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Background: The associations between authoritarian personality and subjective well-being remains understudied, especially in China. In addition, as Chinese individuals and Chinese organizations generally attach importance to authority, exploring the matching effect of individual authoritarian personality and organizational culture (OC) can provide information for career selection, talent recruitment and university enrollment. The present study aimed to test associations between authoritarian personality traits (right-wing authoritarian, RWA; social dominance orientation, SDO) and subjective well-being (SWB; including positive affect, PA; negative affect, NA; and life satisfaction, LS) at the general and component-specific levels and the possible moderating role of OC (military or nonmilitary universities) on the associations in Chinese culture for the first time. Methods: A total of 6,580 Chinese students from military and nonmilitary universities were surveyed using the Right Wing Authoritarianism Scale, Social Dominance Orientation Scale, Campbell Index of Well-being, Patient Health Questionnaire, and Satisfaction with Life Scale. Results: A higher score on RWA, but lower on SDO, correlated with greater SWB at both the general level and the component-specific levels. The links of RWA/SDO and positive factors (PA/LS) of SWB as well as latent SWB were moderated by the OC (being in military or nonmilitary universities). Specifically, these correlations were stronger for military than for civilian students. Further, although the moderating roles of OC existed in all three subgroups (sex, age, and socioeconomic status [SES] level), the negative link between OC and latent SWB existed in the male, younger, and high-SES individuals, while this link was not significant in female, older, and low-SES ones. Conclusions: The present study extends the findings of the moderating roles of organizational culture on the positive RWA–SWB relationship and the negative SDO–SWB relationship in oriental cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Related Articles This article suggests that since people who believe in magic and those who believe in conspiracy theories produce meaning and make sense of the world by engaging in the same process of signification, they should be more likely to have one such belief if they hold the other. To test this proposition, we perform both macro‐ and micro‐level analyses using, respectively, cross‐national datasets and an original set of Tanzanian data. Our findings from both sets of analyses reveal a strong association between witchcraft beliefs and the belief in conspiracy theories.Gainous, Jason, and Bill Radunovich. 2008. “Religion and Core Values: A Reformulation of the Funnel of Causality.” Politics & Policy 33(1): 154–80. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2005.tb00213.x.Richey, Sean. 2017. “A Birther and a Truther: The Influence of the Authoritarian Personality on Conspiracy Beliefs.” Politics & Policy 45(3): 465–85. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12206.Tubadji, Annie. 2023. “You'll Never Walk Alone: Loneliness, Religion, and Politico‐economic Transformation.” Politics & Policy 51(4): 661–95. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12538. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some research was conducted on the conditions that gave rise to the authoritarian personalities at the root of fascism in the 20th century that is the age of wars and mass deaths. One of these is the large-scale research conducted in 1950, known as Authoritarian Personality. Theodor W. Adorno, one of the theorists of the Frankfurt School, is among the thinkers who contributed to this study. Adorno's contribution to the research was published as "The Authoritarian Personality" and was used in critical studies. In this study, Adorno researched what the authoritarian personality is, which he sees among the causes of antisemitism and fascism, and what conditions are effective in the formation of this personality. This article, based on Adorno's work, problematizes authoritarian personality representations in cinema. Authoritarian personality elements were searched and analyzed in the films using sociological criticism, psychoanalytic criticism and ideological criticism in the study. The films named Painted Bird (Nabarvené ptáče, 2019) and The Wave (Die Welle, 2008), which were determined as samples in the study, were analyzed in line with these theoretical discussions. It was concluded that all authoritarian personality traits are represented in both films. The fact that the same result is observed in two different films, set in different countries and depicting events in different social structures, shows that authoritarian personality traits can emerge and turn into a danger when they find a suitable environment. Cinema films that contain the sociological situations of societies also successfully reflect this situation. The events, situations and characters represented in the two films selected as samples also confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sosyal bilimler alanında davranışçı yaklaşımın hâkim olması ile birlikte siyaset bilimi alanında yapılan araştırmalar ampirik bir temelde yürütülmeye başlanmıştır. 1950’lerde Adorno’nun öncülüğünde gelişen otoriteryen kişilik çalışmaları, kişilik yapılarının siyasal tutumlara etkisini araştırmıştır. Fromm ile başlayan otoriteryen kişilik çalışmaları Adorno ve çağdaşı olan bilim insanlarının yaptıkları deneysel çalışmalar ile kişilik yapıları ve siyasal davranış arasında ilişkinin olabileceğine dair önemli bulgulara ulaşmıştır. Freud’un tarif ettiği klasik yer değiştirme mekanizmasıyla açıklanan otoriteryen kişilik, otoriteye ve güçlü liderliğe karşı derin bir bağlılık beslenmesi ve otoritenin onaylamadığı dış gruplara saldırganca tutum sergilenmesi şeklinde ortaya çıkmaktadır. Son dönemlerde Adorno ve çağdaşlarının geliştirdiği otoriteryen kişilik kuramını, sosyal psikolog Bob Altemeyer bir adım öteye taşıyarak Sağ Kanat Yetkeciliği kavramını ortaya atmış ve bunu ölçeklendirmiştir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, otoriteryen kişiliğin ne olduğunu, onu besleyen kişilik eğilimlerini, alan yazınında otoriteryen kişiliği ölçmek amacıyla geliştirilmiş birtakım ölçekleri ve Bob Altemeyer’in Sağ Kanat Yetkeciliğini açıklamaktır.

Objective: Scholarship has now recognized the potentially detrimental effects of social media on political knowledge, but the question as to whether political knowledge and susceptibility to misinformation are related remains open. Furthermore, there are not many cross‐national comparison studies. This study compares the general and differential factors of the mechanisms of misinformation formation in social media between China and the United States from the perspectives of media factors and psychological factors. Methods: Using the 2020 Netizen Social Awareness Survey, we analyze the relationships between social media, personality traits, cognitive closure, and misinformation in China and the United States. Results: The study shows that social media such as Microblog and Twitter do not mislead news consumers. Personality traits and motivational factors have a significant impact on people's misinformation. Authoritarian personality is a general psychological factor affecting public misinformation. Moreover, under different media systems in China and the United States, the impact of social media on misinformation varies with the degree of cognitive closure. Conclusion: It is evident that in the era of social media, cultivating rational and knowledgeable democratic citizens cannot focus solely on the role of the media. It must also consider the cultural and psychological characteristics of the national population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to theories on ideological differences, individuals who endorse the values of freedom, justice, and equality are expected to be left-wing oriented, whereas individuals who endorse authoritarian values are expected to be right-wing oriented. I hypothesize that such associations do not hold in the Arab world, where in the context of past state formation trajectories, leftists and secularists endorsed an authoritarian-nationalist discourse to build post-colonial states, while Islamists endorsed a freedom-and-justice discourse as a reaction to state oppression. Using original representative face-to-face survey data collected right after the 2019 Tunisian elections, I test this hypothesis by examining which values determine citizens' voting behavior in both parliamentary and presidential elections. Results show that people who endorse liberty-and-justice values are more likely to vote for Islamist right-wing parties, whereas those who endorse authoritarian-nationalist values are more likely to vote for leftist parties. These results have important implications for the study of voting behavior in the Arab world and in comparative politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Although new policy frameworks such as the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus are emerging to better respond to increasingly complex and protracted conflicts and humanitarian crises, analysis of their impact remains limited. We analyse the case of Iraq in the aftermath of the ISIL conflict with data that measures the impact of interventions from across the nexus domains. Results show that humanitarian and development outcomes improved steadily over time, while peace outcomes remained poor and relatively unchanged. Improvement in the 'soft' security elements of peace related to social cohesion and coexistence were superseded by a deterioration in 'hard' security elements linked to protection of civilians and security configurations over time. These findings are explained by the lack of integration of hard security elements into an otherwise comprehensive international response along HDP Triple Nexus components. Separate hard security interventions rather had a critically different scope focused primarily on counterterrorism without further encompassing the wider range of security issues facing conflict-affected populations, including those internally displaced seeking to return, nor did they consider the diffusion of local powers and actors in this regard. This has left particularly vulnerable displaced and conflict-affected communities without remedy as priorities in the country shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formally launched by the United Nations (UN) in 2016, the so-called Triple Nexus has been adopted by several international donors that have intervened in Tunisia since the fall of its authoritarian regime. Faced with the state's limited capacity to address critical post-revolutionary challenges such as escalating poverty and radicalisation, external actors – spanning multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental organisations – have endeavoured to tackle humanitarian, development and security issues to promote stability and support the fragile democratisation process in the country. In this context, Social Solidarity Economy (SSE) initiatives have gained prominence as a means to concurrently address diverse challenges associated with the 'lack of social development', including marginalisation and the absence of social cohesion – identified as catalysts for radicalisation and instability. In contrast with these stated objectives, fieldwork spanning 2015 to 2019 across various regions of Tunisia reveals that the international donor discourse on SSE, entrenched in a neoliberal approach and government securitisation strategies, exacerbates economic insecurity and amplifies marginalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of new conceptualizations of left‐wing authoritarianism have recently been proposed to counterbalance the traditional focus on right‐wing authoritarianism in political psychology. This article scrutinizes conceptual confusions in the literature on authoritarianism that have been exacerbated by these new conceptualizations, including a pseudo‐debate about the existence of left‐wing authoritarianism; a conflation of the psychological phenomenon of authoritarianism with the more general category of all antidemocratic predispositions; and a number of logical, conceptual, and statistical fallacies that obscure psychological differences between antidemocratic predispositions on the right and the left. It proposes that antidemocratic predispositions on the right typically involve an authoritarian adherence to established norms along with violence and repression directed at perceived threats to, or deviations from, these norms, whereas those that occur on the left more commonly involve a motivation to overthrow the established authority along with violence and repression directed at perceived threats to superordinate ideological values. It concludes with a call for a broadened and reinvigorated program of research that studies the complexity and diversity of antidemocratic predispositions on the left, the right, and beyond, and their causal impact on antidemocratic attitudes and actions, drawing on insights from multiple traditions and fields of research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repression has long been regarded as the main response of the state when encountering contentious actions. Although recent studies point out that repression may vary by regime types and state-level concerns regarding international reputation, few analyses to date have analyzed how movement dynamics and movement targets jointly shape state responses. In this article, I analyze over 7,500 episodes of labor protests in mainland China to advance scholarship on state responses to social movements. I develop a typology of state responses, from active coercion to accommodation and even tolerance. I then explore differences in state responses based on protest tactics and whether they are against private or state-affiliated targets. My results show that state responses differ based on the tactics that movements employ. Furthermore, these effects are moderated by whether activists target state-affiliated or private entities. This research offers important insights into the dynamic relations between state and social movement, the diverse ways highly bureaucratic governments use to manage social unrest, and the conflict between maintaining legitimacy and social control in both authoritarian and democratic contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 26 July 2023, Mohamed Bazoum, President of Niger, was deposed by a military coup masterminded by members of his presidential guard. The military junta dissolved the government and on 28 July General Abdourahmane Tchiani, head of the presidential guard, was pronounced Niger’s military leader. Since the coup, there have been widespread responses and reactions (local and international) to the political developments in the Niger Republic. This article uses secondary sources of data to argue that the coup was not an expression of displeasure against democracy, neither did it show solidarity for an authoritarian system. It was a symptom of the failure of democracy, including the operations of its proponents (the West, and France in particular) in the Sahel. The widespread jubilation emanated from the hope that the military leadership would put in place measures to ameliorate the security and economic woes of the country. The study concludes that the security and socioeconomic improvement of the Niger Republic is not tied to either a democratic or autocratic system of government, as proclaimed in international politics by the West, especially the US and France, and Russia and China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective/context: This study aims to evaluate the relevance of the category of populism when characterizing a party of the "new right," such as the Republican Party of Chile. Methodology: A discourse analysis of a corpus of texts representative of the ideology of the Republicans was carried out, considering four analytical dimensions: ideological description schemes, collective identification terms, populist statements, and the populist discursive style as embodied in the rhetorical ethos of the enunciator. Conclusions: Even though the Republican Party has been typified as radical, right-wing, and populist, neither the ideological schemes, the vocabulary, the utterances, nor the discursive style evidence a marked populism. In sum, other ideological frameworks better characterize the discourse of this party-in particular, conservative, authoritarian, neo-liberal, and neo-patriotic motives, framed with the signifier of a certain republicanism. Originality: The research allows a divergent interpretation of the parties of the new right, usually characterized as radical populist right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay aims to present, analyse and problematise the way in which Latin American intellectuals, linked to critical social theories, explain the role and meanings of the football spectacle in capitalist societies. To this end, it has been organised into three parts. In the first part, I analysed the moral condemnation of football, showing that some authors see this sport as an essentially alienated activity and others only condemn its spectacularisation, proposing that it be reformed. In the second part, I analysed the (supposed) ideological functions of football, problematising the arguments that this sport necessarily legitimizes capitalism, conceals its contradictions, unifies the oppressed and the pressured, fragments the working class and reifies social relations. In the third part, I discuss the (supposed) authoritarian personality of the football fan, focusing on the political-ideological implications of this idea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What role does propaganda play in the information politics of authoritarian societies, and what is its relationship to censorship? What have we learned from rival accounts in recent literature about why states produce it? While regimes clearly invest in propaganda believing that it is effective, there is still much to learn about whether, when, and how it actually is effective. We first discuss some of the tensions inherent in distinguishing between persuasive and dominating, soft and hard, propaganda. We then review efforts to understand the conditions under which propaganda changes attitudes and/or behavior in terms of propaganda's content, relational factors, aspects of the political environment, and citizens' own predispositions. We highlight the need for more research on propaganda in authoritarian settings, especially on how patterns of its consumption may change amid crises, technological shifts, and direct state interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inspired by the Studies on authoritarian personality and based on contemporary research on authoritarianism in Brazil, we will analyze the construction of the idol aura surrounding former president Bolsonaro, which allowed the far right to be elected and remain in power until the last elections in 2022. We see his rise as mostly due to the digital violence that largely benefited his campaign and was directed against the block of left-wing candidates. So as to clarify this issue, we will revisit the sociohistorical and psycho-political fundamentals of the antidemocratic and ethnocentric behaviors spurred by that leadership that became idolized. We will also outline an emancipatory, antiracist, culturally relevant and decolonial education, as a way to provide what Adorno regarded as being the antidote to the reemergence of a regressive barbarism. In the case of Brazil, barbarism refers to the remnants of the slave system implemented in the country for three and a half centuries, whose destructive potential was awakened under Bolsonaro's government, given the latent antidemocratic and authoritarian tendencies in our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines the recent presidential memorandum that replaced the Anglicized exonymic version "Turkey" with the endonym "Türkiye" as a conscious, performative and public relations campaign at both national and international levels. On the surface, this change addresses populist sociolinguistic hypersensitivities surrounding the connotations of the term "turkey" while simultaneously harnessing the commodification and marketization of the Turkey brand through selective references culled from collective memory (i.e., past) and branding aimed at economic gains (i.e., future). However, at the deeper level, this transformation serves as a discursive political instrument and a top-down nation branding effort powered by substantial resources from the state and its institutions with an ultimate motivation to consolidate President Erdoğan's political power and authority, elevate his status to that of a national leader and institutionalize his populist/nationalist yerli ve millî rhetoric from a de facto to de jure within Yeni Türkiye as a competitive authoritarian regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although authoritarian parenting is claimed to be conducive to the development of collectivistic values like filial piety, inconsistent results are documented in the literature. We examined how filial piety, consisting of reciprocal (love, affection) and authoritarian (obedience, obligation) forms, can be fostered in Indonesia through authoritarian parenting. We propose that authoritarian parenting should be broken down into smaller variables, like behavioral and psychological control, and that this can provide insight as to how values are instilled through parenting practices. We tested a mediation model where perceived parental behavioral and psychological control mediates (perceived) parental authoritarianism to reciprocal and authoritarian filial piety. Participants were 329 late adolescents (age 18–24) from Indonesia who filled measures of the aforementioned variables. Results showed perceived parental authoritarianism has competitive effects on the two filial pieties which can be isolated by the mediating variables. We find effects mediated by perceived behavioral control tend to be positive, while those mediated by perceived psychological control tend to be negative. Our results demonstrated that authoritarian parenting can be decomposed into distinct control variables, namely behavioral and psychological control, and that this decomposition is useful in explaining how parenting can instill filial piety and other collectivistic values. We conclude that collectivistic values are fostered through parents' positive autonomy-regulation measures, and that research on specific practices would be more productive and less ambiguous compared to the use of broad parenting typologies. Future research should study how different, more precise practices of autonomy-regulation influence value development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ideological discourses of Central Asia have been subject to much research. However, the use and the role of ideological discourses in framing internationalization of education policy has been largely overlooked. While much has been studied on how and why internationalization of higher education (HE) became indispensable part of tertiary sector, the cases where internationalization of HE is confronted by a government ideology agenda has largely remained outside of scholarly attention. This pioneering research offers analysis on ideology-based resistance to internationalization of education in authoritarian regimes. The paper argues that it is the framing of internationalization as a threat to national ideologies and a national model of education that confronts HE internationalization in some authoritarian political orders. The paper uses the case of post-Soviet Uzbekistan that promoted national ideologies as the basis of its education model. To support its argument, the paper analyses the official discourses of former President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan (1991–2016) and the statements of government officials on the country's national education model. It also analyses the interviews held with staff of HE institutions in Tashkent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While scholars have studied democratic backsliding in the West, rapid democratic backsliding in the Global South is relatively underexplored, and the role of social media is unclear. Through a mixed-methods analysis of pro and anti-military Facebook and Telegram posts and offline protests and state violence in the backsliding democracy of Myanmar, our research expands current understandings of connective action in the Global South. Supported by both qualitative and quantitative data, we find that the interaction between offline state violence and offline protests is mediated by engagement on Facebook and Telegram, and thus that social media in Myanmar is integral to democratic social movements against the authoritarian state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to a recent call on reducing social inequality and improving climate resilience, the attention has been shifted to examine power relations that influence disadvantaged groups' representation in adaptation policy and decision-making. While current studies have mainly examined micropolitics of power and agency in democratic countries or based on gender perspective, this research uses a qualitative case study approach that investigates the dynamics of power relations in climate adaptation processes in Vietnam. I draw upon the politics of adaptation framework with a focus on subjectivities and everyday resistance to scrutinize if and how local farmers negotiate, comply with or contest the centralized hierarchical structure in adaptation. The research advances knowledge on subject-making processes and multifaceted political agency in navigating power asymmetries and authoritarian adaptation governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In light of China's rapid growth and increasing engagement in the global climate regime, the authoritarian regulatory model has attracted attention from researchers and policymakers alike. This paper examines the question of to what extent and in what way state authoritarianism leads to (un)successful environmental policy implementation in China, with particular attention to energy transformation. This study inter-connects macro and micro inquiries through a case study of nuclear energy policy in China. An examination of the extended policy cycle as a comprehensive process that brings a policy to fruition shows that authoritarian regulatory environmental policy intervenes in each stage, resulting in a particular path of the evolution of environmental policy in nuclearising energy transformation in China. Adding to commonly accepted tenets of authoritarian environmentalism in general, the explanations of Chinese distinctiveness in materialising environmental policy enhances the understanding of the merits and challenges of authoritarian mechanisms of environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Examine the group‐specific connections between personality, ideology, and the moral emotions of empathy and schadenfreude. Background: Empathy and schadenfreude are emotions that often lead to moral prosocial or spiteful harmful behaviors respectively. An outstanding question is what motivates feelings of empathy and schadenfreude towards people from different groups. Here we examine two prominent motivators of emotions: personality traits and ideology. Previous work has found that people's ideological orientations towards respecting traditionalism (RWA) and preferences about group‐based hierarchy (SDO) can impact intergroup emotions. Further, personality traits of low agreeableness, low openness, and high conscientiousness uniquely engender SDO and RWA. Method: In the research presented here (Study 1 n = 492; Study 2 n = 786), we examine the relationships between personality traits, ideology, and emotions for groups that are perceived to be dangerous and competitive. We hypothesize that SDO and RWA will relate to reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude but towards unique groups. SDO will relate to reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude towards competitive, low‐status groups while RWA will relate to reduced empathy and increased schadenfreude towards threatening groups. We further extend past work by investigating left‐wing authoritarianism as well. Results: We find broad support for our expectation that the relationships between personality and emotions, as well as ideology and emotions, depend on the specific group in question. Conclusions: These results help expand the dual process motivational model of prejudice and suggest the importance of specifying a target group when assessing relationships between personality, ideology, and emotions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will explore the purpose, system of subjects, principal tools and consequences of neo-authoritarian intervention. The peculiarities of the neo-authoritarian regime, neo-authoritarian intervention, and export of neo-authoritarianism are clarified. China and Russia are selected as the main cases for analysis. The purpose of neo-authoritarian intervention is defined as the intention to strengthen the internal stability of non-democratic regimes and to broaden their influence on international processes, the effort being to change the world order and destroy liberaldemocratic values. It is argued that the key subjects of neoauthoritarian intervention are the governments of neoauthoritarian states and a great number of actors (puppet parties; government-organized non-governmental organizations; marginal, ultra-radical social and political movements; statecontrolled media; unscrupulous analytical centres; and international multilingual networks of TV, radio broadcasts, news agencies, which are financed by neo-authoritarian governments). The system of tools of neo-authoritarian influence includes tools of: power; influence within the soft power; subversion; value modification; election tampeering; and pressure on international organizations. The tools of neo-authoritarian intervention are based on the classic tools of authoritarianism, but are modernized due to digitalization, information and communication progress, and the other technologies. Neo-authoritarian intervention is proven to increase the risks to global security. The main consequences of the strengthening of neo-authoritarian intervention on a global scale are the growth of threats to democracy, the risks of changing the world agenda. The consequence of neo-authoritarian interference in the internal affairs of non-democratic states is the growth of dependence on neo-authoritarian exporter states, further socio-political instability, increased use of force in solving socio-political problems. The research states that in the case of neo-authoritarian intervention in the affairs of democratic states, the consequences may include both effective counteraction to neo-authoritarian interventions and thus strengthening of the quality of democracy, and destructive tendencies including the growth of populism, radicalism, corruption, and hate speech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aimed to explore individual level factors as predictors of misogynistic attitudes. Given that misogyny and activity on online forums related to so called incel-dom is growing and has been identified as a terrorist threat, it becomes important to better understand the underpinnings of misogynistic attitudes, also in a normal population. Based on previous research and theory, entitlement, Social Dominance Orientation and Right-wing authoritarianism was explored as well as the moderating role of being single among American men (N = 302). Results from an online survey showed that all three predictors as well as being single (compared to being in a relationship) significantly predicted misogynistic attitudes. The effect of SDO was moderated by relationship status such that singles who were high SDO expressed most misogyny. The results contribute to a better understanding of who may come to adhere to a more radical view of women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of fake news in Malaysia is vast and complex, posing threats to democratic processes and social cohesion. However, fake news research often relies on Western definitions, contributing to a lack of understanding within the Malaysian context. The introduction of the Malaysia Anti-Fake News Act in 2018, which encompasses all types of information and ideas, have also left confusion regarding the definition of fake news. This research aims to serve as a guide, starting from how "fake news" is defined in the country and then addressing potential issues associated with constituting the term from both legal and journalists' perspectives. Utilizing quantitative content analysis and qualitative interviews, the research reveals challenges in combatting fake news in a semi-authoritarian context. Balancing media freedom and regulation is challenging, and distinguishing between sensational and fake news is complicated by subjective interpretations. While enhancing professionalism in journalism is crucial, the utmost importance lies in establishing transparent governance. This is because establishing trust in government-owned new media is key to encouraging reliance on credible sources. This research assists in providing a clearer understanding of the underlying problems related to fake news dissemination in the country and suggests possible long-term solutions to curb its impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how the combination of the public health crisis and the authoritarian government of Janez Janša's Slovenian Democratic Party, along with its tendency to politically instrumentalize and economically devastate the media, impacted journalism during the Covid-19 pandemic. Of central concern are how journalists understand their roles in communication relating to Covid-19 and how these roles are shaped when the pandemic and trends towards democratic backsliding coincide in time. The analysis is conducted in the theoretical frameworks of crisis communication, authoritarian influences on the media, and journalistic roles, while methodologically it is based on individual interviews in which journalists reflect on their professionalism amidst the pandemic and rising authoritarian control over media. The findings show that the facilitative role revealed in existing research of media functioning during a public health crisis may be interwoven with a watchdog role challenged by authoritarian tendencies. Indeed, interviews suggested the coexistence of general journalistic roles at a time of dual crisis, when the sense of responsibility to facilitate measures to confine the spread of the disease is coupled with critical monitoring, (self)reflection, and attempts to restore professional standards in both public and private media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hybrid regimes are characterised by a balancing act between democracy and authoritarianism, with neither political regime type being dominant. The balancing of the state between democratic and non-democratic modes of functioning can take the form of a state transforming from authoritarianism to democracy and a form of regression from democracy to authoritarianism, when the democratic system is upset by non-democratic mechanisms. The functioning of the political system in Ukraine during the years 1996–2004 was such that the authoritarian aspects of Ukraine's hybrid regime overshadowed its democratic elements. Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way (2002; 2013) refer to this phenomenon as "competitive authoritarianism". This term denotes regimes where authoritarian features are more prevalent than democratic ones, according to the concept. Since 2004, the Ukrainian political system has transitioned towards a hybrid regime that places more emphasis on democratic characteristics. In the following twenty years, the Ukrainian hybrid regime was transformed between democratic-authoritarian hybrid regime (as a result of the events of the "Orange Revolution", and the "Revolution of Dignity") and authoritarian-democratic hybrid regime (during presidency L. Kuchma and V. Yanukovych). The hybridity of the political regime also translated into the functioning of the chief state bodies. The aim of this study was to find an answer to the question whether and to what extent did the hybridity of Ukraine's political regime imply on the specificity of the functioning of the institutions of the prime minister and government in the state. The research hypothesis is that the hybridity of the Ukrainian political regime, as a stage of transition from authoritarianism to democracy, partly contributed to changing the traditional order of functioning of the institutions of prime minister and government in the state just formally losing the head of state's dominant role in the process of government functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Right-wing authoritarians in America today know that they need poetry for cultural legitimation but cannot seem to produce anything contemporary that would perform that function in intellectual life. Into this breach step Milo Yiannopoulos and Michele Malkin, with their "America First!" reading list, which includes, among other things, a fair bit of poetry. This article reads the poetry selection of the list in the context of its other recommendations, before turning to the sentimental nativist and neomedievalist Romanticism that emerges from this logic. A glance at the poetry of neo-Nazi hate website Stormfront indicates that the demotic and insular tenor demanded by the authoritarian personality today is difficult to reconcile with any plausible concept of intellectual life. The poetic efforts of less explicitly fascist poetry magazines, such as Atop the Cliffs and Rifts in Stone, confirm this by struggling to break free from the anti-intellectual Romanticism demanded by the cultural logic of right-wing authoritarianism today. Rather than recalling the line from Schlageter about culture, though, the essay concludes by remembering that authoritarianism's relationship to high-powered assault weapons is anything but metaphorical, and that neo-Nazi verse is the lyric poetry of mass murder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to analyze the influence of parenting styles on the emergence of emotional competencies, which influence moral disengagement mechanisms. We hypothesized that empathy and emotional regulation skills would mediate between parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive styles) and moral disengagement mechanisms. The study involved 501 young people (aged 19–25), and the dimensions examined were: parenting styles, alexithymia, difficulties in emotion regulation strategies, and moral disengagement. Similarity Structure Analysis (SSA) showed a significant relationship between parenting style, emotional skills and moral disengagement measures. Moreover, mediation analysis revealed a significant indirect effect of authoritative style on moral disengagement through alexithymia and emotional dysregulation. The results revealed a significant indirect effect of authoritative style on moral disengagement through emotional dysregulation but not alexithymia. Finally, the results showed a significant indirect effect of permissive style on moral disengagement through alexithymia and emotional dysregulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the research that led to this article we pursued to identify and analyse the regimes of identification present in part of Brazilian new political right to discuss the accusations of fascism that have been assigned to it. For this purpose, besides a theoretical and bibliographical survey about the topics of mass psychology and authoritarian personality inspired by Freud and Adorno's ideas, we carried out the lurking procedure, a technique of data collection associated to netnography. So, we regularly followed the interactions in the comments box of the Movimento Brasil Livre (MBL) Facebook page, to finally proceed with the content analysis. In conclusive terms, we validate the notion of fascism as an analytical category possible to apply to the abovementioned social tendencies, and we defend that what has been happening in nowadays national politics may be read as the (re)politicization of a pre-existing authoritarian personality understood here as an ideological and psychological system deeply bound to the development of modern capitalist societies, constitutively inclined to prejudice, discrimination and domination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the largest foreign information and communications technology (ICT) investor in Africa, and Chinese telecommunication companies including Huawei, CloudWalk, and Transsion have brought a range of artificial intelligence (AI) technology to Africa, from face recognition to smart cities. Existing analysis of China's AI impact in Africa, however, habitually falls into a Cold War-style narrative of 'authoritarianism' against the backdrop of 'liberal democracy.' This article calls for going beyond the oversimplified paradigm and proposes to examine the new phenomenon through a more sophisticated and critical lens. First, I show how (English language) media's investigations and academia's analysis of China's AI policy and its global impact (particularly in Africa) usually concentrate on a deep concern about the exportation of authoritarianism from Beijing. The article then demonstrates that the 'authoritarianism vs liberal democracy' model is problematic, if not outdated, and particularly insufficient to capture the multi-layered and overlapping realities of authoritarian and democratic moves by states around the world and the distinguishing properties of AI technologies. Based on a critical appraisal of the notions of surveillance capitalism and data colonialism and the recent empirical evidence from Africa in the third and fourth sections, I propose that these two concepts are more productive analytical frameworks for understanding what is going on in Africa related to the presence of China's AI, as well as for updating and moving forward the debates about whether China is colonizing Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A popular explanation for the rise of (authoritarian) populism nowadays draws on individuals’ feelings of being left behind. One of the reasons why people may feel that way is insufficient access to basic services. Relying on ESS data collected during the Covid-19 pandemic and data about healthcare institutions acquired from Open Street Maps, our study investigates how access to healthcare services impacts the support for authoritarian populists in three countries – Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary. The results of this study provide useful insights that further deepen our understanding of the influence of spatial context on political preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay delves into the significance of self-cultivation in the thought of Li Zhi (1527–1602), particularly the process of rediscovering one's childlike innocence (tongxin 童心). This journey challenges conventional morals and doctrines due to Li Zhi's various levels of interpretation, which scrutinize the concept of self and the objectives of self-cultivation. Li Zhi's notion of the self develops some concepts elaborated within the School of Mind, notably those of Wang Ji (1498–1583), and reconstructs an alternative Chinese model of a self, centered on individual autonomy. His ideas provoke ethical and philosophical considerations from both intra-cultural and transcultural perspectives. Central to Li Zhi's concept of self-cultivation is based on his psychological realism, which begins with an acknowledgment of the inherent "selfishness" of human nature. However, unlike Xunzi's viewpoint, Li Zhi contends that this innate selfishness is not the cause of conflicts and disorder. On the contrary, it is the source of morality and a positive dynamic force both in society and in personal life. He harnesses the concept of emptiness inherited from Buddhism and Wang Ji, employing it as a practical and secular tool to liberate individuals from biases, authoritarian dictates, and social norms. Situated within the framework of the cult of qing and the reclamation of emotions and desires, Li Zhi's notion of the childmind, with its natural inclinations, self-interests, and desires, resonates with modern psychological theories on the flow of consciousness and self-motivation, as well as contemporary discussions on the morality of self-interest. This juxtaposition unveils the paradox of "Unsocial sociability," prompting an exploration of the intricate relationship between sociability and selfishness. Questions remain, then, concerning the efficacy of self-cultivation in fostering the spontaneous expression of moderate and genuine inclinations. Can such self-cultivation establish a moral standard accessible to all, on their own terms, while simultaneously preventing harm among individuals (bu xianghai 不相害)? These inquiries underscore the complexity inherent in Li Zhi's philosophy and invite further contemplation on the dynamics of selfhood and ethical conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite its long history since the late Ottoman period in Turkey, this article focuses on the headscarf issue within a particular period; since 2002, when the Justice and Development Party has been in power. Women's issues have always occupied a large space in the Justice and Development Party's project(s), which articulate diverse narrative lines ranging from conservatism to liberalism. The article aims to unravel this diverse insight into the Justice and Development Party's politics within the context of its recent political drift toward authoritarianism while particularly focusing on its headscarf discourses. It argues that the Justice and Development Party's political drift toward authoritarianism resulted in the replacement of the earlier politics of consensus/'non-defiance', which refers to a conservatism that denies radicalism and avoids emphasizing controversial issues like the headscarf, with the politics of dissensus/defiance that reveal social tensions and political conflicts such as those between Islamic and secular sectors, through revitalizing the old debate on the headscarf issue. In this sense, the lifting of the headscarf bans in public institutions in 2008 can be read as a symptom, not of the Justice and Development Party's earlier liberal stand, but of the beginning of its shift toward authoritarianism based on its religious-nationalist project, which made use of this liberal right of pious women in enhancing the gaps between oppositional groups and in consolidating its social basis. This earlier attempt has been followed by continuous use of the headscarf as a symbol drawing a border between 'us' and 'them' and signifying outrages and moral crisis for which the Justice and Development Party blamed the oppositional groups. Within this context, the article questions the ways in which the headscarf as a political symbol along with other conservative policies targeting female bodies and sexualities took a part in the constitution and consolidation of the Justice and Development Party's radical right alliance and its authoritarian regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The talents of scientific and technological (sci-tech) innovators are crucial in maintaining the competitiveness of an organization. Based on organizational support theory, we examined the stimulation and effectiveness of sense of work gain in a survey of 459 sci-tech innovators under three types of paternalistic leadership: authoritarian, benevolent, and moral. The results showed that authoritarian leadership was negatively related to innovators' task performance, whereas both benevolent and moral leadership were positively related to their task performance. For sense of work gain, all three dimensions (survival, relationship, and growth gain) mediated the relationship between authoritarian leadership and task performance, and relationship gain and growth gain mediated the relationships between both benevolent and moral leadership, and task performance. Organizational support positively moderated the relationships between the three dimensions of sense of work gain and task performance. The findings provide theoretical and practical references for improving innovators' sense of work gain and task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One reason people are motivated to hold right-wing authoritarian beliefs is the need to manage uncertainty. Right-wing authoritarianism provides a stable source of black-and-white 'answers' about the social world – obey established authorities and norms and show hostility to deviants. Right-wing authoritarianism, in turn, is positively associated with more punitive attitudes and judgements. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mock capital jurors' need for cognitive closure and sentencing decisions through right-wing authoritarianism. Four-hundred and fifty-one jury-eligible adults read a hypothetical capital case, weighed aggravating and mitigating evidence and chose a sentence. They also responded to items measuring right-wing authoritarianism and the need for cognitive closure. The need for cognitive closure was indirectly related to choosing a death sentence through right-wing authoritarianism and the weighing of aggravators and mitigators. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future studies, are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper has put forward a new indicator based on the "ABC‐model" of attitudes designed to capture individual‐level Euroscepticism. We constructed a composite anti‐EU score based on affective, behavioural and cognitive sub‐indices. The study analyses data from a representative, countrywide Hungarian public opinion research. Looking for the drivers of anti‐EU attitudes, we took an integrative approach linking various theories of voting behaviour, Euroscepticism and populism studies. Our research showed that subjective well‐being significantly reduces anti‐EU attitudes. We found some empirical support for the "left behind thesis" in the Hungarian context, as severe economic grievances and fear of losing social status explained anti‐EU attitudes. Authoritarian traits turned out to be a major driver of Euroscepticism in Hungary. We proved that cosmopolitan values reduce affective and cognitive anti‐EU attitudes, but foreign experience and some international ties significantly correlated with anti‐EU stance. We confirmed that being a supporter of the governing Fidesz party and sharing culturally right‐wing political views significantly increase anti‐EU attitudes. We also revealed that partisanship's effect is strengthened by affective polarization and political interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on varying perspectives on corporatism in Mexico, tracing its economic origins linked to presidentialism and industrial society. Topics include discussed by Arnaldo Córdova and echoed by Ilán Bizberg and Alberto Aziz in their views on state-controlled syndicates; and historical complexities, state-syndicate dynamics, and political agency within Mexico's authoritarian framework.

How do authoritarian attitudes affect public support for international intervention against human rights abuses? Does U.S. residents' support for human rights actions against perpetrators depend on the type of regime committing human rights violations? These questions are important for understanding how U.S. residents form opinions on U.S. actions toward foreign regimes that perpetrate human rights abuses. We conducted a survey experiment to determine whether support for actions against human rights violators are influenced by the type of regime that committed the human rights violations, repetition of repression, and their preexisting personal authoritarian attitudes. We find that individuals with high personal authoritarianism, which we define as favorable attitudes toward centralized power and appeals to authority for cultural preservation, are less likely to support symbolic actions like naming and shaming or humanitarian aid. They are more likely, however, to support sending peacekeeping troops. We find little evidence that the regime type of the perpetrator or the perpetrator's past behavior affects support. International audiences generally support action in favor of human rights, but the kind of action they prefer is shaped by their preexisting views about authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our research is to improve our understanding of the problematic relationship that exists between law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and African-American/Black communities in the United States of America. We focus on LEA support of anti-Black racism and seek to integrate research on the Trump effect into the guardian-officer vs. warrior-cop literature. On the basis that former U.S. President Donald J. Trump represented an anti-Black leader who (1) prioritized authoritarianism and (2) disregarded ethical norms, we rely on social cognitive theory to examine and clarify the relationship between LEA support for Trump (i.e., a proxy for anti-Black racism) and LEA policing style. In a sample of 376 self-identified Black adults, we find that as perceived LEA support for Trump increases, Black people are more likely to rate LEAs higher on LEA authoritarian policing style (aligns with the warrior-cop philosophy) and lower on LEA ethical policing style (aligns with the guardian-officer philosophy). We also position sex as a moderator and discuss when differences exist between Black men and Black women. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large literature contends that conservatives differ from liberals in their dispositional sensitivity to threat and needs for social order and security. Thus, a puzzle emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic when American conservatives, despite their purported threat sensitivity, responded to the pandemic in ways that evinced little concern toward the risks posed by COVID-19. Threat tolerant liberals present an equally interesting case, having fervently masked, isolated, and advocated for stringent public health restrictions when facing down COVID-19. Why did so many Americans adopt health behaviors and policy preferences at odds with their dispositional orientations toward threat and needs for security during the COVID-19 pandemic? In this paper, I analyze three national surveys to evaluate how psychological dispositions affected Americans' responses to COVID-19. I find that authoritarianism, a common measure of dispositional threat sensitivity and needs for security, conditionally affected Americans' responses to the pandemic. Directly, authoritarianism was associated with greater concern over COVID-19 and, in turn, increased willingness to engage in protective health behaviors, support restrictive public health measures, and support economic interventions amidst the pandemic-induced downturn. Indirectly, however, authoritarianism promoted identification with and cue-taking from right-wing elites who frequently downplayed the severity of COVID-19; attention to such rhetoric reduced politically engaged authoritarians' concern over COVID-19 and, in turn, their willingness to adopt protective health behaviors and support public health restrictions or economic interventionism. Attention to political discourse thus appears to have countervailed Americans' dispositional orientations toward threat and security during the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feelings of injustice and political engagement are often connected, sometimes unquestioningly; the idea being that one generates the other along a sort of continuum. This article examines the links that surface between moral feelings – as a specific form of political emotional experience – and engagement, starting with a decentring of current Western democratic contexts and a shift towards coercive or authoritarian contexts, using field research from the Middle East. Clearly, the emotional intensification linked to violent political experiences must be taken into account, but this emotional intensification does not alone establish any necessary continuity between the shock of certain experiences, a feeling of injustice, and engagement. Activist articulations of a feeling of injustice are in fact three-layered: expression of a feeling fed by lived or transmitted experiences, a reference to ideological frameworks that both legitimise their forms of engagement and help give meaning to their situation, and inscription within a general moral argument. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contrary to Vladimir Putin's geopolitical arguments, there was little chance that a full-scale invasion of Ukraine would benefit Russia's position in the European balance of power and enhance its overall security. Instead, I argue that Putin's decision was based on domestic interests, mainly the regime's legitimation, a major pillar of authoritarian stability. Using a multi-method research design, I demonstrate that the war has significant potential to boost Putin's popularity, nationalism and authoritarian preferences in society, as well as to strengthen his image as the country's heroic protector. As in several autocracies, the instrumentalization of security concerns and existential threats are a powerful source of regime cohesion. These arguments are corroborated by data from Russia's current and previous conflicts, such as elites' discourse, analysis of repressive policies, and public opinion polls on Putin's rule and authoritarian preferences. The regime needs a hostile 'West' and a threatening Ukraine for self-legitimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prospect that legislatures in Southern Africa would be strengthening their engagement in the annual budget process is considered far-fetched. Owing to their Westminster heritage and periods of authoritarian rule, these parliaments are typecast as weak and uninterested in serving as an institutional check on executive authority. Yet, preliminary signals suggest that a transformation may be underway. This study employs primary data collected from the Parliaments of Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe in 2016/2017. Results support the hypothesis that these anglophone African legislatures are becoming more involved in the budget process, particularly at the ex-ante phase, though to varying degrees and with continued challenges. Evidence also suggests progress past certain features of the UK-inherited budget system, despite enduring institutional constraints. This study takes us beyond stereotypes that limit the potential of these institutions to their historical scaffolding and contributes to our understanding of their evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2009, following several countries including Burundi and Nigeria, a proposal was introduced in Rwanda to criminalize same-sex sex and lgbt activism. However, unlike the other countries, Rwanda's Article 217 criminalization proposal was eliminated within months of its introduction. While this result can be understood as a success story, it also can elide the obstacles Rwandan activists experience when organizing for lgbt people. The cross-movement coalition that formed to oppose Article 217 specifically adopted a nonconfrontational strategy designed to work within the authoritarian political system in Rwanda. While activists framed the removal of Article 217 as aligned with existing government priorities, the dialogue strategy has clear limits when activists' goals are to make further changes in Rwanda, particularly when government officials do not see further changes as aligned with their priorities. A combination of the authoritarian system and the government's focus on economic development and individual advancement narrowly circumscribe what types of activism the government will accept. This imperative to conform to government expectations means activists adopt rhetoric and encourage lgbt people to engage in activities that are focused on how they appear as individuals. This focus on the individual elides the wider structural problems that exist in Rwanda that perpetuate discrimination againstlgbt people, particularly those who experience multiple marginalizations. Lgbt activism is circumscribed so it can occur in Rwanda, but this has consequences for how much change is advocated for and who benefits from this activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does a crisis of the state and its 'emergency politics' lead to a crisis of the intellectual, or what does it mean to be an intellectual in our contemporary conjuncture beyond Western clichés and the universalistic bias of their declinist arguments? In responding to these questions, we draw upon data collected from Turkish and Syrian academics living in exile to argue that the critical commitments exiled intellectuals presume are under threat as rising authoritarianisms take hold globally and advanced neo-liberal practices tighten their grip on universities. The promise of Said's figuration of the 'intellectual in exile' and its political potential is also under threat as displaced scholars navigate democratic backsliding and structural precarity in the contemporary university and in the nation-states to which they have found themselves tied, eroding even further the conceptual idea of the critical intellectual and the potential power of the 'post-colonial intellectual'. In our research, this crisis of the intellectual is recounted by exilics paradoxically in both the autocratic and the 'nominally democratic' higher education (HE) context where in some cases the very idea of the intellectual can represent, at least in part, a banal political figuration epitomised in what Nancy Fraser refers to as progressive neo-liberalism. This is largely so because both authoritarian and nominally democratic states, whilst different in political charge, are simultaneously invoking 'states of emergency' and culture wars that are eroding their own intellectual constituencies' ability to disturb existing institutional norms and the taken for granted problems that emerge in everyday HE practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]