Search Results (8)

This article discusses the digital activism model for advocacy of press freedom in Indonesia. This study examined the model and characteristics of digital activism and inhibiting factors in advocacy of press freedom, carried out by civil society organizations, social activists, and media professionals. Using qualitative methods, this paper provides answers to the question of how is the digital activism model aimed at countering threats to press freedom in a post-authoritarian country with a case study of Indonesia? How does digital activism emerge and form cross-sector collaboration? Given the broad scope of digital activism in Indonesia, the researchers chose two cities that represent the national and regional/provincial spectrum, namely Jakarta as the nation’s capital and Yogyakarta as a prominent student city in the country. The current study found a unique digital activism model in Indonesia that is a spectator collaboration: participants and initiators of activism are involved together in clicktivism, metavoicing, and assertion. Social activists and independent media activists develop systematic collective actions in the digital realm, such as online petitions and press releases, republication, and fundraising for the sustainability of the activism itself. This paper also found a gladiatorial model: media managers as victims and activists merged with more organized social movements, signaling that press freedom has become a collective agenda of pro-democracy advocates in Indonesia. Full article

This paper analyzes how the 2023 Chinese science fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth 2 constructs what I call a “disaster empire”—a biopolitical system that seamlessly integrates authoritarian governance with capitalist logic through the constant threat of catastrophe. Through close readings of the film’s reappropriation of the Chinese Moving Mountain fable, its treatment of human sacrifice, and its portrayal of digital afterlife, I argue that the film presents a troubling vision where crisis enables the formation of a homogeneous time-space where the patriarchal family, the nation-state, and bio-capital converge to form a massive, enduring system of domination. While the film has been celebrated for its socialist values of collective survival, I demonstrate how it actually embodies the convergence of authoritarianism and global capitalism in its most insidious form. Drawing on theories of biopower, affect, and dead labor from Marxist scholars, this paper reveals how The Wandering Earth 2 functions as a work of prescriptive realism that faithfully encapsulates the deep drive of authoritarian capitalism. Full article

Just and fair transitions to low-carbon and nature-positive ways of living need to occur fast enough to limit and reverse the climate and nature crises, but not so fast that the public is left behind. We propose the concept of “Regenerative Good Growth” (RGG) to replace the language and practice of extractive, bad GDP growth. RGG centres on the services provided by five renewable capitals: natural, social, human, cultural, and sustainable physical. The term “growth” tends to divide rather than unite, and so here we seek language and storylines that appeal to a newly emergent climate-concerned majority. Creative forms of public engagement that lead to response diversity will be essential to fostering action: when people feel coerced into adopting single options at pace, there is a danger of backlash or climate authoritarianism. Policy centred around storytelling can help create diverse public responses and institutional frameworks. The practises underpinning RGG have already created business opportunities, while delivering sharp falls in unit costs. Fast transitions and social tipping points are emerging in the agricultural, energy, and city sectors. Though further risks will emerge related to rebound effects and lack of decoupling of material consumption from GDP, RGG will help cut the externalities of economies. Full article

Sport and authoritarianism have long been bedfellows, especially during the Cold War era. ‘Traditional’ authoritarian regimes—most notably the Soviet Union and its satellite states—learnt the art of instrumentalizing sport for political ends from each other. Motives for this included garnering international prestige via excellence in elite sport and showcasing communism as a viable alternative to capitalism. This paper shows how the ‘new’ authoritarian states are now beginning to impact global elite sport through similar sports investment strategies in an array of sports teams, sports sponsorship and sports leagues. Whereas ‘traditional’ authoritarian states sought sporting excellence on the playing field and the recognition this brought with it, the ‘new’ authoritarian states seek to buy into the cultural power and prestige of global elite sport for economic gain, to improve the health of their citizens and for global recognition. We draw on recent examples from Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia to understand why and how ‘new’ authoritarian states pursue sport policies and why this is contested. Full article

Leadership behavior profoundly influences organizational culture, serving as a cornerstone for environments that foster safety, innovation, and employee satisfaction. This article utilizes research from the primary literature to demonstrate how leaders’ actions and underlying fears influence organizational dynamics and employee outcomes, highlighting the importance of respect, transparency, and trust. Studies have shown that leadership styles shape the work environment, driving innovation and performance. However, concerns over productivity, evaluation, and control can lead to poor communication, low transparency, reduced innovation, and diminished performance, creating a culture of mistrust and anxiety. Authoritarian control or neglect of employees’ needs exacerbates these issues, stifling creativity. The Pygmalion and Golem effects demonstrate how positive reinforcement enhances morale, productivity, and retention, while negative reinforcement is detrimental. Leaders operating under fears of failure or loss of control or political capital inadvertently create a culture of fear and increasingly severe feedback loops of reduced employee trust, satisfaction, and commitment. Addressing these fears fosters open communication, psychological safety, transparency, and mutual respect. Strategies for transforming leadership fears into positive change include promoting open communication, decentralizing decision-making, and implementing positive reinforcement mechanisms. Constructive feedback mechanisms encourage bidirectional communication and help mitigate the negative impacts of leadership fears. Leaders who address their fears can strengthen team trust, enhancing collaboration and engagement. Ultimately, managing leadership fears proactively catalyzes organizational learning and development, promoting a mindset where challenges are seen as opportunities for growth. This approach enhances adaptability and resilience while fostering continuous improvement. Addressing leadership fears and fostering a supportive culture is essential for sustainable productivity and success, serving as a starting point for exploring strategies that support employee performance and development, ultimately contributing to organizational success. Full article

We explore attitudes toward democracy in relation to social divisions by focusing on the European Union member states and the corresponding EU political field. Positioning in the European political field is addressed through the theory of social fields as provided by Bourdieu and further conceptualized by Fligstein and McAdam. Drawing on the data obtained from the European Social Survey, we conducted a principal component analysis of the attitudes toward democracy and a correspondence analysis between these attitudes and social, cultural, and economic capitals. We demonstrate that attitudes toward challenging the existing representative democratic order can be seen in terms of two distinct dimensions: authoritarianism and populism. The presence of both corresponds to the lack of one’s possession of economic, social, and cultural capitals and the related political habitus. Those who lack these forms of capital are more prone to support strong authoritarian leaders and are also more likely to endorse conspiracy theories. We can relate this to the problems of exclusion and deprivation related to the lack of political habitus required for effective agency in the political field. Full article

This article aims to explore the political dilemmas of sustainable metropolitan development marked by intense tensions between ecology and economy within the context of neoliberal urban policies over the Case of Istanbul, Turkey. It investigates the re-scaling and centralization of the state in directing the investment capital and focuses on the ways in which it reregulates and loosens the institutions to create exceptionalities in order to realize mega projects. It examines Canal Istanbul and the “New City” or the Yenişehir Project, the so-called “crazy project” imposed upon the city by the central government, which presents a crucial case demonstrating the processes of creating exceptionalities and the erosion of public norms. Empirically, drawing from the Turkish experience through an in-depth analysis of policy documents, plans and reports prepared by a variety of agents, the article demonstrates and discusses different modalities of creating exceptions to capitalize on the lucrative real estate markets through mega projects in an increasingly authoritarian neoliberal context, its ramifications on the existing norms and the oppositions it raised. The article concludes with a discussion on how the new political climate that moved away from subsidiarity, transparency and democratic participation, and became increasingly centralized, created an impasse for planning and that neither the ecology nor the economy could be protected and enhanced. Although economic development discourse is used to legitimize these mega projects, it is obvious that they lead to an ecocide. Full article

What can esoteric knowledge and spiritual practices from the East teach us about the deep psychological roots of domination and hierarchy? In what ways have ancient Buddhist sages acted as anarchist exemplars and deep ecologists long before these traditions began in the West? How might these anarchistic spiritual traditions inform our approaches to work in education, expand our notions of community, help us navigate ecological collapse, and contribute to our efforts to sustain living systems and rekindle our connection to the myriad sentient inhabitants of the places we live beyond the reaches of capital and the State? This paper will examine the anti-doctrine doctrine of Zen Buddhism as a concrete and embodied system of thought and practice for seeing through the delusions of the ego and the psychological and cultural conditioning these delusions engender. What will also be acknowledged is the general lack of attention this spiritual tradition has given to the capitalistic, authoritarian, and anti-ecological systems that tap into and flow from these delusions. It will be argued that these experiential approaches to overcoming the tyranny of the ego have significant implications for loosening the grip of hierarchical thinking, capitalist hyper-consumption, centralized systems of obedience and command, and human destruction of the biosphere. Full article