The Global Political Economy of Right-wing Populism: Deconstructing the Paradox

ABSTRACT

The rise of right-wing populism should be studied as a truly global phenomenon. Domestic and regional contexts are obviously crucial, yet a narrow focus on the domestic realm fails to capture some of the key constituents and paradoxical features of the rise and resilience of right-wing populist projects around the world. Therefore, right-wing populism and the way its contradictions are ‘managed’ ought to be understood within the context of mutual interactions between: 1) an economy-identity nexus and 2) a domestic-foreign policy nexus. A critical review of six controversial aspects of right-wing populism in the global North and global South is used to substantiate this main argument.     

日本血吸虫抱雌沟蛋白DNA疫苗的研究

为构建含日本血吸虫抱雌沟蛋白(SjGCP)完整ORF的核酸疫苗,评估该核酸疫苗在小鼠体内诱导抗血吸虫感染的免疫保护效果及其保护机制,将编码日本血吸虫大陆株抱雌沟蛋白基因ORF片段克隆到真核表达载体pVAX1中,用重组质粒pVAX1-SjGCP三次肌肉注射BALB/c小鼠,攻击感染血吸虫尾蚴,攻击感染后第42天剖杀小鼠冲虫,计算减虫率及肝和粪便的减卵率,评估其免疫保护效果。用流式细胞术(FCM)检测第3次免疫后小鼠淋巴细胞亚群CD4+、CD8+占总淋巴细胞的百分比及细胞因子IL-4、IFN-γ表达水平,探讨核酸疫苗的免疫机制。结果显示,小鼠经pVAX1-SjGCP质粒免疫后诱导了31.9%的减虫率,以及47.85%、68.04%的肝减卵率和粪便减卵率,与PBS组差异显著;pVAX1-SjGCP免疫组淋巴细胞亚群CD4+、CD8+百分比增加,细胞因子IFN-γ及特异性IgG水平提高,与pVAX1组差异显著。结果表明,血吸虫抱雌沟蛋白基因DNA疫苗能够诱导宿主细胞免疫和体液免疫应答,产生Th1/Th2型混合的细胞免疫反应,具有一定的抗血吸虫感染的免疫保护效果。     

Multiple imaginations of the state: understanding a mobile conflict about justice and accountability from the perspective of Assyrian–Syriac communities

This article examines how the struggle for the recognition of genocide in the twentieth century opens up a political space which, on the one hand, generates historical discourses and imaginaries about the categories of victim and perpetrator and, on the other hand, redefines relationships between the state and its minority citizens. Genocide becomes a ‘critical event’, in the sense of Veena Das, that citizens from different ethnic, social and religious backgrounds use to express their positions concerning the repressive state practices they have been victims of. This expression creates a collective space of solidarity where parties support each other by adopting similar strategies in the struggle for state accountability. At the same time, it opens up a space for negotiation among the state, minority citizens and migrant communities regarding claims to rights and justice.     

Application of Kvaal et al.'s age estimation method to panoramic radiographs from Turkish individuals

Age estimation of living adult individuals can be accomplished with limited methods. Radiographic dental methods based on the pulpal narrowing with secondary dentin formation have been presented. In the present study, Kvaal et al.'s method, one of the radiographic dental age estimation methods, was applied to panoramic radiographs from Turkish individuals. The correlation between chronological and estimated ages was examined and the feasibility of length and width measurements of pulp cavity was evaluated for age estimation. The study population consisted of 123 patients with ages ranging from 14 to 57 years. The measurements of the length and width of six types of teeth on digitized panoramic radiographs were performed, and the ratios between tooth and pulp cavity measurements were calculated. Age was estimated using the linear regression models presented by Kvaal et al. and Paewinsky et al. High differences were observed between chronological and estimated ages. Measurement ratios showed no significant or weak correlation with age. The linear regression models were derived using variables that were significantly correlated with age. The determination coefficients of the models varied from 0.035 to 0.345. In conclusion, a difference of more than 12 years in the chronological and estimated ages derived using regression models in literature was found on panoramic radiographs in Turkish individuals. The length and width of the pulp cavity, measured according to the method of Kvaal et al. using panoramic radiographs, were insufficient to precisely estimate the age of Turkish individuals.     

Civil Society and Deliberative Democracy: Have Voluntary Organisations Faded from National Public Politics?

The political context of civil society in Western Europe has changed dramatically in recent decades. These changing circumstances may produce a decline in the integration of civil society into political life – especially deliberative activities at the national level. This article discusses how serious these alleged threats are to a hitherto vital civil society – that of Sweden. It focuses on fours indicators of organised civil society's contribution to deliberative democracy. First, have efforts to contact politicians, public servants and the media, as well as participation in public debates, decreased? Second, has civil society directed interest away from national arenas and instead concentrated resources in local and/or supranational arenas? Third, is there any evidence of a withdrawal from public activities, such as public debates and media activities in favour of direct contacts with politicians and public servants? Fourth, has civil society become more professionalised in the sense that interest groups are increasingly hiring professional consultants? Two surveys conducted in 1999 and 2005 show that Swedish organised civil society has not faded from national public politics. However, growing public participation is almost exclusively connected to increasing communication via the mass media and direct contact with politicians. Taking part in open public debate has not increased. The national arena has marginally lost some importance. Moreover, there is an increasing tendency to hire professional lobbying consultants. This might improve the quality of civil society's contributions to public deliberation, but a more elitist civil society might also develop, which is uninterested in social dialogue.     

Democracies and Deficits: Prospects for Fiscal Responsibility in Democratic Nations

The financial crisis had significant implications for the fiscal positions of OECD. As nations seek to cope with the economic contraction, budget deficits and debt have risen to near record postwar levels. As the crisis in Europe and other advanced economies has deepened, fiscal consolidation will have to be coupled, and even preceded, by actions to jump‐start crippled economies. Nonetheless, when fiscal consolidation becomes necessary, nations that procrastinate by waiting for a crisis to provide cover for the politically hard choices will pay a steep price indeed both economically and politically. Many in the academic and policy community have raised questions about whether advanced democracies have the political wherewithal to respond to gathering fiscal pressures through early and timely action. Recent fiscal actions in advanced nations suggest that democracies are not doomed to wait for market shocks and crises. Rather, leaders have shown that fiscal sacrifice can be achieved in ways that promote electability. In this article, we discuss the impetus for democratic fiscal actions and the strategies used to gain public support.     

新加坡人民行动党执政思维的实用理性特征

新加坡人民行动党的执政思维体现出儒家实用理性特征,具体表现为:不是拘泥于“什么”,而是关心“怎样”;其志虽在大同,其事只是小康;时中而有权,反经而合道;有所革新,有所因循;存而不论,勉力而行等。其经验为中国共产党改革和完善党的执政方式、提高党的执政水平提供了借鉴。     

犯罪情报学的教学设计研究

针对犯罪情报学传统教学模式中偏重于“灌输式”教学、考核手段单一等问题 ,应根据教学设计原理 ,对犯罪情报学的教学内容、教学方法、教学媒体和评价方法进行重新设计 ,以期达到培养学生掌握犯罪情报的基本知识 ,形成基本技能 ,提高动手能力和创新能力的目的。     

Reproducing ‘hegemony’ thereafter? The long-term political effects of the Gezi protests in Turkey

ABSTRACT

This study examines an understudied aspect of the Gezi protests: its long-term effects on the hegemonic politics of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalk?nma Partisi, AKP) government. Building on the insights of Ernesto Laclau, Chantal Mouffe, and Stuart Hall on hegemonic struggles and populism, it contends that the Gezi protests forced the AKP to reformulate its hegemonic strategies by deconstructing the relation formed contingently between the AKP and democratization, and thus, exposing both the limits of the neoliberal and Islamic/conservative hegemonic politics of the AKP, and the authoritarian tendencies of this government. The article maintains that the AKP, in response, turned to focus its efforts on becoming not hegemonic, but dominant by adopting a full-blown authoritarian populism, which, rather than entailing the closure of all democratic channels, favours retaining some for mobilizing popular support for its increasing authoritarianism. It is demonstrated that this popular support has been secured by the AKP through the articulation of a discourse that ignites fear and anxiety among the conservative religious and conservative nationalist segments, by portraying all opposition as detrimental to their interests and lifestyles. The article concludes that counter-hegemonic movements like Gezi may lead to significant political changes in the long run, even if they are repressed.     

全球化背景下西欧社会民主党与工会关系的变化

作为劳工运动曾经的两翼,西欧各国社会民主党与工会之间有着传统的友谊。然而,伴随科技革命和全球化的加速推进、工会和资本的力量对比发生很大改变,社会民主党与工会的关系日渐疏远。二十世纪九十年代中后期,不少国家社会民主党重执牛耳,西欧政坛呈现出一片粉红色,但这并未能弥补社会民主党与工会之间的裂痕。在全球化背景下,双方都以自身利益为重,二者关系既不可能恢复如“伯牙子期”知音之美,也不会像“管宁华歆”割席而分坐。