Unifying and Multiplying the People: The Strategy of Ambiguity in National-Populist Discourse within a Cross-Border Area

Abstract

National-populist parties display a discourse based on the defense of the national integrity. However, in the current European context, these parties have to deal with an increasing cultural heterogeneity, new forms of citizenship, and multi-scaling arenas. How does national-populism develop its narratives in these settings? The paper elaborates a framework for understanding the way in which ambiguity is included in the discursive strategies of national-populists. Through the Critical Discourse Analysis approach, the contribution will focus on the analysis of the discourses produced by three parties located at the Swiss-Italian border at the time of the referendum campaign for the 2014 Swiss initiative “Against Mass Immigration.”     

Perceived Relative Deprivation and Risk: An Aspiration-Based Model of Human Trafficking Vulnerability

While human trafficking often conjures up images of victims being taken by force, in reality, a minority of today’s slave population are physically abducted. Rather, a significant share of human trafficking victims are “pushed” (e.g., trying to escape crisis conditions) or “pulled” (e.g., pursuing the prospect of economic opportunities) into situations of high risk. This study focuses on those who are “pulled” into risky scenarios, assessing when individuals make decisions that may put themselves at risk. I assume that individuals are boundedly rational, and propose an aspiration-based model of decision-making, which predicts that increased salience in relative deprivation can lead individuals to be more risk-seeking, putting themselves and their children at greater risk for exploitation. Using both an original survey experiment and nationally-representative data in Nepal, I find that consistent with the theoretical model, perceptions of relative deprivation induce more risk-seeking behavior. This result speaks to the interaction between inequality and risk tolerance, and how economic and social forces that alter perceived relative deprivation can increase vulnerability to exploitation.     

Correlates of loneliness in midadolescence

The present study was designed to assess the relationship between adolescent loneliness and the following factors commonly associated with adult loneliness: attributional style, self-esteem, social anxiety, and social skills. Subjects were 186 ninth-grade students (107 males and 79 females) who were asked to complete seven different paper-and-pencil measures. Data were analyzed by calculating separate stepwise multiple regression equations for the total sample, males and females. Three significant predictors were found for the total sample: student social skills rating scale, self-esteem, and the perception of stability in interpersonal situations (attributional style). A different pattern of predictors emerged for males and females. Loneliness could be predicted for males from three variables: low self-esteem, the perception of uncontrollability in noninterpersonal situations, and self-perceptions of poor social skills. The best multiple predictors of loneliness for the females were self-perceptions of poor social skills, high social anxiety, and stable attributions for interpersonal situations.This study is based on a master's thesis submitted by the first author to Wake Forest University, May 1986. A portion of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, Baltimore, Maryland, April 1987.Received Ph.D from West Virginia University. Current interests include social competence and social skills of adolescents and the adjustment of sexually abused children and adolescents.Received Ph.D from University of Illinois. Currently studying the friendships and peer relations of children and adolescents.Received Ph.D from Johns Hopkins University. Currently studying loneliness and close relationships.     

Building Support for the Asad Regime: The Syrian Diaspora in Argentina and Brazil and the Syrian Uprising

ABSTRACT

Brazil and Argentina are hosts to two of the largest populations of Syrian descent in Latin America. While Syrian immigrants and their descendants have usually defined their identities based on broad Arab nationalistic references, creating and affiliating themselves to Syrian-Lebanese and/or Arab institutions, the ongoing civil war in Syria has triggered an unprecedented mobilization around specifically Syrian issues. Most diasporic organizations have shown an unconditional support for the Ba?thist regime. This article aims at understanding the political mobilization of the Syrian diaspora in Argentina and Brazil, as well as unveiling how Bashar al-Asad's government has tried to build on their support.     

Social and Political Consequences of Administrative Corruption: A Study of Public Perceptions in Spain

Spain experienced an outbreak of public sector corruption—much of it related to the involvement of regional and local administrators and politicians in the country's urban development boom—that angered the public and sparked calls for government reform. Using data from a 2009 survey that followed these events, the authors examine the association between perceived corruption and the attitudes and behaviors of citizens, including satisfaction with government and democracy, social and institutional trust, and rule‐breaking behaviors. The findings suggest that perceptions of administrative as well as political corruption are associated with less satisfaction, lower levels of social and institutional trust, and a greater willingness to break rules. Although these survey results cannot prove causation, they are consistent with the notion that administrative and political corruption damages the legitimacy of government in the eyes of citizens and weakens the social fabric of democratic society.