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The Darknet is becoming an increasingly visible structural unit in the political sphere and at the same time remains a little-studied area of cyberspace. Therefore, the article aims to determine the conceptual prism for its consideration and its actual significance in the measurement of the political. With the help of comparative historical analysis, the study reveals the causes and time of the political birth of the Darknet, characterizes its resources and political role through system and content analysis, systematizes and clarifies the concepts of power and politics in the Network based on the provisions of R. Gel, M. Castels, K. Schmitt, etc. The author names the expansion of states (especially autocracies) in the digital space as the main factor in the politicization and transformation of the Darknet. The pressure of power and dominance systems aimed at maintaining sovereignty and control in cyberspace caused “digital resistance” of programmers and users seeking free data exchange and confidentiality, as well as civil activists who strived to avoid prosecution for dissent, which led to the renewed architecture and functionality of the Darknet, its transformation into an alternative space of informational interaction and a database to build up the opposition potential. Criminals also took advantage of the opportunities of the new network for their own purposes. The main result of the research is the thesis that the Darknet is being transformed into a special socio-technical system that is outside the sphere of international and state law, where all interactions are carried out exclusively through private agreements between clients, with an alternative world payment system based on cryptocurrencies.

Abstract Background Ghana became the first African country to take delivery of the first wave of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from the COVAX facility. But why has this promising start of the vaccination rollout not translated into an accelerated full vaccination of the population? To answer this question, we drew on the tenets of a policy analytical framework and analysed the diverse interpretations, issue characteristics, actor power dynamics and political context of the COVID-19 vaccination process in Ghana. Methods We conducted a rapid online review of media reports, journal articles and other documents on debates and discussions of issues related to framing of the vaccination rollout, social constructions generated around vaccines, stakeholder power dynamics and political contentions linked to the vaccination rollout. These were complemented by desk reviews of parliamentary reports. Results The COVID-19 vaccination was mainly framed along the lines of public health, gender-centredness and universal health coverage. Vaccine acquisition and procurement were riddled with politics between the ruling government and the largest main opposition party. While the latter persistently blamed the former for engaging in political rhetoric rather than a tactical response to vaccine supply issues, the former attributed vaccine shortages to vaccine nationalism that crowded out fair distribution. The government’s efforts to increase vaccination coverage to target levels were stifled when a deal with a private supplier to procure 3.4 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine collapsed due to procurement breaches. Amidst the vaccine scarcity, the government developed a working proposal to produce vaccines locally which attracted considerable interest among pharmaceutical manufacturers, political constituents and donor partners. Regarding issue characteristics of the vaccination, hesitancy for vaccination linked to misperceptions of vaccine safety provoked politically led vaccination campaigns to induce vaccine acceptance. Conclusions Scaling up vaccination requires political unity, cohesive frames, management of stakeholder interests and influence, and tackling contextual factors promoting vaccination hesitancy.

For the past two decades, work across a range of fields, but particularly geography, has engaged 'critical hydropolitics' as a way to highlight not only the politics inherent in decisions about water, but also the foundational assumptions of more conventional hydropolitical analyses that tend to focus on conflicts and cooperation over water resources, with a heavy emphasis on 'the state' as the key actor and scale of analysis. In this article we review critical hydropolitical literature that focuses on transboundary rivers that descend from the eastern Tibetan Plateau, namely the Lancang‐Mekong, Yarlung Tsangpo‐Brahmaputra and Nu‐Salween river basins. We highlight five key and interrelated themes that have emerged in the literature to date ‐ the state, scale, infrastructure, knowledge and logics, and climate change ‐ and discuss how these provide useful tools for more fine‐grained analyses of power, control and contestation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a joint interview, shortly after the release of In Between (2016), writer-director Maysaloun Hamoud and lead actress Mouna Hawa proclaimed that the primary aim of the film was to render visible the otherwise invisible lives of young Palestinian women living in Tel-Aviv-Jaffa—an unclassifiable group that forms a minority within a minority within a minority. By what means can a minority relegated to an invisible existence be represented and what is the ethical import of films which grapple with the absence of a feminine space and the impossibility of its representation? These challenges take center stage in several works of contemporary Israeli and Palestinian women filmmakers. While the historical (and present) circumstances and contexts underlying the production of their work differ, the directorial sensibilities which populate the aesthetic fabric of such films point to the emergence of collective assemblages of enunciation that transgress essentialist categorizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses the processes of politicisation of some identities, religious affiliations and individual choices within the context of a right-wing backlash to increased recognition of the value and legitimacy of diversity in Europe. The rise of right-wing politics and increasing visibility of anti-immigrant and anti-LGBT movements have demonstrated the strong presence of traditional and patriarchal values and subjected some identities, religious affiliations or individual choices to processes of politicisation. One consequence of the problematisation and politicisation of such personal matters as gender, sexuality and religion is the further stigmatisation and marginalisation of already vulnerable groups. In this article, we consider the experience of young feminists, women of the Muslim community and LGBTIQ activists drawing on a meta-ethnographic synthesis of five cases of young people's activism from Portugal, Germany, Croatia and Russia. Analysis focuses on the question of visibility among these groups of stigmatised young people. We show that while, for some, visibility is a matter of necessity for political engagement, for others, it can entrench stigmatisation and discrimination. We also consider the role of families and communities of belonging, which, in some cases, encouraged but, in other cases, responded negatively towards the young people's engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy PointsDespite increased spending and consuming more health care services than any other country in the world, the United States global health rankings experience continued decline, including worsening performance in life expectancy and mortality owing to lack of investment in and strategies on the upstream determinants of health.These determinants of health are found in our access to adequate, affordable, and nutritious food options; safe housing, blue and green spaces; reliable and safe transportation; education and literacy; opportunities for economic stability; and sanitation, among other important factors and all share a common root driver in the political determinants of health.Health systems are increasingly investing in programs and exerting influence over policies to address these upstream determinants of health, including population health management, however these programs will continue to be hindered without addressing the political determinants through government, voting, and policy.Although these investments are laudable, it is important to understand what gives rise to the social determinants of health and—more importantly—why have they disproportionately and detrimentally affected historically marginalized communities and vulnerable populations for so long? Deeply entrenched and pervasive throughout society, the political determinants of health are the fundamental instigators of these unjust and inequitable outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of ERAS: European Review of Artistic Studies is the property of European Review of Artistic 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.)

Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a civil rights movement that rose as a natural response to the killing of unarmed young African-American persons by armed vigilantes and some law enforcement officers. BLM advocates for rights of people who are racial minorities in the United States of America and around the world. This article contextualizes BLM in the foundational principles of liberation and political theologies. The perspectives of contemporary political and liberation theologies are appropriated as a way to understand how civil rights movements such as BLM come into being in societies where there are rampant experiences of injustice, oppression, and systemic violence. This paper also correlates the concepts of memory and solidarity in political theology to factors leading to the rise of civil rights movements such as BLM. In addition, the paper views preferential option for the poor in liberation theology as a means for understanding BLM's focus on the lives of racial minorities. In the process of bringing about transformative social praxis (action), the paper concludes by highlighting the necessity for holding difficult conversations in society regarding injustices and racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper situates psychoanalytic exploration of abortion within a politically polarized culture, in which claims of psychological and moral hazard are weaponized to undermine women's reproductive freedom. Reflecting on these political perils and building on Sullivan's notion of consensually validated experience as central to reflective functioning, the author locates psychoanalytic silence around abortion as part of a broader socio-cultural disavowal. Without a framework in which to describe the abortion decision as an ethical choice, rooted in a sense of responsibility for self and other, dissociation of these complex dimensions becomes a tool of political expediency. Yet the costs of splitting off the ethical and psychological complexities of the abortion decision are significant: Little support is provided to women faced with this decision, and conversations about ethical complexities are shut-down, creating a void that has been filled by the anti-abortion movement. The urgent question for psychoanalysts is: How do we help women formulate abortion narratives – including the healing, traumatic, and ethical dimensions – when the cultural debate around not just abortion but women's decision-making power, generally, precludes such complexities? This is a question that has implications far beyond the consulting room: Listening to women on their own terms is crucial if we are ever to build a socio-legal framework that better reflects and protects their lived experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Adab Al-Kufa is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) 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.)

The female body has enchanted old and new, praising, describing and portraying it. The body has become enslaving and captivating it describers and. Some of these describers made it a symbol of chastity and virtue; others have freed it and taken it away from the veil of decency, planted the seeds of debauchery and devout values on it, and they they went on to portray 's body merits, and their ornaments such as jewelry and perfumes, and made it a way to seduce rulers and kings, and he was the accesses to every tyrant's heart. Dr. Mohamed Abdurrahman Younis' novel "Wallada bint al-Mustakfi in Fez" - is one of the novels that depicted the female body's charm as an end in itself, drawing its way and illuminating sensitive areas affecting the dominant trinity: Sex-Religion-Politics to reflect political, economic, social or moral livelihood issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitudes and behaviors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate change crisis might be driven by similar political beliefs and attitudes. The current study used a neo-Gramsci perspective to examine how political attitudes may be linked to COVID-19 prevention and climate change attitudes and behaviors. A longitudinal online survey in the US assessed climate change and COVID-19 attitudes and behaviors, and wave 7 (2021) data were used to predict outcomes at wave 8 (2022) among 572 respondents. There were significant correlations among the variables of political ideology, climate change concerns, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy, COVID-19 skepticism, COVID-19 vaccine as a personal choice, COVID-19 conspiracy, political correctness, percent of Republican friends, and dislike of the Democratic Party. In the multivariate models, COVID-19 vaccination as a personal choice was significantly associated with the four outcomes: vaccination status, climate change actions, vaccine hesitancy, and climate change concerns. COVID-19 skepticism was significantly associated with vaccination status, vaccine hesitancy, and climate change concerns. These findings suggest that there are similar drivers of COVID-19 prevention and climate change attitudes and behaviors, and interventions need to be tailored to target individual-level and societal-level factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The devotion of Muslims to Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is not only on the basis that he is a religious figure of Muslims, but Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is a role model for all humanity. In today's social, political, and economic situation, guidance can only be taken from the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) because the study of the Seerah is not just an academic hobby. Still, the salvation of humanity lies in it. One aspect of the Seerah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is Mushkilat ul Seerah (Difficulties of biography). From the time of the companions to the present day, countless authors have written on the biography of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Every aspect of the life of the Prophet (PBUH) and every act have been preserved in the original form by the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH). They conveyed them to their followers through written and verbal communication. In the same way, they gave the message further to their faithful disciples with great honesty. In the beginning, the biographers have recorded the events of the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) with utmost sincerity. Still, in some places, the biographers have written and presented the same event in different styles and ways. In this research paper, we will examine the difficulties of the Seerah regarding Maulana Safiullah Mubarak Puri's famous book "Al-Raheeq Al-Maktoum" and present their solution through their priority and application.

The congregational morning prayer movement in Indonesia aims to promote the importance of prayer and build a sense of community among Muslims. However, the emergence of the phenomenon of the morning prayer movement in the congregation occurred ahead of the North Sumatra Governor Election in Medan City, Indonesia. It is important to understand how the morning prayer movement in congregation is a spiritual movement or an identity politics movement. This study used a qualitative research method with a desk research approach. Primary data were obtained from reports, documents, websites, and various sources from previous studies. Analysis techniques were through data reduction, data presentation becomes conclusion. The study results show that the morning prayer movement in congregation gathers a spiritual momentum capable of moving individuals to form a brotherhood and to thus forge unity. This movement encourages the emergence of views about individual involvement capable of building emotional closeness, which is the culmination of human relations. In political situations, this movement is used as a method of approach to building emotional brotherhood and unity in building realizing political goals. Regional head candidate pairs make this movement a form of presenting themselves as leaders with emotional closeness towards Muslims. The intensity of carrying out the morning prayer movement in the congregation can influence one’s decision to choose. It must be admitted that identity political sentiment through the morning prayer movement in the congregation has clearly had a broad impact on social and political life in Indonesia.

The article examines the potential utilization of forest biomass in bioenergy production in Europe, taking into account limiting and developmental factors. The methodology includes a strategic analysis and the use of PEST analysis to evaluate the market for wood biomass. In the context of the current geopolitical situation and the decarbonization goals of the EU, the authors recommend accelerating energy transformation and highlighting forest biomass as an alternative within renewable energy sources. A literature review indicates the need to revise EU assumptions to enable the use of wood for bioenergy production, taking into account the needs of the wood industry. The analysis of economic factors shows competitiveness of forest biomass against coal, yet challenges arise regarding resource availability and competition with other energy sources. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of sustainable forest resource management and technological innovation. In the context of an energy crisis, the article underscores the role of innovation and recycling in alleviating shortages in energy markets. Conclusions highlight the imperative to develop a sustainable energy strategy for forest resource management and engage EU countries in the development of new biofuel and renewable energy sources for energy security and environmental protection.

The mother continent Africa is known for its various, multiple, and repeated instabilities, the rationale being the great hope and desire for the permanence, fixity, stability, lasting or enduring things that characterize human beings. Irrespective of how great and noble this hope and desire might be, one should admit that permanence or stability in life under the sun is against human nature, which for Qoheleth is הבל, that is, fleeting, transitory, brief, “not stable”. The use of הבל applied to different areas of life draws attention to the fleetingness of human experience in the world compared to God’s eternity. In Qoheleth’s view, there is nothing eternal on Earth: everything is fleeting (הכל הבל). So is political power, which for Qoheleth is short-lived and unstable, whether oppressive or not. It is, therefore, the aim of this paper to explore the hermeneutical possibility of Qoheleth’s use of הבל, which could be used to understand the political instability in African leadership. As such, this study calls attention to Qoheleth’s use of הבל with a political focus. It reads the text against the context of the oppressive manipulative political control of the powerless, voiceless, and the downtrodden by the powerful in Qoheleth’s society, which is no less in today’s African society. Consequently, it proposes that a political reading of Qoheleth adds to its hermeneutical understanding, which then can become more meaningful to Africans in an oppressive and depriving social and political environment.

The purpose of this study is to analyze various macroeconomic factors that affect Gross Domestic Product growth in ASEAN-4 countries. The type of research is descriptive and explanatory. The research method used is the quantitative method. Based on the phenomenon, purposive sampling is used to determine the countries studied. Using secondary data, the panel data is formed from a combination of countries and a certain period of years. Multivariable regression is used to process panel data. The results show that inflation rate, political stability, and control of corruption have a significant effect on GDP growth. The novelty of this research is the new model of GDP growth in ASEAN-4 countries where control of corruption serves as an intervening variable that affects GDP growth. The findings suggest that to maintain an increase in GDP growth in this region, the governments should keep the inflation rate under control and continue striving to reduce corruption. Controlling the level of corruption can be done by maintaining the stability of the political situation and controlling the inflation rate.

We publish the following document by Dr. Ratan Basu as a jewel worth preserving to have a clearer vision of the history of India and how the social, political and economic forms developed. Based on the ancient Indian traditions of the indigenous sources of the story that are scattered in the Vedas, Puranas, the epics -Rāmāyana and Mahābhārata-, Buddhist texts, Jains and rock excavations and inscriptions as sources of information, it broadens the focus of his research since when it comes to chronological history - as we generally understand by the term "history" - the ancient Indian texts hardly provide a coherent idea. That is why it includes in this document foreign authors from Escílax de Carianda through Greek, Chinese, Christian authors up to the beginning of the 20th century. This systematic and in-depth investigation is essential to understand the origins and sources of the first manuscript found of the Pancha Tantra dated at the dawn of the 11th century, which give a complete account of the society, economy and politics of ancient India so that scholars in tantric philosophy they can establish with greater precision and scientific rigor the category "tantrism" as a source of the emancipatory movements that culminated in the constitution of 1949 and article 15 motorized among others by B.R. Ambedkar.

Sir Percy Cox played an influential role in defining the outcomes of various nations in the Middle East and protecting Britain's welfare throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Being a great negotiator, political agent, advisor and administrator, and having great competence in the different languages of the Gulf region, Cox served successfully in different countries in the Middle East, protecting British interests, and gained great success in the process. This article explores the role of Sir Percy Cox in the Middle East, focusing on the various positions that he assumed in different countries, including Muscat, Mesopotamia, Iraq and Kuwait. The article utilizes both primary and secondary sources and delves deeper to understand the influence of Sir Percy Cox's career in defining the politics and state of different countries across the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research analyzes the content of 416 fake news items identified during the first half of 2021 by Maldita.es and Newtral.es, from Spain, and Colombiacheck and La Silla Vacía, from Colombia. The results show that the majority of the authors of fake news are anonymous, and that this especially harms the current governments and other public officials. The interests of the promoting actors are political-governmental, political-institutional and reputational. The study also asked about the topics, formats and distribution channels of fake news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Jacques Berlinerblau's "Secularism: The Basics" asks how much and what kind of state separation from religion is required to secure the multiple notions of secularism that have come to dominate debates on faith in the global context. By organizing the book around a distinct set of issues, including questions about the meanings of secularism and its appearance in different contexts that benefit liberal democracy, Berlinerblau implicitly gives voice to the continuity of the tradition of secularism for a large segment of the academic field that has been evolving for the last three decades. While opposing secularism as a monocultural phenomenon, he grapples with the normative pre-definition of political secularism that refers to legally binding actions of the secular state that seek to regulate the relationship between itself and religious citizens and between religious citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Co-herencia is the property of Universidad EAFIT 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 Revista Uruguaya de Ciencia Política is the property of Instituto de Ciencia Politica (Universidad de la Republica de Uruguay) 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.)

Review of: Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective, Raymond Briggs, curated by Katie Currach and Nicolette Jones Cambridge University Library, Cambridge, 29 April–26 August 2023 Raymond Briggs: A Retrospective, a touring exhibition from the Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration, was installed at Cambridge University Library from 2 April to the 26 August in 2023. The collection, courtesy of the Raymond Briggs Archive and Penguin Random House, consists of annotated page designs and original illustrations selected from over sixty years of award-winning work. From fairytales to political satire, this exhibition showcases the intricate detail and deep emotional resonance of Briggs' work; a legacy of powerful storytelling which has moved so many readers, old and young alike, over the decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]