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Risk perception is a pertinent issue in the situation of constant risks associated with the biological, climatic, or technological factors that affect citizens' lives today. The context in which a risk-generating situation arises can influence the way citizens perceive it. Among other factors, it is important to take the political context into account in risk perception research. In this vein, a wide variety of firms try to influence political decisions made by public authorities through the implementation of corporate political activity (CPA) strategies. In the case of polluting industrial complexes, residents who live close to them may perceive higher health risks when they become aware of the implementation of CPA strategies by firms. However, this reality has been neglected in the academic literature. To help fill this gap our research is based on institutional and attribution theories and the social risk perspective. The aim of the paper is to provide empirical evidence on the relationships between perceived CPA strategies, namely information and financial incentives, and health risk perception. For this purpose, the study focuses on residents who live near a polluting industrial complex. The results are obtained using structural equation models, and they show that each CPA strategy influences citizens' health risk perception in a different way. Finally, we offer theoretical and practical implications of citizens' health risk perception in a context with corporate political involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A shift towards renewable energy sources (RES) is needed to reduce humanity's carbon footprint. The measures for increasing RES are developed on multiple levels, from international policies to concrete developments of projects. They must all be well accepted in society for a successful energy transition (ET). Objectives: The aim was to compare the results of surveys on public attitudes towards ET and RES, particularly on the social acceptance of RES at different levels of consideration and in different measurement contexts. Methods: Triangulation of three data sources on different levels was made: The European Social Survey (ESS), measuring the general attitudes from a cross-country perspective; a national RES survey (as primary quantitative study) regarding the possible national RES scenarios - ranging from general attitudes to opinions about project development, and a qualitative in-situ survey of attitudes towards existing solar power plants as the most specific level. Results: The results from ESS show a discrepancy between accepting the existence of climate change on the one hand and responsibility on the other. National survey on attitudes towards RES shows growing public acceptance of wind and solar power plants but lower acceptance of hydropower across different scales of the survey. The key recognized advantage in wind and solar power plant is their environmental friendliness, while the main disadvantage is the unreliability of the energy source. The survey showed high levels of distrust of national politics in making good decisions about RES. The qualitative in-situ study revealed solar power plants as highly noticeable objects in the landscape, and that individuals often weigh the negative and positive impacts without clearly deciding which one prevails. Discussion: The results across all three surveys indicate high public agreement with the climate change paradigm across the scales but reticence toward tangible environmental measures, especially as the survey context moves from general and abstract towards local and specific. The results indicate a strong material conditionality in forming public attitudes towards energy policy and weak environmental empowerment, further fuelled by low institutional trust in Slovenia. To better understand social acceptance across scales and methodological implications of different measurements, more such comparisons are needed to draw universal or definitive conclusions. Conclusion: Looking at Slovenia's positioning in the European environmental value framework that Slovenia is at a crossroads between European countries with high levels of acknowledgement of the existence of climate change and countries with a pattern of weaker acceptance of the climate paradigm and more concrete decarbonisation measures. In several respects, the results of the primary RES survey suggest that the direct or indirect economic benefits of RES are more often chosen than the environmental benefits. Authors stress that environmental transformation (including RES implementation) will not be successful without a broader societal transformation that ensures an equitable distribution of benefits and risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the importance of practices of collective care to respond to Anthropocene-related problems without sacrificing democracy. It describes the political limitations of three popular Anthropocene narratives that are primarily used in political debates and utilized by political parties and decision-makers. It argues that practices of collective care that occur primarily at the local level can lead to more inclusive, reflective and accountable political institutions.

"The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind" by Judith Butler explores the concept of interdependency and vulnerability in the era of the Anthropocene. The book emphasizes the ethical reflection that should inform political decisions and actions, promoting equality and recognizing the vulnerabilities and desires for revenge in others. Butler does not provide specific solutions but highlights the importance of understanding and negotiating our dependency on others. The ultimate goal is to establish an egalitarian imaginary that extends the equal claim to a livable life to all, transcending divisions and embracing ambivalence. The text also discusses the psychological and moral complexities of vulnerability, self-protection, and hatred, and suggests that the force of nonviolence lies in the desire for the other's desire to live. The author concludes by urging readers to have faith in hope and to work towards a future that values life and promotes collective well-being. [Extracted from the article]

The article discusses two books, "Unmaking the bomb: environmental cleanup and the politics of impossibility" by Shannon Cram and "Unparalleled catastrophe: life and death in the third nuclear age" by Rhys Crilley, which examine the impacts of the nuclear age on health, the environment, social and economic justice, and human security. Crilley argues that we are currently in the third nuclear age, characterized by increased danger due to the abandonment of arms control, massive spending on new nuclear weapon systems, and the questioning of commitments to remaining nuclear weapons-free. Cram's book focuses on the devastating health and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons production, particularly at sites like Hanford. Both authors emphasize the need for a more informed and engaged citizenry to eliminate nuclear weapons and address the interconnected issues of the nuclear age. [Extracted from the article]

The aim of this paper is to present the application of the OWA operator and some of its extensions in the calculation of continent and global tax revenues. The idea is to present how the analysis of an important economic indicator can vary depending on how the information is aggregated. An example was employed based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) database using 111 countries that were divided by continent, and then the global tax revenue was calculated using different aggregation operators. Different analyses can be carried out by governments and enterprises to improve decision making and fiscal politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The significance of civil society in any given society cannot be overstated, as it safeguards individuals' rights in various spheres of life, including the political realm. Iraqi Kurdistan's civil society encompasses various groups that influence the legislative, executive, judiciary, and political parties. The influence and consequences of civil societies vary depending on the geographical and organisational context. However, while civil society in Iraqi Kurdistan saw significant growth after 2003 and has a strong influence on political decisions, its involvement in political decision-making needs to be more to reach the required threshold. The present research employs historical and descriptive methodologies to showcase the influence of civil society organisations (CSOs) on political determinations in Iraqi Kurdistan (IK). This article examines the efficacy of CSOs in influencing political decision-making. It also identifies the obstacles that impede civil society's participation in this process by evaluating their effects on political parties and the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland's first major sports event after the fall of communism was the organization, together with Ukraine, of the UEFA European Football Championships in 2012 (Euro 2012). This third most popular sporting event in the world, after the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympic Games, brought many image-related (prestigious) benefits to Poland, from which the Polish economy and society benefited. The organization of Euro 2012 created opportunities for strategic investments, that led to the acceleration of the country's civilizational development. The event, took place eight years after Poland joined the European Union, and constituted a significant impetus to develop a model of sports policy implemented by the Polish state. It also had long-term political consequences, especially in initiating Ukraine's European integration. Thise article aims to outline organizing the event and analyze the consequences of Euro 2012 for Poland from a political science's perspective, using historical, decision-making, and institutional-legal methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses Jürgen Habermas's analysis of the decline of deliberative democracy in the age of digital capitalism, revisiting his seminal work on the public sphere. Habermas highlights how digital capitalism, the dissolution of boundaries between private and public spheres, and the decline of the printed press are threatening deliberative democracy. He emphasizes the importance of inclusive, rational, and undistorted discussions among citizens for a functioning public sphere and democracy, while also addressing the challenges posed by neoliberal policies, climate change, and immigration pressures. Habermas's essay raises concerns about the impact of digital communication on political discourse and the need for regulation to preserve an inclusive and deliberative public sphere. [Extracted from the article]

The relevance of this study lies in the need to consider in detail the legal basis for state regulation of migration processes in the Kyrgyz Republic in connection with the possible development of the migration crisis in the Middle East and Europe. The purpose of the study is to investigate the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic regarding the full and proper consolidation of legal norms aimed at regulating migration in accordance with the state's migration policy based on national interests, international standards, and current migration trends. The following general scientific and special methods were used to conduct the research: formal legal analysis, dogmatic method, synthesis, deduction, and generalisation. In the course of the study, the basis of national legislation in the field of migration regulation was considered. In accordance with the key elements, three aspects of legislative regulation of migration processes in the Kyrgyz Republic were also identified. These included such aspects as: constitutional, international and national legislation. Based on the findings, it was determined that the legal regulation of migration processes in the Kyrgyz Republic, considering a large array of regulatory sources, is currently being developed and reformed. Some legislative acts do not contain legal consolidation of state protection of the rights of citizens of the Kyrgyz Republic located outside the state. Mechanisms for providing such support to migrant citizens were also not identified. It was concluded that attention should be paid to the development of a well-thought-out migration policy of the state, since the further vector of development of the migration legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic depends on political decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Mongolian People's Republic and the People's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese community in the MPR emerged as a significant link facilitating bilateral relations. The formation and evolution of this community were intricately connected to the establishment and functioning of the Association of Overseas Chinese in Mongolia and its associated institutions. Throughout this process, the political decisions made by both the Mongolian and Chinese governments played a pivotal role. Particularly for the Chinese side, the Chinese community served as a crucial platform for its foreign policy objectives during this period. Additionally, the broader context of the Socialist Bloc also greatly influenced the development trajectory of the Chinese community in the MPR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The principle of mutual recognition of judicial decisions among Member States was proclaimed as the cornerstone of judicial cooperation in criminal matters at the Tampere meeting in 1999. The implementation of this substantial and legally binding principle of EU primary law, since the entry of the Lisbon Treaty, is unattainable without a high level of mutual trust among Member States. The concept of mutual trust, crucial for enacting the principle of mutual recognition in criminal matters between Member States, lacks precision, yet the jurisprudence of the CJEU to some extent clarifies its boundaries. Starting with the logical presumption that all Member States, as outlined in the TEU, share common values of the European Union, including the rule of law and respect for human rights, a high level of mutual trust between Member States should be unquestionable. Consequently, judicial cooperation in criminal matters should operate seamlessly. However, CJEU decisions regarding the implementation of legal instruments of secondary EU law, based on principle of mutual recognition, such as the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and the European Investigation Order (EIO), challenge this presumption. In the paper, the author scrutinizes CJEU jurisprudence, investigating shifts in stance on whether the principle of mutual trust constitutes an irrebuttable or rebuttable presumption in EU law. Special consideration is given to questions that arise in both cases. The author examines into pro and contra arguments of mutual trust as irrebuttable or rebuttable presumption in EU law, and its effects. Firstly, from the aspect that mutual trust between Member States, as irrebuttable presumption, reaf-firms supremacy of secondary EU law and consequently primacy of EU law over national laws of Member States. Secondly, if the mutual trust between Member States in criminal matters is a rebuttable presumption, the decisions of CJEU show weak points of EU law in this area and they should be used as corrective measure to achieve overall aim of European Union: shared common values. In the paper, author emphasizes that all actions undertaken by EU are not strictly legal nature, but rather they are influenced by political decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges faced by the Hon Rose Jackson in addressing complex issues in government, particularly focusing on the housing crisis in Sydney. Jackson emphasizes the need for bipartisan cooperation and innovative solutions to tackle these challenges effectively. She also highlights the role of media in shaping public perception and the importance of engaging in constructive dialogue to address complex problems. The article underscores the significance of building unexpected partnerships and alliances to confront challenging issues and emphasizes the need for politicians to invest in persuasion and consensus-building to drive lasting change. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Sophia, Colección de Filosofía de la Educación is the property of Universidad Politecnica Salesiana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Investigaciones Historicas is the property of Universidad de Valladolid, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

"Future generations" play a key role in current political debates. In the context of the climate crisis especially, political controversies are often framed as moral problems of "intergenerational justice." This article aims to historicize the use of the concept of "future generations" in modern political discourse and to uncover its long—and often ambivalent—history. Its main argument is that talking about "future generations" was part of an attempt to integrate (distant) futures into the political discourse of the time. The first part of the article outlines a theoretical perspective on the relationship between generations and temporalities. The second part focuses on how anticipating "future generations" became an important part of the history of utopian thinking and political planning in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, especially in the realm of demographic and economic discussions. The third part analyzes the emergence of "future ethics" and "intergenerational justice" as important political discourses in the 1970s. This part refers both to the academic debates about "future generations" and to the way political decision‐makers used the concept to legitimize their policies. The article argues that the concept of "future generations" should not be taken as an ethical principle that transcended the political debates of the present. Rather, it was itself the result of intense political controversies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge-brokering organisations (KBOs) have multiplied in the evidence–policy landscape worldwide, changing how decision-makers are accessing evidence. Yet, we still know little about their emergence and roles. This research helps to understand KBOs and their place in evidence-based policymaking by highlighting the varied work that they do, the relationships they cultivate with policymakers, the complex knowledge-brokering processes they negotiate, and how they establish their credibility in different ways. We build on boundary organisation theory and the concept of policy entrepreneur (PE) (drawn from the multiple streams analysis) to develop a better understanding of KBOs who play multiple roles. By using the PE concept, we bring a greater focus on the politics of brokering. This duality involves them in seeking to provide 'objective' evidence while simultaneously determining what counts as evidence for policy and making recommendations for political decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drought is a complex hazard with multiple and often dramatic impacts, depending on the environmental and societal context of the affected area. In recent years, due to global warming, this phenomenon has been occurring more intensely and frequently, affecting regions worldwide, including Wallonia, the southern part of Belgium. This study aims to enhance our understanding of the interdisciplinary dynamics of drought in order to improve its anticipation and crisis management by stakeholders. To achieve these objectives, a cross-disciplinary analysis tool has been developed: the chrono-systemic timeline. Applied here to the severe drought of 2018 in Wallonia, this tool provides a comprehensive visual representation of the crisis, simultaneously offering temporal and multi-sectoral perspectives. The data incorporated into the model encompass environmental conditions, economic and social contexts, as well as political and administrative decisions made during the case study. The analysis of the chrono-systemic timeline reveals numerous interdisciplinary connections, a prolonged period of significant impacts, a gradual return to a 'normal' situation, and a reactive form of crisis management. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the importance of giving due consideration to the risks associated with water deficits and advocates for the implementation of anticipatory and adaptive management strategies to enhance our ability to effectively address droughts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many governments in semi-democratic regimes have adopted participatory democratic institutions to promote development and accountability. But limited resources, weak civil society, and a history of authoritarian politics make building subnational democratic institutions daunting. Do participatory institutions expand accountability in these environments? We address this question by evaluating citizen decision-making in Kenya's local participatory processes. We first administered a survey experiment surrounding citizens' development policy preferences to 9,928 respondents in four Kenyan counties. We then nest this survey experiment in participant observation and over 80 elite interviews. Our conclusions are mixed: respondents readily change their policy preferences to align with the government's policy actions, which suggests limited prospects for accountability. However, respondents use participatory budgeting venues to question government officials about missing projects, which provides a potential foundation for accountability. Yet, uncompetitive local elections, the absence of independent civil society's participation, and new program rules are likely to limit democratic accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous work suggests that observing women officeholders increases women's political ambition. Yet, jumps in women's representation in the United States' "Years of the Woman"—following the Anita Hill testimonies and the election of Donald Trump—are linked to women's exclusion from political decision-making. Drawing on focus groups with prospective women candidates, we theorize that exclusion when combined with a gendered policy threat increases women's political ambition. Using survey experiments replicated across different samples, we show that women who read about an all-male city council poised to legislate on women's rights report increased ambition compared with their pretreatment ambition levels and to women in other treatment groups. Women's increased sense of political efficacy drives these results. When women's rights are not under discussion, men's overrepresentation does not move (or even depresses) women's ambition. Seeing the policy consequences of their exclusion causes some women to seek a seat at the table. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How much do citizens support artificial intelligence (AI) in government and politics at different levels of decision‐making authority and to what extent is this AI support associated with citizens' conceptions of democracy? Using original survey data from Germany, the analysis shows that people are overall sceptical toward using AI in the political realm. The findings suggest that how much citizens endorse democracy as liberal democracy as opposed to several of its disfigurations matters for AI support, but only in high‐level politics. While a stronger commitment to liberal democracy is linked to lower support for AI, the findings contradict the idea that a technocratic notion of democracy lies behind greater acceptance of political AI uses. Acceptance is higher only among those holding reductionist conceptions of democracy which embody the idea that whatever works to accommodate people's views and preferences is fine. Populists, in turn, appear to be against AI in political decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Managing scarce water resources has been central to the Murray–Darling Basin (MDB) regional development story. The article puts water into a broader context of key drivers in development in the MDB. In addition to water markets and water policy, key issues include climate change, the changing relative resilience and viability of urban centres, the role of government, the impact of technological change, underlying exogenously set commodity prices and exchange rates. All these factors have had a significant impact on development, some with little discussion but others, such as water, have been contested and bitterly fought over. The article also examines these drivers and how they might affect future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do political campaigns so often fail to persuade voters, and what does this say about voter decision making? Some interpret the difficulty of persuading voters as evidence that voters remain loyal to their parties even when confronted with new information. However, an informational (quasi‐Bayesian) mechanism may also contribute. We test empirical implications of these alternatives with four survey experiments (total n = 113,742) conducted during the 2020 presidential election that exposed individuals to 291 messages. Our results support the quasi‐Bayesian interpretation: We show that voters are more persuadable with information about candidates they know less about; that persuasive messages change both candidate evaluations and vote choices, and induce partisan defection; and that messages with more informational content are more persuasive. These results suggest voters' reaction to information in a manner consistent with Bayesian updating, and not only partisan loyalty, can help explain variation in and the small size of campaign effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rights, dignity and capability of women cannot be ignored if the future of the generation yet unborn is to be sustained. Nigeria as a country has in the past decades relegated women in all facets of decision making including political and social life because the society subjected them under the leadership and authority of the male counterpart. Given the realization of the potential of women in this dispensation, all the effort to address this disparity has not achieved desired result because women are still not well represented in the labour force, politics and decision making. They are over-burden by unpaid services especially house chores and nursing which provided them little or no opportunity to participate actively in the society. It is against this background that this study examines the relationship between gender equality and sustainable education. It specifically investigates the effect of graduate turn-out on sustainable education and examines the effect government educational financing on sustainable education in Nigeria. The study follows descriptive research design and secondary data from World Bank Development Index (WDI) over the period of 2000 to 2017 was used in the analysis. Descriptive analysis and empirical analysis using regression analysis were conducted. The result of FMOLS regression showed that gender equality and government educational financing exert a significant negative effect on sustainable education in Nigeria, while income inequality does not showed a significant effect on sustainable education in Nigeria. The study submitted that gender equality have a significant negative effect on sustainable education in Nigeria. Among others, the need to redesign the educational system from elementary level in its entire curriculum planning to incorporate the agenda of sustainable education was recommended. The objectives, teaching and instruction methods, text books' content and evaluation, should be redirected towards sustainability with emphasis on its social and environmental aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political theorists concerned with ways to counteract the oligarchic tendencies of representative government have recently paid more attention to the employment of "class-specific institutions" (CSIs)—that is, political institutions that formally exclude wealthy elites from decision-making power. This article disputes a general objection levelled against the justifiability of CSIs, according to which their democratic credentials are outweighed by their explicit transgression of formal political equality—what I call the political equality objection. I claim that, although CSIs do not satisfy political equality fully, their exclusionary thrust is inter alia justified in virtue of the fact that they unfold against the background of badly ordered, class-divided societies. Parallel to recent arguments in nonideal theory arguing for the priority of the right to resist economic oppression over the protection of private property rights, access to the empowering properties of CSIs should take priority over the full satisfaction of formal political equality. Yet, I also claim that the justification of CSIs depends on their orientation toward overcoming class divisions because, otherwise, we might end up wrongly naturalizing those divisions—a conclusion that needs to be avoided to reply to the political equality objection. The result is, I believe, a convincing egalitarian case for the democratic justifiability of CSIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how an important reform of local governance—village democracy—in the world's most populous areas has affected the happiness of residents in rural China. We find that introducing elections per se has no significant impact. In comparison, direct nomination of local leaders by villagers, which is a form of competitive election involving a high degree of public participation in political decision making, leads to higher levels of happiness. Further mechanism analyses show that direct nomination improves the local accountability of elected leaders by boosting the quality and effort of village heads and their governance performance by lowering the tax burden of villagers and vitalizing local public services. Our results highlight the importance of public participation in democracy and the underlying role of local accountability in affecting the subjective well‐beings of citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This publication examines the history of Project Orion and NERVA nuclear engine program within the Integrated Program Plan, the technical reasons for their study, their progress, and the political reasons for their cancellation. Whether pulsed or thermal, nuclear propulsion offers the best compromise in efficiency and thrust for the propulsion of future manned missions. Project Orion was born in the mind of Stanislaw Ulam, an atomic physicist who had worked on the Manhattan project. Despite theoretical performances superior to anything conceivable even with current technologies, and despite the mobilisation of some of the most brilliant physicists of the time (Freeman Dyson), the project was killed by the Treaty banning nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space and under water (Moscow, 5 August 1963). The Integrated Program Plan was Wernher von Braun's proposal to the Space Task Group (STG), chaired by Vice President Spiro Agnew, for the continuation of the Apollo program. This plan envisaged a lunar base in the 1970s, and a first manned mission to Mars in the early 1980s. All of this would have been powered by nuclear-powered orbital shuttles, using NERVA, a nuclear engine tested and operational since 1968. Here again, even though it performed better than anything else in the world, even today, the project failed politically. This retrospective publication therefore aims to answer the following question: How can nuclear space programs of today and tomorrow be protected from the uncertainties of this influence? The study of propulsion systems is very often left to engineers, and political and public relations issues to politicians. However, every technology is the result of a political system, and has a strategic impact, which is a subject for social and political sciences. That's why this paper adopts an original approach crossing social sciences through the historical study of decision-making dynamics, and engineering through the study of the technical characteristics of the projects involved. This publication is based on declassified technical reports, testimonies of the personalities of the time, and a document from the archives of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. History can be the academic bridge between political and technical studies. In a context of resurgence of nuclear propulsion projects throughout the world, such an approach is now necessary both at the historical level and in terms of political decisions making. Indeed, space programs involving nuclear energy are, by nature, at the crossroads of public relations issues very specific to both space and atomic subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public attitudes towards immigration and immigrants, captured through social surveys, are widely reported in the media and used to inform political decision making. However, it is important to consider whether public attitudes are being accurately measured. This article uses critical discourse analysis and critical race and post-colonial theories to examine questions in leading social surveys. The article also draws upon interviews with survey managers and methodologists. In many high-quality surveys a 'white' identity is often framed as the norm alongside negative narratives of identity and difference. For example, in one survey question attitudes towards immigrants are asked about alongside attitudes towards alcohol and drug use. The objectivity of the framing and language of many survey questions needs to be reviewed. In the context of evidence of increased levels of racial discrimination, a new discourse is required to more objectively measure and understand public attitudes towards immigration and immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores constructions of consensus and unity and their potential implications on partisan politics and democratic decision making in parliamentary discourse on the management of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Greece. The analytic corpus consists of transcripts of three debates on COVID‐19 management in the Greek parliament, conducted in the period from April 2020 to October 2021. Analysis using tools and concepts of rhetorical and discursive psychology indicated that consensus was constructed as agreement on hard data, as compliance with health experts, and as national unity, and it was counterposed to partisan politics. Nevertheless, at the same time, appeals to consensus constituted a resource mobilized in the service of partisan politics, as both government and opposition parties appealed to the need of agreement in order to warrant their position and to ward off the position of opponents. The rhetoric of consensus, however, included the seeds of disagreement, since while its necessity was collaboratively accomplished, its parameters and boundaries were challenged. The implications of these findings for democratic governance and political decision making are pinpointed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Media Studies / Studia Medioznawcze is the property of Media Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explored the use of social media for decision-making during politics in a multicultural society. The study was anchored on the public sphere theory and was guided by three research objectives, which are to probe the role of social media in building an inclusive society, investigate the role of social media in making an informed citizenry that deepens democracy, and identify the challenges that confront the practice of social media in a multicultural society. The study adopted a qualitative approach where secondary data from extant empirical studies were collated, presented, and analyzed. The study's findings revealed that using social media platforms is a veritable tool to adopt during politics and that these platforms influence citizens' political decisions. However, the study's findings also revealed that social media faces challenges during politicking, especially in a multicultural society like Nigeria. Some of the identified challenges include the proliferation of misinformation, fake news, and hate speech, among other forms of practices that are damaging to a multicultural and democratic society. The paper, therefore, recommends, among other things, that there is a swift need for stakeholders and other relevant government agencies to educate netizens on the dangers of using social media adversely during politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars and practitioners endorse public participation in the decision-making process as enhancing the health of democracy, justice, and effectiveness of policy outcomes. To sustain or even increase the number of participants in the long run, it is crucial to start raising a new politically active generation already during their youth and even early adolescence. This article presents School Forums as an extracurricular participatory method involving early adolescents (11–15 years old) in decision-making concerning their school and municipality. We made a field experiment on a sample of 480 Czech secondary school pupils to examine the potential of School Forums to enhance prerequisites for youth's political engagement. Our results revealed a positive effect of School Forum attendance on the sense of internal political efficacy and interest in local affairs. The results suggest a high potential of participative extracurricular programmes in raising a new generation of politically active citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing loyal external appointees has been identified as a key strategy used by incumbents to gain control over the state bureaucracy. This phenomenon is known as politicization and has been associated with democratic backsliding. Frequently, career civil servants perceive these appointees as illegitimate outsiders, leaders whose main objective is to ensure political compliance rather than advance the organization's mission. In this study, we explore how civil servants interpret the presence of outside leaders in their organizations in the context of politicization and how this influences their job attitudes and behaviors. We use a mixed methods exploratory sequential design to examine a recent case of politicization in environmental agencies in Brazil. First, we interviewed 25 civil servants who reported an environment of abuse, fear, disengagement, and alienation due to the actions of outside leaders. We identified silence (both defensive and acquiescent) as a key outcome of this process. We extended and confirmed these findings with a quantitative study using a new sample of 255 civil servants. This second study allowed us to test the relationship between the variables identified in the qualitative analysis. Our combined findings indicate that politicization may reduce the effectiveness and capability of public agencies not only because some external appointees lack competence or a commitment the organization's mission (as suggested by previous studies), but also because their behaviors and decisions can have a significant negative impact on civil servants' job attitudes and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the great threats to health in the 21st century is the relationship between health and environmental issues, as there is an inevitable relationship between the planet's degradation and health problems. In this sense, health is also seen as a problem of public order, and more precisely of political order, to the extent that such an environmental issue implies public health as a social value that affects the spaces of political decision making; moreover, to the extent that the environmental issue also intersects with the religious issue, namely with the 2030 Agenda in the 21st century. This article intends to think about how such a confluence occurs regarding religion, public health, and the environment, considering how spiritual care provided in the healthcare domain is related to care in the common home (Cf. CITER, Project «Common home and new ways of living interculturally: Public theology and ecology of culture in pandemic times»). In particular, this article intends to analyse such issues in Brazilian and Portuguese contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Partisanship is a driving factor of vote choice; however, the mechanism of influence is nuanced. Political parties operate as social identities that motivate elaboration about a candidate and bias image perceptions. In other words, partisanship influences the way in which individuals process information and form political opinions. This influence stems from the processes of ingroup favoritism and outgroup denigration. The present study employs an experimental design and an identity-motivated elaborative theoretical perspective to analyze the elaborative and perceptual process of determining candidate support. Though both congruent and incongruent partisan social identities influence intentions to vote for a candidate, they do so at different strengths and through different information-processing mechanisms. Specifically, ingroup favoritism is primarily automatic, whereas outgroup denigration is both deliberative and automatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fake research produces results that are invalid from the start. I take such research to be characterised by three jointly sufficient features. It is severely methodologically defective, and the relevant defects support certain nonepistemic (social, political, economic) interests and objectives, while the relevant objectives typically concern the interference with attempts at political regulation. I deal with two kinds of claimed fake research. One is agnotological ploys in which scientific dissent is created by interested parties from industry or politics in order to support their own partisan goals. Another one is the populist antiscience movement that suspects fake research in the scientific mainstream. I suggest three remedies to reduce or eliminate the impact of fake research: disclosing fallacies, improving the understanding of scientific methods, and distinguishing more clearly between science and politics in political decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many communities are unprepared for climate change, yet action stagnate. Adaptation requires governance actors to perceive climate change as a risk and action within their responsibility. However, little is understood on how subjective actor perceptions influence adaptation governance. Individual actors, within the political, public and professional spheres, often shape decision making to echo their informal social institutions. This study theorizes on why climate change adaptation is frequently overlooked, investigating how misguided perceptions of risk and responsibility impact governance and the role denial and discretion plays in this process. To glean insight into how subjective perceptions result in adaptation barriers, the experiences of senior management (n = 14) across four regional districts in Canada is explored. On-site observation and strategic document review provided a general understanding of how regional planning and policies integrate adaptation, while thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews reveals the importance of considering actor perceptions of risk and responsibility in adaptation planning. Here, findings suggest that denial and discretion function as a governance process, hindering decision making on adaptation as political leadership avoids responsibility and the public copes with powerlessness. While navigating climate discourse, actors employ denial and discretion to mitigate ideological conflicts stemming from polarized perceptions of human agency to affect the natural world. To facilitate preparedness for climate change, this research provides insight into the human barriers preventing planning for adaptation. [Display omitted] • Legislative discretion impedes effective adaptation policy. • Political actor risk perception influences policy. • Defensive discretion shifts responsibility between actors. • Implicatory denial and institutional trust placate public actor concern. • Polarized perceptions of human agency limit collective climate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the history of capital punishment in Victoria, Australia, with an emphasis on notable executions, legal debates, and political decisions surrounding the death penalty. Topics discussed include the execution of individuals like Ned Kelly and Ronald Ryan, the influence of different political parties on the use of the death penalty, and the complexities of moral responsibility within the capital punishment process.

The article focuses on the historical contributions of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in the field of co-operation, particularly in Maharashtra, India. Topics discussed include the early works on co-operation at GIPE, the role of Professor Dhananjayrao Gadgil as a pioneer in co-operative research, and the influence of co-operatives on rural development in the region.

Performance management remains a maturing and ever-evolving field of research and practice. This phenomenon is leading to the adoption of new performance management regimes in public administration and governance. In this regard, research has emphasized that implementing such innovative performance management regimes requires practicing "performance dialogue" through learning forums in boundary-crossing settings, also encompassing different organizations (Rajala et al., [44]; Bianchi, [10]). [Extracted from the article]

Realism can mean many things in political theory. This article focuses on "common-sense realism," an approach to decision making under uncertainty characterized by its posture toward risk. Common-sense realist arguments have become popular in recent democratic theory. One prominent example is found in debates over the responsible party institutional model (RPIM). RPIM's main features are two-party competition for full control of government and party organizations that empower officeholders, not activists. Proponents of RPIM defend it in realist terms. They claim that efforts to pursue more ambitious democratic ideals jeopardize goods that RPIM can readily secure. In this article I articulate a realist approach to institutional evaluation that assesses proposals on three dimensions: robustness, feasibility, and stability. Using this approach, I demonstrate that the realist argument for RPIM is weaker than it initially appears. The debate over RPIM is not a debate between realism and idealism but between competing democratic ideals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship on women's substantive representation has expanded from its initial focus on gender inequalities in parliaments and now studies (1) various group interests, (2) in different venues, (3) across different contexts and (4) using different methods and approaches. Building on these advances, we present a new comparative measure of women's substantive representation. This 'Substantive Representation Index' combines eight indicators, linked to two key dimensions of women's substantive representation, in one composite quantitative index. As such, we offer a consistent modality that allows scholars to measure women's substantive representation systematically and comparatively across and within democratic countries and over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]