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Aim of this article is to analyze politician Bernie Sanders, who tried win nomination of theDemocratic Party to the White House. Sanders autoidentity is democratic socialist, he is admirer ofFranklin Delano Roosevelt presidency. This persona is strictly connected with an alter-globalistmovement, especially Occupy Wall Street. Sanders made great effort to promote in Americasocialdemocratic ideas.
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The paper aims to provide an analysis of the politics of two local interest groups of Prešov, the so-called city parties, as specific forms of middle class dissatisfaction in the interwar period. Based on contemporary election results and archival sources, the first part of the study examines the political behaviour of the inhabitants of Prešov between 1920 and 1935, which helps to determine to what extent the city parties were popular among the multilingual and multi-religious voters. The second part investigates the social composition and the political discourse of the city parties. These local political groups were supported by 10-12% of the voters. Most of their followers were organized among the liberal middle classes, who were not able to identity with the politics of the big parliamentary parties. Their members defined themselves mainly against the Communist and Catholic movement. However, they also criticized the measures of the Czechoslovak government. And at the level of discourse they expressed dissatisfaction with the domestic policy of Czechoslovakia in the form of a virtual community of city burghers, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds. It is argued that because of the high percentage of Hungarian and Jewish intellectuals and entrepreneurs among the leaders and supporters of the local parties, this type of local politics might have been an alternative to the Jewish and Hungarian national politics at a local level.
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The text suggests an analysis of the “culture of protest“ within the time frame of the “protest year of 2013“ in the cultural and social context of Bulgaria. The basis of the study – inscription (“thick description“) and specification (“diagnosis“) in the sense of Clifford Geerz (1971) – is a “microscopic“ social fact, namely the book Smilov, Daniel and Lea Vaysova (eds.). #Theprotest: Analyses and Positions in the Bulgarian press, the Summer of 2013. Sofia, “Iztok-Zapad“, 2013 (Смилов, Даниел и Леа Вайсова (съст.). #Протестът: анализи и позиции в българската преса, лято 2013, София, „Изток-Запад“, 2013). The publication which collects and (re)frames selected media stream within particular period of time, i.e. the book as an abstract collection of words/images (text) existing in a material form, is here understood as a social fact in the sense of Emile Durkheim. The adoption of such approach allows the comment to acquire specific outlines – the study of this „text-as-a-book“ neither brings to the fore the abstract dimensions (the text) of the book, which is usually the field of the literary critique and the text hermeneutics, nor focalizes exclusively the material dimensions, which is reserved for the history of the book and the analytical bibliography. The aim here is to describe and understand society and the social by examining and tracing the connections which exert an influence and exist between the simultaneous engagement of the abstract and the material side of this book as a social fact, as well as the social activities within it.
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In this project, we have tried to implement some practices which will guide our future activities as the ECFR takes its work into new policy areas. First, we have tried to look at several dimensions of European power. We have explored how Moscow sees the EU and uses its power to influence it; how each member state relates to Russia; as well as the links between Moscow and EU institutions. This report draws on data gathered by a team of researchers from all 27 EU member states. Each conducted a survey of their country’s economic, political and military relations with Russia. Secondly, we have tried to avoid the euphemistic phrases and diplomatic practices that cloak tensions within the EU and between the EU and third countries. In order to promote a common European approach, we have illustrated some of the areas where the policies of individual member states have undercut common European objectives. The goal is not to stigmatise particular countries. Future reports on European foreign policy issues will put the spotlight on the policies of other states. Thirdly, we have done our best to understand the issues from the perspective of policymakers. A senior EU official complained to one of the authors about the propensity of outside observers to simplify complex issues and to imply that the only thing standing in the way of a successful EU foreign policy is the stupidity of officials. We have tried to heed this plea and have not offered any easy, ready-made solutions. We are grateful to the many officials who have provided us with useful guidance at every step of the research process, in particular those who took part in a round-table discussion of the interim findings, attended by officials from all EU institutions and a majority of EU member states.
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The 10th Majlis election was held in the Islamic Republic of Iran on 26 February 2016. The election witnessed a record number of disqualified candidates by the Guardian Council. Notwithstanding this, the pro-government candidates were well-received by the voters. President Hassan Rouhani’s foreign policy and the nuclear deal that had concluded with the international community, held a special place in the political debates during the election. This paper first analyses the importance of the 10th Majlis election in Iran in the light of President Rouhani’s foreign policy. Secondly, it explores the election process. This paper argues that elections in Iran suffer from four types of issues. First characteristic is closely linked with the theocratic nature of the Iranian political system. Second one is connected with the Iranian electoral system. Third one arises from the inefficiency of electoral institutions. Finally, those issues caused by the discriminative approach of the Iranian ruling elites towards certain political parties and ethno religious groups.
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CSOs in 2011 found it almost impossible to successfully influence decision makers. Even though CSOs have called on political parties to engage in constructive dialogue, progress has generally only been made following international pressure. In November 2011, after strong pressure from the EU, the United States, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the two major polit-ical parties agreed to resume dialogue on key reforms urged by the European Commission’s Opinion on Albania’s EU Bid.
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This is the second Alternative Progress Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s path towards the EU membership. The report is a joint effort of dozens of individuals and organizations whose common goal was to show the current state of integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the perspective of civil society organizations. Having in mind that the official Progress Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina is a political report of the European Commission, we believe that the publication of the Alternative report can affect its content. Because of this, we are publishing this Alternative Progress Report nearly three months before the publication of the official one, hoping that it will have an impact on the formulation of the formal report. The report completely relies on the so-called political criteria, focusing on the following questions: - Democracy and the functionality of the State, - Rule of law and corruption, - Human rights, especially the rights of minorities and vulnerable groups, and - Transitional Justice During the 2013 and 2014, we have witnessed that no relevant progress has been achieved. The process of implementation of the Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina ruling is completely displaced from the Parliament. Performance of the democratic parliaments and governments on state, entity and cantonal levels is extremely low. The work of the institutions is characterized as unstable, inefficient and with notable lack of transparency. The decisions of the constitutional courts are still not implemented. No significant and systematic policies to combat human rights violations have been adopted. Judicial reform has been stopped and Structured Dialogue on Justice between B&H and the EU does not show any progress. Not a single significant case of corruption has been processed. Minority and vulnerable groups still live in difficult conditions. Discrimination and violence are all-present, and the law on prohibition of discrimination did not show the expected results, having in mind that five years after the enactment of the law, only two final judgments were passed. Comprehensive anti-discrimination policies for social integration either do not exist, or are almost never applied. Floods additionally hit the most vulnerable groups in society. Furthermore, the most vulnerable groups in society have been affected by the recent floods. The prosecution of war crimes and dealing with the past, as prerequisites for creating a healthy environment and building a common state, represent an additional problem. Political support for war criminals by the leaders of political parties only further divide the already highly fragmented society. We hope that the general elections in October of 2014 (although held by discriminatory rules) will bring more stable political structure, ready to face different problems. Initiative for the Monitoring of the European Integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina will certainly advocate change, in terms of adopting new laws and policies, and the implementation thereof. We also hope that the BiH authorities and the EU institutions will support a stronger representation of civil society within the various forums within the EU integration. Civil society must become the third actor in this process along with the State and EU institutions.
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Yeni iletişim teknolojilerinin gelişmesi doğrultusunda geleneksel medyanın etkisi ve rolü her ne kadar tartışmalı gözükmekteyse de televizyon; ticari iletişim gelirleri, kamuoyu oluşturma becerisi ve kitlelere ulaşabilme gücü sayesinde günümüz Türkiye’sinde en gözde kitle iletişim aracı olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Bu sebeple televizyon kuruluşlarının yapısı ve sahipliği, televizyonlarda üretilen içerik, televizyonlarda üretilen içeriğin kitleler tarafından kabulü ve beğenilmesi hem özel sektör kuruluşları hem sivil toplum kuruluşları hem de devlet tarafından yakından takip edilmektedir. Televizyondaki içeriğin seyredilme durumunu bir veri halinde sunabilen en temel araç reyting sistemidir. Reyting sistemi, televizyon kanallarında zaman ve program temelli olarak ölçümleme yapan ve hangi televizyon kanalını hangi sosyo-ekonomik statüdeki kişinin seyrettiğini belirlemeye yarayan sistemin adıdır. Bu yolla özel sektör kuruluşları hedef kitlelerine ulaşma adına ticari iletişim planlaması yapmakta ve harcamalar bu sistemdeki izlenme oranlarına göre gerçekleştirilmektedir. Bir anlamda pazar fiyatını belirleyen unsur reyting ölçümleridir. Ayrıca reyting ölçümleri; izleyicinin ilgisini çeken televizyon programlarının türü, içeriği ve hitap ettiği kitle konusunda içtimai, sosyolojik, ekonomik değerlendirme yapabilmeye imkân tanımaktadır. Bu bağlamda televizyon kanallarındaki programlar ve bazı yapım türleri son yıllarda kamuoyunda sıklıkla tartışılmakta ve gündemi meşgul etmektedir. Televizyon dizileri, kuşak programları, izdivaç yapımları alan özelinde ön plana çıkan program türleridir denilebilir. Tüm bu çerçevede 2015 yılında TİAK A.Ş. tarafından tam zamanlı ölçümü yapılan televiyon kanalları reyting listesi incelenmiş, bu listeden yararlanılarak toplam oranlarda ilk yirmi beş’e (25) giren programlar türlerine göre sınıflandırılmıştır. Sonuçta elde edilen anlamlı veriler yorumlanarak 2015 yılı popüler program türleri tespit edilmiştir. Yapılan sınıflandırma, Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu’nun ‘‘Yayınlarda Program Türleri Kod, Taknım ve Sınıflandırmaları’’ adlı kitapçığında belirlenen program türlerinin sınıflandırılması paralelinde gerçekleştirilmiştir.
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„Alexandru and Aristia Aman” County Library, together with „Alexandru and Aristia Aman” Fundation as organizers, the Romanian Academy, „C.S. Nicolaescu Plopșor” Social–Humanist Sciences Institute – Craiova, Scientists Academy of Romania, the Archaeological and Historical Sciences, Faculty of Social Sciences and Faculty of Theology, as partners, organized during October 25 – November 5, 2015 the 8th International Conference State and Society in Europe. The works of the conference lasted for almost two weeks, October 25 –November 5, 2015, and were held at „Alexandru and Aristia Aman” County Library of Craiova, The Restoration Center of the Faculty of Theology of Craiova and The Universitaries House, Romania.
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Fritz Bauer and his Late Recognition in the Federal Republic of Germany
Germany is an example of a country which has been implementing transitional justice for decades and is still active in this field. What is more, contemporary Germans have recently come to terms with their not-so-distant past and their negligence in this area by showing the falsehood, backwardness, and injustice as negative foundations of the young Federal Republic. This article evokes the person of Fritz Bauer, the prosecutor in the state of Hessen. His struggle for human dignity and the memory of his achievements after his death exemplify an accomplished case of transitional justice and the memory of it. During his lifetime he contributed to bringing to trial numerous Nazi criminals, even at the cost of habitual threats and disregard. Forgotten for a few decades, Bauer and his legacy have been recently rediscovered and studied. Eventually, Bauer became a movie character and was finally brought back to the collective memory of Germans. The belated, but a well-deserved wave of popularity of Fritz Bauer in the German culture memory proves that reflections on the transitional justice are still topical and important.
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The labels we attach today to distinguish political regimes have histories. Applying them without understanding these histories is sometimes anachronistic and ethnocentric. I have little new to say about “democracy” and “dictatorship”, so that the discussion of these concepts is just a reminder. “Authoritarianism”, however, is a dubious neologism. I advance two claims: (1) In all regimes the power to command and be obeyed entails some dose of reason-giving, (2) What distinguishes regimes is the form and the extent to which the authority of rulers is monopolised by physical force. I conclude that the concept of “authoritarianism” adds little to the distinction between democracy and dictatorship.
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The Belarusian opposition is currently experiencing its deepest crisis since Alyaksandr Lukashenka took power in 1994. Following many months of negotiations, opposition leaders failed to select a joint candidate for the presidential election scheduled for 11th October. The failure of this latest round of talks has proven that not only is the opposition unlikely to threaten Lukashenka’s rule; it will not even be able to demonstrate to society that it could provide a genuine alternative to the present government.The presidential election in 2010 was a painful landmark for the opposition. The repression that accompanied the election has largely weakened political circles opposed to the government. Against this backdrop, the traditional internal problems of the opposition have worsened, such as its incapacity to reach agreement and develop a common, coherent operational strategy, the excessive ambitions of the leaders of particular groups, the low level of political maturity, mutual distrust and frequent personal conflicts. As a result the opposition has for years been unable to gain confidence in society and reach beyond the limited number (20%) of staunch proponents of democratic transformations. Given the fact that the Belarusian opposition is fragmented and lacks one clear leader, the readiness to support individual leaders does not exceed several per cent, according to independent surveys. Lukashenka’s present political opponents rather resemble a group of dissidents, than constitute a genuine opposition to the government. The crisis and helplessness of opposition circles are more acute given Belarus’s internal situation since for the first time Alyaksandr Lukashenka will run his presidential campaign in the context of the economic crisis and a forecasted fall in GDP.
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The current socio-political and economic environment places Europe’s youth in a burdensome position. The financial crisis from the past decade, as well as the remnants of the political transitions after the fall of communism in Southeast Europe, have spelled some of the worst conditions for young people in historic terms, particularly in this region.Youth unemployment is unprecedentedly high. The education system seems to fail in providing young people with the skills and knowledge to succeed. Governments are perceived as vastly detached from the issues relevant to their youngest constituencies. Political apathy is rampant. In the present environment, perspectives of young people are increasingly important, as they signal the urgent areas of action and can navigate social research and government policy. The present paper provides an overview of the current attitudes among young people in Bulgaria and Southeast Europe based on previous research and personal observation, filling some of the existing gaps in common perceptions of young citizens.
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In a matter of just two years, the devastated Ukrainian army has turned itself into one of the most efficient armies in Europe, mostly thanks to volunteers and private donations. However, reform of the defence system has lagged due to the rampant corruption and bureaucracy of the state, forcing many volunteers to give up.
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Young People in Greece and Europe
Greece – as well as many EU countries – is in an admittedly hard situation, regarding politics,economics, social injustices, etc. This situation has taken its toll on everyone, but mostly on the younger generations and their perception of the future of Europe. On the one hand, we are facing extremism, which has started to arise since the beginning of the refugee crisis. On the other hand, youth unemployment and cut-backs on public expenditure – with whatever consequences these may have – are examples of how a stable future for young people is slowly being destroyed.Is Greece capable of protecting its young citizens from dangers such as waste of potential?Does moving to some other EU country sound more appealing? Is there light at the end of the tunnel for the younger generation? I frequently like to think maybe, but possibly not. I also feel that we must remain committed to create this light, to enlarge it and share it with the young in Greece, in Southeast Europe and elsewhere. Despite everything and in light of.
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The Gülen or Hizmet movement is a well-organised community of people all around the world. The follower of the movement build their institutions, schools, universities on the thoughts of Fethullah Gülen, an Islamic cleric living in the US. According to him, the most important point is to invest in education and to teach the new generation of young people to find a way back to liberal Islam, which is not separated from the sciences. In the course of time, this movement has evolved into a strong network in Turkey. To stop Gülen’s influence, the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan blamed him and his followers for the military coup of 2016. The Turkish government formally declared the Hizmet movement a terrorist organisation: all their schools and institutions had to be closed in Turkey, and the people involved in the movement had to flee. Hizmet played an important role in the rising of Islam in Turkish society. Gülen teaches that the Turks should not forget about the interculturalism and tolerance of the Ottoman Empire, and that tradition and modernity can sit by the same table.
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Neo-liberalism is, undoubtedly, today’s dominant economical and political ideology. This paper is an attempt to give a general outline of where it derived from, what was it based on, and how it became the leading driving force in the field of economy and politics.
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