Search Results (869)

(1) Background: This article aims to understand the forms and elements through which the inhabitants of the city of Medellin have configured their subjectivity in the context of the application of neoliberal policies in the last two decades. In this way, we can approach the frameworks of understanding that constitute a fundamental part of the individuation processes in which the incorporation of their subjectivities is evidenced in neoliberal contexts that, in the historical process, have been converging with authoritarian, antidemocratic and neoconservative elements. (2) Method: A qualitative approach with a hermeneutic-interpretative paradigm was used. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 41 inhabitants of Medellín who were politically identified with right-wing or center-right positions. Data analysis included thematic coding to identify patterns of thought and points of view. (3) Results: Participants associate success with individual effort and see state intervention as an obstacle to development. They reject redistributive policies, arguing that they generate dependency. In addition, they justify authoritarian models of government in the name of security and progress, from a moral superiority, which is related to a negative and stigmatizing perception of progressive sectors and a negative view of the social rule of law and public policies with social sense. (4) Conclusions: The naturalization of merit as a guiding principle, the perception of themselves as morally superior based on religious values that grant a subjective place of certainty and goodness; the criminalization of expressions of political leftism, mobilizations and redistributive reforms and support for policies that establish authoritarianism and perpetuate exclusion and structural inequalities, closes roads to a participatory democracy that enables social and economic transformations. Full article

This paper presents an ethnographically informed analysis of research in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh (Egypt) surrounding the 2022 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of Parties (COP27) summit. I discuss the geopolitics and geopolitical disruptions of researching activism and activist lives in politically sensitive environments. As shown here, developing new methodological interventions plays a crucial role in understanding contextual methodological limitations, dealing with logistical challenges, and building authentic relationships with research participants. Here, I introduce counter-interviews as a methodological strategy to build trust and invest in researcher–participant relationships. This article draws on participant observation, conversations with environmental and climate activists and non-activists in Cairo prior to and after COP27 and in Sharm El-Sheikh during the second week of the summit, reflective field notes, and 20 semi-structured interviews conducted online between February and August 2023. Here, I use the term “environmental non-activism” to draw attention to the sensitivity, complexity, and fragility of political or apolitical environmental and climate action in an authoritarian context where any form of collective action is highly monitored, regulated, and sometimes criminalized by the state. The main argument of this paper is that examining interlocking power dynamics that shape and reshape the activist space in relation to the state is a requirement for understanding and researching the complexities and specificities of climate activism and non-activism in authoritarian contexts. Along with this argument, this paper invites climate education researchers to reevaluate what non-movements and non-activists in the Global South offer to their analyses of possible alternatives, socio-political change, and politics of hope (and to the broader field of activism in educational research, where commitment to disruption, refusal, and subversion play a key role. Full article

The integration of renewable energy into power grids is imperative for reducing carbon emissions and mitigating reliance on depleting fossil fuels. In this paper, we develop symmetric and asymmetric evolutionary game-theoretic models to analyze how user–grid cooperation in peak shaving can be enhanced by incorporating whole-process democracy (deliberative governance) into decision-making. Our framework captures excess returns, cooperation-driven profits, energy pricing, participation costs, and benefit-sharing coefficients to identify equilibrium conditions under varied subsidy, cost, and market scenarios. Furthermore, this study integrates the theory, path, and mechanism of deliberative procedures under the perspective of whole-process democracy, exploring how inclusive and participatory decision-making processes can enhance cooperation in renewable energy systems. We simulate seven scenarios that systematically adjust subsidy rates, cost–benefit structures, dynamic pricing, and renewable-versus-conventional competitiveness, revealing that robust cooperation emerges only under well-aligned incentives, equitable profit sharing, and targeted financial policies. These scenarios systematically vary these key parameters to assess the robustness of cooperative equilibria under diverse economic and policy conditions. Our findings indicate that policy efficacy hinges on deliberative stakeholder engagement, fair profit allocation, and adaptive subsidy mechanisms. These results furnish actionable guidelines for regulators and grid operators to foster sustainable, low-carbon energy systems and inform future research on demand response and multi-source integration. Full article

Electronic voting allows people to participate more easily in their country’s electoral events. Nevertheless, its adoption is still far from widespread. In this paper, we provide a detailed survey of the state of adoption worldwide and investigate which socio-economic factors may influence such an adoption. Its usage is wider in North and South America, while remaining considerably lower in Europe and Asia and practically absent in Africa. We distinguish between e-voting, which maintains the traditional polling station structure while adding technological components, and i-voting, which enables remote participation from any location using personal devices. Five factors (country’s surface and population, Gross Domestic Product, Internet Usage, and Democracy Index) are investigated to predict adoption, and an accuracy of over 79% is achieved through a machine learning random forest model. Larger, wealthier, and more democratic countries are typically associated with a larger adoption of internet voting. Full article

This article identifies the structural factors underlying the rise of the Populist Radical Right (PRR) in Europe and evaluates its implications for liberal democracies. Our research finds that the emergence of the PRR is driven by the decay of democratic institutions resulting from the neoliberal globalization that was catalyzed by the collapse of the Soviet Union. We argue that the electoral success of the PRR lies in its capacity to use emotionally charged, single-issue narratives that resonate with the political demands of orphaned electorates, who engage in protest voting to express their frustrated expectations. Far from being an ephemeral phenomenon, we show that the PRR reflects structural transformations of the liberal political architecture, and is capable to further eroding democratic institutions by procedurally adopting liberal norms as a means to undermine them. A critical reassessment of the liberal perspective is necessary to address the dysfunctions of democratic institutions. Full article

Blackness, both as a racial identity and a marker of cultural difference, disrupts the hegemonic norms embedded in dominant forms of cultural capital. This article examines how first- and second-generation Haitian and Jamaican communities in Ontario and Quebec negotiate Blackness within a Canadian context. Drawing from international literature, it introduces distinctly Canadian concepts—such as polite racism, racial ignominy, and duplicity of consciousness—to illuminate local racial dynamics. Using Yosso’s (2005) framework of community cultural wealth, the study analyzes six forms of cultural capital—linguistic, aspirational, social, navigational, resistant, and familial—as employed by Afro-Caribbeans to navigate systemic exclusion. The article expands the limited Canadian discourse on Black identity and offers theoretical tools for understanding how cultural capital is shaped and constrained by race in multicultural democracies. Full article

Background/Objectives: Occupational stress is a common issue among academics. This study aims to determine the level of work stress experienced by academics depending on their titles and the relationship between this stress and eating behaviors. Methods: The data for the study were collected through an online survey from 649 academicians working in universities in Türkiye between January and February 2025. This is a cross-sectional study, and the snowball sampling method was used to facilitate high participation rates. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, the General Work Stress Scale (GWSS) to assess work stress levels, and the Turkish version of the Adult Eating Behavior Questionnaire (AEBQ-TR) to evaluate eating behaviors. Results: Among the participants, 47.6% were of normal weight, with an average BMI of 25.85 ± 4.56 kg/m². The median work stress score of male academicians (17.00) was significantly lower than that of female academicians (21.00) (p < 0.001). Similarly, the median eating behavior score was lower in male academicians (18.55) compared to females (19.78) (p < 0.001). Work stress levels decreased with increasing academic title, with professors reporting the lowest levels of stress (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The findings indicate that female academics are more likely to engage in emotional eating under stress, whereas male academics tend to alter their dietary preferences by avoiding certain foods. These results underscore the importance of stress management and the promotion of healthy eating habits among academics. Full article

This article investigates the political cost of poverty in democracies marked by deep social divisions. We develop a probabilistic voting model that incorporates clientelism as a strategic tool employed by elite political parties to secure electoral support from non-elite voters. Unlike models based on ideological proximity, our framework conceptualizes party competition as structured by the socioeconomic composition of their constituencies. We demonstrate that in contexts of high inequality and widespread poverty, elite parties face structural incentives to deploy clientelistic strategies rather than universalistic policy agendas. Our model predicts that clientelistic expenditures by elite parties increase proportionally with both inequality (GINI index) and poverty levels, rendering clientelism a rational and cost-effective mechanism of political control. Empirical evidence from a cross-national panel (2013–2019) confirms the theoretical predictions: an increase of the 1 percent in the GINI index increase a 1.3 percent in the clientelism, even after accounting for endogeneity and dynamic effects. These findings suggest that in divided democracies, poverty is not merely a condition to be alleviated, but a political resource that elites strategically exploit. Consequently, clientelism persists not as a cultural residue or institutional failure, but as a rational response to inequality-driven constraints within democratic competition. Full article

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

The historical peak in CO₂ emissions has intensified global environmental concerns, urging the identification of key determinants. While economic drivers are well-documented, political dimensions—especially democracy and institutional quality—are increasingly emphasized. However, the role of freedom of association and organization (AOF), a core democratic element, remains largely unexamined in this context. This study fills this gap by analyzing the impact of AOF on CO₂ emissions in the top 20 emitter countries from 2006 to 2022. The selection of these countries enables a focused assessment of the world’s primary polluters, ensuring high policy relevance. Using second-generation panel estimators, the Augmented Mean Group and the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group estimators, the analysis accounts for heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. Robustness is tested using the CS-ARDL method, confirming the stability of results. Empirical findings show that higher levels of AOF significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. Income and energy consumption increase emissions, while the effect of trade openness is statistically insignificant. These results suggest that strengthening associational freedoms can offer a dual benefit: advancing democratic norms and achieving environmental goals. Full article

This paper examines the political discourse of South Korean conservative Christianity, focusing on its alignment with far-right ideologies that undermine both democratic norms and the theological integrity of faith. Triggered by recent constitutional crises involving former President Suk-yeol Yoon, far-right Protestant groups have engaged in mobilisations marked by hate speech, disinformation, and theological politicisation. Drawing upon Heinrich Bedford-Strohm’s model of public theology, the study critiques this trend and argues for a reconfiguration of Christian public engagement toward justice, inclusion, and rational dialogue. It further explores the blurred boundaries between conservative and far-right Christian movements, the distortion of the public sphere, and the impact of digital misinformation. Ultimately, the paper proposes a theological and ethical roadmap for restoring the credibility of Christianity in South Korea’s pluralistic democracy. Full article

The text analyzes interreligious organizations and movements in Brazil based on the concept of the pluralist principle. It aims to systematize, based on observations of practices and studies of documents from prominent inter-religious experiences in Brazil, the degree of incidence of efforts to deepen democracy; defend human rights and the rights of nature; provide citizenship; appreciate ethnic, sexual, and gender diversity; and other effective decolonial forms of counter-hegemonic social articulation in these groups. Among the results, we present theoretical bases that show that it is necessary, for social analyses, to pay special attention to the articulation of the intersection between religious groups’ capacity for dialogue and the challenges surrounding social agendas that reinforce decolonial socio-religious perspectives. The profile of some inter-religious experiences within the scope of the research is also indicated. Full article

We investigate the influence of boardroom gender diversity on earnings management. Drawing on a sample of European firms over the 2010–2023 period, we document an inverted U-shaped nexus between boardroom gender heterogeneity and earnings manipulation. Moreover, we also find that the Democracy Index moderates the curvilinear nexus by flattening the inverted U-curve and shifting the inflection point leftward. Our findings are consistent across various measures of earnings management and different econometric approaches, offering valuable insights for European policymakers. Full article

The Tunisian uprisings projected an elusive surrealistic scene that was an aberration in a part of the world where Islamic ideology had been considered the only rallying force and a midwife for regime change. However, this sense of exceptionalism was short-lived, as the religiously zealous Islamist expats and their militant executive wings infiltrated the power vacuum to resume their suspended Islamization project of the 1980s. Brandishing electoral “legitimacy”, they attempted to reframe the bourgeoning indigenous democratization project, rooted in an evolving Tunisian intellectual and cultural heritage, along the neocolonial ideological underpinnings of the “Arab Spring” metanarrative, which proffers the thesis that democracy can be promoted in the Muslim world through so-called “Moderate Muslims”. This paper challenges this dominant narrative by offering a counter-narrative about the political transition in Tunisia. It takes stock of the multidisciplinary conceptual and analytical frameworks elaborated upon in postcolonial theory, social movement theory, cognitive neuroscience theories, and digital communication theories. It draws heavily on socio-narrative translation theory. The corpus analyzed in this work consists of disparate yet corroborating narratives cutting across modes, genres, and cultural and linguistic boundaries, and is grounded in insider participant observation. This work opens an alternative inquiry into how the processes of cross-cultural knowledge production and the power dynamics they sustain have helped shape the course of the transition since 2011. Full article