural and political – amongst our chosen pairs of cities we have found communalities relating to the specific circumstance we are investigating. First, there is some evidence that economic centres are more global and less local than their capital cities. Second, more particularly, we have shown that in terms of global economic connections there is a very consistent pattern: economic centres have a much more coherent and telling integration into the world city network.

  6. Dark Ages Religious Conflicts and their Literary Representations: The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell

    OpenAIRE

    Carlos A. Sanz Mingo

    2011-01-01

    This paper analyses the religious situation in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries as reflected in Arthurian literature. This reflection usually depicts religious strife which brought a political division between the British kingdoms. This, in turn, provoked the final defeat against the Anglo-Saxons. Four religious creeds will be dealt with: the native Celtic religion and the cults that the Romans brought with them from the Eastern Mediterranean, including Christianity and the mysteries ...

  7. Do Better Political Relations with the USA Improve A Country's Economic Outlook?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anwar Aridi

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Relations of countries with the USA could be considered as helpful in their quest for enhanced economic performance. Does an improvement or deterioration in relations with the USA bring significant economic and financial benefits or costs, in areas such as, trade, capital flows, remittances, aid, military expenditures, and education? The results based on an event study are very preliminary. Nevertheless, this line of research could be fruitful and may enhance our appreciation of international political-economic relations and the ability to build more comprehensive theories of trade, capital flows and the like.

  8. Theorizing Religion as Politics in Postsecular International Relations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wilson, Erin

    2014-01-01

    This article reconsiders the political dimensions of religious activity in light of a supposedly emerging post-secular society. I argue that limited understandings of both religion and politics restrict the capacity of scholars and faith-based actors alike to perceive the signifi- cant influence

  9. Entrepreneurship development in destinations of religious tourism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivanović Slobodan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available After the introduction which summarizes the basic guidelines for the development of entrepreneurship in special interest tourism, the author explores the development and application as well as the management of entrepreneurship in religious tourism as a type of special interest tourism. Religious components and motives for visiting shrines as an integral part of human culture and tradition have a strenuous impact on the tourism industry, both on the offering and demanding side. The most visited shrines such as Fatima or Lourdes attract four to eight million visitors per year. Considering the fact that this type of tourism is economically very useful in a particular local environment, many shrines as sites have become centres of religious, commercial and cultural events in certain regions throughout history. Their development was followed by investment in infrastructure, culture, catering and other facilities. The implementation of entrepreneurship is based on various segments that enable the development of religious tourism in a particular area, such as catering industry, hospitality industry, tourist mediation, transportation companies and other complementary activities (agriculture, fishing, wine production, commerce and other services. The author explores the indicators of entrepreneurship development in the field of religious tourism as a type of special interest tourism indicating the possibilities it has on the destination development. The development of special interest tourism should be based on effective investment in tourism offer through entrepreneurial projects (catering and other tourist facilities in accordance with market trends. The investment in tourism offer in the context of religious tourism would result in the growth of religious passengers' consumption as well as the increase in income from religious tourism, and thus the economic development of the sites with religious content. Examples of such shrines in the world are

  10. Shared Cultural History as a Predictor of Political and Economic Changes among Nation States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthews, Luke J; Passmore, Sam; Richard, Paul M; Gray, Russell D; Atkinson, Quentin D

    2016-01-01

    Political and economic risks arise from social phenomena that spread within and across countries. Regime changes, protest movements, and stock market and default shocks can have ramifications across the globe. Quantitative models have made great strides at predicting these events in recent decades but incorporate few explicitly measured cultural variables. However, in recent years cultural evolutionary theory has emerged as a major paradigm to understand the inheritance and diffusion of human cultural variation. Here, we combine these two strands of research by proposing that measures of socio-linguistic affiliation derived from language phylogenies track variation in cultural norms that influence how political and economic changes diffuse across the globe. First, we show that changes over time in a country's democratic or autocratic character correlate with simultaneous changes among their socio-linguistic affiliations more than with changes of spatially proximate countries. Second, we find that models of changes in sovereign default status favor including socio-linguistic affiliations in addition to spatial data. These findings suggest that better measurement of cultural networks could be profoundly useful to policy makers who wish to diversify commercial, social, and other forms of investment across political and economic risks on an international scale.

  11. Environmental, political, and economic determinants of water quality monitoring in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, Lucas; Bernauer, Thomas; Kalbhenn, Anna

    2010-11-01

    Effective monitoring is essential for effective pollution control in national and international water systems. To what extent are countries' monitoring choices driven by environmental criteria, as they should be? And to what extent are they also influenced by other factors, such as political and economic conditions? To address these questions, we describe and explain the evolution of one of the most important international environmental monitoring networks in Europe, the one for water quality, in the time period 1965-2004. We develop a geographic information system that contains information on the location of several thousand active monitoring stations in Europe. Using multivariate statistics, we then examine whether and to what extent the spatial and temporal clustering of monitoring intensity is driven by environmental, political, and economic factors. The results show that monitoring intensity is higher in river basins exposed to greater environmental pressure. However, political and economic factors also play a strong role in monitoring decisions: democracy, income, and peer pressure are conducive to monitoring intensity, and monitoring intensity generally increases over time. Moreover, even though monitoring is more intense in international upstream-downstream settings, we observe only a weak bias toward more monitoring downstream of international borders. In contrast, negative effects of European Union (EU) membership and runup to the EU's Water Framework Directive are potential reasons for concern. Our results strongly suggest that international coordination and standardization of water quality monitoring should be intensified. It will be interesting to apply our analytical approach also to other national and international monitoring networks, for instance, the U.S. National Water-Quality Assessment Program or the European Monitoring and Evaluation Program for air pollution.

  12. Democracia y el crecimiento del protestantismo evangélico en Guatemala: entendiendo la complejidad de la religión "pentecostalizada"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy J. STEIGENGA

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available RESUMEN: Este artículo propone que el crecimiento de la religión «pentecostalizada» en Guatemala tiene múltiples y complejos efectos políticos. La práctica de la religión pentecostalizada se extiende a través de varios grupos religiosos, sin embargo, esto no quiere decir que los distintos grupos religiosos conservadores en Guatemala sigan una sola trayectoria política. De hecho, las prácticas y creencias pentecostalizadas que comparten los evangélicos y los católicos carismáticos pueden significativamente motivar distintas agendas políticas. Aunque es menos común que los evangélicos y católicos carismáticos participen en actividades que desafíen las autoridades políticas, ambos participan políticamente, principalmente enfocándose en un ethos de «autoayuda », voluntarismo y votando. Estos resultados sugieren que las aserciones que conectan el crecimiento del protestantismo con la democracia o con el autoritarismo deben ser rechazadas, y en su lugar se debe adoptar un acercamiento más sutil que considere las conexiones específicas entre las creencias religiosas, las variables políticas y el contexto político.ABSTRACT: This article argues that the political effects of the growth of «pentecostalized» religion in Guatemala are multiple and complex. Although the practice of pentecostalized religion is widespread across religious groups, it does not appear as though this will lead to a single political trajectory among conservative religious groups in Guatemala. Rather, the same pentecostalized religious beliefs and practices shared by Evangelicals and charismatic Catholics can serve as powerful motivations for divergent political agendas. Though less likely to engage in political activity that challenges political authorities, Evangelicals and charismatic Catholics do participate politically; focusing on an ethos of self-help, volunteerism, and voting. These findings suggest that broad claims linking the growth of

  13. Religious Attitudes and Home Bias

    OpenAIRE

    C. Reggiani; G. Rossini

    2008-01-01

    Home bias affects trade in goods, services and financial assets. It is mostly generated by "natural" trade barriers. Among these dividers we may list many behavioral and sociological factors, such as status quo biases and a few kind of ‘embeddedness’. Unfortunately these factors are difficult to measure. An important part of ‘embeddedness’ may be related to religious attitudes. Is there any relation between economic home bias and religious attitudes at the individual tier? Our aim is to provi...

  14. Tolerance in the United States: Does Economic Freedom Transform Racial, Religious, Political and Sexual Attitudes?

    OpenAIRE

    Berggren, Niclas; Nilsson, Therese

    2015-01-01

    Tolerance is a distinguishing feature of Western culture: There is a widespread attitude that people should be allowed to say what they want even if one dislikes the message. Still, the degree of tolerance varies between and within countries, as well as over time, and if one values this kind of attitude, it becomes important to identify its determinants. In this study, we investigate whether the character of economic policy plays a role, by looking at the effect of changes in economic freedom...

  15. The Political, Socio-Economic and Sociocultural Impacts of the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) on Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hilal, Kholoud T.; Scott, Safiyyah; Maadad, Nina

    2015-01-01

    Since 2006, Saudi Arabian politicians, economists and sociologists have had to consider the implications of their country's King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP). Because Saudi Arabia has certain religious traditions and economic practices that are sensitive, international scholars are examining from different perspectives the outcomes and…

  16. Size, Democracy, and the Economic Costs of Running the Political System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Blom-Hansen, Jens; Houlberg, Kurt; Serritzlew, Søren

    2014-01-01

    , are amalgamated to harvest scale effects. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the argument on economies of scale in the economic costs of running political systems. Our testing ground is a recent Danish reform. It allows us to avoid endogeneity problems often facing researchers of size reforms. The reform...

  17. Gender Achievement and Social, Political and Economic Equality: A European Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ireson, Gren

    2017-01-01

    Differences in gender equality based on social, political and economic factors is cited, by some writers, as a contributory factor in the differentially greater achievement of boys in STEM subjects through the concept of gender stratification. Gender differences, especially in mathematics, have been linked directly to gender parity in wider…

  18. THE IMPACT OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC NEWS ON THE EURO/RON EXCHANGE RATE: A GARCH APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihai Niţoi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Within this study we try to capture the impact of political news and economic news from euro area on the exchange rate between Romanian currency and euro. In order to do this we used a GARCH model. As we observed, both variables influence the exchange rate, this fact implying national currency depreciation and a volatility growth. The political news and the economic news positively affect the euro/ron exchange rate volatility. The two factors conjugation, as it has happened in the recent period is to be avoided because it can have financial and economic consequences with a very high cost for Romania.

  19. Religious violence: Implications for nation building | Mgbachu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Religious violence in Nigeria has devaluated our national economy. Any interested observer of the Nigeria socio-political structure is all too easily aware of the multiplicity of voices and the diversity of cultures within the one nation. Nigeria has one of the highest ethnic nationalities to be found in one single nation in the ...

  20. THE IMPACT OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC NEWS ON THE EURO/RON EXCHANGE RATE: A GARCH APPROACH

    OpenAIRE

    Cristi Spulbar; Mihai Nitoi

    2012-01-01

    Within this study we try to capture the impact of political news and economic news from euro area on the exchange rate between Romanian currency and euro. In order to do this we used a GARCH model. As we observed, both variables influence the exchange rate, this fact implying national currency depreciation and a volatility growth. The political news and the economic news positively affect the euro/ron exchange rate volatility. The two factors conjugation, as it has happened in the recent peri...

  1. Political entrepreneurship and bidding for political monopoly

    OpenAIRE

    Michael Wohlgemuth

    2000-01-01

    An analytical framework for dealing with political entrepreneurship and reform is proposed which is based on some new combinations of Schumpeterian political economy, an extended version of Tullock's model of democracy as franchise-bidding for natural monopoly and some basic elements of New Institutional Economics. It is shown that problems of insufficient award criteria and incomplete contracts which may arise in economic bidding schemes, also - and even more so - characterise political comp...

  2. POLITICAL OPTIONS AND ECONOMIC PROSPECTS WITHIN THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ioana Sandu

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Recent changes in the security environment of Eastern Europe and the South Caucasus have been reshaping the strategies of the six small countries in the proximity of both the EU and Russia. Their attempts to take upon themselves their Soviet heritage and their sensitive geographical position were reflected by a mix of East-West orientations. Some of them chose to create stronger economic bonds with the EU members while others decided to anticipate Russian discontent in separatist areas they shelter and became members of the EEU. Regardless of their option, the Eastern Partnership members embarked? on a long road of political, social and economic changes, so that their stability and growth would become pillars of a stronger role on the regional and international arena in the future. The EU, in turn, has been supporting its partners to the East according to their level of commitment to reform and approximation, although the economic benefits of this relation are imperceptible.

  3. The genetic and environmental foundations of political, psychological, social, and economic behaviors: a panel study of twins and families.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hatemi, Peter K; Smith, Kevin; Alford, John R; Martin, Nicholas G; Hibbing, John R

    2015-06-01

    Here we introduce the Genetic and Environmental Foundations of Political and Economic Behaviors: A Panel Study of Twins and Families (PIs Alford, Hatemi, Hibbing, Martin, and Smith). This study was designed to explore the genetic and environmental influences on social, economic, and political behaviors and attitudes. It involves identifying the psychological mechanisms that operate on these traits, the heritability of complex economic and political traits under varying conditions, and specific genetic correlates of attitudes and behaviors. In addition to describing the study, we conduct novel analyses on the data, estimating the heritability of two traits so far unexplored in the extant literature: Machiavellianism and Baron-Cohen's Empathizing Quotient.

  4. Politics and economics to shape international oil and gas activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This paper reports that political and economic events play unusually strong roles in shaping worldwide oil and gas activity levels this year. Developments in the former U.S.S.R. will be critical. As the now-independent republics adopt new economic systems, production and demand patterns will change, as will exports from what has been the world's leading oil producer. Changing conditions in the Middle East among members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting countries also will affect the industry in the year following the brief Persian Gulf war. Unless worldwide demand surges unexpectedly, these substantial additions to supply will tend to weaken oil prices in 1992

  5. The Threat to Religious Liberties and the European Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roger Kiska

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The following article analyzes the 3 chief threats facing religious liberty today in Europe, namely: (1 hate speech legislation; (2 anti-discrimination laws; (3 attacks on parental rights. Concrete examples are given of offenses to religious freedom. Additionally, the black letter law is set out in each section with suggested action points for national governments. The Article also discusses the Lautsi v. Italy judgment of the European Court of Human Rights, explaining its importance and using it as evidence to establish the political nature of the Strasbourg based court.

  6. A Politics of Marginability

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pallesen, Cecil Marie

    2015-01-01

    always been contested and to some extent vulnerable. However, the Indian communities are strong socially and economically, and the vast majority of its people have great international networks and several potential plans or strategies for the future, should the political climate in Tanzania become......In the end of the 19th century, Indians began settling in East Africa. Most of them left Gujarat because of drought and famine, and they were in search for business opportunities and a more comfortable life. Within the following decades, many of them went from being small-scale entrepreneurs to big...... hostile towards them. I argue that this migrant group is unique being marginalized and strong at the same time, and I explain this uniqueness by several features in the Indian migrants’ cultural and religious background, in colonial and post-colonial Tanzania, and in the Indians’ role as middlemen between...

  7. Economical, political and social aspects of atomic energy in Bulgaria; Dvadtsat` let atomnoj ehnergetiki Respubliki Bolgarii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shervashidze, N

    1996-12-31

    The future of atomic energy in Bulgaria is discussed in terms of the challenge to make correct political and economical decisions. The building of a second nuclear power plant at Belene should be considered taking into account the time needed for project realisation and the adherence to standards. The political aspects are connected closely to the financial crediting and to marketing research for electricity export. It is stressed that the development of atomic energy is closely related to the national stability and economical independence.

  8. Aid as a catalyst to development? : the Case of Ghana’s Political and Economic Transformation (1957-2013)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vondee-Awortwi (Joana)

    2017-01-01

    markdownabstractGhana’s economic and political past and present show that foreign aid has provided support for infrastructural development, budget financing, macroeconomic policy reforms, institutional restructuring and political reforms. Existing literature and pronouncements by leading aid

  9. Chile: Political and Economic Conditions and U.S. Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-12-10

    pace to meet all eight of the United Nations ( UN ) Millennium Development Objectives by 2015.9 Recent Political and Economic Developments Bachelet...Front For Elections,” EFE News Service, June 15, 2009; “‘Hombres Fuertes’ de Las Campañas Analizan lo que Está en Juego en la Elección Presidencial...Enriquez-Ominami Paves Way For Younger Leaders,” Oxford Analytica, September 7, 2009. 42 “Marco Enríquez es, Políticamente, Hijo de Bachelet y Lagos

  10. Comparative Theology: An Alternative to Religious Studies or Theology of Religions?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Betül AVCI

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the relationship between Comparative Theology, Religious Studies and Theology of Religions and questions whether Comparative Theology is an alternative to the last two. Comparative Theology, a faith seeking understanding practice, may be viewed as an alternative to the Enlightenment ideal of Religious Studies, which seeks “impartiality” and “scientific objectivity” in contrast to Comparative Theology’s enquiry into “truth” and “meaning.” I suggest, however, that the comparative method employed by both Religious Studies and Comparative Theology is not a neutral space. Hence, the new comparativism in Religious Studies reinstates its search for understanding and its political stand, which blurs the boundaries between Comparative Theology and Religious Studies. Likewise, while Comparative Theology is distinct from the Theology of Religions, it does not pose an alternative to it because Comparative Theology, too, often embodies either a pluralist or an inclusivist approach.

  11. Shared Cultural History as a Predictor of Political and Economic Changes among Nation States.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luke J Matthews

    Full Text Available Political and economic risks arise from social phenomena that spread within and across countries. Regime changes, protest movements, and stock market and default shocks can have ramifications across the globe. Quantitative models have made great strides at predicting these events in recent decades but incorporate few explicitly measured cultural variables. However, in recent years cultural evolutionary theory has emerged as a major paradigm to understand the inheritance and diffusion of human cultural variation. Here, we combine these two strands of research by proposing that measures of socio-linguistic affiliation derived from language phylogenies track variation in cultural norms that influence how political and economic changes diffuse across the globe. First, we show that changes over time in a country's democratic or autocratic character correlate with simultaneous changes among their socio-linguistic affiliations more than with changes of spatially proximate countries. Second, we find that models of changes in sovereign default status favor including socio-linguistic affiliations in addition to spatial data. These findings suggest that better measurement of cultural networks could be profoundly useful to policy makers who wish to diversify commercial, social, and other forms of investment across political and economic risks on an international scale.

  12. Africa's Elites Ways of Commodifying Politics to Valorise Economic Rent

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Muchie, Mammo

    2011-01-01

    This paper starts with incredulity first. Whilst doing some research for this paper, I came across members of the top political elite from Zaire to Nigeria often taken as 'kleptocrat extraordinaire' to be also in the forefront in denoucing rennt-seeking and corruption with an equal extraordinaire...... on this dlemma in order to address how rent-seeking cleansing can be attempted to align the elites as part of the solution rather than the problem of African economic and political development.......' flair and completeness at the same time.Some might ignore their stance as cynical and self-servingg and move on to other concerns. Others might condemn the fadulent behaviour, add what one can expect anyway from such immoral and unethical characters and pass on to other things.... This paper reflects...

  13. Political theology: Possibility of comparison of the usage of death in theology and politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kuljić Todor

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper considers the epistemological value of the concept of political theology in thanatopolitics. The concept can be useful if one wants to interpret political usage of death. In addition to blurred boundaries between politics and theology, there is a more general and deeper socially integrative affinity between the two. In addition, there have been various politicizations of salvation in the past and in the present. Every political theology accentuates obedience as an immanent condition of salvation, although interpretation of death in political theology has a different function than in secular ideologies. In the centre of politically theological ideas one can find crosscutting of the divisions between public friend and public enemy from political world with similar divisions from religious world. Finally, beside the theological influence on politics, this paper considers some analogies between theology and the secular judiciary. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 149005: Društveni akteri i društvene promene u Srbiji 1990-2010

  14. The Internal Causes of Political Instability in the Republic of Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey Borisovich Druzhilovsky

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the causes of the permanent political instability in the Turkish Republic, which leads to frequent change of governments, degradation of political parties and changing of policies. On the example of the activities of different cabinets it is showen that the basis of their instability is the frequent creation of coalition governments consisting of parties that stand on different ideological positions. Inter-party antagonism, in its turn, is a consequence of the split of the Turkish society along civilizational, ethnic and religious grounds, which determines the different political orientation of the various layers of the Turkish society. At the same time the article shows the examples of the undoubted efficiency of one-party governments, however they never get support from the opposition parties, and eventually also fail to effectively and consistently implement their proposed policies. The author also deals with a policy of the ruling today in Turkey, the Islamist Party of Justice and Development, which after several years of successful political and economic reforms to date entered the period of deep crisis and is increasingly losing its authority and influence both in Turkey and in neighboring countries.

  15. VERSHINA – A POLISH VILLAGE IN SIBERIA. FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE MAINTENANCE UNDER CHANGING SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michał Głuszkowski

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses factors influencing language maintenance under changing social, cultural, economic and political conditions of Polish minority in Siberia. The village of Vershina was founded in 1910 by Polish voluntary settlers from Little Poland.During its first three decades Vershina preserved Polish language,traditions, farming methods and machines and also the Roman Catholic religion. The changes came to a village in taiga in the1930s. Vershina lost its ethnocultural homogeneity because of Russian and Buryat workers in the local kolkhoz. Nowadays the inhabitants of Vershina regained their minority rights: religious, educational and cultural. However, during the years of sovietization and ateization, their culture and customs became much more similar to other Siberian villages. Polish language in Vershina is under strong influence of Russian, which is the language of education,administration, and surrounding villages. Children from Polish-Russian families become monolingual and use Polish very rare, only asa school subject and in contacts with grandparents. The process of abandoning mother tongue in Vershina is growing rapidly. However,there are some factors which may hinder the actual changes:the activity of local Polish organisations and Roman Catholic parish as well as folk group “Jazhumbek”.

  16. Religious institutions and the politics of access to basic services in displacement contexts

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauterbach, Karen

    This paper provides a study of religious institutions as service providers in contexts of crises and displacement. Religious institutions, as well as other non-state institutions, provide access to a vast range of resources and services (such as food, housing, clothes, counseling, money, and access...... to networks). In contexts of displacement access to basic services is formally regulated by one’s status (e.g. as refugee or national citizen) and by physical location (e.g. in settlements/camps or urban areas). The paper discusses what role religious institutions play when access to services provided...... by the state or the international humanitarian system is limited or non-existent and what kind of relations of exchange that is at stake. Empirically the project deals with Congolese churches in Kampala, Uganda of which many pastors and members have refugee status. The paper analyses the range and categories...

  17. STATE POLICIES ON RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Mujiburrahman

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses how Indonesian state manages its religious diversity. The state policies on religious diversity cannot be understood without analyzing the history of how the founding fathers decided to choose Indonesia as neither secular nor Islamic country, but somewhere between the two. The author discusses three topics, namely the recognized religions, Muslim fear of Christianization, and dialogue and inter-religious harmony. Based on the Decree No.1/1965, Confucianism was one of six religions recognized by the state. However, in the Soeharto era, around 1979, this religion was dropped from the list, and only after his fall Confucianism has been rehabilitated, and even the Chinese New Year has been included as one of the national holidays in Indonesia. In terms of Muslim-Christian relations, there were tensions since 1960s, particularly dealt with the issue of the high number of Muslims who converted to Christianity. It was in this situation that in 1967 a newly built Methodist Church in Meulaboh, Aceh, was closed by Muslims, arguing that the Church was a concrete example of the aggressiveness of Christian missions because it was built in a Muslim majority area. Since the Meulaboh case, the Muslims consistently insisted the government to accommodate their four demands: (1 restriction on establishing new places of worship; (2 restriction onreligious propagation, and control of foreign aid for religious institutions; (4 Islamic religion classes should be given to Muslim students studying in Christian schools; (5 inter-religious marriage should not be allowed. Apart from these contested issues, the government and religious leaders have been trying to avoid conflict and to establish cooperation and peace among religious groups in the country through inter-religious dialogues, either organized by the government or sponsored by the leaders of religious groups themselves. The author argues that specific socio-political contexts should be

  18. Lived experience of economic and political trends related to globalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cushon, Jennifer A; Muhajarine, Nazeem; Labonte, Ronald

    2010-01-01

    A multi-method case study examined how the economic and political processes of globalization have influenced the determinants of health among low-income children in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. This paper presents the results from the qualitative interview component of the case study. The purpose of the interviews was to uncover the lived experience of low-income families and their children in Saskatoon with regards to political and economic trends related to globalization, an important addition to the usual globalization and health research that relies primarily on cross-country regressions in which the personal impacts remain hidden. In-depth phenomenological interviews with 26 low-income parents of young children (aged zero to five) who were residents of Saskatoon. A combination of volunteer and criterion sampling was used. Interview questions were open-ended and based upon an analytical framework. Analysis proceeded through immersion in the data, a process of open coding, and finally through a process of selective coding. The larger case study and interviews indicate that globalization has largely not been benefiting low-income parents with young children. Low-income families with young children were struggling to survive, despite the tremendous economic growth occurring in Saskatchewan and Saskatoon at the time of the interviews. This often led to participants expressing a sense of helplessness, despair, isolation, and/or anger. Respondents' experiences suggest that globalization-related changes in social conditions and public policies and programs have great potential to negatively affect family health through either psychosocial effects in individuals and/or decreased levels of social cohesion in the community.

  19. Opinions of Illinois Secondary Business Teachers Concerning Political and Socio-Economic Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scriven, Jolene Davidson

    1975-01-01

    The results of this study point to a need for business teachers to find ways of discussing political and socio-economic issues in their classrooms and that business teacher education institutions should be certain that graduates are prepared to include these issues in the courses they teach. (Author)

  20. Techno economic systems and excessive consumption: a political economy of 'pathological' gambling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reith, Gerda

    2013-12-01

    This article argues that gambling is a paradigmatic form of consumption that captures the intensified logic at the heart of late modern capitalist societies. As well as a site of intensified consumption, it claims that gambling has also become the location of what has been described as a new form of 'social pathology' related to excess play. Drawing on Castells' (1996) notion of techno-economic systems, it explores the ways that intersections between technology, capital and states have generated the conditions for this situation, and critiques the unequal distribution of gambling environments that result. It argues that, while the products of these systems are consumed on a global scale, the risks associated with them tend to be articulated in bio-psychological discourses of 'pathology' which are typical of certain types of knowledge that have salience in neo-liberal societies, and which work to conceal wider structural relationships. We argue that a deeper understanding of the political and cultural economy of gambling environments is necessary, and provide a synoptic overview of the conditions upon which gambling expansion is based. This perspective highlights parallels with the wider global economy of finance capital, as well as the significance of intensified consumption, of which gambling is an exemplary instance. It also reveals the existence of a geo-political dispersal of 'harms', conceived as deteriorations of financial, temporal and social relationships, which disproportionately affect vulnerable social groups. From this, we urge an understanding of commercial gambling based on a critique of the wider social body of gambling environments within techno economic systems, rather than the (flawed) individual bodies within them. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2013.

  1. Religious Influence on Older Americans' Sexual Lives: A Nationally-Representative Profile.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iveniuk, James; O'Muircheartaigh, Colm; Cagney, Kathleen A

    2016-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between religious influence and sexual expression in older Americans, with specific attention to gender. Using the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project, a nationally-representative survey of older adults, we created a composite measure of religious influence on sexual expression using Latent Class Analysis. We found more variability within denominations than between in terms of membership in the high-influence class; this indicated that religious influence on sexual expression was diverse within faiths. We show that religious influence was associated with higher self-reported satisfaction with frequency of sex, as well as higher physical and emotional satisfaction with sex, but only for men. Men were also significantly more likely than women to report that they would only have sex with a person they love. These results persisted in the presence of controls for demographic characteristics, religious affiliation, church attendance, intrinsic religiosity, political ideology, and functional health.

  2. Religious influence on older Americans’ sexual lives: A nationally-representative profile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iveniuk, James; O’Muircheartaigh, Colm

    2017-01-01

    This study investigates the relationship between religious influence and sexual expression in older Americans, with specific attention to gender. Using the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally-representative survey of older adults, we create a composite measure of religious influence on sexual expression using Latent Class Analysis. We find more variability within denominations than between in terms of membership in the high-influence class; this indicates that religious influence on sexual expression is diverse within faiths. We show that religious influence is associated with higher self-reported satisfaction with frequency of sex, as well as higher physical and emotional satisfaction with sex, but only for men. Men are also significantly more likely than women to report that they would only have sex with a person they love. These results persisted in the presence of controls for demographic characteristics, religious affiliation, church attendance, intrinsic religiosity, political ideology, and functional health. PMID:26063533

  3. The Historical Foundations of Religious Restrictions in Contemporary China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Tao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP abolished its total ban on religious activities in 1982. However, the distrust that the CCP feels for religions remains obvious today, and the religious restrictions in contemporary China remain tight. Conventional wisdom tells us that the official atheist ideology of Marxism-Leninism is the main reason behind the CCP’s distrust for, and restriction of, religion. However, taking a historical institutionalist perspective, this paper argues that the religious restrictions in contemporary China are in fact rooted in the fierce political struggles of the country’s two major revolutions in the first half of the twentieth century. Without the support of religious groups, the Nationalist Republicans would have found it difficult to survive and succeed in overthrowing the Qing Dynasty during the Chinese Republican Revolution in the first decade of the twentieth century. Likewise, without cooperating with a wide range of religious groups, the CCP would have struggled to defeat the Nationalist regime and the Japanese invaders in the Chinese Communist Revolution between 1920s and 1940s. Thanks to the collaborations and struggles with various religious groups during the two revolutions which lead to its eventual ascent to power, the CCP thoroughly understands the organisational strength and mobilising capability embedded within religious groups. The tight restrictions on religious affairs in contemporary China is therefore likely to stem from the CCP’s worry that prospective competitors could mobilise religious groups to challenge its rule through launching, supporting, or sponsoring collective actions.

  4. Without blinders: Public values scholarship in Political Science, Economics, and Law—content and contribution to Public Administration

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Graaf, Gjalt; van der Wal, Z.

    2017-01-01

    How and why are public values studied within public administration’s cognate disciplines? This question is addressed through a qualitative analysis of 50 public values (PVs) publications in political science, economics, and law published between 1969 and 2014. The findings show that political

  5. Political Correctness, Historically Speaking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lipset, Seymour Martin

    1992-01-01

    This historical review examines conservative and liberal attitudes on U.S. campuses in terms of political, ethnic, racial, gender, and religious issues. Discussed are the era of protest (1960s), the era of quiescence and move toward conservatism (1970-84), reversing the trend via increasing faculty liberalism, and contemporary opinion (a…

  6. Political and socio-economic instability: does it have a role in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The findings showed that instability in socio-economic and political aspects in these nations was responsible for creating a suitable environment for the spread of HIV/AIDS infection. This paper concludes by using the theories of collective action/responsibility and social cohesion to hypothesise that the breakdown of social ...

  7. Strategies for managing nuclear proliferation: economic and political issues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brito, D.L.; Intriligator, M.D.; Wick, A.E.

    1983-01-01

    Several new ways of approaching nuclear-weapons proliferation emerged at an April 1982 conference at Tulane University. The new ideas use statistical techniques to emphasize political and economic rather than technological determinants, recognize the possibility that proliferation could have a stabilizing influence, shift their emphasis from eliminating to managing proliferation, and focus on regional factors. The four divisions of this book reflect these new trends. Separate abstracts were prepared for the 18 individual papers selected for the Energy Data Base (EDB) and Energy Abstracts for Policy Analysis (EAPA). 6 figures, 23 tables

  8. Politics, doctors, assisted reproductive technologies & religion: Transgenerational understandings and experiences of single motherhood in Spain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bravo-Moreno, Ana

    2017-10-01

    The aim is to achieve a transgenerational view of single motherhood in Spain, to look at which contexts it arises in, how it changes with the introduction of assisted reproduction, and how the role of religion in Spanish society permeates medical practice and affects the lives of women patients. I examine single motherhood and investigate two interconnected themes: (a) being a mother and being mothered are both permeated with sociocultural, political, religious, economic and psychological significance; (b) Spain led Europe in multiple births due to assisted reproduction, thus ethical conflicts and patient rights are analyzed.

  9. Green industrial policy. Perspectives of economic and political scienc; Oekologische Industriepolitik. Wirtschafts- und politikwissenschaftliche Perspektiven

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jacob, Klaus [Freie Univ. Berlin (Germany)

    2009-01-15

    The necessity and possibilities of, limits to and the specific instruments employed for green industrial policy are a topic of both scientific and political debate. Economists and politicians can draw on rich resources in dealing with these issues. The contributions contained in this volume are the outcome of a workshop held by the German Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Environment Ministry on the topic of ''Green industrial policy'' on 18 April 2008 in Berlin. Economists and politicians were invited to participate in an expert dialog to locate the topic of green industrial policy within the larger discourses of political economics, deliberate on theoretical motives and practical limits to the concept from an economic viewpoint and discuss possible instruments and fields of action. The workshop focussed on questions relating to the necessity of green industrial policy, the framing of political programmes and the implementation of adopted goals into specific measures.

  10. Cyclicality of Economic Development of Ukraine in the Context of its Political and Legal Transformations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stryzhychenko Kostyantyn A.

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The cyclicality in the development of the Ukrainian economy during the years of its independence under conditions of its political and legal transformations has been studied. On the basis of the analysis of worldwide research the problem of influence of political transformations on the socio-economic development of the state has been identified. There has been developed a methodological approach to studying the evolutionary development of the Ukrainian economy in the context of its European integration, which comprises three main blocks: Block 1 – studying the development of the legal field of Ukraine; Block 2 – studying the policy of development of Ukraine and orientation of its economic system; Block 3 – analyzing the evolutionary development of the Ukrainian economy and determining its cyclical nature. Within the developed approach there were used wavelet models, spectral analysis – Fourier expansion and Johanson test. The paper puts forward three hypotheses: hypothesis 1 – about the existence of short-term 5-year cycles of evolutionary development of the economy; hypothesis 2 – about the existence of a long-term cycle lasing 25 years and conditioned by political and legal processes in the society; hypothesis 3 – about the existence of cointegration relationships between the evolutionary development of the economy of Ukraine and the EU. On the basis of the modern political transformations the phases of development of the Ukrainian legal environment have been defined and comparison of these phases with the specifics of its economic development has been carried out. The analysis of the economic system of Ukraine and its policy made it possible to determine the vector of development of the Ukrainian economy. The approximating (trend and detailing (cyclic components of the economic development of Ukraine were determined with the help of wavelet expansion. Using Fourier analysis for the detailing components allowed to distinguish 5

  11. Religión, política e identidad colectiva: ¿un problema nuevo en el siglo XXI?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patiño Villa, Carlos Alberto

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available This article presents a vision of how the Occidental World has been awaken from the “modernity” dream, in which there is a construction of values like secularity, laicism, economical competition, and military acting, among others. And how religion, seen by some intellectuals as a remnant of the traditional world, has contributed in a big way to this awakening. In this way, in the article is possible to state that religion is one of the aspects that alter the most the economical and institutional principles of the Occidental World. So, it is necessary to wonder if the principles of the Occidental World will prevail and what other political and economical directions will be generated as a result of the deep influence that religion has over the individual and the communities.En este artículo se presenta una visión de cómo el mundo Occidental ha sido despertado del llamado sueño de la “modernidad”, en el que se parte de la base de la construcción de valores como la secularidad, el laicismo, la competencia económica, el desempeño militar, entre otros. Y cómo a este despertar ha contribuido, en gran parte, la religión, vista por algunos intelectuales como los vestigios del mundo tradicional. En este sentido, en el artículo es posible afirmar que la religión es uno de los panoramas que más alteran los principios económicos e institucionales del mundo Occidental. Queda, entonces, preguntarse si el mundo occidental podrá hacer prevalecer sus principios y qué otros giros políticos y económicos podrán generarse a raíz de la influencia cada vez más profunda que la religión tiene sobre el individuo y las colectividades.

  12. Dark Ages Religious Conflicts and their Literary Representations: The Winter King, by Bernard Cornwell

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos A. Sanz Mingo

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses the religious situation in Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries as reflected in Arthurian literature. This reflection usually depicts religious strife which brought a political division between the British kingdoms. This, in turn, provoked the final defeat against the Anglo-Saxons. Four religious creeds will be dealt with: the native Celtic religion and the cults that the Romans brought with them from the Eastern Mediterranean, including Christianity and the mysteries of Isis and Mithras. All of them are represented in Bernard Cornwell’s trilogy The WarlordChronicles. We will concentrate on how these creeds influenced the lives of Britons in the agerepresented and exemplified in the first book of Conrnwell’s trilogy, The Winter King. Despite thefact that religion has always been one of the most common topics in Arthuriana, modern literaturedeals with it in a different way to previous texts, linking it with history and politics.

  13. China's Political-Economic Approach toward FTAs with East Asian Nations and Its Implications for Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hyun-jun Cho

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Focusing on a political-economic perspective, this article examines on the background and objectives of China's approach toward FTAs with East Asian nations. It appears that China's strategy to regional economic integration recently has transformed from a passive direction to active initiative, pushing forward its winning strategies - economic liberalization and its resolve to become a regional leader - while spearheading projects to create a regional free trade zone. China has a tendency to take a serious view on the significance of non-economic factors or international politics and security in regard to pursuing FTAs with neighboring countries. Behind China's ASEAN+1 plan, the implication of security is deeply rooted; and through its pursuit of economic integration within the region, China seems to be seeking change in the regional security order. China has also been bringing security discussions into the mechanism of regional economic cooperation among Korea, China and Japan. China also appears to have a few types of ideological mentality when pursuing FTAs. It seems that China's "great-power mentality"(daguo xintai is somewhat robust. This mentality is prone to be extended to hegemonic contention within the region. If China combines the "great-power mentality" with nationalism in the process of pursuing FTAs with neighboring countries, then this might entail exclusive regionalism. Both Japan and China are basically in rivalry over regional hegemony, and competing for leadership in intra-regional FTA initiatives. In pursuing FTAs with South Korea, China and Japan seem to have quite a contradictory approach. Japan, which wants to control the rise of China, seems to be ruling out the China-Japan-Korea FTA plan and actively pursuing a Japan-Korea FTA. On the contrary, Beijing is expected to actively propose to pursue China-Korea FTA in order to hold back rapid progress in Japan-Korea FTA negotiations, which have already commenced. On the

  14. THE GORONTALO RELIGIOUS COURT JUDGES RESPONSE TOWARD THEIR ABSOLUTE COMPETENCE IN RESOLVING SHARIAH ECONOMY DISPUTES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andi Mardiana

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Post the first amendment of Religious Courts Bill that provides wider authority toward Religious Courts in investigate and decide Islamic economics disputes has responses, whether support or pessimistic, especially among Religious Court judges themselves. This paper examines the Gorontalo Religious Courts judges response about their authority in resolve Shariah economy disputes. This paper is a qualitative descriptive research and the data was collected using observation, interviews and document reviews. The finding of this study revealed that the Gorontalo Religious Courts judges response well to trust laws in handling disputes Shariah economy. In other words, in principle, they are ready to handle disputes Islamic economics. Readiness, such as: the handling disputes Shariah economy is Religious Courts judges authorities and it is a professional responsibility as a judge; Religious Courts formed a special judge to handle falling out or cases of Shariah economy, and Religious Courts judges provides knowledge of Shariah economy without trainings or workshops.

  15. Iceland’s External Affairs from 1400 to the Reformation: Anglo-German Economic and Societal Shelter in a Danish Political Vacuum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baldur Þórhallsson

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper applies the assumption that small states/entities need economic and political shelter in order to prosper, to the case of Iceland in the period from 1400 to the Reformation in the mid-16th century. Also, it applies the findings from the first paper in this ‘hexalogy’ (a six-paper series on Iceland’s external relations in a historical context, i.e. that Iceland enjoyed societal shelter in the Middle Ages, to this period. The aim is both to analyse whether or not Icelanders enjoyed economic, political and societal cover from their engagements with the Danes, English and Germans and to evaluate the validity of the ‘shelter theory’. The paper argues that Iceland enjoyed considerable economic and societal shelter from its encounters with English and German merchants and fishermen in a period in which Danish political cover was formally in place but was not effective in practice. Moreover, the paper claims that the shelter theory, and small-state studies in general, need to take notice of the importance of social communication with the outside world for a small entity/state. Also, the Danish political vacuum in our late Medieval Period provided the islanders with economic opportunities and social engagements with the wider world. This was at the cost of continued domestic clashes between the islanders themselves, on the one hand, and between them and ‘outsiders’ on the other. Our findings indicate that in the case of Iceland there might be a trade-off between the benefits of strict political cover by a single external actor, and the economic and societal opportunities accompanied by a lack of political affiliations.

  16. From Whitlam to Economic Rationalism and Beyond: A Conceptual Framework for Political Activism in Children's Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sumsion, Jennifer

    2006-01-01

    Thirty years after the dismissal of the Whitlam Government, the Australian political, economic and social landscape is dominated by discourses of economic rationalism. The reification of market forces presents challenges for early childhood professionals seeking to establish a viable future trajectory for children's services that includes…

  17. ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL CONDITIONS OF FORMATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN MODERN RUSSIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walter A.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper examines the ambiguous contextual manifestations that accompany the process of formation of Russian entrepreneurial community. The work presents the research results of the specifics of these manifestations derived based on the analysis of various materials from Russian official, scientific and sociopolitical as well as international sources. "Attitude towards entrepreneurship" is regarded as the most important sociocultural component of the development of the entrepreneurship as a social practice. The identified economic and political as well as sociocultural trends that accompany the formation of the modern Russian entrepreneurship reflect the incompleteness stage of the market reforms in Russia. The creation of the modern ethical basis of the development of the entrepreneurship and its interaction with the society is assumed as one of the ways to accelerate these reforms. The outcome of the present interdisciplinary work - which is in its own way “a view from the outside” - in the author’s opinion, indicates the equivalence of sociocultural and economic and political range of problems for the modern stage of development of the entrepreneurship in Russia.

  18. On the biopsychosocial model: the example of political economic causes of diabetes in the Marshall Islands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamada, S; Palafox, N

    2001-10-01

    Biomedical reductionism, the unwritten theory underlying the practice of medicine, is being supplanted by the biopsychosocial model. The explanatory power of the biopsychosocial model, however, is hampered by an inadequate mechanism to account for the social production of disease. We examine diabetes in the Marshall Islands to explore a conceptual approach that incorporates ecology, history, and political economy into the biopsychosocial model. The use of the Marshall Islands by the United States as testing grounds for nuclear war has led to ecological destruction, population displacement, and economic dependency. The consequence at the biological level has been an epidemic of weight gain, altered metabolism, and diabetes. A political economic perspective reveals that such outcomes are the result of decisions made by those who do not live with these decisions. Such a perspective points the way for social engagement and political work toward justice and health.

  19. Religiousness, religious doubt, and death anxiety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henrie, James; Patrick, Julie Hicks

    2014-01-01

    Terror Management Theory (TMT) (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986) suggests that culturally-provided worldviews (e.g., religion) may protect individuals from experiencing death anxiety, and several studies have supported this position. However, if one's worldview can offer protection, doubts concerning one's worldview could undermine this protection. The current study investigated whether age, gender, religiousness, and religious doubt were associated with death anxiety. Using data from 635 younger, middle-aged, and older adults, a structural equation model with age, gender, religiousness, and religious doubt predicting death anxiety was tested. The model had a good fit (chi2 (76) = 193.467, p religiousness was inversely associated with death anxiety, while religious doubt was positively associated with death anxiety.

  20. Continent of pessimism or continent of realism? A multilevel study into the impact of macro-economic outcomes and political institutions on societal pessimism, European Union 2006-2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steenvoorden, Eefje H; van der Meer, Tom Wg

    2017-06-01

    The often-posed claim that Europe is a pessimistic continent is not unjustified. In 2012, 53 percent of European Union (EU) citizens were pessimistic about their country. Surprisingly, however, societal pessimism has received very little scientific attention. In this article, we examine to what extent political and economic factors drive societal pessimism. In terms of political factors, we expect that supranationalization, political instability, and corruption increase societal pessimism, as they diminish national political power and can inspire collective powerlessness. Economically, we expect that the retrenchment of welfare state provisions and economic decline drive societal pessimism, as these developments contribute to socioeconomic vulnerability. We assess the impact of these political and economic factors on the level of societal pessimism in the EU, both cross-nationally and over time, through multilevel analyses of Eurobarometer data (13 waves between 2006 and 2012 in 23 EU countries). Our findings show that the political factors (changes in government, corruption) primarily explain cross-national differences in societal pessimism, while the macro-economic context (economic growth, unemployment) primarily explains longitudinal trends within countries. These findings demonstrate that, to a large extent, societal pessimism cannot be viewed separately from its political and economic context.

  1. Redistributive Politics in a Political Union

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Citi, Manuele; Justesen, Mogens Kamp

    One of the main functions of centralized budgets in federal and political unions is to act as an equalizing mechanism to support economic cohesion. This is also the case with the European Union’s budget, which operates as a redistributive mechanism that counteracts the cross-national and cross...... remarkably over the last decades. In this paper, we investigate how and why the net fiscal position of each member state towards the rest of the EU changes over time. Using a novel panel dataset (1979-2014), we study how some key national and EU-level political and economic variables affect the EU...... find that the political orientation of national governments does not per se influence redistributive politics with in the EU. However, when the unemployment rate is rising, right-wing governments are able to extract significantly larger budgetary benefits....

  2. Iceland’s External Affairs from 1550-1815: Danish societal and political cover concurrent with a highly costly economic policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baldur Þórhallsson

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper argues that there is not necessarily a correlation between political, economic and societal shelter. Iceland received considerable societal and political shelter from Denmark in the period under study, but Denmark failed to provide its remote island with economic cover. Firstly, and most importantly, it provided substantial and highly valuable societal shelter. Copenhagen was the main channel by which new knowledge and technology could enter Iceland. The islanders benefited from educational, health-care and social policies of the crown and it played an invaluable role in preserving Iceland’s cultural heritage. Secondly, Denmark provided partial protection of Icelandic waters and land though Iceland’s peripheral position continued to be its main protection from outside attacks. However, at the end of our period, the Danish kingdom was in decline and unable to provide political cover. Nevertheless, increased centralization, initiated from Denmark, provided internal order and political stability and citizens became more equal before the law. Thirdly, Icelanders paid a heavy price for the Danish trade monopoly though Icelanders continued to receive partial economic and societal shelter from foreign merchants and fishermen. The crown’s policies towards Iceland can largely be explained by current ideological trends at any given time. By being in constant contact with the European continent through Denmark, Icelandic society was part of the societal, political and economic evolution in Europe and managed to avoid isolation despite its geographical remoteness.

  3. The Roots of the Religious Cold War: Pre-Cold War Factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dianne Kirby

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The article is an examination of the roots of the amalgam of complex forces that informed the ‘religious cold war’. It looks at the near and the more distant past. Naturally this includes consideration of the interwar years and those of the Second World War. It also means addressing divisions in Christianity that can be traced back to the end of the third century, to the official split of 1054 between Catholic and Orthodox, the impact of the Crusades and the entrenched hostility that followed the fifty-seven years imposition on Constantinople of a Latin Patriarch. It surveys the rise of significant forces that were to contribute to, as well as consolidate and strengthen, the religious cold war: civil religion, Christian fundamentalism and the Religious Right. The article examines both western and eastern mobilization of national religious resources for political purposes.

  4. Oil: economics and politics. Preliminary considerations on the Gulf Crisis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ayoub, A.

    1991-01-01

    Oil price fixing politics are first reviewed (existence of a floor price and of a maximum price, independently of economical consideration). In fact, geopolitical consideration are of premium importance in the oil demand/supply evolution. The Gulf Crisis and its surroundings (the Israel-Arab conflict) are revealing the supply and price logics of the oil market. An oil new order should be instaured through an OPEP restructuration and/or bilaterals relations and market dominance, organized by United States and Saoudi Arabia

  5. Pentecostalism and Politics in Neoliberal Chile

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Lindhardt

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Este artículo investiga las relaciones históricas y contemporáneas entre el Pentecostalismo y la política en Chile. La primera parte del artículo provee un resumen histórico del crecimiento y consolidación de la religión Pentecostal en relación a diferentes ambientes políticos. En este artículo se esclarecen además las diferentes posturas Pentecostales hacia la esfera política. En particular hago hincapié, en cómo surge una cultura de desencanto político en el Chile post-dictatorial que crea un vacío simbólico, el cual trae como consecuencia el nacimiento de movimientos religiosos. En la segunda parte de este artículo se discute las posibles afinidades entre el Pentecostalismo, como una cultura religiosa, y los principios democráticos. El argumento es que a pesar de que el Pentecostalismo puede contener algunas cualidades democráticas, también existe una compatibilidad notable entre la visión teísta e individualista Pentecostal acerca de los cambios sociales, y un orden social neoliberal, en donde la indolencia política se expande y en donde predomina un sentido de progreso individual y no colectivo. English: This article explores historical and contemporary relationships between Pentecostalism and politics in Chile. The first part of the article provides an historical account of the growth and consolidation of Pentecostal religion within changing political environments and sheds light on Pentecostal stances to and involvements with the political sphere. In particular, it focuses on how a culture of political disenchantment has emerged in post-dictatorial neo-liberal Chile, creating a symbolic void that can be filled by religious movements. The second part of the article discusses possible affinities between Pentecostalism as a religious culture and democratic principles and values. It argues that although Pentecostalism may contain certain democratic qualities, there is also a striking compatibility between, on the one

  6. STRONGMEN AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN JAVA: Their Dynamic Relationship in Search of Power

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yanwar Pribadi

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The central purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic relationship between Javanese strongmen and religious leaders in search of power. Two groups of strongmen -jago in Central and East Java and jawara in Banten- and religious leaders, such as kyai, tarekat teachers and guru ngaji are the subjects of this discussion. I present two groups of strongmen and religious leaders and sketch how both groups, through their socio-political as well as religious roles, preserve the values of the Javanese and Bantenese. Religious leaders and strongmen have been the source of informal traditional leadership, particularly in villages. Religious leaders have represented leadership in knowledge, while strongmen have represented leadership with regard to braveness and physical magical power. The most visible roles of the strongmen are as power brokers. In the meantime, religious leaders have to be aware of the risk of being alienated and isolated from their horizontal networks within religious circles, but also more importantly, that their high position in society will gradually fade away if they place themselves too close to strongmen and the authorities. Keywords: Jago, jawara, kyai, power relations

  7. Tobacco and the Malays: ethnicity, health and the political economy of tobacco in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barraclough, Simon; Morrow, Martha

    2017-04-01

    To identify the historical nexus between Malaysia's largest and politically dominant ethnic group and the political economy of tobacco, and to consider the implications of this connection for tobacco control. Primary and secondary documentary sources in both English and Malay were analysed to illuminate key events and decisions, and the discourse of industry and government. Sources included: speeches by Malaysian political and industry actors; tobacco industry reports, press releases and websites; government documents; World Health Organization (WHO) tobacco control literature; and press reports. Malays have the highest smoking prevalence among Malaysia's major ethnic groups. The tobacco industry has consistently been promoted as furthering Malay economic development. Malays play the major role in growing and curing. Government-owned Malay development trusts have been prominent investors in tobacco corporations, which have cultivated linkages with the Malay elite. The religious element of Malay ethnicity has also been significant. All Malays are Muslim, and the National Fatwa Council has declared smoking to be haram (forbidden); however, the Government has declined to implement this ruling. Exaggerated claims for the socio-economic benefits of tobacco production, government investment and close links between tobacco corporations and sections of the Malay elite have created a conflict of interest in public policy, limited the focus on tobacco as a health policy issue among Malays and retarded tobacco control policy. More recently, ratification of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, regional free trade policies reducing the numbers of growers, concerns about smoking from an Islamic viewpoint, and anxieties about the effects of smoking upon youth have increasingly challenged the dominant discourse that tobacco furthers Malay interests. Nevertheless, the industry remains a formidable political and economic presence in Malaysia that is likely to continue to

  8. Social, economic, institutional and political impact of the Chernobyl accident in Romania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandru, Petrica

    1997-01-01

    Romania is among the countries which was socially, economically, institutionally and politically affected by the Chernobyl accident. The entire Romanian society had been profoundly impressed by the Chernobyl accident because of the values of radioactive contamination on the territory of Romania which exceeded considerably the local radioactive background, due to the inherent proximity of accident place and to elliptical and over-estimated official statements broadcast through radio and TV. At institutional level, changes have occurred constantly after 1989 regarding both legislation and administration. All the platforms of the relevant political parties have provisions that are favorable to nuclear field. There are stated diverse preoccupations and objectives for the protection and the safety of the industrial installations that have associated risk of accident. Radiation protection issues and nuclear safety culture have reached a satisfactory level in our society and thereby the political speeches do not annoy anyone when they are proposing poll taxes for activities of decommissioning and transport of radioactive waste. (author)

  9. Karl Marx, Civil Society And Political Community in the Context Of The Jewish Problem

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    Yunus ENTERİLİ

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Today, debates and discourses developed over the concepts of civil society and political society are usually made through religious discourses or religious identities, and the individual emerges as a problem of emancipation. In his “Jewish Question”, which Marx wrote during his youthful period with Bauer’s thoughts, it is thought that the religious identities and rhetoric accompanied the present debate about the emergence of the emancipation of individuals in social and political contexts. It is thought that this problem, which emerged as the problem of individual liberation or citizenship, and which is regarded as a Jewish problem and emerged in different forms in different geographies, is the result of the fact that the religious identities can not be torn from the religious part of the world. Another reason for the lack of emancipation of the individual is the understanding of colonialism that is at the core of the capitalist system. In today’s society, it wants to keep up with the existence of religions or to keep up with the capitalist system and wants to influence the capitalist system with state policies by making itself active in the political arena. Judaism and Christianity in this context religion, the effects of the formation of capitalist society, will be discussed from the rhetoric of Marx and Bauer. The issue of the citizenship identity of the individual in this study will be addressed through the relationship between civil society and political society. There will also be mentioned here some other thinkers (Hegel, Feuerbach etc. that affect Marx’s ideas about civil society and political society, besides Marx and Bauer. Civil society, citizenship, liberation of religion, political emancipation, the effects of emancipation of individuals such as the state will be handled through the Jewish example. Prior to this assessment, a better understanding of the subject will be addressed to the civil society and state relationship

  10. Religious Education in Russia: Inter-Faith Harmony or Neo-Imperial Toleration?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Lisovskaya

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the approach to religious education that has been instituted in Russia since 2012. The new policy’s manifestly proclaimed goals seem convergent with the values of religious freedom, self-determination, tolerance, and inter-faith peace that are espoused by Western liberal democracies. Yet Russia’s hidden religious education curriculum is far more consistent with a neo-imperial model of ethno-religious (Russian Orthodox hegemony and limited toleration of selected, other faiths whose reach is restricted to politically peripheral ethno-territorial entities. This model embodies and revitalizes Russia’s imperial legacies. Yet the revitalization is, in itself, an outcome of strategic choices made by the country’s religious and secular elites in the course of its desecularization. Building on discourse analysis of five Russian textbooks and a teacher’s manual, this article shows how the neo-imperial model manifests itself in the suppression of exogenous and endogenous pluralism, cultivation of the ideology of “ethnodoxy”, and in essentially imperialist mythology. The paper concludes by predicting the new model’s potential instability.

  11. Economics, chrematistics, oikos and polis in Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luis Cendejas Bueno

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In Aristotle’s thought, economic activity refers to a kind of praxis consisting in allocating the human and material means that constitute the oikos –the domestic community- to fulfil its natural ends: ensure both life and the means of life. By means of natural chrematistics -acquisitive art- families acquire the necessary means for this, which come from production and exchange. Families group together in the political community (polis whose end is living well, according to virtues, among which justice is highlighted as the ‘complete virtue’. For its part, the Christian êthos regards every human act, internal and external, of this complete system (polis, oikos and chrematistics as tending towards its ultimate purpose (beatitudo. In St. Thomas’s view, eternal law harmonizes necessity of irrational beings, loving God’s action (divine law, natural law, and the contingency of ‘human things’ where the economy is included. Trading activity is lawful if it is at the service of the oikos or polis and according to how is exercised, by following commutative justice. The family, political and religious character of human nature establishes what the natural-necessary consists of, embracing, apart from bodily goods, others derived from considering social status and the life chosen (civil, religious, active or contemplative. Economic activity based on this anthropological root has a specific place as a part of an ordered natural-legal totality that provides the economy with meaning and sufficient moral guidance.

  12. Religiousness and religious coping in a secular society

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hvidtjørn, Dorte; Hjelmborg, Jacob; Skytthe, Axel

    2014-01-01

    Women are found to be more religious than men and more likely to use religious coping. Only few studies have explored religious gender differences in more secular societies. This population-based study comprised 3,000 Danish men and women (response rate 45 %) between 20 and 40 years of age....... Information about demographics, religiousness and religious coping was obtained through a web-based questionnaire. We organized religiousness in the three dimensions: Cognition, Practice and Importance, and we assessed religious coping using the brief RCOPE questionnaire. We found substantial gender...... differences in both religiousness and religious coping. Nearly, 60 % of the women believed in some sort of spirit or in God compared to 40 % of the men. Generally, both men and women scored low on the RCOPE scale. However, for respondents reporting high levels of religiousness, the proportion of men who...

  13. Investing in a Third: Colonization, Religious Fundamentalism, and Adolescence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elaine P. Miller

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In her keynote address to the Kristeva Circle 2014, Julia Kristeva argued that European Humanism dating from the French Revolution paradoxically paved the way for “those who use God for political ends” by promoting a completely and solely secular path to the political. As an unintended result of this movement this path has led, in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, to the development of a new form of nihilism that masks itself as revolutionary but in fact is the opposite, in Kristeva’s view.  Kristeva analyzed the culture of religious fundamentalism as “adolescent” in the sense that the adolescent, in contrast to the child, is a believer rather than a questioner.  Although the psychoanalytic consideration of religious fundamentalism added a new dimension to attempts to explain the increase of this phenomenon in the late 20th and 21st centuries, Kristeva’s subsequent linkage of fundamentalism to the revolts in French suburbs in 2005 and beyond fell short of an insightful critique by neglecting the historical context of France’s colonial history.

  14. Tobacco, politics and economics: implications for global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stebbins, K R

    1991-01-01

    This paper examines the expanding presence of multinational cigarette companies into almost every country in the world, and discusses the health implications of this global penetration. Cigarettes deserve special attention because tobacco is the only legally available consumer product that is harmful to one's health when used as intended. A temptation exists to blame governments for the existence of health-threatening products within their borders. However, this paper illustrates the extent to which extra-national forces influence domestic policies and circumstances. Cigarette smokers are often blamed for their lethal habit, despite billion-dollar promotional schemes which attract people to smoking, obscuring the harmful consequences of consuming a highly addictive drug. Multinational cigarette companies are increasingly targeting Asian and Third World populations. To facilitate this market penetration, political avenues are often pursued with considerable success, disregarding the health implications associated with cigarette tobacco. The use of tobacco in development programs (e.g. the U.S. 'Food for Peace' program) has political and economic implications for donor and recipient countries, and lucrative advantages for the tobacco companies. However, this paper recommends that corporate profits and foreign policy should not be pursued at the expense of tobacco-related diseases and premature deaths among Third World peoples.

  15. Religious and Philosophical Justifications for War: A Synthesis of Selected Literature

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Martzen, E

    2000-08-15

    The Critical Issues Forum (CIF) is a cooperative education program supported in part by the Department of Energy's Defense Programs. The Science and Technology Education Program (STEP) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory manages one component of this program. CIF engages high school students and teachers regarding issues of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, arms control, and international security. These issues are viewed in light of their scientific, economic, socio-cultural, and political/geopolitical influences and implications. This year CIF's focus is on chemical and biological weapons (CBW). CBW is becoming more of a threat today than ever before. Many countries are developing these weapons. CBW also presents certain ethical dilemmas for many individuals, especially if those individuals feel it is their religious duty to use or avoid the use of such weapons. Religion has become an important determining factor in international security because many cultures, and even governments make decisions based on religious traditions. This paper is an attempt to look at these religions and philosophical traditions with an emphasis on views of ''just war''. The ultimate purpose of this paper is to promote awareness about religion's influence on international security issues. This paper was written by Cadet Ernst ''Mitch'' Martzen, AFROTC. He is an intern with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's Science and Technology Education Program, under the guidance of Dr. Stephen C. Sesko, the director of LLNL's CIF program. Every major religion and ethical system has developed a societal concept of ''just war''. Today, the world's largest religions include Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Each faith lays claim to a heritage rich with thousands of years of history, and the power of great minds to support its ethical and moral beliefs. These religions

  16. The politics of socioeconomic status: how socioeconomic status may influence political attitudes and engagement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown-Iannuzzi, Jazmin L; Lundberg, Kristjen B; McKee, Stephanie

    2017-12-01

    Socioeconomic status is hypothesized to be one factor informing political attitudes and actions. Presumably, this relationship is rooted in economic self-interest, with individuals preferring policies that would benefit them financially. In addition, these economic policy preferences are assumed to translate into political action. However, the relationships between socioeconomic status and political attitudes and behavior, as well as the psychological mechanisms associated with those relationships, are not straightforward. Here, we briefly review the current state of knowledge on the relationships between socioeconomic status and political attitudes and behavior. Overall, the research suggests that while socioeconomic status informs political attitudes toward economic policies, these attitudes may not correlate with complementary political behavior. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. The Naturalization of Domination and Legitimate Power in Classical Political Theory

    OpenAIRE

    Eleni Varikas

    2003-01-01

    The reflection developed here deals with one of the greatest political paradoxes of modern political thought: the turning of a political community into a human artifact while basing it on premisses which are pre-political and therefore precede human action. As it reinvented the political as a free space, modernity reinvented the natural as a limit to this human freedom which religion could no longer contain. In such a context, the witch-hunt is a result both of a religious or s...

  18. Outwitting the Professor of Politics?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Jacob

    2010-01-01

    The Kenyan general election of 2002, which put an end to Daniel Arap Moi's 24-year rule, has been subjected to much political analysis. The article takes as its point of departure the politico-religious movement Mungiki and the movement's own narratives of its role in the elections. Mungiki's nar...

  19. Political, economic and environmental impacts of biofuels: A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Demirbas, Ayhan [Sila Science, Trabzon (Turkey)

    2009-11-15

    Current energy policies address environmental issues including environmentally friendly technologies to increase energy supplies and encourage cleaner, more efficient energy use, and address air pollution, greenhouse effect, global warming, and climate change. The biofuel policy aims to promote the use in transport of fuels made from biomass, as well as other renewable fuels. Biofuels provide the prospect of new economic opportunities for people in rural areas in oil importer and developing countries. The central policy of biofuel concerns job creation, greater efficiency in the general business environment, and protection of the environment. Projections are important tools for long-term planning and policy settings. Renewable energy sources that use indigenous resources have the potential to provide energy services with zero or almost zero emissions of both air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Biofuels are expected to reduce dependence on imported petroleum with associated political and economic vulnerability, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, and revitalize the economy by increasing demand and prices for agricultural products. (author)

  20. Political culture in Romania - past, present and future

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolae FRIGIOIU

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the study is to tersely present the situation of the political culture in Romania after 1989. The comprehension of the political culture seen as a result of a valorous past full of religious content constitutes the single path that can reveal the imaginary of the Romanian people; moreover, the study has as a purpose to improve the understanding of the political and cultural values which are linked to the consolidation of a democratic system in a similar manner to the connection between the forms and the causes of any social and political change in the country.

  1. Danish Political Culture: Fair Conditions for Inclusion of Immigrants?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Tore Vincents

    2011-01-01

    and discursive opportunity structures immigrants face as ethnic and religious minorities. The article analyzes the Danish political culture with regard to the potential barriers it has for the inclusion of immigrants in national political life. It finds that the predominantly liberal, secular and republican......In the age of migration, the inclusion of immigrants in national politics is crucial for democratic reasons, and because it increases the coordination and cooperation ability of society. The informal norms, values and beliefs of the political culture are one aspect of the institutional...

  2. The Impact of Education on Rural Women's Participation in Political and Economic Activities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bishaw, Alemayehu

    2014-01-01

    This study endeavored to investigate the impact of education on rural women's participation in political and economic activities. Six hundred rural women and 12 gender Activists were selected for this study from three Zones of Amhara Region, Ethiopia using multi-stage random sampling technique and purposeful sampling techniques respectively.…

  3. National IQs: A Review of Their Educational, Cognitive, Economic, Political, Demographic, Sociological, Epidemiological, Geographic and Climatic Correlates

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynn, Richard; Vanhanen, Tatu

    2012-01-01

    This paper summarizes the results of 244 correlates of national IQs that have been published from 2002 through 2012 and include educational attainment, cognitive output, educational input, per capita income, economic growth, other economic variables, crime, political institutions, health, fertility, sociological variables, and geographic and…

  4. Which Societies Provide a Strong Religious Socialization Context? Explanations Beyond the Effects of National Religiosity

    OpenAIRE

    Müller, Tim; De Graaf, Nan Dirk; Schmidt, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Religious socialization occurs within the immediate family as well as in the broader social context. Previous research has shown that parents religiosity matters less for the transmission of religious beliefs in devout than in secular nations, implying smaller costs of religious socialization. In this article we test which other societal factors affect the transmission of religious beliefs: anti-religious policies in formerly socialist countries, economic development, and income inequality. O...

  5. The improving efficiency frontier of religious not-for-profit hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Jeffrey P; Sexton, Christopher

    2006-01-01

    By using data-envelopment analysis (DEA), this study evaluates the efficiency of religious not-for-profit hospitals. Hospital executives, healthcare policy makers, taxpayers, and other stakeholders benefit from studies that improve hospital efficiency. Results indicate that overall efficiency in religious hospitals improved from 72% in 1998 to 74% in 2001. What is more important is that the number of religious hospitals operating on the efficiency frontier increased from 40 in 1998 to 47 in 2001. This clearly documents that religious hospitals are becoming more efficient in the management of resources. From a policy perspective, this study highlights the economic importance of encouraging increased efficiency throughout the healthcare industry.

  6. Economic crisis, institutional confidence and political leadership in Spain / Crisis económica, confianza institucional y liderazgos políticos en España

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Francisco Jiménez Díaz

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the effects of the economic crisis in main political Spanish leaders in an exploratory way. For understanding the politics of the recent years is necessary to know the consequences of this crisis on leaders and political institutions that they manage. In representative democracies, political leaders have to maintain confidence with their followers to justify the political actions of the formers. Therefore, and according to theoretical interpretations and data presented in this paper, institutional confidence becomes a key factor to understand the effects of the economic crisis on the political leadership. Thus, the decline of institutional confidence is related with the increasing delegitimization of main political leaders and with the profound crisis of political legitimacy.

  7. Religious Coping in a Religious Minority Group

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Viftrup, Dorte Toudal; Hvidt, Niels Christian; Buus, Niels

    2017-01-01

    Religious coping in Denmark has primarily been studied among the Danish majority with whom religious practice is limited. The aim of this study is to explore a small sample of Danish Pentecostals’ experiences of religious coping. The study includes semi-structured interviews with eighteen Danish...... Pentecostals facing a psychological crisis. Qualitative methods are applied for generating and analyzing the data material. The theme of religious individualism ran through the participants’ talk of religious coping in relation to fellow believers, reading the Bible, and personal experiences of God. Religious...... individualism was characterized by: A lived expectation of having one’s specific individual needs met through one’s religiosity. The findings from this study show that having specific individual needs met was central for the religious faith of the participants. They used both individualistic and institutional...

  8. CATHOLICS, MUSLIMS, AND GLOBAL POLITICS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumanto Al Qurtuby

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the role of Catholics, Muslims, and civic associations in the global politics of the Philippines and Indonesia. The two countries have shared in common with regard to the geographical feature (both are archipelagic countries, the diversity of societies and cultures, and the history of colonialism, dictatorship, ethno-religious violence, and political movement, to name but a few. In addition to their similarities, both countries also have significant differences in particular pertaining to religious dominance (the Philippines dominated by Catholicism, while Indonesia by Islam and the structure of their societies: while the Philippines is a class-stratified society, Indonesia has long been ideologized by colonial and post-colonial religious and political powers. Apart from their parallels and distinctions, religion—both Catholicism and Islam—has marvellous role, negatively or positively, in global politics and public cultures, indicating its vigor and survival in global political domains. This comparative paper, more specifically, examines the historical dynamics of the interplay between religion, civil society, and political activism by using the Philippines and Indonesia as a case study and point of analysis.[Artikel ini mendiskusikan peran Katolik, Muslim dan asosiasi warga dalam politik global di dua negara; Indonesia dan Filipina. Kedua negara tersebut memiliki kesamaan, baik dalam hal ciri geografis sebagai negara kepulauan, keragaman masyarakat dan budayanya, sejarah kolonialisme, pemerintahan diktator, kekerasan etnik-agama, serta gerakan keagamaan. Terlepas dari kesamaan tersebut, keduanya memiliki perbedaan, utamanya menyangkut agama dominan (di Filipina didominasi oleh Katolik, sementara di Indonesia oleh Islam dan struktur masyarakatnya (Filipina ditandai dengan stratifikasi masyarakat berdasarkan klas sosial, sementara di Indonesia ditandai dengan ideologi agama kolonial, paska-kolonial, politik. Terlepas

  9. Economics and politics of climate change

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahn, R.W.

    1998-01-01

    A fundamental issue is what steps, if any, nations should take to control greenhouse gas emissions. Robert Hahn argues that over the next decade the best strategy for policy makers is to build institutions that can address climate change in the future by developing a capacity at the nation-state level to measure greenhouse gas emissions and to implement and enforce cost-effective ways of limiting emissions. Policy makers must also improve the capacity of an international body to assess greenhouse gas inventories and review national policies. Hahn recommends that the developed nations craft an agreement for the next decade that provides a slight emission limitation and allows for a series of case studies, in which developing nations would participate, to preserve diversity and build useful institutional knowledge. The Economics and Politics of Climate Change is one in a series of new AEI studies related to the globalization of environmental policy. These studies will focus on specific issues and on the new institutional arrangements required to deal with them. A list of publications in this series appears inside

  10. Do political and economic choices rely on common neural substrates? A systematic review of the emerging neuropolitics literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sekoul eKrastev

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The methods of cognitive neuroscience are beginning to be applied to the study of political behavior. The neural substrates of value-based decision-making have been extensively examined in economic contexts; this might provide a powerful starting point for understanding political decision-making. Here, we asked to what extent the neuropolitics literature to date has used conceptual frameworks and experimental designs that make contact with the reward-related approaches that have dominated decision neuroscience. We then asked whether the studies of political behavior that can be considered in this light implicate the brain regions that have been associated with subjective value related to economic rewards. We performed a systematic literature review to identify papers addressing the neural substrates of political behavior and extracted the fMRI studies reporting behavioral measures of subjective value as defined in decision neuroscience studies of reward. A minority of neuropolitics studies met these criteria and relatively few brain activation foci from these studies overlapped with regions where activity has been related to subjective value. These findings show modest influence of reward-focused decision neuroscience on neuropolitics research to date. Whether the neural substrates of subjective value identified in economic choice paradigms generalize to political choice thus remains an open question. We argue that systematically addressing the commonalities and differences in these two classes of value-based choice will be important in developing a more comprehensive model of the brain basis of human decision-making.

  11. Do Political and Economic Choices Rely on Common Neural Substrates? A Systematic Review of the Emerging Neuropolitics Literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krastev, Sekoul; McGuire, Joseph T; McNeney, Denver; Kable, Joseph W; Stolle, Dietlind; Gidengil, Elisabeth; Fellows, Lesley K

    2016-01-01

    The methods of cognitive neuroscience are beginning to be applied to the study of political behavior. The neural substrates of value-based decision-making have been extensively examined in economic contexts; this might provide a powerful starting point for understanding political decision-making. Here, we asked to what extent the neuropolitics literature to date has used conceptual frameworks and experimental designs that make contact with the reward-related approaches that have dominated decision neuroscience. We then asked whether the studies of political behavior that can be considered in this light implicate the brain regions that have been associated with subjective value related to "economic" reward. We performed a systematic literature review to identify papers addressing the neural substrates of political behavior and extracted the fMRI studies reporting behavioral measures of subjective value as defined in decision neuroscience studies of reward. A minority of neuropolitics studies met these criteria and relatively few brain activation foci from these studies overlapped with regions where activity has been related to subjective value. These findings show modest influence of reward-focused decision neuroscience on neuropolitics research to date. Whether the neural substrates of subjective value identified in economic choice paradigms generalize to political choice thus remains an open question. We argue that systematically addressing the commonalities and differences in these two classes of value-based choice will be important in developing a more comprehensive model of the brain basis of human decision-making.

  12. Religious legal systems: challenges of the modernity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Д. В. Лук’янов

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The influence of world globalization processes on the development of the religious legal systems has been analyzed in the paper. Globalization processes in the XXI century are regarding individuals, nations, and civilizations. Global transformations lead to qualitative changes in the socio-cultural relations and actualize a wide range of issues which are related to the formation of a new world culture. Modern globalization takes diverse range of public relations in its own orbit. The relationship between the legal systems in the twentieth century is some of the most important aspects of this process. However, the interaction of legal systems has significant differences from the interaction of economies of different countries. There are actual economic relations domination of Western financial and economic institutions and standardization of relevant rules. But the attempts to apply this approach to law lead to resistance to Western standards and the spread of major civilizational conflicts in different parts of the world. Globalization should be based on respect for cultural, religious and legal diversity. It has to ensure preservation of forced “Westernisation”. Significant differences in the impact of globalization on the convergence of legal systems of Western law (Romano-Germanic and Anglo-American and their impact on religious legal systems of Muslim, Hindu and Jewish law must be emphasized. The religious legal systems are not exposed to other systems and the related changes. This is due to such features as the divine nature, increased stability, specific sources of law etc. An important issue that requires further study is the reverse influence which religious law exercises to secularized modern legal system.

  13. Cognitive Evolution and Religion: Cognition and Religious Evolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harvey Whitehouse

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents contemporary cognitive approaches to the evolution of religious beliefs. Arguments are put forward that different types of beliefs, or ‘modes of religiosity’, occur as a result of a number of evolutionary factors (biological, cultural, socio-political etc. At the same time, religions across the world retain a significant level of common and shared elements, also explained in evolutionary terms.

  14. Negotiating EU CO2/energy taxation. Political economic driving forces and barriers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Klok, Jacob

    2001-11-01

    The primary objective of this project is to identify the main political economic driving forces behind and barriers against the creation of an EU agreement on CO 2 /energy taxation. The analysis is based on a theoretical framework for understanding European integration and on detailed historical investigations into a process of EU negotiations concerning CO 2 /energy taxation that took place from the 1980s to 1994. Following the historical analysis of political economic driving forces and barriers, some overall perspectives on possible future developments within the field of EU CO 2 /energy taxation are finally advanced. The secondary objective of the project is to consider the possible effects on the EU negotiation process of Danish efforts to push the CO 2 /energy tax proposal from the late 1980s to 994. This analysis is based on the preceding historical analysis of the EU negotiation process, as well as further investigations into the national Danish development within the field of CO 2 /energy taxation, including accounts of Denmark's particular relations with the EU during the period in question. Finally, based on the likely future developments in the field EU CO 2 /energy taxation. Denmark's strategic opportunities are outlined. (BA)

  15. Ethnicity and Politics. IRSS Research Reports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schneider, Mark

    This research report examines the role of ethnicity in politics. The concept of ethnicity encompasses at least four distinct dimensions: nationality identification, religious identification, old vs. new ethnic stock, and racial membership. In the national sample analyzed, several interesting patterns of ethnic differentiation emerged. First, none…

  16. Religion and Politics by Other Means

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Fernando Serrano Amaya

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the 2016 debate over egalitarian adoption in Colombia in order to suggest that in the fields of gender and sexuality, religion and politics constitute the same flow of signifiers. That flow is dislocated, temporary, and unstable, since it depends on the dynamics of social conflicts and political transitions. Thus, the Colombian case can be interpreted as the emergence of a religious project in political terms, which secularizes its discourse in order to spiritualize society.  In turn, both the legal debate, with its appeal to State authority, and populism, with its longing to return to founding principles, are means for that emergence.

  17. Images of Economic Integration Groups in Russian Political Discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. V. Rudenko

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In comparison with other countries, Russian citizens watch all the details of everything that happens outside the country, especially if it concerns economic partnerships and Russia’s participation in different organizations and associations. The official view of Russian cooperation with other countries in various formats is presented in nationwide media, though the public opinion is not usually accepted there. However, with the help of images, that are created in the political discourse, one can understand, what kind of support can the government expect, working in a certain direction, which is important, considering the aspiration to raise awareness and civil activity. 

  18. The political use of psychiatry: A comparison between totalitarian regimes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buoli, Massimiliano; Giannuli, Aldo Sabino

    2017-03-01

    After the end of Second World War, the recent experience of the Nazi horrors stimulated a debate about the political use of psychiatry. Over the years, the focus shifted on major dictatorships of the time and especially on Soviet Union. This article aims to provide a critical review of the ways in which psychiatry was used by totalitarian regimes of the 20th century. We summarized relevant literature about political use of psychiatry in totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, with particular focus on Fascism, Nazism, Argentina dictatorship, Soviet Union and China. One of the features that are common to most of the dictatorships is that the use of psychiatry has become more prominent when the regimes have had the need to make more acceptable the imprisonment of enemies in the eyes of the world. This for example happened in the Nazi regime when sterilization and killing of psychiatric patients was explained as a kind of euthanasia, or in the Soviet Union after the formal closure of the corrective labor camps and the slow resumption of relations with the capitalistic world, or in China to justify persecution of religious minorities and preserve economic relations with Western countries. Psychiatry has been variously used by totalitarian regimes as a means of political persecution and especially when it was necessary to make acceptable to public opinion the imprisonment of political opponents.

  19. Do political or economic factors drive healthcare financing privatisations? Empirical evidence from OECD countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiese, Rasmus

    2013-01-01

    This paper adds new empirical evidence to the political economy literature of economic reform. One of the main contributions of this paper is the development of a novel methodology to identify privatisations. The methodology is a combination of the Bai & Perron structural break filter, and

  20. The political economy of trans-Pakistan gas pipeline project: assessing the political and economic risks for India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pandian, S.

    2005-01-01

    There is a growing realisation among Indian policy makers to consider the import of natural gas to address India's growing energy demand. Among many policy options to import natural gas, Indo-Iran overland pipeline option is considered to be effective and economical in addressing India's long-term energy demands. Such a pipeline would have to traverse Pakistani territory thereby necessitating a role for Pakistan in the pipeline project. Though security guarantees have been offered, India refuses to entertain the role of Pakistan in the project for a fear of its energy supply being disrupted in case of a military conflict with Pakistan. This paper argues that gas pipeline project is not only aimed at addressing India's energy concerns but also to further its strategic objectives. This paper contends that India, Iran and Pakistan do not have shared objective to make the overland project a political and commercial reality. India's stakes in the overland pipeline project are high as India's economic interests in the pipeline project are not in congruence with the politico-economic and strategic objectives of Iran and Pakistan. (author)

  1. Governance and Women's Economic and Political Participation : Power Inequalities, Formal Constraints and Norms

    OpenAIRE

    Milazzo, Annamaria; Goldstein, Markus

    2017-01-01

    What role do institutional constraints and social norms play in determining persistent gender gapsin economic and political participation and have institutional reforms been successful in reducing these gaps? This paper argues that, at the roots of current gender inequalities, there are traditional patriarchal social structures in which power is unequally distributed, with men traditionall...

  2. POLITICAL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF RICE SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN INDONESIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sri Nuryanti

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Rice self-sufficiency is an important programme in Indonesia. The programme has four major targets, i.e. increasing production, stabilizing prices and reserve stocks, and minimizing import. For that purpose, the government gave a mandate to a parastatal, namely National Logistic Agency (Bulog in implementing the rice policies. Some studies found that involvement of such a parastatal could lead to government failure in budget allocation. The study aimed to estimate social cost of rice self-sufficiency programme based on the implementation of rice instrument policies by Bulog. The study used the national annual data of 2002–2014 period. The method used was the political preference function model to estimate economic rent and dead-weight loss using rice price elasticity of demand and supply. The result showed that in terms of percentage of food security budget, the average of economic rent reached IDR 6.37 trillion per annum (18.54%, while the average of dead-weight loss amounted at IDR 0.90 trillion per annum (2.34%. It proved that rice self-sufficiency programme along with the involvement of Bulog was economically inefficient. The government should provide better agricultural infrastructure, review governmental procurement prices, and stop rice import policy to remedy market failure.

  3. [Euthanasia/assisted suicide. Ethical and socio-religious aspects].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiriţă, V; Chiriţă, Roxana; Duică, Lavinia; Talau, Gh

    2009-01-01

    Euthanasia/Assisted Suicide are viewed differently by moral and religious references. In a religious way, cardinal confessions (Christianity, Judaism, Islamism, Buddhism) condemn euthanasia/assisted suicide and, in the same time have a more relaxed attitude regarding passive euthanasia. Other aspects of euthanasia regard financial/economic and ethical-medical considerations. All these contradictory standpoints are expressed in some legal acts that make specifications on the concept of "euthanasia"--Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (1994) and Netherlands's Euthanasia Law (2001).

  4. Does political and economic freedom matter for inbound tourism? A cross-national panel data estimation

    OpenAIRE

    Saha, Shrabani; Su, Jen-Je; Campbell, Neil

    2017-01-01

    The paper examines the impact of political and economic freedom on inbound tourism for over 110 countries during 1995-2012. Panel country fixed-effects techniques are utilized to examine the relationship after controlling for other factors that contribute to inbound tourism. The results show that civil liberties and economic freedom (among several other freedom measures) are positively and significantly associated with inbound tourism. Examination of the moderation effect revea...

  5. Religious Conflicts and Education in Nigeria: Implications for National Security

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ushe, Ushe Mike

    2015-01-01

    The persistent religious conflicts and insecurity in Nigeria has given meaningful Nigerians a cause for deep concern in recent times. Many of them wonder why religion which used to be the cohesive factor and core of national unity, peaceful co-existence and national development has become a tool for political manipulation, violence, destruction of…

  6. Climato-economic livability predicts societal collectivism and political autocracy better than parasitic stress does

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van de Vliert, E.; Postmes, T.

    A 121-nation study of societal collectivism and a 174-nation study of political autocracy show that parasitic stress does not account for any variation in these components of culture once the interactive impacts of climatic demands and income resources have been accounted for. Climato-economic

  7. Barriers to knowledge production, knowledge translation, and urban health policy change: ideological, economic, and political considerations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muntaner, Carles; Chung, Haejoo; Murphy, Kelly; Ng, Edwin

    2012-12-01

    In this paper, we consider social forces that affect the processes of both knowledge production and knowledge translation in relation to urban health research. First, we briefly review our conceptual model, derived from a social-conflict framework, to outline how unequal power relations and health inequalities are causally linked. Second, we critically discuss ideological, political, and economic barriers that exist within academia that affect knowledge production related to urban health and health inequalities. Third, we broaden the scope of our analysis to examine how the ideological, political, and economic environment beyond the academy creates barriers to health equity policy making. We conclude with some key questions about the role that knowledge translation can possibly play in light of these constraints on research and policy for urban health.

  8. On Political Islam in Palestine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Egor A. Stepkin

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: This article deals with analyzing the place and the political Islam occupies on the Palestinian territories. The author tries to prove that despite the “Arab spring” and growing popularity of Islamism in the neighbor Arab countries its popular support among Palestinians is low. The main reason for this is Israeli total control of political, economic and - partially - social processes taking place in the West Bank. Position of the officials in Ramallah who together with Tel-Aviv strictly contain spread of Islamism throughout the West Bank also has a strong suppressing effect. Central Palestinian leadership may be called one of the few secular political establishments that are still in power in the Arab countries. The main explanation for this is the desire to make a positive effect on the international community, which Palestine totally depends on in political and financial terms. Also one should keep in mind secular beliefs of the current political elite in Palestine. President Mahmoud Abbas with his counterparts from FATAH and PLO represent old type of Arab nationalist politicians, almost all of who were stripped from power after the beginning of “Arab spring” in 2011. Finally, Palestinian society itself still feels united by the idea of national liberation from the Israeli occupation. This helps Palestinians to put aside the issue of religious self-identification. According to the surveys, most of Palestinians still rank their national identity number while describing their identity, while religion comes only second (despite the strong stable tendency for growing Islamization of their views. The only Palestinian enclave where political Islam has gained ground is isolated Gaza Strip. However ruling there “Islamic Resistance Movement” (HAMAS, despite declared anti-Zionism and Islamism, in reality show pragmatic readiness for certain coordination of its actions with Israel and central government in Ramallah. Nowadays one can

  9. Politics of faith: Transforming religious communities and spiritual subjectivities in post-apartheid South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haley McEwen

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The enforcement of racial segregation during apartheid was aimed not only at regulating public spaces, residential areas and the workforce, but also at shaping the subjectivities of individuals who were socialised to see themselves through the lens of a white racial hierarchy. The ideology of white supremacy and superiority that informed apartheid policy was largely justified using Christonormative epistemologies that sought to legitimate the racial hierarchy as having basis in Holy Scripture and as an extension of God’s will. At the same time, apartheid policy fragmented religious communities, entrenching race as a central component of spiritual subjectivities. Twenty years after the end of apartheid, the legacy of apartheid continues to shape the lives and opportunities of all people living in South Africa, despite many gains made in working towards a non-racial, non-sexist democracy. While much scholarly attention has been paid to postapartheid contexts of work, residency and recreation, relatively little attention has been paid to spaces of worship. This is surprising, given that religious belief and practice are widespread in South Africa in the first instance, and that Christian belief, in particular, was so central to the social imaginary of apartheid, in the second. Thus, in efforts to transform society and advance social justice, it is imperative to consider diversity, difference and otherness from the perspective of, and in relation to, contemporary religious communities and contexts. This article will consider some of the factors shaping dynamics of diversity and difference within the context of religious communities in South Africa, over 20 years into democracy.

  10. Religious Diversity and Islam in America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jalal Uddin Khan

    2004-06-01

    Full Text Available Diversity is the essence and spirit of America or the West both as a place and a people. Islam also allows for diversity within its concept of unity and oneness of God. Muslims, therefore, have no problem co-existing in peace with the Jews, Christians and the followers of other religions. Problems arise (a when secular values or principles disturb the working balance of the otherwise mutually exclusive religious diversity and harmony in America; (b when one follows opportunist policies, practices double standards, and is moved by mere worldly or political interests; and (c when war against the Zionist-and-neoconservative-manufactured terrorism turns into war against Islam. Such misleading and mischievous tendencies or policies prevent peace from prevailing, which ultimately tarnish the image of religions in the eyes of their followers and those of the rest making a mockery of the idea of religious diversity even in the so-called most democratic country called the United States of America!

  11. Morality and politics: Comparing alternate theories.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Andrew; Vaisey, Stephen

    2015-09-01

    Debates about the American "culture wars" have led scholars to develop several theories relating morality to political attitudes and behaviors. However, researchers have not adequately compared these theories, nor have they examined the overall contribution of morality to explaining political variation. This study uses nationally representative data to compare the utility of 19 moral constructs from four research traditions - associated with the work of Hunter, Lakoff, Haidt, and Schwartz - for predicting political orientation (liberalism/conservatism). Results indicate that morality explains a third of the variation in political orientation - more than basic demographic and religious predictors - but that no one theory provides a fully adequate explanation of this phenomenon. Instead, political orientation is best predicted by selected moral constructs that are unique to each of the four traditions, and by two moral constructs that crosscut them. Future work should investigate how these moral constructs can be synthesized to create a more comprehensive theory of morality and politics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  12. From political economy of the media to press freedom: obstacles to the implementation of peace journalism in Turkey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tirşe Erbaysal Filibeli

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we consider journalism as a nonviolent and creative approach to conflict transformation. Considering peace journalism from the viewpoint of news values analysis we try to understand the political and economical aspect of news media and its effects on the freedom of the media. Following a set of theoretical discussions and our findings based on 30 semi-structured interviews conducted with journalists from Turkey, an attempt is made to define and delineate the obstacles to the implementation of peace journalism. In light of the Turkish experience, we look to draw a road-map not only for Turkey, but also for other countries, which struggle with political, social, religious, race and gender-oriented problems, all of which may trigger and induce both conflict and violence.

  13. The Political Response of Spanish Youth to the Socio-Economic Crisis: Some Implications for Citizenship Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalo Jover

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the effects of the current socio-economic crisis on Spanish youth and their political response to it. It does so in three consecutive stages. In the first, it analyses the repercussion of the crisis on young people using information from certain social indicators (employment, mobility and education. It then outlines the subjective perception of the crisis, i.e., how they are experiencing it and what their hopes are regarding the economy and politics. The third part focuses on how young citizens have responded to the situation politically. The article finishes by considering what implications may be drawn from that response in terms of citizenship education.

  14. Many paths to walk: the political and economic integration of nomadic communities in Roman North Africa (I-III cent. A.D.)

    OpenAIRE

    Vanacker, Wouter

    2014-01-01

    The colonial image of endemic political and economic antagonism between nomadic and sedentary groups in the context of Roman North Africa should be discarded. Likewise, the rigid adherence to symbiosis and cooperation in more recent studies is based on a rather one-sided reading of anthropological literature. For the analysis of literary, epigraphic and archaeological sources, supported by insights derived from anthropology, shows that political and economic integration trajectories of nomads...

  15. Challenges in Swedish hydropower – politics, economics and rights

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristina Ek

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Two systems working in parallel have contributed to implementation difficulties in Swedish water governance. While the old system is designed to be predictable and stable over time, the new system is intended to be transparent and holistic, guided by the principles of Integrated Water Resource Management. The paper disentangles the challenges in Swedish water governance and proposes a blueprint for future research. The proposed research project is unique in the sense that it explores the imbalances between the new and the old water governance systems from a multi-disciplinary perspective, elaborating upon the clashes between the traditional, nationally based regulatory system and the new holistic water governance system from legal, political and economic perspectives.

  16. Religiousness as a Predictor of Suicide: An Analysis of 162 European Regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stack, Steven; Laubepin, Frederique

    2018-01-25

    Research on religion as a protective factor has been marked by four recurrent limitations: (1) an overemphasis on the United States, a nation where religiosity is relatively high; (2) a neglect of highly secularized zones of the world, where religiousness may be too weak to affect suicide; (3) restriction of religiousness to religious affiliation, a construct which may miss capturing other dimensions of religiousness such as the importance of religion in one's life; and (4) an overwhelming use of the nation as a unit of analysis, which masks variation in religiousness within nations. The present article addresses these limitations by performing a cross-national test of the following hypothesis: The greater the strength of subjective religiousness, the lower the suicide rate, using small units of analysis for a secularized area of the world. All data refer to 162 regions within 22 European nations. Data were extracted from two large databases, EUROSTAT and the European Social Surveys (ESS Round 4), and merged using NUTS-2 (Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units) regions as the unit of analysis. Controls are incorporated for level of economic development, education, and measures of economic strain. The results of a multiple regression analysis demonstrated that controlling for the other constructs in the model, religiousness is associated with lower suicide rates, confirming the hypothesis. Even in secularized European nations, where there is a relatively weak moral community to reinforce religion, religiousness acts as a protective factor against suicide. Future work is needed to explore the relationship in other culture zones of the world. © 2018 The American Association of Suicidology.

  17. The Gorontalo Religious Court Judges Response Toward Their Absolute Competence in Resolving Shariah Economy Disputes

    OpenAIRE

    Mardiana, Andi; Darwis, Rizal

    2015-01-01

    Post the first amendment of Religious Courts Bill that provides wider authority toward Religious Courts in investigate and decide Islamic economics disputes has responses, whether support or pessimistic, especially among Religious Court judges themselves. This paper examines the Gorontalo Religious Courts judges response about their authority in resolve Shariah economy disputes. This paper is a qualitative descriptive research and the data was collected using observation, interviews and docum...

  18. Political economic origins of Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa’s new oil city

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franklin Obeng-Odoom

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The origins, growth and trajectory of Sekondi-Takoradi, West Africa’s newest oil city, are considered by using an “institutional-analytical” method of economic history. Particular attention is given to the role of ports, harbours and railways, and how they evolved and interacted with political economic institutions in the last 100 years. This omnibus historical analysis suggests that West Africa’s newest oil city has come full circle. Its contemporary stature in national and international circles has a historical parallel in the 1920s when, as now, it captured national, regional and international attention. The evidence suggests that contemporary narratives that strike a determinist relationship between resource boom and social doom need to be reconsidered.

  19. Political-economic values and the relationship between socioeconomic status and self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malka, Ariel; Miller, Dale T

    2007-02-01

    Values concerning the distribution of wealth are an important aspect of identity for many Americans, and such values may therefore influence how Americans experience their own socioeconomic status (SES). Based on this proposition, the present research examines political-economic values as a moderator of the relationship between SES and self-esteem. Results supported the hypothesis that there is a stronger relationship between SES and self-esteem among individuals who report relatively inegalitarian values than among individuals who report relatively egalitarian values. This result was replicated using both objective and subjective measures of SES. Implications of the present findings for the study of values and well-being, psychological conflict, and the influence of economic factors on self-esteem are discussed.

  20. The Globalization of Economics and How It's Changing Domestic Politics, International Relations, and Our Lives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risinger, C. Frederick

    2013-01-01

    Teaching economics at the preK-12 level has always been one of the most difficult aspects of social studies education notes C. Frederick Risinger, yet, throughout his teaching career economic issues and events were the drivers of most historical, political, and sociological trends and topics and even human slavery was driven and maintained by…

  1. Economic, Financial, and Political Crisis and Well-Being in the PIGS-Countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knut Halvorsen

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The research question in this article is threefold: To which degree is the financial crisis of 2008 and the subsequent recession associated with reduced well-being among people in the four hardest affected EURO countries? Are individual factors associated with reduced well-being the same in these countries? and Are lower socioeconomic groups more severely hit than the better off?. Data before the crisis are compared with data in 2013/2014 (EU-SILC [European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions] survey 2013 for Greece, Portugal, Ireland, and Spain. Finland is used as a reference category. Before control of individual characteristics, regressions demonstrate a small and mostly significant fall in average satisfaction with life in these countries, Portugal being an exception. According to the theory of capability and actual economic and political development, it was hypothesized that Greece—being the worst case in terms of economic development—may experience the greatest fall in life satisfaction. This hypothesis is not supported by the data. In fact, the strongest decline was found in Ireland. In particular, lack of political trust stands in Greece out as having an impact, while poor health is related to Ireland and unemployment to Portugal and Spain. Greatest socioeconomic inequality in life satisfaction was found in Portugal.

  2. Religious Diversity and Economic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: So Far So Good

    OpenAIRE

    Kodila-Tedika, Oasis; Agbor, Julius

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the effects of religion on a broad set of development outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. We regroup these outcomes into three broad categories, namely, development process outcomes (growth, investment, conflict, and government quality), institutional outcomes (property rights and the rule of law) and social development outcomes (social and gender protection). Using two new measures of religion - religious fractionalization (RELFRAC) and religious polarization (RELPOL), al...

  3. Religion, economic attitudes, and household finance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Renneboog, L.D.R.; Spaenjers, C.

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the differences in economic attitudes and financial decisions between religious and non-religious households. Using Dutch survey data, we find that religious households consider themselves more trusting, and have a stronger bequest motive and a longer planning horizon. Furthermore,

  4. The Starting Point of Hobbes’s Science of Politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luka Ribarević

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available As a logical starting point structuring the entire theoretical field of political analysis, Hobbes’s definition of the state of nature is a key for understanding his science of politics. The paper shows that the concept of the state of nature implies two fundamentally distinct types of states in which neither people nor troubles with which they are faced are identical. In the original state of nature conflicts among people stem directly from their nature. Based on the analysis of Hobbes’s understanding of human nature and critical reading of his interpretation of the state of nature by Jean Hampton, the paper identifies the mechanism by which reason and passion turn the state of nature into a state of war. However, alongside the original state of nature, a historical state of nature also coexists, in which conflicts spring from religious views and political beliefs immanent to people as religious and political beings, and as beings of language and conscience. What is crucial for conflicts in this historical state of nature is the influence exerted by language as a discursive context on human action. As the state of war feeds from both human nature and history, any attempt of overcoming the state of nature must abandon them: the state is necessarily an artificial and ahistorical project, based on science of politics as a new political language appropriate for human self-preservation.

  5. Albania: a nation of unique inter-religious tolerance and steadfast aspirations for EU integration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Patrick Melady

    2013-01-01

    A historic, politic and social analysis of the Albanian case of religious tolerance and co-existence, necessary to understand the real western inspiration of the country and its democracy’s future, is the biggest contribution of this paper.

  6. Beyond cultural stereotyping: views on end-of-life decision making among religious and secular persons in the USA, Germany, and Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweda, Mark; Schicktanz, Silke; Raz, Aviad; Silvers, Anita

    2017-02-17

    End-of-life decision making constitutes a major challenge for bioethical deliberation and political governance in modern democracies: On the one hand, it touches upon fundamental convictions about life, death, and the human condition. On the other, it is deeply rooted in religious traditions and historical experiences and thus shows great socio-cultural diversity. The bioethical discussion of such cultural issues oscillates between liberal individualism and cultural stereotyping. Our paper confronts the bioethical expert discourse with public moral attitudes. The paper is based on a qualitative study comprising 12 focus group discussions with religious and secular persons in the USA, Germany, and Israel (n = 82). Considering the respective socio-political and legal frameworks, the thematic analysis focuses on moral attitudes towards end-of-life decision making and explores the complex interplay between individual preferences, culture, and religion. Our findings draw attention to the variety and complexity of cultural and religious aspects of end-of-life decision making. Although there is local consensus that goes beyond radical individualism, positions are not neatly matched with national cultures or religious denominations. Instead, the relevance of the specific situatedness of religious beliefs and cultural communities becomes visible: Their status and role in individual situations, for example, as consensual or conflicting on the level of personal perspectives, family relationships, or broader social contexts, e.g., as a majority or minority culture within a political system. As the group discussions indicate, there are no clear-cut positions anchored in "nationality," "culture," or "religion." Instead, attitudes are personally decided on as part of a negotiated context representing the political, social and existential situatedness of the individual. Therefore, more complex theoretical and practical approaches to cultural diversity have to be developed.

  7. Social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice across the political spectrum, but social issues are most divisive.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, Jarret T; Brandt, Mark J; Inbar, Yoel; Chambers, John R; Motyl, Matt

    2017-03-01

    Liberals and conservatives both express prejudice toward ideologically dissimilar others (Brandt et al., 2014). Previous work on ideological prejudice did not take advantage of evidence showing that ideology is multidimensional, with social and economic ideologies representing related but separable belief systems. In 5 studies (total N = 4912), we test 3 competing hypotheses of a multidimensional account of ideological prejudice. The dimension-specific symmetry hypothesis predicts that social and economic ideologies differentially predict prejudice against targets who are perceived to vary on the social and economic political dimensions, respectively. The social primacy hypothesis predicts that such ideological worldview conflict is experienced more strongly along the social than economic dimension. The social-specific asymmetry hypothesis predicts that social conservatives will be more prejudiced than social liberals, with no specific hypotheses for the economic dimension. Using multiple target groups, multiple prejudice measures (e.g., global evaluations, behavior), and multiple social and economic ideology measures (self-placement, issue positions), we found relatively consistent support for the dimension-specific symmetry and social primacy hypotheses, and no support for the social-specific asymmetry hypothesis. These results suggest that worldview conflict and negative intergroup attitudes and behaviors are dimension-specific, but that the social dimension appears to inspire more political conflict than the economic dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF GENDER EQUALITY

    OpenAIRE

    Khatuna BERISHVILI

    2016-01-01

    Term “gender” means socially constructed roles of man and woman, which are ascribed to them according to gender marker. Thus, gender roles depend on concrete socio-economic, political and culturological context and experience influence of various factors according to race, ethnic origin, class, sexual orientation and age. Gender roles widely differ within each culture and cultures. Unlike the individual’s biological gender, the gender role can be changed. This concept implies the views, cond...

  9. Economic Theory, Economic Reality And Economic Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dmitry Evgenievich Sorokin

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the opposition between the «liberals» and «statists» in the Russian political and economic thought. It demonstrates that the economic liberalization is an absolute prerequisite for the transition to sustainable socio-economic development. Such development must rely on investment activities of the state, which in the current circumstances is a necessary but not sufficient measure for reversing the negative trends. The negative developments can be prevented only through implementation, along with the institutional changes in the economic area that form a strata of economically independent entrepreneurs-innovators, of no less profound transformation in political institutions aimed at democratization of public life

  10. Parental Divorce, Parental Religious Characteristics, and Religious Outcomes in Adulthood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Uecker, Jeremy E; Ellison, Christopher G

    2012-12-01

    Parental divorce has been linked to religious outcomes in adulthood. Previous research has not adequately accounted for parental religious characteristics or subsequent family context, namely whether one's custodial parent remarries. Using pooled data from three waves of the General Social Survey, we examine the relationships among parental divorce, subsequent family structure, and religiosity in adulthood. Growing up in a single-parent family-but not a stepparent family-is positively associated with religious disaffiliation and religious switching and negatively associated with regular religious attendance. Accounting for parental religious characteristics, however, explains sizable proportions of these relationships. Accounting for parental religious affiliation and attendance, growing up with a single parent does not significantly affect religious attendance. Parental religiosity also moderates the relationship between growing up with a single parent and religious attendance: being raised in a single-parent home has a negative effect on religious attendance among adults who had two religiously involved parents.

  11. German law on circumcision and its debate: how an ethical and legal issue turned political.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aurenque, Diana; Wiesing, Urban

    2015-03-01

    The article aims to illuminate the recent debate in Germany about the legitimacy of circumcision for religious reasons. The aim is both to evaluate the new German law allowing religious circumcision, and to outline the resulting conflict between the surrounding ethical and legal issues. We first elucidate the diversity of legal and medical views on religious circumcision in Germany. Next we examine to what extent invasive and irreversible physical interventions on infant boys unable to given their consent should be carried out for non-medical reasons. To this end, the potential benefits and harms of circumcision for non-medical reasons are compared. We argue that circumcision does not provide any benefits for the 'child as a child' and poses only risks to boys. We then set out to clarify and analyse political (rather than ethical) justifications of the new circumcision law. We demonstrate through this analysis how the circumcision debate in Germany has been transformed from a legal and ethical problem into a political issue, due at least in part to Germany's unique historical context. Although such a particular political sensibility is entirely comprehensible, it raises particular problems when it comes to framing and responding to medical ethical issues - as in the case of religious circumcision. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  12. Chile: Una Vision Politica, Economica y Social (Chile: A Political, Economic, and Social View).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cortes-Hwang, Adriana

    1972-01-01

    This address seeks to explain in brief the historical background and political, economic, and social conditions leading to the democratic election of a Marxist president in Chile. A historical sketch of Chilean government from independence in 1810 is provided with a description of the situation just before Salvador Allende's election in 1969. Some…

  13. Political Culture, Values and Economic Utility: A Different Perspective on Norwegian Party-based Euroscepticism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianne S. Skinner

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Drawing on a content analysis of party manifestos and a survey of Norwegian MPs, this article examines the nuances in, and the causality of, the different Norwegian parties’ Euroscepticism. The study of the comparative party politics of Euroscepticism, which focuses on ideology and strategy, falls short of accounting for the Norwegian case, where, unlike other European countries, the parties’ Euroscepticism is exceptionally stable and appears across the political spectrum. Therefore, the article tests an alternative set of theories, drawn from the literature on opinion formation on European integration, to find a more suitable framework for analysing and explaining the motivation of Norwegian Euroscepticism. The analysis shows that Norwegian party-based Euroscepticism can be divided into three types when it comes to its strength and policy opposition, with the Centre Party and the Socialist Left Party on the ‘hardest’ end of the Euroscepticism scale, followed by the Christian Democratic Party and the Liberal Party, and finally, the Labour Party and the Progress Party. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that Norwegian Eurosceptic party stances on Europe are primarily driven by political values and political culture concerns, except for the Progress Party, which base its Eurosceptic motivation on economic utilitarianism and political culture.

  14. Conceptualizing an economically, legally, and politically viable active debris removal option

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emanuelli, M.; Federico, G.; Loughman, J.; Prasad, D.; Chow, T.; Rathnasabapathy, M.

    2014-11-01

    It has become increasingly clear in recent years that the issue of space debris, particularly in low-Earth orbit, can no longer be ignored or simply mitigated. Orbital debris currently threatens safe space flight for both satellites and humans aboard the International Space Station. Additionally, orbital debris might impact Earth upon re-entry, endangering human lives and damaging the environment with toxic materials. In summary, orbital debris seriously jeopardizes the future not only of human presence in space, but also of human safety on Earth. While international efforts to mitigate the current situation and limit the creation of new debris are useful, recent studies predicting debris evolution have indicated that these will not be enough to ensure humanity's access to and use of the near-Earth environment in the long-term. Rather, active debris removal (ADR) must be pursued if we are to continue benefiting from and conducting space activities. While the concept of ADR is not new, it has not yet been implemented. This is not just because of the technical feasibility of such a scheme, but also because of the host of economic, legal/regulatory, and political issues associated with debris remediation. The costs of ADR are not insignificant and, in today's restrictive fiscal climate, are unlikely/to be covered by any single actor. Similarly, ADR concepts bring up many unresolved questions about liability, the protection of proprietary information, safety, and standards. In addition, because of the dual use nature of ADR technologies, any venture will necessarily require political considerations. Despite the many unanswered questions surrounding ADR, it is an endeavor worth pursuing if we are to continue relying on space activities for a variety of critical daily needs and services. Moreover, we cannot ignore the environmental implications that an unsustainable use of space will imply for life on Earth in the long run. This paper aims to explore some of these

  15. Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system. PMID:20089149

  16. Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oguntade Adegboyega E

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system.

  17. Religion and politics in sub-Saharan Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ellis, S.D.K.; Haar, Gerrie ter

    1998-01-01

    In the considerable number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa in which political institutions have largely broken down, religious discourse can be seen as an attempted remedy by means of a reordering of power. The numerous popular texts on witchcraft and other perceived forms of evil reflect the

  18. [Debating disease: the risk factor concept in political economic and scientific consideration, 1968 to 1986].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madarász, Jeannette

    2009-01-01

    The risk factor concept was developed in American epidemiological studies ongoing since the 1940s researching the causes of chronic cardiovascular diseases. By looking at the depiction of this model in a variety of media in Germany between 1968 and 1986 we can put its close interaction with contemporary socio-political debates under scrutiny. Thereby, a strong connection between the various agents' political and economic interests on the one hand and the incorporation of the risk factor concept into their specific agendas will become apparent. The risk factor concept was not fundamentally changed in the process but it was adapted to contemporary conditions and political constellations. Thereby, so it will be argued, the medical uses of the model, especially regarding the prevention of chronic cardiovascular disease, were forced into the background of public debates.

  19. Understanding political behavior: Essays in experimental political economy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gago Guerreiro de Brito Robalo, P.M.

    2014-01-01

    Explaining individual political behavior is one of the big challenges in the social sciences. The work contained in this thesis uses the tools of experimental economics, game theory and decision theory to shed light on political choices. Relaxing the neoclassical assumptions of self-interested

  20. Religion and Earnings: Is It Good to Be an Atheist with Religious Parental Background?

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas Cornelissen; Uwe Jirjahn

    2012-01-01

    Using German employee data, we find that being raised by two religious parents and having no current religious affiliation is associated with higher earnings. This conforms to the hypothesis that people who are raised religiously and reject religion as adults are economically more successful as they combine a strong, internalized work ethic with an increased interest in present consumption (as opposed to afterlife consumption).

  1. A Religious Worldview: Protecting One's Meaning System Through Religious Prejudice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goplen, Joanna; Plant, E Ashby

    2015-11-01

    For some people, religion strongly influences their worldviews. We propose that religious outgroups threaten the foundational beliefs of people with strong religious worldviews (RWVs) by endorsing alternative belief systems and that this threat contributes to religious prejudice. To examine these ideas, we developed a measure of RWV strength and assessed the role of RWV threat in religious prejudice. Across five studies, strength of RWV was related to religious prejudice, including derogation and denial of alternative religious viewpoints, as well as support for suppressing, avoiding, and even aggressing against religious outgroups. These responses were strongest toward religious outgroups whose worldviews were the most different, and therefore most threatening. Mediational analyses revealed that strong RWV people expressed heightened prejudice because of the worldview threat posed by religious outgroup members. These findings indicate that the avoidance and subjugation of religious outgroups can serve as a worldview protection strategy for some people. © 2015 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

  2. Political ecology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Strohm, H.

    1979-01-01

    Using facts and examples, this didactically structures textbook gives an insight into the extent and consequences of the damage to the environment, with the subjects - fundamentals of ecology; - population and food problems; - the energy problem; - economic growth; scarcity of resources, recycling; - ground, water, and air pollution, - city and traffic problems; - work protection and medical care; - political alternatives and 'soft technologies'. The analysis of the political and economic reasons is combined with social and technical alternatives from which demands to be made and measures to be taken can be derived for individuals, citizens' interest groups, political groups and trade unions. Teaching models intend to help teachers to work on specific problems of ecology. (orig.) [de

  3. JPRS Report, Soviet Union, USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology, No. 9, September 1987

    Science.gov (United States)

    1988-03-10

    of its implementation, was an important factor the elite had to take into account. In the 1970’s this alternative became only a theoretical concept... philanthropy in international economics, and although America’s monopolist rivals have always relied on the stimulating role of the "Amer- ican...34scandal" among the elite . The entry of politics by novices, insufficiently investigated and "illuminated" by the mass media or by contacts with long

  4. Ecology, economics and political will: the vicissitudes of malaria strategies in Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kidson, C; Indaratna, K

    1998-06-01

    The documented history of malaria in parts of Asia goes back more than 2,000 years, during which the disease has been a major player on the socioeconomic stage in many nation states as they waxed and waned in power and prosperity. On a much shorter time scale, the last half century has seen in microcosm a history of large fluctuations in endemicity and impact of malaria across the spectrum of rice fields and rain forests, mountains and plains that reflect the vast ecological diversity inhabited by this majority aggregation of mankind. That period has seen some of the most dramatic changes in social and economic structure, in population size, density and mobility, and in political structure in history: all have played a part in the changing face of malaria in this extensive region of the world. While the majority of global malaria cases currently reside in Africa, greater numbers inhabited Asia earlier this century before malaria programs savored significant success, and now Asia harbors a global threat in the form of the epicenter of multidrug resistant Plasmodium falciparum which is gradually encompassing the tropical world. The latter reflects directly the vicissitudes of economic change over recent decades, particularly the mobility of populations in search of commerce, trade and personal fortunes, or caught in the misfortunes of physical conflicts. The period from the 1950s to the 1990s has witnessed near "eradication" followed by resurgence of malaria in Sri Lanka, control and resurgence in India, the influence of war and postwar instability on drug resistance in Cambodia, increase in severe and cerebral malaria in Myanmar during prolonged political turmoil, the essential disappearance of the disease from all but forested border areas of Thailand where it remains for the moment intractable, the basic elimination of vivax malaria from many provinces of central China. Both positive and negative experiences have lessons to teach in the debate between eradication

  5. Religiousness and religious coping in a secular society: the gender perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hvidtjørn, Dorte; Hjelmborg, Jacob; Skytthe, Axel; Christensen, Kaare; Hvidt, Niels Christian

    2014-10-01

    Women are found to be more religious than men and more likely to use religious coping. Only few studies have explored religious gender differences in more secular societies. This population-based study comprised 3,000 Danish men and women (response rate 45 %) between 20 and 40 years of age. Information about demographics, religiousness and religious coping was obtained through a web-based questionnaire. We organized religiousness in the three dimensions: Cognition, Practice and Importance, and we assessed religious coping using the brief RCOPE questionnaire. We found substantial gender differences in both religiousness and religious coping. Nearly, 60 % of the women believed in some sort of spirit or in God compared to 40 % of the men. Generally, both men and women scored low on the RCOPE scale. However, for respondents reporting high levels of religiousness, the proportion of men who scored high in the RCOPE exceeded the proportion of women in using positive and especially negative coping strategies. Also, in a secular society, women are found to be more religious than men, but in a subset of the most religious respondents, men were more inclined to use religious coping. Further studies on religious coping in secular societies are required.

  6. Areopagitica: Milton’s Influence on Classical and Modern Political and Economic Thought

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isaac M. Morehouse

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available This article draws general economic arguments against central planning, state licensure and regulation from Milton’s Areopagitica, a 17th Century pamphlet on free-speech. Though Milton’s work was written primarily as a defense for moral man and a warning against religious encroachment by government it provides some of the best and most foundational general arguments, both moral and practical, against government intervention in any field. Milton’s accessible and persuasive style and his ability to combine practical and moral arguments made his work a monumental case against censorship. However, the work has more to offer than a defense of free-speech. Libertarian economists can find in Milton many compelling arguments against central planning, licensure and regulation which have been and should continue to be reiterated.

  7. The Humanistic Imperative in African Politics | Agbude | African ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    factionalism, political 'godfatherism', tribalism, ethnicity, social injustice, lack of respect for both procedural and legal justice, religious squabbles, poverty, hunger, poor maintenance culture, insecurity of life and property and etc. The Machiavellian style of leadership has further deepened the. African states into retrogression ...

  8. THE ENTRANCE OF VENEZUELA IN MERCOSUR: ANALYSIS OF THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafael Schmuziger Goldzweig

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper aims to study the perception of the political agents of the Congress through the analysis of their votes on the context of the acceptance of Venezuela into MERCOSUR, relating it to the potential gains coming from its admission. The relevance of the topic is justified by the importance that the bloc would acquire accepting a new member, considering the expansion of the internal consumer market and the increase of oil reserves of the bloc. Therefore, the intention is to clarify the political situation favorable to the integration and, taking the Brazilian perception in consideration, establish the relationship between economic gains that would come from the acceptance of Venezuela as a state member and the political discourse regarding this subject in the National Congress. Through the votes of deputies and senators we mapped the variables that act as important factors in the decision-making process of lawmakers. It was found that the party influence, though strong, suffers marginal effects of variables such as the influence of regional and local interests when it comes to voting on foreign policy.

  9. The Contribution of Religious Education to the Well-Being of Pupils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pett, Stephen

    2012-01-01

    Religious education (RE) is under serious political and professional pressure to justify its existence and, for some, positive psychology seems to offer a more compelling route to well-being. In response, this article establishes a case for the inherent value of the subject whilst showing that the well-being of pupils, in the broader sense of…

  10. Religious coalition opposes gene patents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, J S

    1995-05-19

    The biotechnology industry is concerned about a coalition of mainstream religious leaders, working with Jeremy Rifkin of the Foundation of Economic Trends, who oppose the patenting of human and animal life forms, body parts, and genes. The coalition called a press conference on May 18 to ask the government to prohibit the current patenting practices for genetic engineering. The biotechnology industry argues that patents indicate that a company's research tool has significant value, and encourages capitalists to invest their dollars in the development of new treatments for diseases. They also argue that the 29 biotech drugs that are on the market have been developed as a result of patents on genes. Although most business leaders are united in opposing restrictions, many scientists are divided, citing both religious and scientific reasons.

  11. Psychological aspects of political tolerance among adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sotelo, M J; Sangrador, J L

    1997-12-01

    This study concerns 273 Spanish adolescents, aged between 14 and 17, 125 boys and 148 girls. The measured variables were political tolerance, liking for several groups, political experience, cognitive moral reasoning, support for democratic norms, support for violent groups, identification with a group of friends, identification with a religious group, and identification with a soccer team. The objectives of this work were (a) to establish groups of adolescents based on the relationship between their willingness to extend rights to several groups and their liking of these groups, (b) to know the personality characteristics of tolerant and intolerant adolescents, and (c) to set up correlations between age and total tolerance, total liking, and the variables correlated with tolerance. The main findings are that older and younger adolescents belong to different groups, with respect to tolerance, and something similar can be said about boys and girls. Intolerant adolescents perceive themselves as anxious, insecure, solitary, and obstinate. Significant positive correlations between age and political experience, rated support for democratic norms and ratings for identification with a group of friends were found. On the contrary, there were significant negative correlations between age and rated support for violent groups, identification with a religious group, and identification with a soccer team.

  12. Religion in Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's Political ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Language on the other hand provides the conduit for performance and expression of religion and religiousness; as well as political ideologies. The data consists of Obasanjo's speeches delivered on 29th May 1999 and 2003. Working within the tenets of Critical Discourse Analysis, the paper interrogates the trajectory in ...

  13. Special section: religion and territorial politics in southern Europe

    OpenAIRE

    Giorgi , Alberta; Itçaina , Xabier

    2016-01-01

    International audience; The invisible politics of religion in southern European territories: preliminary considerations With this issue of Religion, State & Society, we inaugurate a planned series of special sections focusing on the analysis of the political involvement of religious associations and organisations at the local level. Without pre-empting the more substantial conclusion that we plan for the last of the special sections, in this short introduction we aim to state brieflythe main ...

  14. Unbuckling the Bible Belt: A State-Level Analysis of Religious Factors and Google Searches for Porn.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, Andrew L; Perry, Samuel L

    2018-01-01

    While the link between individual religious characteristics and pornography consumption is well established, relatively little research has considered how the wider religious context may influence pornography use. Exceptions in the literature to date have relied on relatively broad, subjective measures of religious commitment, largely ignoring issues of religious belonging, belief, or practice. This study moves the conversation forward by examining how a variety of state-level religious factors predict Google searches for the term porn, net of relevant sociodemog raphic and ideological controls. Our multivariate findings indicate that higher percentages of Evangelical Protestants, theists, and biblical literalists in a state predict higher frequencies of searching for porn, as do higher church attendance rates. Conversely, higher percentages of religiously unaffiliated persons in a state predict lower frequencies of searching for porn. Higher percentages of total religious adherents, Catholics, or mainline Protestants in a state are unrelated to searching for porn with controls in place. Contrary to recent research, our analyses also show that higher percentages of political conservatives in a state predicted lower frequencies of porn searches. Our findings support theories that more salient, traditional religious influences in a state may influence residents-whether religious or not-toward more covert sexual experiences.

  15. Biblical antecedents of modern Agenda-Setting: religious platforms in lieu of mass media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tsuriel RASHI

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Can a primitive society set a public agenda? Are there some advantages for a religious society in setting an agenda? From a critical study of the communicative perspective of the Bible and hermeneutic reading of its texts, it can be said that certain elements in primitive societies succeeded in influencing the political and social agendas. They did so by exploiting specific public assemblies or appearing in crowded places in attempts to impact local and national agendas. This notion is significant because it suggests that in countries that do not have developed communication infrastructures or established religious institutions (e.g., churches, mosques, and synagogues that serve as public arenas, indeed even in seemingly closed religious communities, there may well be attempts to use venues other than mass media to influence the public agenda.

  16. It’s About the Group, Not God: Social Causes and Cures for Terrorism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Charles Mink

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This essay challenges assumptions about the root causes of jihadist terrorism that prioritize political, religious, or economic factors. Drawing on the author’s anecdotal experience interviewing hundreds of accused jihadist terrorists, along with survey data collected from subject matter experts in countering violent extremism (CVE, the essay offers an interpretation for terrorism’s causes and cures that emphasizes social factors. Contrary to narratives popular in the U.S. – both in media and government circles – the lure of terrorism is not a result of political marginalization, economic disadvantage, or even religious indoctrination. It is foremost a sociological phenomenon, created by individuals who seek the insulating security of group identity and affiliation. The real reason why people are drawn to join terrorist groups is the innate need for camaraderie, identity, and a sense of belonging – the pursuit of social satisfaction, not the expression of political or economic frustration, much less the fulfilment of a religious imperative. CVE research that exclusively focuses on the political, economic, or religious causes of terrorism will, at best, over-appraise their significance, and, at worst, distract policymakers from understanding more influential motivators and responding to them accordingly. New directions for research lie in further exploring the sociological underpinnings of jihadist terrorism, as well as validating the effectiveness of social-centred CVE policies already in place.

  17. Religiosity and conservatism revisited: relating a new religiosity measure to the two main conservative political ideologies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duriez, Bart

    2003-04-01

    The relation between the two religiosity dimensions which Wulff (1997) described (Exclusion vs Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs Symbolic) and two conservative political ideologies (Cultural and Economic Conservatism) was investigated in a sample of 714 students, a heterogeneous sample of 262 adults, and a sample of 301 religiously affiliated adults gathered in Flanders (Belgium). Both Exclusion vs Inclusion of Transcendence and Literal vs Symbolic were expected to relate only to Cultural Conservatism. Analysis supported these hypotheses, providing further evidence for the close association between religiosity and Cultural Conservatism and the validity of the Post-Critical Belief scale as a measure of Wulff's dimensions of religiosity.

  18. Generational and time period differences in American adolescents' religious orientation, 1966-2014.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jean M Twenge

    Full Text Available In four large, nationally representative surveys (N = 11.2 million, American adolescents and emerging adults in the 2010s (Millennials were significantly less religious than previous generations (Boomers, Generation X at the same age. The data are from the Monitoring the Future studies of 12th graders (1976-2013, 8th and 10th graders (1991-2013, and the American Freshman survey of entering college students (1966-2014. Although the majority of adolescents and emerging adults are still religiously involved, twice as many 12th graders and college students, and 20%-40% more 8th and 10th graders, never attend religious services. Twice as many 12th graders and entering college students in the 2010s (vs. the 1960s-70s give their religious affiliation as "none," as do 40%-50% more 8th and 10th graders. Recent birth cohorts report less approval of religious organizations, are less likely to say that religion is important in their lives, report being less spiritual, and spend less time praying or meditating. Thus, declines in religious orientation reach beyond affiliation to religious participation and religiosity, suggesting a movement toward secularism among a growing minority. The declines are larger among girls, Whites, lower-SES individuals, and in the Northeastern U.S., very small among Blacks, and non-existent among political conservatives. Religious affiliation is lower in years with more income inequality, higher median family income, higher materialism, more positive self-views, and lower social support. Overall, these results suggest that the lower religious orientation of Millennials is due to time period or generation, and not to age.

  19. Sharia-Based Regional Regulations and Inter-Religious Relations in Bulukumba South Sulawesi

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ashadi L Diab

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The background for the emergence of the idea of applying Sharia based regional regulations in Bulukumba is influenced by three factors: history, politics and socio-religious reality of the community. The response to the application of Islamic law also varies. At least in broad outline there are four kinds of responses, i.e. accepting, accepting with certain conditions, refusing then accepting and refusing. The application of Islamic law in Bulukumba has caused changes both in the physical appearance and socio-religious interaction of the people. Changes in physical appearance can be seen from the increasing number of women wearing hijab and a number of writings of religious nuances in various corners of the city. Changes in the areas of social interaction can be seen from the decrease of the crime rate. In the interaction between religious communities, the Sharia-based regulations are a medium for the Islamization of society. The existence of such legislation has also left no space for non-Muslims to build or add a new place of worship.

  20. Chinese State-Owned Enterprise Investment in Mekong Hydropower: Political and Economic Drivers and Their Implications across the Water, Energy, Food Nexus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nathanial Matthews

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Over the last decade, Chinese State-Owned Enterprises have emerged as among the most active investors in Mekong Basin hydropower development. This paper uses a political economy analysis to examine the forces that drive Chinese State-Owned Enterprises to invest in hydropower in the Mekong Basin. We focus our analysis on the Lancang (Upper Mekong River in China and in the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS, with an emphasis on Cambodia. The analysis reveals how powerful political and economic forces from within China and the GMS influence the pace, location and scale of investments in hydropower. These forces include foreign exchange reserves, trade packages and foreign direct investment, and political alliances. Combining the political economy and nexus approaches, we conclude that although policies from China recognize interconnections across the nexus, political and economic forces craft narratives that downplay or disregard these nexus interconnections and trade-offs. This in turn, influences how trade-offs and interconnections in hydropower development are managed and recognized in both local and transboundary contexts, thereby, creating potentially significant negative impacts on livelihoods, food security and the environment.

  1. The politics of population policy in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoodfar, H; Assadpour, S

    2000-03-01

    The Islamic Republic of Iran arguably has one of the most successful family planning programs in the developing world. This success is all the more interesting for advocates of population programs because the political leaders of the Islamic regime were once strongly opposed to family planning. Indeed, after gaining power following the 1979 revolution, they were responsible for dismantling Iran's relatively new family planning program and introducing pronatalist policies. This article provides an account of the different phases of the population policy in Iran and examines the diverse elements that led politico-religious leaders to revise their views about fertility control and to participate in creating a workable family planning program. The complex formal and informal strategies that the political experts, the media, the religious authorities, and the government of the Islamic Republic adopted in order to achieve this about-face are described. The analysis is based on data collected by the first author during anthropological field research in 1993-96, by means of informal interviews with officials, with medical personnel, with family planning clients, and with religious leaders.

  2. A Brush Up on the ‘2015 Presidential Election of Nigeria’: The Chemistry between Religio-Political Manoeuvres and Propaganda Stratagems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel Abah

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Religious bigotry and misinterpretation to serve personal interest in our world today have given birth to incessant wars, lawless and reckless killings, genocides and the birth of dreadful terrorism. Nonetheless, there is a paucity of empirical evidence on the topic in question. The objectives of this paper are to examine: (a the use of religion as a tool for political propaganda in the 2015 Presidential Election; (b the reason why politicians make use of religion for propaganda; (c the effects of using political propaganda. The study employed content, and descriptive analysis to synthesise data from newspapers, books and online works. Findings reveal that some key political parties made use of religion as a tool for political propaganda, at different ranges in print and electronic media. In effect, the use of religion by politicians was mainly due to the country’s regional divided front when it comes to religious beliefs; northern Muslims and the southern Christians. This abuse of religious rights breeds pathological hatred among the populace and there is a need to implement the tenets of secularism within the political framework to aid peace building.

  3. Elaboration on posttraumatic growth in youth exposed to terror: the role of religiosity and political ideology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laufer, Avital; Solomon, Zahava; Levine, Stephen Z

    2010-06-01

    This study aims to examine competing explanations of the relationship between religious and political ideology commitment with posttraumatic growth. Subjects were Israeli youth who were exposed to terror (n = 2,999) aged 13-15. Measures included: posttraumatic growth inventory, religious orientation, ideological commitment, objective and subjective exposure to terror. Both religiosity and political ideology mediated the effects of exposure and fear on growth. Political ideology but not religiosity, had a moderating effect, such that subjective fear was positively associated with growth only among those with stronger ideologies. Results support the contention of Terror Management Theory that cultural beliefs have beneficial effects on well being in the face of adversity and emphasize the role of cultural world as effecting growth, beyond trauma.

  4. Ranking the adaptive capacity of nations to climate change when socio-political goals are explicit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddad, B.M.

    2005-01-01

    The typical categories for measuring national adaptive capacity to climate change include a nation's wealth, technology, education, information, skills, infrastructure, access to resources, and management capabilities. Resulting rankings predictably mirror more general rankings of economic development, such as the Human Development Index. This approach is incomplete since it does not consider the normative or motivational context of adaptation. For what purpose or toward what goal does a nation aspire, and in that context, what is its adaptive capacity? This paper posits 11 possible national socio-political goals that fall into the three categories of teleological legitimacy, procedural legitimacy, and norm-based decision rules. A model that sorts nations in terms of adaptive capacity based on national socio-political aspirations is presented. While the aspiration of maximizing summed utility matches typical existing rankings, alternative aspirations, including contractarian liberalism, technocratic management, and dictatorial/religious rule alter the rankings. An example describes how this research can potentially inform how priorities are set for international assistance for climate change adaptation. (author)

  5. The Political Economy, the Economic Policy and the Internal Control in the Development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in Angola

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mendes Pedro−Ludi

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The Economic Policy includes the strategies of diversification and development of the country and has in Angola as the most important objective, the development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MPYMES. However, the effectiveness of policies aimed at promoting this type of business depends not only on the policy, but also on the organization, management and control of the process of allocation of financial resources. To achieve this, it is possible if it is based on the interrelationship between Political Economy, scientific basis of Economic Policy and Internal Control, guaranteeing the ordering and control of Economic Policy. The objective of this article is to demonstrate theoretically and empirically the dialectical relationship between Political Economy, Economic Policy and Internal Control, in favor of the development of Angolan MPYMES.

  6. Cortisol and politics: variance in voting behavior is predicted by baseline cortisol levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Jeffrey A; Smith, Kevin B; Alford, John R; Guck, Adam; Birnie, Andrew K; Hibbing, John R

    2014-06-22

    Participation in electoral politics is affected by a host of social and demographics variables, but there is growing evidence that biological predispositions may also play a role in behavior related to political involvement. We examined the role of individual variation in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis parameters in explaining differences in self-reported and actual participation in political activities. Self-reported political activity, religious participation, and verified voting activity in U.S. national elections were collected from 105 participants, who were subsequently exposed to a standardized (nonpolitical) psychosocial stressor. We demonstrated that lower baseline salivary cortisol in the late afternoon was significantly associated with increased actual voting frequency in six national elections, but not with self-reported non-voting political activity. Baseline cortisol predicted significant variation in voting behavior above and beyond variation accounted for by traditional demographic variables (particularly age of participant in our sample). Participation in religious activity was weakly (and negatively) associated with baseline cortisol. Our results suggest that HPA-mediated characteristics of social, cognitive, and emotional processes may exert an influence on a trait as complex as voting behavior, and that cortisol is a better predictor of actual voting behavior, as opposed to self-reported political activity. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Cortisol and Politics: Variance in Voting Behavior is Predicted by Baseline Cortisol Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, Jeffrey A.; Smith, Kevin B.; Alford, John R.; Guck, Adam; Birnie, Andrew K.; Hibbing, John R.

    2014-01-01

    Participation in electoral politics is affected by a host of social and demographics variables, but there is growing evidence that biological predispositions may also play a role in behavior related to political involvement. We examined the role of individual variation in hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) stress axis parameters in explaining differences in self-reported and actual participation in political activities. Self-reported political activity, religious participation, and verified voting activity in U.S. national elections were collected from 105 participants, who were subsequently exposed to a standardized (nonpolitical) psychosocial stressor. We demonstrated that lower baseline salivary cortisol in the late afternoon was significantly associated with increased actual voting frequency in six national elections, but not with self-reported non-voting political activity. Baseline cortisol predicted significant variation in voting behavior above and beyond variation accounted for by traditional demographic variables (particularly age of participant in our sample). Participation in religious activity was weakly (and negatively) associated with baseline cortisol. Our results suggest that HPA-mediated characteristics of social, cognitive, and emotional processes may exert an influence on a trait as complex as voting behavior, and that cortisol is a better predictor of actual voting behavior, as opposed to self-reported political activity. PMID:24835544

  8. Climato-economic livability predicts societal collectivism and political autocracy better than parasitic stress does.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van de Vliert, Evert; Postmes, Tom

    2012-04-01

    A 121-nation study of societal collectivism and a 174-nation study of political autocracy show that parasitic stress does not account for any variation in these components of culture once the interactive impacts of climatic demands and income resources have been accounted for. Climato-economic livability is a viable rival explanation for the reported effects of parasitic stress on culture.

  9. Corruption as a Problem of Political Theory and Political Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna V. Shashkova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The present article is dedicated to the analysis of "corruption" from point of view of political practice and political theory. The present article studies historical examples of corruption: corruption during the era of Alexander the Great, Carthage, Roman Republic. The article gives the evolution of the term "corruption", pointing out current aspects of the term. The article provides positive and negative results of corruption, gives resume. The present article analyses corruption results: economical, political and social. Most important economical consequences of corruption are the following: increase of shadow economy, decrease of tax payments, weakening of the state budget, breach of market competition, decrease of market effectiveness, destabilization of the idea of market economy. Most important social consequences of corruption are the following: great distinction between the declared and real values, which creates a "double standard" of the moral and behavior, distraction of great sums from public and humanitarian development, increase of property disproportion, increase of social tension. The present article names most important political consequences of corruption: shift of ideas from public development to the security of power of oligarchy, decrease of trust to the state, decrease of image of the country at the international arena, increase of its economical and political isolation, decrease of political competition. The present article gives one of the resumes that the globalization process increases corruption. Together with globalization most important role is given to corporations and corporate corruption comes to the front raw.

  10. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ROLE OF ECONOMIC ACTORS IN THE WTO DISPUTE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM: LEGAL OR POLITICAL ISSUE?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Intan Soeparna

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Economic actors are the main trade player in the World Trade Organization, although, the relation between WTO and economic actor is built by trade regulation that is negotiated among the WTO Members. Nothing in the WTO regulates economic actors to involve directly in the WTO, especially in the WTO dispute settlement system. Nevertheless, the debate amongst experts regarding the involvement of economic actors in the WTO dispute settlement system is unavoidable. This article therefore discusses the possibility of the involvement of economic actors in the WTO dispute settlement system, whether there is legal and political point of views

  11. Neo-Pluralist Political Science, Economic Sociology and the Conceptual Foundations of the Comparative Capitalisms Literatures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruff, Ian; Hartmann, Eva

    2014-01-01

    the strengths of neo-pluralism and economic sociology – their attention to detail in considering the huge range of ‘types’ of capitalism that exist across the world – come at a high price. Put briefly, the redefinition of ‘capitalism’ as ‘the economy’ concentrates research agendas on the specific political...

  12. Do Political and Economic Choices Rely on Common Neural Substrates? A Systematic Review of the Emerging Neuropolitics Literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krastev, Sekoul; McGuire, Joseph T.; McNeney, Denver; Kable, Joseph W.; Stolle, Dietlind; Gidengil, Elisabeth; Fellows, Lesley K.

    2016-01-01

    The methods of cognitive neuroscience are beginning to be applied to the study of political behavior. The neural substrates of value-based decision-making have been extensively examined in economic contexts; this might provide a powerful starting point for understanding political decision-making. Here, we asked to what extent the neuropolitics literature to date has used conceptual frameworks and experimental designs that make contact with the reward-related approaches that have dominated decision neuroscience. We then asked whether the studies of political behavior that can be considered in this light implicate the brain regions that have been associated with subjective value related to “economic” reward. We performed a systematic literature review to identify papers addressing the neural substrates of political behavior and extracted the fMRI studies reporting behavioral measures of subjective value as defined in decision neuroscience studies of reward. A minority of neuropolitics studies met these criteria and relatively few brain activation foci from these studies overlapped with regions where activity has been related to subjective value. These findings show modest influence of reward-focused decision neuroscience on neuropolitics research to date. Whether the neural substrates of subjective value identified in economic choice paradigms generalize to political choice thus remains an open question. We argue that systematically addressing the commonalities and differences in these two classes of value-based choice will be important in developing a more comprehensive model of the brain basis of human decision-making. PMID:26941703

  13. Political economy constraints on carbon pricing policies: What are the implications for economic efficiency, environmental efficacy, and climate policy design?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenkins, Jesse D.

    2014-01-01

    Economists traditionally view a Pigouvian fee on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, either via carbon taxes or emissions caps and permit trading (“cap-and-trade”), as the economically optimal or “first-best” policy to address climate change-related externalities. Yet several political economy factors can severely constrain the implementation of these carbon pricing policies, including opposition of industrial sectors with a concentration of assets that would lose considerable value under such policies; the collective action nature of climate mitigation efforts; principal agent failures; and a low willingness-to-pay for climate mitigation by citizens. Real-world implementations of carbon pricing policies can thus fall short of the economically optimal outcomes envisioned in theory. Consistent with the general theory of the second-best, the presence of binding political economy constraints opens a significant “opportunity space” for the design of creative climate policy instruments with superior political feasibility, economic efficiency, and environmental efficacy relative to the constrained implementation of carbon pricing policies. This paper presents theoretical political economy frameworks relevant to climate policy design and provides corroborating evidence from the United States context. It concludes with a series of implications for climate policy making and argues for the creative pursuit of a mix of second-best policy instruments. - Highlights: • Political economy constraints can bind carbon pricing policies. • These constraints can prevent implementation of theoretically optimal carbon prices. • U.S. household willingness-to-pay for climate policy likely falls in the range of $80–$200 per year. • U.S. carbon prices may be politically constrained to as low as $2–$8 per ton of CO 2 . • An opportunity space exists for improvements in climate policy design and outcomes

  14. A view of politics and boycotts in modern Olympic games

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bengü Güven Karahan

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Aim: The aim of this study was to display and discuss the politics events and boycotts in modern Olympic Games. According to the literature, the events in the Olympic Games were discussed under the religious, racialist, ideological, politics and boycotts headlines. Methods: It was used historical research method in this study. Literature was reviewed and findings were discussed for this purpose. Results: Baron Pierre de Coubertin remanufactured the Ancient Greek Olympic games to modern. He didn’t approach the Olympic Games just international sport computations, he also purposed to educate the younger generations with spirit of friendship and comprehension by the Olympic Games. He had wanted to further to be sited more good and conciliatory world. Olympic Games is the biggest and the best social event in the world. Therefore, it was used by some countries for profits. These profits revelations variously like religious, racialist, ideological and politics events after a while. Conclusion: As a conclusion, it can be said that, It is necessary to rescue from politic events and sustain the games depending on Olympic philosophy. For this purpose, national and international Olympic committees must be necessary to be a sensitive and conscientious. Separately, countries education systems must be teach the olympism philosophy.

  15. Reflections on the Elusive Promise of Religious Freedom for the Native American Church.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Steven C.

    1991-01-01

    Analyzes the April 1990 Supreme Court decision that a member of a religion may not challenge, under the First Amendment free exercise clause, a generally applicable criminal law that infringes on a specific religious practice. Discusses political and legal implications for the Native American Church and other minority religions. (SV)

  16. They bewitched the generator: state power and religious authority at the New Year’s festival in Makunduchi, Zanzibar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magnus Echtler

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The New Year’s festival in Makunduchi, Zanzibar, has been one of the central sites for the interaction between state power and religious authority. It has changed considerably since colonial times, as political rituals were grafted onto religious ones, and a commercial fair developed. In this article, it is argued that these changes can be explained in part by the renegotiation, both in conflict and co-operation, of the relationship between local religious experts and state officials. First the New Year’s rituals as central practices for the production of local religious authority is analysed. Then the colonial history of the festival is discussed, before finally turning to the interactions between state power and local authority at the festival in post-colonial times.

  17. Religion, politics and gender equality in Turkey: implications of a democratic paradox?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arat, Yeşim

    2010-01-01

    This article examines the gendered implications of the intertwining of Islam and politics that took shape after the process of democratisation in Turkey had brought a political party with an Islamist background to power. This development revived the spectre of restrictive sex roles for women. The country is thus confronted with a democratic paradox: the expansion of religious freedoms accompanying potential and/or real threats to gender equality. The ban on the Islamic headscarf in universities has been the most visible terrain of public controversy on Islam. However, the paper argues that a more threatening development is the propagation of patriarchal religious values, sanctioning secondary roles for women through the public bureaucracy as well as through the educational system and civil society organisations.

  18. Unity and Diversity as a Theme in Early Modern Dutch Religious History: an Interpretation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Spaans, J.W.

    1996-01-01

    The Reformation in the Low Countries fascinates both church historians and general historians. Religious change and political revolution went hand in hand. The history of the Reformation is an integral part of the history of the birth of the Dutch nation. Although well-researched, its attraction is

  19. THE USE OF RELIGIOUS AND POLITICAL RITUALS IN CONTEMPORARY COMMUNICATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    IOVAN MARTIAN

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This article identifies the main characteristics and trends inthe development of media power in the context of increasing its connection with the otherpowers in the society, especially with the political and ecclesiastic power. The developmentof communication technologies, especially during the last half of a century, has led to theimprovement and increase of the efficiency of communication functions at all levels,regardless of the distances between those who manage communication and the targetpublic. The sacerdotal and political powers of our days have taken over the results ofmass–media development in order to use them intensively in the attainment of their ownmission and strategies, seeking to be as successful as possible. An essential way forfulfilling the goals of political and ecclesiastic power is the intentional use of specificceremonies and rituals in the communication exchanges with the public. The “directors”and “screenwriters” involved in the organization of such spectacles and their mediacoverage all over the planet have so perfected this art that the powers receiving extensivemedia coverage have become seductive celebrities, increasingly capable of manipulation, foran increasingly wider public. The author taps into a comprehensive historical,philosophical, sociological and practical documentation in order to demonstrate theincrease in the functions of audiovisual, verbal and nonverbal communication in our days,and some perverse effects of this evolution.

  20. Black American and Nigerian Pentecostalism: A Black Religious ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Black American and Nigerian Pentecostalism: A Black Religious Schizophrenia, 1910-2010. ... in American and African Pentecostalism as is related to social crisis, the dislocation of masses brought on by economic deprivation, urbanization, the break up of traditional society and consequence loss of traditional values.

  1. William Byrd: Political and Recusant Composer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ariel Foshay Bacon

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Amidst the pendulum of political and religious upheaval that pervaded England throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth century, William Byrd stands as one of the best loved and lauded composers. Byrd succeeded in the secular and sacred realms, contributing great works to the Anglican Church, popularizing the English madrigal and producing prolific amounts of sacred music. However, in a time where one’s religious beliefs were often linked with political loyalty, Byrd defied his monarch’s established and enforced Protestant religion, composing politically charged music for recusant use in clandestine Catholic Church services. His themes were aligned with the Jesuit mission and his texts were often drawn from the lips of martyred Catholics at the gallows; their last words forever immortalized by Byrd for the furthering of the Jesuit cause and the Counter-Reformation. The examination of sources by prominent Byrd scholars, an analyses of Byrd’s ‘political’ compositions and a study of the social and historical background are used to place Byrd within the appropriate context, prove his recusant and political leanings, and analyze his precarious relationship with the English monarch, Elizabeth I. It is shown that Byrd could not have proceeded with his recusant practices, personally or musically, had it not been for his status as a composer, as well as Byrd’s shrewdness in procuring diplomatic relationships with high persons at court and with Queen Elizabeth I through the Chapel Royal. Finally, Byrd’s success at writing for the Anglican Church service and popular secular music showcased his ability to take a moderate stance in situations that benefitted his status with the crown

  2. How Do Business and Government Interact? Combining Perspectives from Economics, Political Science, Public Administration, and Practitioners

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Neill, Patrick B.; Harsell, Dana Michael

    2015-01-01

    The authors describe the theoretical preparation provided to students in advance of a limited-duration experiential learning experience in Washington DC in a Master's level course for students in Business or Public Administration. The students consider theoretical perspectives from economics, political science, and public administration with…

  3. The Professionalisation of Non-Denominational Religious Education in England: Politics, Organisation and Knowledge

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Stephen G.; Freathy, Rob; Doney, Jonathan

    2016-01-01

    In response to contemporary concerns, and using neglected primary sources, this article explores the professionalisation of teachers of Religious Education (RI/RE) in non-denominational, state-maintained schools in England. It does so from the launch of "Religion in Education" (1934) and the Institute for Christian Education at Home and…

  4. Social Selection and Religiously Selective Faith Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pettinger, Paul

    2014-01-01

    This article reviews recent research looking at the socio-economic profile of pupils at faith schools and the contribution religiously selective admission arrangements make. It finds that selection by faith leads to greater social segregation and is open to manipulation. It urges that such selection should end, making the state-funded school…

  5. Political-ethical skill development in nursing undergraduates

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Dyrce Dias Meira

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This research aimed to identify political-ethical skills developed in a training process compatible with the expected profile set by the National Curriculum Guidelines for the Undergraduate Nursing Degree. A case study was conducted with units represented by 32 former students from a particular religious teaching institution who already were in the job market. The content of the interviews was analyzed using the thematic analysis technique, which resulted in the following categories: "Political-ethical skills in the formative process" and "Political-ethical skills as a product of the educational process." From the former students’ perspective, these categories reinforced the social role of the nurse and the need for students to be reflective, understanding and participative in the transformation of society.

  6. From welfare states to welfare sectors: Explaining sectoral differences in occupational pensions with economic and political power of employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiß, Tobias

    2015-12-01

    Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysis by both factors is not common, where employee skills and power resources are traditionally treated as separate, rival explanations of public welfare. Combining the 'method of difference' with the 'method of agreement', the article first presents the within-country variety of occupational pensions in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark. Occupational pensions in the same economic sectors across countries are then used as the units of analysis in order to illustrate the plausible determinants of economic individual power and political collective power.

  7. HTS 63_4_ GROENEWALD.A.Barth and politics _geredigeer

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    p1243322

    Karl Barth saw in natural theology a threat to the church of Christ. ... attend the International Reformed Theological Institute's meeting in Cluj-Naponica, Romania ... That any religious confession would be tolerated in the German state ..... German Christians also recognize German nationhood, its history and political present ...

  8. Monika Maron: Love and writing in a political climate

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. van Luxemburg

    1997-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the relationship between the love story and official history in Animal triste by the German novelist Monika Maron. Despite suggestions that the love story could have happened at any time or place, a strong case can be made for a special interwovenness of the personal and the political in this Wende novel. Timelessness thus gives way to the intertwinement of a love story with a period in history, the Wende, the period of political change in Germany in 1989-1990. On the other hand, the love story's political dimensions contribute to another form of timelessness, a kind of religious belief in the eternity of love. Before discussing Animal triste, I trace the relationship between love and politics in Maron's earlier novels.

  9. Essays on the political economy of trade and regulation: biotechnology and conservation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shao, Qianqian

    2017-01-01

    Economics and politics interact. Political and economic forces influence the choices of policy instruments, the distribution of economic rent, and the distribution of political power. Politicians balance the interaction of economic rents and political interests in the policy-making process. Some

  10. IRIB’s Religious and Non-religious Programs and their Impacts on Religiosity Levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azam Ravadrad

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to study the correlation between IRIB’s Religious and Non-religious programs, and the levels of religiosity in Iran. Accordingly, I would firstly explain the key concepts as religious program, non-religious program, religious broadcasting, and Ideological broadcasting; then, analyzing some instant programs, from non-religious to religious, I would attempt to formulize their impacts on one’s definition of religion –either as a private or simultaneously private and public matter. It is shown that in the trilogy of purely religious, purely entertaining, and mediated religious programs, it is the third which satisfy a religious television’s ideal.

  11. Al-Qaida threats and strategies : the religious justification for targeting the international energy economy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Williams, J.F.

    2008-03-15

    Methods of analyzing threats generated by terrorists against the energy industry were discussed. Threat was defined as the product of an adversary's capability, intent, and authority to engage a target using a specific attack mode. The paper argued that robust models for threat must demonstrate a cultural awareness of the adversary in question. The study used an al-Qaida attack to develop and critique the religious justification offered by Salafi-Jihadi religious scholars for attacking the energy industry. The importance of the fatawa's religious authority was evaluated, and cultural drivers for al-Qaida were explored in relation to the threat model. An assessment of past terrorist acts against energy industry infrastructure was conducted. Various relevant fatawa issued by religious scholars were discussed. Socio-political and religious attributes of the al-Qaida movement were outlined using the Combating Terrorism Center's militant ideology atlas. The threat equation was expanded to include authority and cultural influences. The threat model was developed by assigning information to bins of capability, intent, and authority in order to assess and evaluate data. The Kalman filter technique was used to determine threat drivers. 98 refs., 20 figs.

  12. The politics of welfare state retrenchment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Starke, Peter

    2006-01-01

    Welfare state retrenchment is widely seen as a highly unpopular endeavour and, therefore, as politically difficult to pursue. This assumption has underpinned most of the political science research on this issue, notably Paul Pierson's seminal contributions about the 'new politics of the welfare...... state'. Yet, the question remains why and under what circumstances cutbacks take place in highly developed welfare states despite these formidable political obstacles. This article reviews the literature on the politics of retrenchment, namely on the impact of socio-economic problem pressure, political...... parties, political institutions, welfare state structures and ideas. Most authors agree that socio-economic problems - particularly domestic problems - contribute to an atmosphere of 'permanent austerity' which inspires cutbacks. Moreover, according to most scholars, the extent of retrenchment possible...

  13. Competing Claims: Religious Affiliation and African Americans' Intolerance of Homosexuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ledet, Richard

    2017-01-01

    Literature on religion and political intolerance indicates competing expectations about how Black Protestant church affiliation affects African Americans' attitudes about civil liberties. On the one hand, Black Protestant theology emphasizes personal freedom and social justice, factors generally linked to more tolerant attitudes. On the other hand, Black Protestants tend to be conservative on family and social issues, factors often linked to intolerance of gays and lesbians. Data from the General Social Survey are used to examine the influence of religious group identification, as well as other relevant aspects of religiosity, on political intolerance among African Americans. Results indicate that although other aspects of religion (beliefs and behaviors) help explain variation in political intolerance, Black Protestant church affiliation has no relationship with attitudes about the civil liberties of homosexuals. However, additional tests show that Black Protestant church affiliation significantly predicts intolerance of other target groups (atheists and racists).

  14. Tbe religion of the market La religión del mercado

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loy David R.

    1997-12-01

    Full Text Available This article suggests that more than an economic system, the market is a religion, and that economics is its theology, even though it claims to be a science. The author analyzes, in light of the work of Weber, Polanyi, and Tawney, the problems caused by che individualistic and atomistic vision, inherited by economics from the deist and utilitarian traditions --which equated economic success with divine favor-- and suggests that those problems --extreme injustice and inequali ty or the environmental crisis, for example-- and their possible solutions also have a religious dimensiono He proposes a
    fusion of the sensitivity of the Semitic religions to justice with
    the emphasis in the Asiatic traditions on Enlightenment in the transcendence of delusion. This would not mean a return to religious values, but rather a recognition that the secular obsessions created by the religion of the market are symptoms of a spiritual need that it cannot satisfy.En este artículo se sugiere que más que un sistema económico, el mercado es una religión y la economía es su teologia, aunque pretenda ser una ciencia. Su autor analiza, a la luz de sus trabajos de Weber, Polanyi y Tawney, los problemas causados por la visión individualista y atomista heredada por la economía de las tradiciones que equiparaban el éxito económico con el favor divino --el deísmo y el utilitarismo-- y sugiere que la injusticia y la desigualdad extremas o la crisis ambiental y sus posibles soluciones tienen, también una dimensión religiosa. Prpopone fundir la sensibilidad por la justicia propia de las religiones semíticas con el énfasis en la superación de la ilusión que enseñan las tradiciones asiáticas de iluminación. No se trata de un retorno de los valores religiosos sino reconocer que las obsesiones seculares creadas por la religión del mercado son síntomas de una necesidad espiritual que éste no puede satisfacer.

  15. Politicization in the Name of the Majority: The Role of Cultural, Economic, and Political Grievances

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernd Simon

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The article reports two experiments that examined politicization in the name of the majority population and intergroup polarization as a function of perceived grievances of the majority population. To manipulate perceived majority grievances, we used three different injustice frames (cultural, economic, political, each of which targeted an important arena of societal participation and thus a typical breeding ground for societal injustices and psychological grievances. In addition, both experiments included a (no frame control condition. The samples recruited for the two experiments differed from each other in (left–right political orientation and consequently in their perceptions of and reactions to potential majority grievances. The most striking differential influences were observed for the cultural grievance symbolized by the political correctness norm. However, both experiments provided evidence that majority politicization mediates the effect of majority grievances on intergroup polarization and that, in contrast to the divisive role of majority politicization, majority solidarity likely fosters social inclusion.

  16. Reason, Rhythm, and Rituality. Reinterpreting Religious Cult from a Postmodern, Phenomenological Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martina Roesner

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Contemporary philosophy of religion is often focused, at a theoretical level, on the epistemic value of religious doctrines, and at a practical level, on the possible impact of organized religion on secular society and politics. However, the cultic dimension of religion, such as prayer, religious service, ascetic practices, and other rituals, is considered as completely “irrational” and incomprehensible from a secular perspective and therefore often neglected by postmodern philosophy. The paper intends to call into question this rather simplistic interpretation by retracing the historical origins of the devaluation of religious symbolism in occidental thought, which culminates in Kant’s philosophy of religion. We then shall analyze to what extent certain paradoxical aspects of Habermas’ view on religion can be interpreted as consequences of the dilemma brought about by the Kantian dichotomy between man as moral subject and man as natural, sensible being. In a third step, we shall develop an alternative, phenomenological interpretation, which does not consider religious practice as a primitive, irrational phenomenon but as a proto-ethical schematism that aims at integrating the sphere of pure practical reason into the rhythmic structure of living, embodied consciousness.

  17. MAJOR EVENTS IN THE ARAB ORDER: THE DECLINE OF SUSTAINABILITY AND THE TRANSITION TO ECONOMIC RESILIENCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    RALUCA IOANA OPREA

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The Arab world particularities are not solely the ones derived from natural wealth (oil and gas, but are also driven from historical particularities which mark this region, together with specific Islamic politics and economic organizational framework, with deep roots in religious concepts. In a global context, where the rules from the West are the ones leading globalization, the Arab World brings its contribution, even though the Islamic space defines a different socio-economic concept. In the East lies a series of features that place the Arab world in a different plan than the one shown frequently in the discussions about world order, with geopolitical but also economic implications. Conflicts in this region lead to declining sustainable development and trigger the need to strengthen the economic resilience. As the least peaceful region of the contemporary world, Arab World integrated the concept of economic resilience, in order to recover from shocks and continue further development.

  18. The political economy of dignity: monitoring the advancement of socio-economic human rights in a globalized economy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Biermans, M.

    2005-01-01

    The dichotomy between political and socio-economic rights has been subject to criticism ever since the proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, almost sixty years ago. The declaration itself leaves little doubt regarding the interconnectedness between both types of human rights.

  19. Homoeconomico-politicus, Scientific Consciousness, and the Defense of Fundamental Values in the Context of the Climate Change Crisis: The Challenge of Scientific Responsibility for the Future of Economic and Political Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Winston P Nagan

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The general framework of this paper is to focus on the evolution of scientific consciousness and the dramatic technological developments it has generated, which have vital and highly consequential consequences for social organization on a global basis. The central fact about the current technological revolution is the enormous challenges it provides for political and economic decision-making. The political and economic choices are often merged in a symbiotic wave of challenges. In politics, we have understood the background and challenges that confront homopoliticus. These challenges are even more pronounced as challenges for homoeconomicus. In short, homoeconomico-politicus is both an observer and a participator in the challenges of dramatic technological change. What ties these two concepts together is that they are fed by a form of scientific consciousness. Dramatic forces of change, now unleashed, literally require new paradigms of political and economic thinking to inform wise policy makers about sensible political and economic choices. Both economics and politics are dramatically interrelated and shaped by the philosophy of science known as Logical Positivism. The problem with this approach is that it demands a form of scientific objectivity that rigorously excludes the study of values in the science of politics and economics. But the broader level of scientific consciousness would virtually require that these disciplines adequately account for the value implications of their work. These generalized comments may be an appropriate introduction to a deeper understanding of the impact of technological changes on the organization of political economy at all levels of social organization from the local to the global. One of the issues that we seek to underscore in this paper is a better understanding of the idea of economic consciousness. It would seem to be obvious that economic consciousness influences economic theory and practice. In this

  20. The Reform of the Procedural Religious Court Law Based on Islamic Law in Indonesian Legal System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abdullah Gofar

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The history of the development of religious courts and the inner atmosphere struggle of Muslims in Indonesia which faced the state’s political force in the New Order era has brought forth the religious procedural law. Article 54 of The 1989 Law No.7 stated that "the applicable law in the Religious Courts are applicable procedural law in the General Court, except those specifically regulated in this law." Philosophically, the Western law both civil substantive law (Burgerlijke Wetboek and formal law/civil procedure (HIR and Rbg, prepared using the approach of individualism, secular, the optical properties of the nature legal dispute was seen as objects (Zaak which is sheer material. While the substantive law in religious courts is the law derived from Islamic law that stem from philosophical values of Islam. So, the presence of the Religious Courts in the scope of judicial in Indonesia still raises problems, including: Why is the western law of civil procedure which promote the value of materialism and formal correctness adopted into religious procedural law, whereas the philosophical orientation is not aligned with the substantive law based on Islamic law, and what are the efforts to reform the reformulation of procedural law of religious courts.

  1. The models of the future, climatic change and economical scenari: scientifical and political stakes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dahan Dalmedico, A.

    2007-01-01

    The years 1960-1970 are the opening of a debate, launching by the Club of Rome, on the growth and the limits of the earth resources. This report is at the origin of an intellectual topic based on mathematical simulation, about the today sustainable development. At the end of the years 80, arrives the global warming. After the Rio convention in 1992, a global governmental process is implementing especially with the Kyoto protocol. The hybridization grows up between scientists and politicians. This report presents the different aspects of the problem, scientifical, epidemiological, economical and political. It presents the prospective simulation tools and their political use. It analyzes the implementing of the climatic regime since 1988 and precises the bonds between scientifical expertise and global governance. (A.L.B.)

  2. CHINESE BUSINESSMEN AND “LEADERS” IN MADRID: POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Betrisey Nadali

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the emergence of “leaders” of the Chinese community in Madrid, based on a study of a conflict that was brief but significant; specifically, the social protests carried out by shopkeepers and workers in the central district of Lavapiés in 2005 and 2006, and who were protesting against a controversial municipal regulations on trade. What is interesting about this study is the way that it analyses – through this experience of the mobilisation and representation of their community – the way in which these “leaders” were constituted as political entities, with links to the main relevant social actors (associationist movements, political parties and economic groups in Madrid and how they co-opted a certain ability to represent the collective by incorporating such complex, symbolic elements as “being Chinese”, social class, affiliation to local parties and discourses on belonging to the welcoming country. The analysis shows, furthermore, that the various expressions of ethnicity do not represent a fixed, inert reality, but rather a dynamic process which, in addition to the actual paths of the main characters, takes shape based on the context in which it is immersed.

  3. ANALYSIS OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF GENDER EQUALITY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khatuna BERISHVILI

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Term “gender” means socially constructed roles of man and woman, which are ascribed to them according to gender marker. Thus, gender roles depend on concrete socio-economic, political and culturological context and experience influence of various factors according to race, ethnic origin, class, sexual orientation and age. Gender roles widely differ within each culture and cultures. Unlike the individual’s biological gender, the gender role can be changed. This concept implies the views, conditioned by culture, about the intellectual potentials of man and woman, their personal features and behavior. Gender, as a construct, is formed by the society, as a social model of man and woman, which determines their role and position in all the spheres of the public life. To measure gender, like other hard-to-measure events, is of importance, in order to compare the countries, to identify the problems and to try their correction. It may be said that it enables us to disclose focus of the problems and in case of existence of proper will to positively act on it. Gender is multi-component and hard to measure. Research of the gender equality problems is important for the global business. Gender is a cultural construct, within which our different cultures attach different values, roles and responsibilities to men and women. It should be mentioned that the problems of women’s rights along with other barriers impeding achievement of the gender equality, have long been significant for the leading countries of Europe and America. However, one problem still remains – barriers of the so-called “Glass Ceiling”, which impede carrier advance of the female representatives. At the same time, in the countries, being on the lower level, a woman is still considered to be a being of secondary importance, which has no right to work and, compared with a man, no equal conditions to be educated. To this are added the religious laws of Islamic countries, which

  4. Religion and politics in conflict: Paul Stuart Wright and the 1964 coup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Márcio Ananias Ferreira Vilela

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available In this article, we seek to understand the implications of Paulo Stuart Wright´s political and religious action. Beginning with the civil and military coup of 1964, it suffered a strong reaction from majority sectors in the Presbyterian Church of Brazil that started to perceive him as a threat to the religious community and to society itself. The following period was marked by an intense political conflict in Brazil. This contributed for the person in question to be expelled from the Church, have his mandate as a state representative for Santa Catarina impeached, be exiled, live in clandestinity and, later on in the 1970s, be murdered by the organs of repression. Thus, his trajectory bears many similarities to those of others who marked the recent history of Brazil.

  5. Engaging nuns: Exiled english convents and the politics of exclusion, 1590-1829

    OpenAIRE

    Watkinson, C.

    2016-01-01

    This thesis addresses the communities of English women religious founded after the Reformation on the other side of the Channel from a new perspective. In echoes of contemporary Protestant propaganda, debates about nuns remain too often framed by a discourse around themes such as passivity or the idea of forced vocations. The mere fact that women religious played a role in such propaganda suggests, however, that they also figured in debates about identity and political order. These were, more...

  6. Destroying the National-Spiritual Values of Ukrainians during the Anti-Religious Offensive of the Soviet Totalitarian State in the 1960s and 1970s

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Kindrachuk

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the church and religious life of Ukrainians in the context of national and political processes during the 1960s and 1970s. The author characterizes the anti-religious policy of the Soviet government, shows its directions, forms, and methods, studies the attitude of Ukraine’s title nation representatives to religious persecution and to manipulation of religious consciousness by the communist leadership, and highlights comprehensive atheistic activities and the elimination of the ways for reviving religiosity among people. The author reveals the essence, the process of creating and artificially enforcing the new Soviet ritualism in Ukrainians’ lives. This ritualism has become a convenient tool for popularizing communist ideology in the Ukrainian SSR, destroying historical memory and undermining the national identity of the Ukrainian people. The new Soviet ritualism was also a means for implementing the policy of denationalizing Ukrainians, beginning with the age-old religious oppression of Ukrainian customs, traditions, and rituals. The model of state-church policy of the Soviet power in the described period was based on the use of a variety of forms and methods of struggle against religion, including: a comprehensive control over clergy activities, destruction of religious sites and sacred objects, as well as administrative, moral, and political pressure on believers. Displacing religion, the Soviet totalitarian state destroyed not only native religious customs of the Ukrainian people, but also violated the principles of the centuries-old traditional culture and undermined the national fortitude of Ukrainians.

  7. PAZ, PRI, AND PROGRESS: OCTAVIO PAZ’S POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND LITERARY STRUGGLE TO INSPIRE REFORM IN TWENTIETH-CENTURY MEXICO

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Gene Pace

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Throughout most of the twentieth century; Mexico’s political and economic policies were heavily influenced by the Partido Revolucionario Institutional (PRI. The landmark 1998 victory by Vicente Fox, the first presidential candidate in seven decades to win without the official sanction of the PRI,marked an important milestone in Mexican history; Octavio Paz, an eloquent proponent of political, economic, and social reform, sought for decades to inspire change. This paper seeks to illuminate Paz’s economic philosophy, and to demonstrate how the acclaimed writer, through courageous symbolic action coupled with an inimitable and potent pen, challenged the PRI’s hegemony in Mexico and contributed to the historic election he almost lived to celebrate (an elderly Paz died shortly before the historic 1998 election.“The Aztec ritual of 2 October [1968] in the Plaza de Tlatelolco. . . convinced me to abandon the Mexican Foreign Service.”“October 2, 1968 ended the student movement. It also ended an era in thehistory of Mexico.”

  8. Political and economic conjuncture in Brazil (1950-1964: a fertile land for the 1964 coup d'État

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    FABIANO FARIAS DE SOUZA

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The years preceding the 1964 coup d’état in Brazil were marked by turbulent political moments that contributed to the accomplishment of joints and conspiracies that were plotting the overthrow of President João Goulart, seen as a solution to the end of the economic, political and social crises taking place successively in the country. In this period, society was divided between the proposals of the left and right of the political debate in effect at that time. Thus, we analyze the circumstances that forged an enabling environment for identified civil and military that communed common interest in replacing the ruling power by taking control of the Brazilian State.

  9. The Politics of Dependence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cockburn, Patrick Joseph

    The central claim of this book is that thinking about ‘dependence’ should be at the core of political theory principally because it helps us to think about issues of economic justice. Unlike political theories that either condemn or celebrate dependence, the book argues that dependence...... is an inescapable fact of social life, neither good nor bad in itself. The real political issues are about how we as a society organise and judge various forms of dependence. And this is, in fact, what much political debate is about if we dig beneath the surface. On the one hand, we disagree about how we should...... organise vulnerability; on the other hand, we disagree about who we should condemn as parasitical. Vulnerability and parasitism are thus key concepts for understanding political debate about forms of dependence. Showing the tension between these two sides to the problem of economic dependence...

  10. Dressing religious bodies in public spaces: gender, clothing and negotiations of stigma among Jews in Paris and muslims in London.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Endelstein, Lucine; Ryan, Louise

    2013-06-01

    In recent years religious clothing has become prevalent across many European cities, making religious bodies more visible in public spaces. This paper brings together our separate research on Jews in Paris and Muslims in London. While recognising the clear differences between these two socio-political contexts and distinct religious groups, we suggest that a focus on clothing allows us to consider some points of similarity and difference in the presentation of gendered religious bodies, particularly in situations of heightened stigmatisation. We draw upon Goffman's notion of impression management, in contexts of risks and threats, to explore how individuals experience and negotiate self presentation as members of stigmatised religious groups. We use rich qualitative data based on indepth interviews to consider how, when faced with collective stigmatisation, actors make deliberate and measured choices to present themselves and attempt to impression manage.

  11. Thinking beyond Secularism: The Catholic Church and Political Practice in Rural South India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aparna Sundar

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This article re-opens the debate on secularism in India by looking at a religion and a region that has historically been marginal to this discourse, focusing on the way in which the Catholic Church has historically mediated the relationship between individuals and the state, among the fishing communities of South India. The Catholic Church’s dominant position among the fishing communities, its minority status within India, as well as theological and other shifts that have taken place within the global Church, lead it to articulate a secular, even radical politics as its primary mode of religious engagement. Radical clergy, many from fishing backgrounds, act as both organic and traditional intellectuals in the Gramscian sense, linking the traditional religious concerns of the Church to the secular interests of their parishioners. Likewise, villagers participate in Church-generated associations spaces to secure wider political goals. The paper concludes that certain forms of religious organisation in the public sphere might indeed be compatible with democracy, citizenship, and even secularism.

  12. Economic Liberalization and Political Violence

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The liberal promise has permeated international discourses and practices. In the ... Actually, many of the core principles of neoliberalism were specifically conceived of as ...... Di John, J. (2006) “The Political Economy of Taxation and Tax Reform in ...... Malaysia. Ireland. Guatemala. New Zealand. Italy. Honduras. Philippines.

  13. Political model of social evolution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acemoglu, Daron; Egorov, Georgy; Sonin, Konstantin

    2011-12-27

    Almost all democratic societies evolved socially and politically out of authoritarian and nondemocratic regimes. These changes not only altered the allocation of economic resources in society but also the structure of political power. In this paper, we develop a framework for studying the dynamics of political and social change. The society consists of agents that care about current and future social arrangements and economic allocations; allocation of political power determines who has the capacity to implement changes in economic allocations and future allocations of power. The set of available social rules and allocations at any point in time is stochastic. We show that political and social change may happen without any stochastic shocks or as a result of a shock destabilizing an otherwise stable social arrangement. Crucially, the process of social change is contingent (and history-dependent): the timing and sequence of stochastic events determine the long-run equilibrium social arrangements. For example, the extent of democratization may depend on how early uncertainty about the set of feasible reforms in the future is resolved.

  14. Pirate political parties: New democracy or political utopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karanović Bojana

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Modern society is changing under the influence of IT technologies, more and more we talk about 'digital revolution', and political and economic developments are shaped by computer networks. Undeniably, the Internet has opened new possibilities for socio-political expansion, networking and mobilization. Besides the political establishment, many social movements found their chance in cyberspace recognizing the IT technology as a platform for the development and improvement of their internal and external communication. In this article we will focus on the Pirate Party, movement that has been seriously growing on the European political stage for last several years. Following the example of German Pirate Party we will try to explain the characteristics of the movement, its goals and communication strategies, and political dilemmas which it brings.

  15. Technological, political and economic changes and their implications for the evolution of broadcasting services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tadayoni, Reza

    2000-01-01

    The subject of this Ph.D. thesis is changes in the market for broadcasting services as a result of technological, political, and economic drivers. Broadcasting services can be categorised as a part of the ICT-based information and knowledge intensive services that have gone through radical changes...... and demand sites, scarcity of transmission resources, and the historical aspects that make the development of the broadcasting service market different from other information and knowledge intensive services....

  16. Religious Groups and Their Influence on Interstate Relations (The Case of U.S.-Israel Relations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Istomin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The impact of interest groups on foreign policy of the state up until today has not received substantial attention in the theory of international relations. In particular, activities of the entities shaped by the common religious affiliation of their members lack assessment in the academic literature. Meanwhile, their mobilization in the recent decades became significant aspect of political life both in developing and developed countries. The activity of religious groups in the United States forced deep transformation of the national political landscape, as they desire to affect not only internal debate, but external policies as well. Among other issues attention of such social and political bodies is also focused on the situation in the middle East. Their proactive standing facilitated advancement of the partnership between the United States and Israel, including growth of American diplomatic and military aid to Tel-Aviv. The supporters of such policy include not only small, but well organized Jewish community, but also representatives of the conservative Evangelical Protestants, which constitute the most numerous religious group in the U.S. Despite the fact that leaders of both group often use theological reasons to justify their support for Israel, the real motivation of the most regular members is primarily humanitarian and pragmatic. The diversity of the Pro-Israeli groups promotes bipartisan support of cooperation between the two countries, and enabled creation of both Democratic and Republican lobby on this issue. However the growing criticism of the current policy of Tel-Aviv on behalf of some of the adherents of American-Israeli cooperation leads to the erosion of impact of these groups.

  17. Socio-Economic and Cultural Factors Influencing Access and Success of Women in Political Leadership in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaluyu, Veronicah

    2015-01-01

    In the 21st century, women and leadership have been a global topical issue, especially with countries trying to interpret and implement the millennium development goals, and with increased awareness of human rights. In Africa, political leadership among women has had its own challenges that range from social, cultural and even economic factors. In…

  18. Modern standardization case studies at the crossroads of technology, economics, and politics

    CERN Document Server

    Schneiderman, R

    2015-01-01

    Modern Standardization -- Case Studies at the Crossroads of Technology, Economics, and Politics covers the development of new technical standards, how these standards are typically triggered, and how they are submitted to standards development organizations (SDOs) for review and evaluation. It fills the gap in the shortage of reference material in the development of real-world standards. The increasing pace of innovation in technology has accelerated the competitive nature of standardization, particularly in emerging markets. Modern Standardization addresses these and other issues through a series of case studies in a format designed for academics and their engineering, business, and law school students.

  19. Does equality legislation reduce intergroup differences? Religious affiliation, socio-economic status and mortality in Scotland and Northern Ireland: A cohort study of 400,000 people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wright, David M; Rosato, Michael; Raab, Gillian; Dibben, Chris; Boyle, Paul; O'Reilly, Dermot

    2017-05-01

    Religion frequently indicates membership of socio-ethnic groups with distinct health behaviours and mortality risk. Determining the extent to which interactions between groups contribute to variation in mortality is often challenging. We compared socio-economic status (SES) and mortality rates of Protestants and Catholics in Scotland and Northern Ireland, regions in which interactions between groups are profoundly different. Crucially, strong equality legislation has been in place for much longer and Catholics form a larger minority in Northern Ireland. Drawing linked Census returns and mortality records of 404,703 people from the Scottish and Northern Ireland Longitudinal Studies, we used Poisson regression to compare religious groups, estimating mortality rates and incidence rate ratios. We fitted age-adjusted and fully adjusted (for education, housing tenure, car access and social class) models. Catholics had lower SES than Protestants in both countries; the differential was larger in Scotland for education, housing tenure and car access but not social class. In Scotland, Catholics had increased age-adjusted mortality risk relative to Protestants but variation among groups was attenuated following adjustment for SES. Those reporting no religious affiliation were at similar mortality risk to Protestants. In Northern Ireland, there was no mortality differential between Catholics and Protestants either before or after adjustment. Men reporting no religious affiliation were at increased mortality risk but this differential was not evident among women. In Scotland, Catholics remained at greater socio-economic disadvantage relative to Protestants than in Northern Ireland and were also at a mortality disadvantage. This may be due to a lack of explicit equality legislation that has decreased inequality by religion in Northern Ireland during recent decades. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Lev Vygotsky between two revolutions: on the political self-determination of the scientist

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir S. Sobkin

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper presented texts of the three previously unknown Lvygotsky’s journal notes and comments on them. These texts were published in mid-July and early September 1917 in the Jewish weekly «New Path» under the pseudonym «L.S.» and «W». In these texts, Lev Vygotsky describes the features of the political behaviour of the Jewish population in connection with the revolutionary events in Russia. On the one hand, a clear discrepancy between the activation of party work and political rhetoric is mentioned, and on the other hand, reduction of the significance of Jewish communal life is highlighted. As a key characteristic of social and psychological wellbeing of the Jewish population Vygotsky singles out absenteeism, i.e. the lack of interest in politics. Eventually the scientist captures the increase in uncertainty in the Jewish environment and fear of the future political, social and economic reforms in Russia. In the comments on Vygotsky notes, there are definitions relating to the various features of the activities of the Jewish political parties and public organizations, information about various policy documents and staff characterized by social and political situation before the elections in the Consituent Assembly (Uchreditel’noe Sobranie. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of stylistic and structural features of the commented text construction. By implicit quoting the relationship between Vygotsky’s texts and the works of other authors is identified. Particular attention is paid to the author’s attitude to religious texts, which allows to select a characteristic feature of the «double vision» of real events of the revolution against the background of the Jewish history. The comments help to single out features of the political identity of the young Lev Vygotsky in the period between the two revolutions, which is important to study his biography and understanding of his world view.

  1. S(eoul Search: The Changing Religious Landscape in Seoul and Its Implications for Defining “Asia”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nami Kim

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available There is a saying that if one looks at Seoul at night from afar, one will see a large city covered with neon-lit red crosses. It is also said that a Christian church can be found on every other block in the streets of Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea (also known as South Korea. To be sure, this is not the case. Yet this embellished illustration of Seoul as a Christian symbol of a cross-covered city conveys the message that Christianity is no longer a foreign or a Western religion, but has, rather, become a major religious tradition in South Korea as represented in its capital. Christianity may not be the majority religion in terms of demographics, but it has certainly become a dominant religion in terms of social and political influence as well as economic power in South Korea.

  2. Religious extremism: The case of Sudan's Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Noah K. Tenai

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The recent case of the arrest, prosecution and imprisonment of Mariam Yahya Ibrahim Ishag of Sudan has drawn attention to the place of Islamic sharia law in contemporary, diverse and multireligious communities and nation states. Islamic sharia law was used to charge Mariam of apostasy; she was subsequently sentenced to 100 lashes followed by hanging. Religious extremism and one of its resultant effects, namely persecution, particularly of women and other minorities, is a persistent hindrance to ongoing efforts against poverty responses. Religious extremism goes against the spirit of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights, of which many nation states are signatories. The Catholic vows of consecration � poverty, chastity and obedience � are very helpful perspectives that can assist in pursuing responses to religious extremism and the resultant intolerance, persecution and dispossession.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: Drawing from the Roman Catholic Church�s vows of consecration, the article argues for a stance that communities can take in situations that call for solidarity with people in vulnerable situations.

  3. From Religious Education to Secular Education in the Official Curriculum of Primary Education in Mexico (1821-1917

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adelina Arredondo

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available The history of the curriculum is a window to observe the changes and permanences of the school and of the educational system as a whole and for understanding social transformations. The aim of this article is to explain how the curriculum of the primary school (Mexico of the nineteenth century was changed from one centred on Catholic formation towards a secular curriculum. The school curriculum was one of the spearheads to build the state and society projects imagined by the different groups fighting for the control of power. I described how religious education was officially promoted, notwithstanding the political ups and downs that led to differentiate educational policies in federal systems and centralist regimes. Later, I explain how religious education was omitted from the official curriculum, replacing the space with courses of laic morals, with the consequent difficulty of introducing a new subject. Then I analyse how political circumstances led to a radicalization of liberal positions and to the prohibition not only of religious content, but also of symbols, rites and persons linked with religious vows. Finally, secular education, understood in a complex way, began to be demanded not only in public schools but also in private schools. Due to the nature of this article and the spatial limitations I have privileged the follow-up of the legislative history of education, based on primary sources and secondary sources for the understanding of the different contexts that determine this long journey.

  4. Deprivation and non-institutional political participation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ejrnæs, Anders

    2017-01-01

    This article examines how the relationship between perceived economic deprivation (PED) and non-institutional forms of political activity interacted with institutional trust during the economic crisis in 24 European countries. Using multi-level regression analysis, two broad questions are addressed......: (1) does PED have an impact on the level of non-institutional political participation among European citizens? And (2) does the level of institutional trust within countries have an impact on the relationship between PED and political activity among European citizens? The empirical analyses are based...... the opposite correlation on an individual level within the countries. Second, the analysis provides evidence that the institutional context shapes the connection between PED and political participation on the individual level. In countries with a high level of institutional trust, economically deprived...

  5. “Secularism”: A Key to Turkish Politics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dietrich Jung

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: In posing Serif Mardin’s question of Turkey’s center-periphery relations in a revised version, this article considers secularism to be a key to understanding Turkish politics. It views the confrontation between secularists and Islamists in the light of Turkey’s center-periphery polarization and identifies the secularist doctrine of Kemalism as a major obstacle to democratic political change. The protection of Turkey’s secular order developed into the ideological cornerstone of Kemalist rule, which ranks prime amongst the ideological tools used to justify the political supremacy of the Turkish armed forces. Examining the interrelation between secularism and the almost religious cult around Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the article concludes that the increasing visibility of Islamic symbols and practices in Turkey is a logical consequence of the country’s current European Union(EU reform process, rather than a sign of Turkey’s deviation from its political and societal modernization process.

  6. Girls' and Boys' Reasoning on Cultural and Religious Practices: A Human Rights Education Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Wet, Annamagriet; Roux, Cornelia; Simmonds, Shan; ter Avest, Ina

    2012-01-01

    Human rights play a vital role in citizens' political, religious and cultural life (Wang 2002, 171). Due to the prominence of human rights in the everyday life of citizens, including those of South Africa, human rights education has been included in many school curricula. Human rights education aims to develop responsible citizens who "inter…

  7. Religious morality (and secular humanism) in Western civilization as precursors to medical ethics: A historic perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faria, Miguel A.

    2015-01-01

    In discussing bioethics and the formulation of neuroethics, the question has arisen as to whether secular humanism should be the sole philosophical guiding light, to the exclusion of any discussion (or even mention) of religious morality, in professional medical ethics. In addition, the question has arisen as to whether freedom or censorship should be part of medical (and neuroscience) journalism. Should independent medical journals abstain from discussing certain issues, or should only the major medical journals — i.e., the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) or Lancet — be heard, speaking with one “consensual,” authoritative voice? This issue is particularly important in controversial topics impacting medical politics — e.g., public health policy, socio-economics, bioethics, and the so-called redistributive justice in health care. Should all sides be heard when those controversial topics are discussed or only a consensual (monolithic) side? This historical review article discusses those issues and opts for freedom in medical and surgical practice as well as freedom in medical journalism, particularly in opinion pieces such as editorials, commentaries, or letters to the editor, as long as they relate to medicine and, in our special case, to neuroscience and neurosurgery. After answering those questions, and in response to a critical letter to the editor, this review article then expounds comprehensively on the historical and philosophical origins of ethics and religious morality. Necessarily, we discuss the Graeco-Roman legacy and the Judeo-Christian inheritance in the development of ethics and religious morality in Western civilization and their impact on moral conduct in general and on medical and neuroscience ethics in particular. PMID:26110085

  8. Il viaggio religioso come strumento geopolitico. Il pellegrinaggio sciita e l’emergere dell’alleanza regionale tra Iran e Siria - Religious travelling as geopolitical instrument. The Shia pilgrimage and the rise of the regional alliance between Iran and Syria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maurizio Scaini

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Religious pilgrimage is almost as old as the history of men. This phenomenon has often been instrumentalized for political ends, creating the premises for new colonization processes, exerting local hegemonies or reinforcing strategic alliances. This article examines the recent re-discovery, in Shia perspective, of the holy sites in Syria. This “re-discovery” which initially was intended as anti-Iraq and pro-Iran has developed social implications and regional significance which cannot be thoroughly assessed for the moment. Among these there is an interesting gender issue. Women offer themselves as cultural mediators and therefore manage to increase their autonomy and obtain an economic independence which they propagate at home. Pilgrimage thus reveals itself as a kind of travel with strong political connotations.

  9. Political motivations for intra-European migration.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bygnes, Susanne; Flipo, Aurore

    2017-08-01

    Motivations for migrating within the European Union have mainly been attributed to economic, career and lifestyle choices. This article suggests that political dissatisfaction is also an important motivator of recent intra-European migration. In our analysis of in-depth interviews with Romanian migrants in Spain and with Spanish migrants in Norway, we found a common emphasis on the political dimensions of their decision to migrate. In the interviews, the economic component of migration was often related to bad governance and negative perceptions of the state. The similarities of Spanish and Romanian migration narratives are especially striking because Spain and Romania represent substantially different migratory, political and economic contexts. However, migration is more obviously intertwined with conventional acts of political protest in the Spanish case. We suggest that differences in democratic contexts are pivotal in people's reactions to and framing of their deep dissatisfaction with domestic politics, as found in many European countries today.

  10. Managing Religious Conflicts in Nigeria: The Inter-Religious ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2015-05-29

    May 29, 2015 ... pay special attention to this challenge by putting in place innovative structures ... mediation strategy in terms of religious conflict management, prevention ..... Peace Moves towards Resolving Religious Conflicts in Nigeria.

  11. REVIEW ARTICLE The evolution of religious belief in humans: A ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Navya

    2017-04-04

    Apr 4, 2017 ... religion provides, while the by-product theorists have addressed the origins of .... other, which could explain why the results of economic games show high ..... L. M., Ellison, C. G.and Taylor, R. J. 1996 Religious involvement,.

  12. Understanding religious behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, S

    1979-01-01

    The attached (to mother) fetus-infant finds his religious expression in Buddhism. The attached (to group) juvenile finds his religious expression in Judaism and other tribalisms. The attached (to spouse) adult finds his religious expression in agnosticism and secularism. Attached phases are placid and of progressively decreasing emotional intensity. The three detaching phases are hurtful and hence soteriological, and are also of progressively decreasing emotional intensity. The toddler-young child finds his religious expression in Christianity, the adolescent in atheism and/or Marxism, and the aged, sick or dying plucks at any religious or secular aid.

  13. Commodification of Religious Tradition: Critical Study on Religious Tradition Tourism Haul at Pasar Kliwon Surakarta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Ferri Setiawan

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available The policy on tourism development program of Surakarta especially on the calendar of the event takes advantage from religious tradition as tourism commodity. The purpose of this study is to describe the religious tradition haul, the programs by the tourism department of Surakarta, and how commodification through a well implemented marketing communications process, messaging, and other media, as well as responses from the audience regarding the marketing of haul tradition in general toward creating a leading tourism object. Haul which is a tradition for commemorating the death of clerics (ulama who are followed by some local communities in Surakarta, especially those in Pasar Kliwon Regency, is utilized in tourism. Through critical study, the cultural values that are supposed to be preserved, changed into marketing values to attract visitors. The used media are the advertisement and the calendar of events. The local community gain advantages economically from this policy, but they object to it socio-culturally. Meanwhile, the tourists are generally interested in haul tradition.

  14. Rings for the Rainbow Family : Religious Opposition to the Introduction of Same-Sex Marriage in Sweden

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Berg, C.A.M.

    2017-01-01

    When Sweden introduced same-sex marriage in 2009, this change in legislation was preceded by a well-organized, professional campaign of an alliance of various religious leaders. Since political support for a gender neutral marriage law was substantial and public opinion in favor, the question that

  15. Technology for whom: too dear to work. [Political, economic, and social problems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stewart, F

    1978-01-01

    In spite of growth in per capita gross national product, less-developed countries (LDCs) continue to have large numbers of people who are unemployed and living in extreme poverty. The failure of advanced technology to create adequate jobs has led to a strong movement for more appropriate technology. Advanced technology is inappropriate because the capital costs per employee are too high to equip enough workers, plants are built on too large a scale for the market, and the combination creates an economic enclave which ignores the rest of the population. Appropriate technology gives priority to the basic needs of the poor and includes raising their income level by expanding productive employment. This requires inexpensive, small-scale technology that needs few skills and uses local materials. More technological research and development is needed in the LDCs as well as changes in the way income and investment resources are distributed, but this will entail changing the decision making process to include political and socio-economic considerations.

  16. The Impact of Economic and Political Factors on the 2010 Turkish Referendum

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harun YÜKSEL

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The referendum held on September 12, 2010 included fundamental changes in Turkish constitution related with the social, judicial and economic aspects. We are of the opinion that the referendum offered a general view on the reflections of government policies, since the incumbent party, Justice and Development Party (AKP, officially supported the proposed changes and the main opposition parties, Republican People’s Party (CHP and Nationalist Action Party (MHP, were opposed. We tested the effects of political tendencies on the referendum results using provincial data. The results show that the “yes” votes are higher in the provinces where AKP has a stronger base, and lower in the provinces where the opposition parties, especially CHP, have stronger bases. Moreover, our analyses imply that referendum votes are higher where economic conditions are getting relatively better in the last year. However, we could not find a positive effect of public spending on the patterns of voting.

  17. Economics vis-à-vis Politics of Venezuela under the Chavez Regime 1998-2012

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramesh Chandra Das

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available In today’s world most of the countries are following the market rule to determine their economic determinants with some to follow the mixed role of the government. There are a very few countries or states that are following the socialistic nature of development. One such country is Venezuela which has a long history of socialism and the degree of socialism got magnified under the regime of Hugo Chavez. The last election result in favour of Chavez has put some questions before the economists and politicians regarding its grounds. The present study has been framed in line with examining whether the role of economic factors have done the trick for Chavez to regain the presidential power. The study for the period of 1998-2010 has observed that the country has suffered in major economic factors compared to two Latin heroes Brazil and Argentina, albeit he has won the election. The study further observed that there are certain political grounds that played role for the favourable verdict.

  18. Ranking the adaptive capacity of nations to climate change when socio-political goals are explicit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Haddad, B.M. [University of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)

    2005-07-01

    The typical categories for measuring national adaptive capacity to climate change include a nation's wealth, technology, education, information, skills, infrastructure, access to resources, and management capabilities. Resulting rankings predictably mirror more general rankings of economic development, such as the Human Development Index. This approach is incomplete since it does not consider the normative or motivational context of adaptation. For what purpose or toward what goal does a nation aspire, and in that context, what is its adaptive capacity? This paper posits 11 possible national socio-political goals that fall into the three categories of teleological legitimacy, procedural legitimacy, and norm-based decision rules. A model that sorts nations in terms of adaptive capacity based on national socio-political aspirations is presented. While the aspiration of maximizing summed utility matches typical existing rankings, alternative aspirations, including contractarian liberalism, technocratic management, and dictatorial/religious rule alter the rankings. An example describes how this research can potentially inform how priorities are set for international assistance for climate change adaptation. (author)

  19. Do political or economic factors drive healthcare financing privatisations? Empirical evidence from OECD countries

    OpenAIRE

    Wiese, Rasmus

    2013-01-01

    This paper adds new empirical evidence to the political economy literature of economic reform. One of the main contributions of this paper is the development of a novel methodology to identify privatisations. The methodology is a combination of the Bai & Perron structural break filter, and validation of the breaks identified by this filter using de jure evidence of reforms. 21 de facto healthcare financing privatisations are identified in a sample of 23 OECD countries. It is analysed which fa...

  20. Renegotiating Arab Civil-Military Relations: Political and Economic ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    At a time of unprecedented political transitions in the Arab world, this project will ... While the Arab revolts brought with them a wave of political change and ... Sign up now for IDRC news and views sent directly to your inbox each month.

  1. Blasphemous feminist art: Incarnate politics of identity in post secular society

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Korte, Anne-Marie

    2014-01-01

    Among the increasing number of publicly exhibited works of art that have become accused of blasphemy or sacrilege in the context of cultural identity politics in Western societies, religiously connoted feminist art works and performances seem to stand out and to fulfil a particularly provocative

  2. The politics of Piketty: what political science can learn from, and contribute to, the debate on Capital in the twenty-first century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hopkin, Jonathan

    2014-12-01

    Thomas Piketty's imposing volume has brought serious economics firmly into the mainstream of public debate on inequality, yet political science has been mostly absent from this debate. This article argues that political science has an essential contribution to make to this debate, and that Piketty's important and powerful book lacks a clear political theory. It develops this argument by first assessing and critiquing the changing nature of political science and its account of contemporary capitalism, and then suggesting how Piketty's thesis can be complemented, extended and challenged by focusing on the ways in which politics and collective action shape the economy and the distribution of income and wealth. Although Capital's principal message is that 'capital is back' and that without political interventions active political interventions will continue to grow, a political economy perspective would suggest another rather more fundamental critique: the very economic forces Piketty describes are embedded in institutional arrangements which can only be properly understood as political phenomena. In a sense capital itself - the central concept of the book - is almost meaningless without proper consideration of its political foundations. Even if the fact of capital accumulation may respond to an economic logic, the process is embedded in a very political logic. The examples of housing policy and the regulation, and failure to regulate, financial markets are used to illustrate these points. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2014.

  3. Religião e política no pensamento de Maquiavel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Luiz Ames

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Para Maquiavel, o que confere valor a uma religião não é a importância de seu fundador, o conteúdo dos ensinamentos, a verdade dos dogmas ou a significação dos mistérios e ritos. Importa não a essência da religião e sim sua função e importância para a vida coletiva. A religião ensina a reconhecer e a respeitar as regras políticas a partir do mandamento religioso. Essa norma coletiva pode assumir tanto o aspecto coercivo exterior da disciplina militar ou da autoridade política quanto o caráter persuasivo interior da educação moral e cívica para a produção do consenso coletivo.For Machiavelli, religion is valued not by the importance of its founder, the content of its teachings, the truth of its dogmas or the significance of its rites. It is not the essence of what really matters but its function and importance for collective life. Religion teaches to recognize and respect political rules through the religious commandments. This collective norm could assume the outer coercive aspect of the military discipline as well as the inner persuasive character of civic and moral education for the production of collective consensus.

  4. The political economics of the permanent war and the political economics of the nuclear war. Strategic approaches for Latin America

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gomez L, I.I.

    2005-01-01

    This work treats on the hypothesis that the American imperialism uses its nuclear arsenal for reforming geographical spaces that allow him to impel its economic development in the context of the progressive exhaustion of the natural resources of the planet and of the ferocious dispute for market niches and investment destinations, and like the political and military decisions crawl to the different scenarios of economic competition. In the chapter 1 it is insinuated like has been reproduced the Warlike-industrial Complex (CBI) American from the second world postwar period until the present time in the idea of explaining like it is that it is valorized to the capital in scale enlarged starting from the denominated sector producing of destruction means and understanding that the system specifically capitalist is a system where continually the is destroyed previously taken place to manufacture a new merchandise in a luck of creative destruction. In the chapter 2, the topic of the specific contradictions of the CBI is approached that disable him to be the tip of lance of the world imperialism. The chapter 3 try on the productive linkages in the production of nuclear bombs, as well as in the production of the vectors of nuclear transportation and on the implications derived for the world security of the different industries associated to the nuclear energy (as the petroleum, the electricity, the natural gas) and to the transportation vectors of these locating which you/they are the different States where the world supremacy is disputed and that they have like one of its so many negotiation-confrontation letters its nuclear strategic arsenals. What is looked for in a thermonuclear war is the enemy's total elimination, from their offensive capacity, their defensive capacity, until their supplies, their reservations, etc., with the result that the chapters 4 and 5 of this thesis are presented to offer a better understanding that they mean the nuclear arsenals in the

  5. Religious Tourism - a Finnish Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Nieminen, Katri

    2012-01-01

    This thesis deals with religious tourism. The objectives of this study are firstly to understand what religious tourism is, who the tourists attracted to religious tourism are, what the destinations and motives for religious holidays are and what the future of religious tourism looks like. This study is limited to dealing with Christian religious tourism. There is a survey made to find out firstly how religious tourism is understood and what the important destinations for religious touri...

  6. Pluralism and Religious Harmony in Religious Elites Perspectives in Malang City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umi Sumbulah

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to understand the religious elite view of pluralism and religious harmony in  Malang. The study was focused on the meaning of pluralism and religious harmony, efforts  and things that support and hinder the realization of religious harmony. Empirical research  data with qualitative-phenomenological approach was collected through interviews and documentation. The results show: first, the meaning of religious pluralism for the religious elites is very varied, which is the same as tolerance, mutual respect, the goal of all religions are the same, and recognize the fact that there are many religions in this world. Second, religiousharmony have meaning as a condition where there is no oppression and domination of one religion over other religions, awakening a deep awareness of diversity, respect for human rights, and the willingness to spread kindness and love for fellow human beings. Third, religious harmony can be achieved through internal efforts to strengthen the faith of each and build awareness to develop a positive attitude towards other religions. In external efforts to create harmony done through emancipatory dialogue and cooperation to resolve humanitarian issues. Fourth, positive attitude that supports the creation of harmony of religions is the willingness and awareness to understand each other and share experiences. Egoism, truth claims, fanaticism, and exclusivism is a negative attitude and expression recognized by the religious elite can interfere with the establishment of inter-religious harmony.

  7. Religious culture and health promotion: care, practice, object

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viola Timm

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available At the margins of modern medical practice, pushing the very limits of science, and indefatigably rendering the precincts of public discourse, still functional remnants of Christian civilization continue to provide care for the hopeless, perform healing sacraments for the incurable, and curate objects of votive devotion for the suffering and needy. These public services go largely unaccounted for, though they secure an ordered world, structure perception, and serve as ontological anchors. Lost in the vague, scientifically unrarified notions of spirituality that brace a general, undifferentiated worldwide metaphysical experience and disregard immense cultural, functional, geographic and performative distinctness, Catholic sacramental practices aimed at alleviating suffering and promoting healthy lifestyles are receiving only marginal mention in scientific literature(1, despite the fact that they make up daily reality in large parts of contemporary Europe and Latin America. Writing this editorial from the Northeast of Brazil, where traditional religious practice has sustained generations through the calamities of severe droughts, slavery, extreme poverty, high child mortality, failed political orders, and a harsh global economic reality, it is difficult to underestimate the power of sacramental experience to sustain a cultural identity. It was defined the concept of care of the sick in the context of the religious experience of the Northeast of Brazil which is historically relevant to health promotion. Until the emergence of national health care in the late nineteenth century, it was largely the order of the Franciscan friars that was charged with promoting healthy lives in the region. The Catholic concept of care that guided their efforts structures three procedural reality principles: the psychological reality of the transference to the person in one’s charge (care/caritas, the performative practice of religious sacrament such as the anointment

  8. Review: Joseph Patrick Ganahl, Corruption, Good Governance, and the African State: A Critical Analysis of the Political-Economic Foundations of Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa (2013)

    OpenAIRE

    Reinhart Kößler; Arnold-Bergstraesser-Institut

    2015-01-01

    Review of the monograph:Joseph Patrick Ganahl, Corruption, Good Governance, and the African State: A Critical Analysis of the Political-Economic Foundations of Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa, Potsdam: Potsdam University Press, 2013, ISBN 9783869562483, 300 pp. Besprechung der Monographie:Joseph Patrick Ganahl, Corruption, Good Governance, and the African State: A Critical Analysis of the Political-Economic Foundations of Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa, Potsdam: Potsdam University Press...

  9. Iranian Religious and Political Influence in Persian Gulf Countries (Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Юлия Игоревна Ильина

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This article is focuses on evolution of Iranian political influence in Persian Gulf countries. It examines theological and political aspects of such influence and its consequences for the region. The author analyses origins of the transnational Shia movements such as “Harakat ar-Risala” and “ad-Dawa” linked with traditional Shia institutions at Najaf and Kerbela, and its ambiguous relationships with post-revolution Iranian elite. In the same way, not all of Shias of Persian Gulf was “fascinated” by “Islamic revolution” in Iran and became admirers of R. Khomeini’s conception of “vilayat-e-faqih”. In addition, the author traces history of local political Shia movements, that are, in fact, more influential on domestic politics of Gulf countries that mythical “Iran’s hand”.

  10. Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Educational Challenges of Administering a Sino-US Joint Venture Campus in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturgut, Osman

    2008-01-01

    This qualitative study explored the political, economic, socio-cultural, and educational challenges of administering a Sino-U.S. joint-venture campus in the People's Republic of China. China American University (CAU) is an educational joint venture between China Investment Company (CIC) and American University (AU) in the U.S. that resulted in…

  11. A Translocal Perspective: Mustang Images in the Cultural, Economic and Political Landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalke, Karen

    2010-12-14

    Translocal spaces are created out of the process of globalization whereby interventions such as electronic media and migration radically change social relations and breakdown the isomorphism of space, place, and culture [1]. This approach is useful in examining the controversy surrounding the mustang. This paper explores how different social constructions influence the management of mustangs as they move between the local and national level. At each cultural level, political, economic, and environmental issues converge encouraging the emphasis of some cultural constructions over others. These socially constructed images give insight into what the mustang means to a post-industrial culture and it may simultaneously contribute to the animal's eventual demise.

  12. Religious diversity and pluralism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahlin, Lars; Borup, Jørn; Fibiger, Marianne Qvortrup

    2012-01-01

    . Religious diversity has grown in Denmark with the arrival of new immigrant groups and with new forms and interpretations of traditional religious and spiritual traditions. More importantly, the relations and interactions between religious groups -- the hallmarks of religious pluralism -- are still incipient...

  13. The End of Cheap Oil: Economic, Social, and Political Change in the US and Former Soviet Union

    OpenAIRE

    Kaufmann, Robert

    2014-01-01

    I use the quality and quantity of energy flows to interpret economic, social, and political changes in the US and Former Soviet Union. The economic successes of both the former Soviet Union (FSU) and the US reflect an abundant supply of high quality energy. This abundance ended in the 1970s in the US and the 1980s in the Former Soviet Union. In the US, the end of cheap oil caused labor productivity to stagnate, which stopped on-going growth in wages and family incomes. To preserve the Ameri...

  14. Religious culture as a barrier?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agergaard, Sine

    2016-01-01

    Political interventions, media coverage and research often refer to the underrepresentation of ethnic minorities, particularly girls and women, participating in physical activity and organised sports. In both public and academic debates, reference is made to the religious culture as a particular...... barrier to participation in sports among Muslim girls and women. This article aims to provide a counter-narrative by focusing on young Muslim girls who simultaneously practice their religion and sports. The main research question was: How do young Danish Muslim girls align participation in sports...... religion as hegemonic, embodied and dynamic cultural phenomena, the analysis points to the diversity through which Muslim girls and women participate and engage in sports. Finally, the article discusses the extent to which counter-narratives may contribute to changing perspectives on so-called hard...

  15. Joint and Combined Military Force: A Possible Solution to African Economic Problems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1992-06-01

    New York Monthly Review Press, N.Y.: 1966). 4. Enzo Falloto and Frenando Henrique Cardoso, Dependencia (Mexico Siglo XX1: 1969). 5. David Apter and...the most volatile and explosive political destabilizers in Africa today is religion . However, religious differences serving as catalysts to political...crises is not peculiar to African. From the beginning of civilization, religion has caused major political crises within and between nations. Nearly

  16. 245 HUMANISM AND THE LAW: TOWARDS AFRICAN ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ike Odimegwu

    economic, political, cultural, religious, technological, scientific, and ... others ethical and political. Goicoechea .... Sartre of ethical relativism based on the latter's thesis that “we ..... proves to be a permanent thorn in the flesh of this theory. Yet.

  17. Managing Mexican Oil: Politics or Economics?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alicia Puyana Mutis

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available During decades the policies towards oil and energy implemented in Mexico have resulted in the de pletion of reserves, the explosion of debt of Pemex (90 per cent of its capital, and the dramatic petrolization of the total fiscal revenue. High prices, the war on terror and political instability in oil rich regions have reinforced usA policy of "energy security" and the interest in the creation of the Common Market on Energy, as the way to strengthen the TLCAN. To respond to these two forces Mexico will have to reform its traditional oil policy. All possible options: to reduce the fiscal burden upon Pemex or to open to private investments the exploration of oil have excruciating political costs, which no government has shown the will to confront.

  18. Neuromodulation of group prejudice and religious belief.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holbrook, Colin; Izuma, Keise; Deblieck, Choi; Fessler, Daniel M T; Iacoboni, Marco

    2016-03-01

    People cleave to ideological convictions with greater intensity in the aftermath of threat. The posterior medial frontal cortex (pMFC) plays a key role in both detecting discrepancies between desired and current conditions and adjusting subsequent behavior to resolve such conflicts. Building on prior literature examining the role of the pMFC in shifts in relatively low-level decision processes, we demonstrate that the pMFC mediates adjustments in adherence to political and religious ideologies. We presented participants with a reminder of death and a critique of their in-group ostensibly written by a member of an out-group, then experimentally decreased both avowed belief in God and out-group derogation by downregulating pMFC activity via transcranial magnetic stimulation. The results provide the first evidence that group prejudice and religious belief are susceptible to targeted neuromodulation, and point to a shared cognitive mechanism underlying concrete and abstract decision processes. We discuss the implications of these findings for further research characterizing the cognitive and affective mechanisms at play. © The Author (2015). Published by Oxford University Press. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  19. Trisection of forces: gender, religion and the state--the case of state-run religious schools in Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herzog, Hanna

    2006-06-01

    This article discusses the theoretical claims that 'gender', 'religion' and 'state' are not universal nor essentialist entities, but rather contingent phenomena embedded in time, place, and changing historical circumstances. Historical analysis of social processes reveals the complex relations between the three categories, as they individually and as a whole are re/constituted as changing co-tangential and often unpredictable phenomena. One case study presented in this article that of state-run religious schools in Israel demonstrates how state, religion and gender intersect. Through the analysis presented here, we see examples of the permeable boundaries between these social categories as well as the inter-relationships and unintended consequences of the interplay between the three. Paradoxically, graduates of these schools, especially women, have evolved from being members of a marginalized - even ignored - social category, to being active participants in the religious and political life of their community and in the political struggle over state policy regarding the future of the Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

  20. The Role of Religious Tourism in the Development and Growth of Urban Metropolis: (In The Case of Mashhad, Iran)

    OpenAIRE

    Foruzan, Iman

    2014-01-01

    ABSTRACT: This study aims to examine three dimensions of development, namely, economic, environment, and social-cultural issues caused by religious tourism in Mashhad. A quantitative method used to investigate 288 residents’ perceptions who are settled around the Imam Reza holly shrine. Mean and standard division of the variable is calculated to understated to what extend respondents are agreed about positive impacts of religious tourism in terms of economic, environment, and social-cultural ...