Archives - Page 5

• 

  Vol. 45 (2020)

  IAPSS Politikon is committed to demonstrating that Political Science has a lot to contribute to the analysis of the phenomena and issues in a world in turmoil. Volume 45 presents research into aspects of some of the most pertinent developments of our age, using the full range of publication formats (articles, review essays, research notes, book reviews). 

  Beyza Sarıkoç Yıldırım analyses municipal action plans that address climate change in Turkey. Ilia Viatkin invites us to reflect on the variables that explain the unexpected increase in voting for the German Green party during the 2019 European Parliament elections in the German East and the West. Peter Wedekind presents a review essay which emphasises the usefulness of the principles of liberalism in order to safeguard liberal democracies. Clara Ribeiro Assumpção's research note explores the tense relationship between intelligence services and democracy, which appears more conflictive in contexts in which there has been a shift from authoritarian regimes to consolidating democracies. In another research note, Serena Alonso García reflects on the 2014 Hepatitis C crisis that occurred in Spain, as a case in which the collective interest gave way to private interests. Sukhayl Niyazov reviews Harry Frankfurt’s book On Inequality.

• 

  Vol. 44 (2020)

  This issue can be symbolically divided into two sections. The first one features contributions from Jessica Nuske and Justinas Lingevicius. Nuske revisits the concept of representation in contemporary times when the ‘electoral connection’ between citizens and representatives alone is woefully inadequate to capture the complex relationship between these two subjects. Lingevicius, similarly to Nuske, departs from constructivist premises in his effort to make sense of the changes in Lithuanian foreign and security policy after the Crimean annexation. He reads the growing emphasis on Lithuanian independence in this discourse as an indicator that state identity in foreign policy can change due to relevant external events. 

  The second section focuses on African politics. Pieter Labuschagne studies new political parties in the South African party system, concluding that, in this respect at least, South African elections does not identify significant differences compared to ‘consolidated democracies’. Thomas Ibrahim Okinda, Benson Oduor Ojwang, and Charles Ongadi Nyambuga use survey data from female voters in one of the counties for the Kenyan general elections to investigate how socio-democratic and attitudinal variables correlate with their electoral participation. Their findings argue in favour of female electoral participation facilitating gender equality in general. The study of the relationship between election management systems and peaceful alternation of power in Ghana and Nigeria by Harrison Adewale Idowu and N. Oluwafemi ‘Femi’ Mimiko is a qualitative explorative analysis arguing that the credibility of the election management system has been conducive to the peaceful alternation of power in Ghana while other factors facilitated the same outcome in Nigeria. Finally, Idris Buta reviews the book 'Violence in African Elections', praising it for its scope as well as the capacity to recognise the uneven distribution of electoral violence across the cases studied, but highlighting the need for more recommendations focused towards domestic rather than international actors in eliminating electoral violence. 

• 

  Vol. 43 (2019)

  Volume 43 once again features timely contributions from different subfields. If one were to identify ‘labels’ for them, they would fall into political philosophy, public policy and the study of political institutions. First, Verónica Gutman’s content analysis spanning two decades of the United Nations Climate Change Conferences generates a range of hypotheses for further research that may provide novel empirical support for theories of the influence of global governance bodies and of the transnational legal process. Second, Luigi Cino analyses the case of the Tunisian revolution through institutionalist lenses, trying to apply a number of typologies from existing literature in order to better understand the characteristics of the institutional change that took place after the Arab Uprisings. Third, Samantha Trudeau goes back to the ever-fruitful discussions of Greek philosophy, placing under scrutiny the rarely discussed (in political science at least) Plato’s dialogue ‘Lesser Hippias’. Her article makes an interesting read for political communication enthusiasts as well, even more commendable in times of growing popular concerns about a ‘post-truth world’. Fourth, Yankı Doruk Doğanay offers an unconventional analysis of the sources of support of the contemporary Turkish government. He uncovers how several components of the Turkish political leaders’ discourse contribute to cementing their support, even though conventionally they would be seen as sources of weakness. In addition, readers may find it stimulating to think about the review of Francis Fukuyama’s book on 'Identity' written by Joshua Makalintal.

• 

  Vol. 42 (2019)

  Volume 42 opens with a special section with two articles presented at the 2018 IAPSS Academic Convention (Convention Panels Coordinator: Katsiaryna Lozka). Here, Francisca Sassetti examines the effect of crowdsourced elections monitoring on transparency and quality of the electoral process. She finds that crowdsourcing techniques have a causal effect on electoral transparency by encouraging a more peaceful and democratic electoral process. Baptiste Brodard analyses the impact of the initiatives promoted by Islamic grassroots organisations in Switzerland, providing empirical evidence for the claim that social participation of Islamic organisations can have a positive value by rethinking and redefining social work practices. In the first of two regular articles included in the issue, Andrew Devine identifies China’s approach to promotion of its preferred norm of internet governance known as cyber sovereignty. Using a combination of frames, this form of global internet governance is being advanced especially towards developing countries in opposition to the currently prevailing ‘multistakeholder model’. Next, Velomahanina Tahinjanahary Razakamaharavo uses an innovative methodology to determine how grand narratives she calls ‘metanarratives’ shaped the dynamics of domestic conflicts in Madagascar. Collecting and coding a diverse pool of data, she conducts a qualitative comparative analysis of conditions for different dimensions of conflicts. The resulting study provides valuable insights into the recent political development of Madagascar, among others.