Political Opportunity Structure

The paper -based on a Copenhagen case study in a EU research programme (1) -is about politics of inclusion at the meso level: urban policy and politics of inclusion in Copenhagen with reference to the American and European discourse on underclass and social exclusion in the City. The argument in the chapter is that contemporary urban policy in Denmark can be characterised by a duality between 1. Participatory empowering welfare oriented inclusion strategies, which targets deprived districts and neighbourhoods (politics of positive selectivism recognising increasing spatial inequality as a political issue) -based on notions of the multicultural and solidaristic City. 2. Neoelitist/corporative market driven strategic growth strategies, which are based on notions of the Entrepreneurial City. The tension between the two orientations represents the most important challenge for urban democracy and inclusive governance concerned with problems of overcoming social polarisation in the urban space. The first part of the paper reviews contemporary social sciences and outlines a broader framework for the understanding of present forms of social exclusion and integration in the City. The second part interprets the urban policy changes in a historical context with emphasis on how the transition towards a new post-industrial economy and urban form was mediated via political and institutional struggles over the form and content of urban policy in Copenhagen. In the conclusion we discuss dilemmas for overcoming the dualism of present urban governance between neo-corporate growth regimes and participatory politics of social inclusion.

Aceh has a long history of conflict, most notably the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) insurgency from 1976 to 2005. This period marked by three peace agreements, culminating in the 2005 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) Helsinki 2005, which incorporated transitional justice mechanisms to address human rights violations and ensure justice for victims. However, implementing these mechanisms in post-conflict settings is fraught with challenges due to political instability and competing interests. This study investigates the political opportunities and challenges that shape social movements advocating for transitional justice in Aceh's fragile post-conflict environment. Using the political opportunities framework of social movements, the study examines the openness of political systems, elite interactions, the facilitation or repression by powerholders, and the presence of allies or opposition. This framework helps to understand how social movements navigate political landscapes to promote transitional justice. A case study approach was employed, involving in-depth interviews with human rights activists, government representatives, and former commissioners of Aceh's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Aceh' TRC). The study also utilized secondary data from academic articles and studies, with thematic analysis applied to interpret the data. The findings highlight four key points: the political system's openness facilitated by two critical moments marked by the fall of Soeharto in 1998 and the 2005 MoU Helsinki, dynamic relationships between new elites, low-facilitation yet a very small act of repression by powerholders, and the presence of trusted allies and a very small opposition party against the movement. The study underscores the importance of understanding political dynamics to effectively promote justice and peace, providing insights and valuable lessons for similar contexts globally. It emphasizes the need for tailored strategies in politically unstable and vulnerable post-conflict environments, contributing to the broader literature on social movements and transitional justice.

This chapter looks at how women’s movements in Croatia have addressed overlapping inequalities like gender, class, and ethnicity over the past two decades. It shows that different political strategies—mass protests, legal reforms, and economic justice campaigns—have created both opportunities and challenges for building inclusive, intersectional activism. While early efforts focused on unity and democratic change, they often overlooked the specific needs of marginalized groups. Later, legal reforms supported by the EU gave more space to address multiple identities but weakened grassroots connections. A new wave of feminist activism after the 2008 economic crisis re-centered issues of class and inequality, pushing for a broader and more inclusive vision of social justice.

The concept of sustained ethnic mobilization remains under-studied, with a majority of the focus being drawn to the initial factors initiating mobilization. Yet, there are instances globally where ethnic groups have engaged in mobilization, remaining active without fully completing the process of mobilization, or experiencing a decline in mobilization over time. The case of Hungarians in Romania serves as a key example of a minority group that mobilized during the immediate post-communist era while continuing to pursue its stated goals and objectives, maintaining broad support within the community. This article examines two theories of sustained ethnic mobilization, institutional and kin-state, to evaluate which is more effective in analysing the case of the Hungarian minority. Using these theories, the analysis focuses on domestic organizations and institutions, as well as the allowances provided by the Romanian governing system. Additionally, it examines the influence of the Hungarian government through two key forms of support: financial backing for cultural institutions and the provision of citizenship to Hungarians residing in Romania. The article comes to the conclusion that both approaches offer value in understanding why mobilization is sustained but in the case of the Hungarians, the role of institutions is paramount in allowing a group to retain mobilization, offering regional and conceptual implications.

Case studies of urban squatting in the United States and The Netherlands, and the fight against sexual violence in Spain and in The Netherlands, form the empirical basis of an analysis of the features and development of autonomous and institutionalized social movements, and the interaction between them. Autonomous and institutionalized social movements have different strengths that they derive from characteristics that are not compatible. Nevertheless, a dynamic is possible that combines the strengths of both models. It provides synergy between self-contained autonomous and institutionalized movements, without imposing trade-offs. Political opportunity theory suggests that such a ‘dual movement structure’ is most relevant when the political system is selectively open. Interaction between the movements is conditioned by the mainstreaming potential of the issue or interest that is at stake. Even when relations are tense, movements can create opportunities for each other. Autonomous mo...

What factors are associated with social workers’ political participation,
and how does political confidence mediate those relationships?
To answer this question, data were collected in 2020
through an original online survey of members of the U.S.-based
National Association of Social Workers (NASW). Informed by selfefficacy
theory, researchers conducted a structural equation modeling
(SEM) path model with political participation as the outcome
variable, and political confidence as a mediating variable.
Exogenous variables included: one’s self-reported political orientation,
belief that social work has a political mandate, gender, and
knowledge about how to effectively participate in politics. Results
indicate that high political confidence is associated with political
participation. Similarly, the belief that ‘the social work profession
has a political mandate’ is positively related to political participation,
both directly and indirectly through its positive association
with confidence. This study suggests that political knowledgebuilding
in curriculum and programming, while necessary, does
not sufficiently influence political participation. Instead, to support
a politically engaged social work profession, social work educators
and professional bodies ought to couple content about political
knowledge with political practice in ways that realistically increase
students’ political confidence and commitment to the idea that
social workers are mandated to engage in politics.

Merz ist nicht »Everybody's Darling«, schreiben die Medien 1 , sondern eher Rabauke 2 . Das Gegenmodell zu Angela Merkel sei oft unbeherrscht, polternd, arrogant, eitel 3 und stehe sich damit selbst im Weg. Fast wäre er Ende Januar, Anfang Februar 2025 kurz vor der vorgezogenen Bundestagswahl sogar darüber gestolpert -und das mit Ansage und entgegen vieler Warnungen. Plötzlich war er wieder beratungsresistent. Nach dem Mordanschlag eines Afghanen in Aschaffenburg zeigte sich Merz auch öffentlich extrem zornig, was angesichts der Brutalität der Tat sogar nachvollziehbar war. Der CDU-Vorsitzende war gar nicht mehr zu bremsen. Unbeherrscht und wü-1 So schreibt beispielsweise die ZEIT (»Der Merz-Effekt, 6.6.2022), Merz habe Chuzpe. »Das polarisiert -mobilisiert aber auch die eigenen potenziellen Anhänger, die Fehler zu verzeihen scheinen. Everybody's Darling wird man in Konsens-Deutschland damit nicht. Aber das muss Merz derzeit auch nicht sein.« 2 Jan Fleischhauer (2021): Der Rabauke.

Scholars have been taking the impact of weather on social movements for granted for some time, despite a lack of supporting empirical evidence. This paper takes the topic more seriously, analyzing more than 7000 social movement events and 36 years of weather records in Washington, D.C., and New York City (1960–95). Here, “good weather” is defined as midrange temperature and little to no precipitation. This paper uses negative binomial regression models to predict the number of social movements per day and finds social movements are more likely to happen on good days than bad, with seasonal patterns controlled for. Results from logistic regression models indicate violence occurs more frequently at social movement events when it is warmer. Most interestingly, the effect of weather is more salient when there are more political opportunities and resources available. This paper discusses the implications and suggests future research on weather and social movement studies.

The central question of this dissertation is How has contentious politics developed in Maluku Barat Daya
as a remote area in Indonesia since Reformasi? This study has resulted in a portrait of the political processes
driving the successive splitting of local governments in the southernmost region of the Moluccan Archipelago. It
leads to the conclusion that, although Reformasi and Otonomi Daerah might have been the direct cause of the
current dynamic, continuous contentious politics in Kabupaten Maluku Barat Daya/MBD (Southwest Maluku
Regency) and the southernmost region of the Maluku offer a better explanation of the dynamic political process.
I have developed an anthropological understanding of the capacities and practices summoned up by local people
in their responses to the external opportunities offered by the national institutional setting and of their capacity to
create the opportunity to make socio-political changes themselves. The research methods and tools that I used to
collect data are participant observation, interviews and secondary data collection in literature searches, archives,
news in newspapers and information spread on social media. I did fieldwork in Indonesia for twelve months in
total from the end of February 2018 to February 2019. In this dissertation, I have presented my research findings
in a chronological order of the occurrences of contentious politics in the southernmost region of Maluku for over
seventy years. I have adopted the term pemekaran to delineate each political process of the eruptions of contentious
politics which occurred between 1950 to 1999, 1999 to 2008, and 2008 to 2018.

This article explores the tensions between international solidarity groups and those they are in solidarity with. Taking the case of the Palestine Solidarity Movement and in particular the Ireland Palestine Solidarity campaign, the article argues that solidarity groups take the position of ‘not intervening in the internal affairs’ of the Palestinian people for a variety of reasons. The stance is adopted because of activist awareness of the possibilities of Northern groups causing harm to the people they are in solidarity with (of particular importance for Palestine), as well as serving as a means of declaring a belief in the political autonomy of the Palestinian people. As such, this position is used to differentiate solidarity groups from humanitarian/aid organisations. The article looks at the difficulties of putting this stance of ‘non-involvement’ into practice through examining solidarity groups’ response to Palestinian infighting in 2007, and to the Palestinian statehood bid o...

This paper asks how Western Palestinian solidarity groups have dealt with the challenge of the Palestinian Authority's strategy of seeking international recognition for a Palestinian state, in particular their UN statehood bid of September 2011. At first glance, it appears strange to call the Palestinian statehood bid a challenge to solidarity groups who campaign for the right of Palestinian self-determination. The strategy of developing the institutions of a Palestinian state and seeking international legitimacy for this statebuilding project has emerged as the prime goal of the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. However, far from supporting this strategy, Palestinian solidarity organisations have remained, with some exceptions, distant or even hostile to this project. The paper examines the reasons for the UN statehood bid and the reactions of Palestine solidarity groups in the UK and Ireland to the initiative. It draws on archival evidence and interviews with leading members of these groups to examine what groups did and said in relation to the initiative. It then outlines what influenced the groups' stance on the statehood bid -examining the arguments for and against the bid, and analysing their stance in relation to how social movements position themselves within fields of contention. It argues that the different positions that groups took can partly be understood by different ideological attitudes, but also by the relational dynamics of social movements and how those contending within the field need to manage their relationships with supporters and domestic institutional actors as well as the distant subject/object of solidarity.

Focusing on LGBTIQ demonstrations in Argentina and Chile, we study protesters' attachment to institutional politics, defined as their emotional and attitudinal connection with the political system. We show that Argentine LGBTIQ demonstrators are on average more attached to institutional politics than Chilean ones. This can be explained neither by differences between Argentines and Chileans in general, nor by demonstrators' individual characteristics. Instead, expanding the political process model, we argue that achieving a substantial part of the LGBTIQ agenda in Argentina, and limited success in Chile, contributed to build a stronger attachment to the political system among Argentine LGBTIQ demonstrators than their Chilean counterparts.

The paper examines one of many actions that civilians employ to resists peacefully armed actors during civil wars: protests. I argue that the costs for mobilizing against armed actors depend on the level of control that armed actors exert in the territory. By examining the civil war in Colombia between 1990 and 2004, I find that civilians protest against the weaker actor to reveal their loyalty to the dominant actor and to prevent the strong side from conducting future violent actions against the population. Protesting works as a costly signal of loyalty. I reveal that non-combatants protest against the stronger actor when both civilians and combatants share the same political ideology. In that circumstance, punishment by the strong combatants is improbable as protesting against them is likely to be interpreted as a renegotiation of the contract or a reminder of its terms. Finally, I show that civilians in contested zones declare themselves neutral and protest against both sides. Non-combatants take advantage of the power contestation to improve their current situation. Any punishment by combatants in contested zones would lead to defection, and citizens protest against both actors knowing that armed actors cannot afford to punish non-combatants for their hostile attitude.

Under the Hu-Wen administration, scholars analyzed how political opportunity structures (POS) affect the policy influence of NPOs in China, and found that the opportunity structure was relatively more open, especially for NPOs using personal connections. In this article, we focus on changes in the opportunity structure since Xi Jinping came to power after 2012, and find that the more closed political climate has had important consequences for NPO policy advocacy. We identify three strategies that NPOs have used to advocate, such as using the law, media framing, and establishing expert status. While these strategies are not novel, we argue that the weighting has shifted in terms of what leads to success.

El desplazamiento forzado constituye una problemática que se enraíza en diversas causas ligadas a conflictos internos y variadas expresiones de la violencia, en las que se vulneran los derechos humanos de las personas; Colombia y El Salvador son, a nivel latinoamericano, casos emblemáticos en los que se expresa este fenómeno. Así, este estudio compara los procesos de agendamiento público del problema del desplazamiento forzado, analizando la relación dialéctica entre las trayectorias de agendamiento y las de movilización social en los contextos de oportunidad política, configurados por las circunstancias, actores, y contingencias en los años del 2010 a la actualidad para El Salvador y de 1984 a 1997 paraColombia. La construcción de los instrumentos de investigación se sustentó en elementos de la teoría de movilización de recursos y oportunidad política, se llevaron a cabo 10 entrevistas semi-estructuradas con actores de organizaciones sociales relacionadas con el fenómeno de estudio para su posterior análisis, a través de un ejercicio de codificación de las narrativas. Los resultados indican que las organizaciones sociales, en ambos casos, han ejercido un rolprotagónico de “estructuras de suspensión” entre las demandas de distintos actores sociales y los Estados. Asimismo, se destaca para el caso colombiano cómo las “identidades amplias”configuran un escenario de movilización social por parte de la población víctima de desplazamiento; a diferencia de El Salvador donde el perfil de víctimas no está focalizado a identidades con procesos organizativos y de lucha previa. El trabajo destaca también los resultados disimiles entre ambos países en cuanto al papel de los gobiernos en la trayectoria de agendamiento de la problemática.

This article examines the way in which the repatriated population from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa is integrated into the speeches delivered during the solemn parliamentary commemorations of the Carnation Revolution. Based on a systematic analysis of the speeches of all the Portuguese political actors who took part in the commemorations of 25 April, from 1977, the date of the first session to be organised, until 2023, the aim of this article is to determine whether some periods stand out in terms of the frequency with which the former settlers are mentioned, and whether some political actors stand out from their peers in raising these issues. It also seeks to understand whether the emergence or disappearance of political actors over the years has influenced the way in which the issue of the retornados has been addressed during the parliamentary commemorations.

Over the last decade, the unprecedented influx of refugees and migrants into the European Union has posed a significant challenge to Europe, with solidarity being contested at two fronts: first, the question of solidarity with refugees in terms of meeting adequate measures of protection and satisfying their elementary needs; and second, the question of solidarity within the European Union in terms of sharing the costs and burden of hosting these refugees among the member states. One driving factor of these contestations is that the solidarity challenge in facing the ‘refugee crisis’ is taken up differently in transit countries in the South of Europe and destination countries in the North. Wishing to shed light on how national contexts impact transnational solidarity organising, we draw on a fresh set of cross-national evidence from a random sample of 277 transnational solidarity organisations (TSOs) in Greece, Germany, and Denmark. The aim is to illustrate the effects of political o...

Why did the non-Islamist political groups, and the Iranian people in general, enthusiastically welcome the protests of the Islamist clergy in January 1978, while many Egyptians regarded the presence of the Muslim Brotherhood in the revolutionary scene of 2011 with a considerable caution? This paper seeks to answer this question by using the concepts of ‘attribution of opportunity/threat’ and ‘discursive opportunity structure’ and the methodological strategy of ‘individualizing comparison’. According to the results of this study, in Iran in the 1350s, the importance of the struggle against "cultural colonialism" in the context of the discourses of "Westernization" and "return to self" had provided the intellectual basis for unity among militant clerics and a significant number of intellectuals and political groups. Moreover, since the rise of the clergy to state power was unprecedented in contemporary Iranian history and far-fetched, other opposition political groups saw the presence of militant clerics in politics as a political opportunity. Moving from Iran in 1977 to Egypt in 2011, following the end of the Cold War and due to the effects of the "third wave of transition to democracy," the ideology of liberalism became hegemonic worldwide and created many intellectual and value tensions between Islamists and a number of political groups. In addition to this discourse change, a combination of reasons led other political groups to view the presence of Brotherhood Islamists in the revolutionary crisis, if not as a political threat, at least with great caution, including: A. The emergence of terrorist Islamism in Egypt and the Middle East; B. The negative image of the Western and Arab media of the results of the Islamic Revolution in Iran; C. The retreat of the Mubarak government from some of its secular policies and the consequent strengthening of conservative Islam; D. The emergence and popularity of the "new preachers" who were personal and "non-political" Islamic preachers; And E). The history of the Muslim Brotherhood's long-term presence in official Egyptian politics and their very high organizational power.

Across time and place, housing has been at the heart of urban protest and collective action dynamics that we can call "housing movements." Madden and Marcuse define them as "popular struggles by those for whom housing means home, not real estate" (2016: 78). They materialize in institutional and extrainstitutional forms of collective action in favor of equal and fair access to affordable, safe, and decent housing. They stand against forces of dispossession and displacement and claim the "right to stay put" as a complement to the "right to mobility." Although it is not new, conflict around housing seems to have significantly intensified in many countries since the 2008 global financial crisis and the burst of the real estate speculative bubble associated with it. At the same time, however, the latter event has also shown the extent of variation across countries depending on national housing policies, tenure regimes, multiorganizational fields, and activist traditions. Gentrification, financialization, dispossession, and displacement may well be global phenomena, the resistance they encounter varies and needs to be problematized and explained.

Koncepti i “armikut” politik ishte një prej tipareve thelbësore të regjimit njëpartiak në Shqipëri (1944-1990). I bazuar në parimin e luftës së klasave dhe përballjes midis klasave antagoniste, “armiku” nuk ishte i mishëruar vetëm në emër të evidentuar, por në tipare të formimit dhe trashëgimisë kulturore e sociale, në nivelin e formimit fetar dhe ideologjik, në sistemin e mendimit dhe të veprimit. “Armik” nuk ishte gjithnjë individi që mendon e vepron, por edhe ai që ende nuk ekziston, fëmija që ende nuk ka lindur, mendimi që ende nuk është shprehur, lëvizja që ende nuk është shfaqur, pasoja që ende nuk ka ndodhur. Të gjithë këto elementë e bëjnë konceptin e “armikut” dhe imazhin e tij, kategorizim sa abstrakt aq edhe absurd, përherë të pranishëm dhe gjithnjë kërcënues, i gatshëm si alibi e dështimeve dhe i papërcaktuar si formë, madhësi, shprehje dhe identitet.
Punimi im analizon konceptin e armikut në aktet e rëndësishme zyrtare, - aktet kushtetuese dhe politike të nxjerra nga Presidiumi i Kuvendit Popullor në periudhën e fundit të regjimit njëpartiak (1990) dhe në periudhën e parë të sistemit pluralist (1991). Masat liberalizuese të regjimit në fillimet e vitit 1990 nuk sollën liberalizim në trajtimin e konceptit të armikut dhe as në vlerësimin zyrtar të regjimit mbi rrezikshmërinë dhe potencialin e tij. Përkundrazi, koncepti i armikut u zgjerua me rikthimin  elementëve të rinj, - përfshirë median perëndimore dhe diasporën shqiptare jashtë. Megjithëse në dhjetor 1990 zyrtarisht ndryshoi regjimi dhe Shqipëria u bë një sistem pluralist politik, koncepti i armikut politik vijoi të ishte funksional deri pas zgjedhjeve parlamentare të vitit 1991. Janë disa akte kushtetuese dhe politike, mbledhje e vendime të Byrosë Politike dhe të Presidiumit të Kuvendit Popullor që provojnë pozicionin zyrtar ndaj “armikut”, vlerësimin për “fytyrën e armikut”, “natyrën e armikut” dhe rrezikshmërinë e tij.
Punimi mbron tezën e se koncepti i “armikut” është keqpërdorur vazhdimisht si alibi për dështimet dhe pafuqi për ndryshimet, si dhe është një prej treguesve kritikë të dobësisë që shfaqën ndryshimet politike të fundit të vitit 1990 dhe fillimet e pluralizmit politik më 1991. Punimi bazohet në dokumente arkivore, botime profesionale, intervista dhe hulumtime shkencore. Vlera kryesore e punimit nuk është vetëm analiza e konceptit të “armikut” në ligjërimin zyrtar dhe institucional, por edhe përpjekja për të kuptuar defektet në formimin demokratik të shoqërisë dhe vështirësitë e periudhës postkomuniste për tu mësuar me lirinë dhe vlerat e saj.

Fjalë kyçe: koncepti i armikut, armiku i jashtëm, klasat e përmbysura, sistemi i frikës, Shqipëria komuniste

Portugal in the 21st Century provides a thorough yet accessible picture of contemporary Portugal in the first two decades of the 21st century. It examines and elucidates Portugal's recent trajectory, its current position, and the main challenges it faces through an examination of the principal dimensions of cultural, economic, political, and social development in the country. Bringing together some of the foremost Portuguese experts in each of these areas, it draws on a diverse knowledge across the social sciences and humanities-including anthropologists, art historians, economists, historians, legal scholars, literary scholars, political scientists, biologists, and sociologists-to create a multidimensional portrait of contemporary Portuguese society. Key features: • Organised into nine substantive chapters-each of which covers a major area of Portugal's contemporary existence-from its national identity and political system to its economy, scientific, literary, and artistic production. • Opens with a general introduction providing historical context, and a chapter on Portuguese national identity. • Thematic chapters focus on social, political, economic, and cultural developments of the last two decades. This book provides a comprehensive, erudite yet accessible introduction to contemporary Portugal and is essential reading for students, scholars, and readers interested in Portugal, Portuguese and Southern European politics and culture, Iberian, or Iberian-American

Neste texto, dão-se a conhecer os meandros da criação do PPG-Pelo Povo de
Gaula, o primeiro Grupo de Cidadãos Eleitores criado na Freguesia de Gaula,
do concelho de Santa Cruz, na Região Autónoma da Madeira. Abordam-se, ainda,
os episódios que levaram à composição original de um símbolo próprio, à
margem da interpretação da Lei Eleitoral, e ao reconhecimento, pela Juíza do
Tribunal de Comarca de Santa Cruz, como um direito constitucional.
Observou-se que o uso pioneiro de um símbolo próprio levou, curiosamente,
à interferência intempestiva da Comissão Nacional de Eleições (CNE) e da Direção
Regional da Administração Pública Local da vice-presidência do Governo e
motivou recursos para o Tribunal Constitucional pela CDU e PSD para o Tribunal
da Comarca. O uso de uma simbologia própria por parte de um Movimento,
independente da partidarite tradicional, causou, neste caso, uma intensa
urticária na CDU e no PSD. Moveram-se processos no Tribunal Constitucional,
mas sem quaisquer efeitos práticos.
O processo acabou por garantir um pioneirismo jurídico assinalável, já que
abriu portas ao uso constitucional de um símbolo próprio aos demais movimentos
portugueses, até à data limitados à simples interpretação da Lei Eleitoral,
e ao uso de uma numeração romana.
O PPG – Pelo Povo de Gaula - abriu portas ao Movimento Juntos Pelo Povo
(JPP) que viria a ser constituído em abril de 2009.

Abstract

In 2024, it will be 110 years since the drafting of the Organic Statute of Albania. This constitutional act, the first for our country, has generally been forgotten. During the 20s - 30s of the 20th century, this Statute was cited very little and it seems that during the regime of Ahmet Zogu there was a tendency to leave it in oblivion. In the period of the communist regime, this Statute began to be studied, but too late and the tendency has been to underestimate it as well as to see in it traces of placing Albania under the authority of foreign powers. This trend continues even now, where in general, even in the few studies that mention this Statute, they maintain a negative approach. The purpose of this paper is to present this Statute from another point of view, analyzing the reasons for its drafting, the preparation process, the selected models, and above all it tries to provide a solution to the question of whether the Organic Statute was not implemented in Albania, due to the circumstances of the time, or in fact it is an act that remained in the project phase and that never entered into force. Through this paper, the author intends to stimulate the debate on this constitutional act and a debate on the legal culture of the country, whose legal tradition is often not taken into consideration.

In the superficial and elementary view, it seems that the commentators in the narrative interpretations, without any effort of ijtihad, merely they have collected narrations related to the words and expressions of the verses. Contrary to this idea, the evidence shows that The authors of narrative interpretations, like other commentators, are influenced by the contextual conditions in discovering the meaning verses have done ijtihad and have taken action to select and arrange hadiths. In this article, with a descriptive-analytical method Through the Comparison of famous Shiite narrative interpretations and the application of the concept of context in author-oriented hermeneutic theories, The difference between these interpretations is examined in the issue of Friday prayers. More specifically, these interpretations in the issue of prayer Jummah differentiates dealing with the conditions of obligatory Friday prayer in the later interpretations of Safi and Noor al-Saqlain; something which is not seen in the early interpretations and interpretations of the critical argument. Why this difference in approach with respect to simultaneity The period of writing later narrative commentaries can be evaluated with the emergence of the Safavid Shiite government. desire Bahrani to express the esoteric aspects of the verses and Hawezi's more interest than Bahrani and Faiz in the discussion Jurisprudence according to the verses is another effective field in this distinction. Also, the mystical spirit of the character Faiz has caused him not to look at this issue solely from the point of view of jurisprudence, that his expressions in the treatise of Zad al-Salek And Olfat nameh is a proof of this.

Keywords: Shia narrative interpretations, role of the author, role of context, Friday prayer, Safavid

The article analyzes ethical dilemmas in the wave of destruction during protests in Peru after the political crisis of December 2022. It examines the burning of police stations, damage in the south and looting in Lima, under ethical criteria on limits of violence in civil resistance. It argues that the context of abuse explains in part the excesses, but does not ethically justify them. It advocates combining firmness in the face of violence with
openness to dialogue to meet social demands.

This article traces the development of Chile's emblematic Patagonia Sin Represas (Patagonia Without Dams) movement, known for its nearly decade-long, and ultimately successful, resistance to the controversial HidroAysén dam project. We draw on political process theory and frame analysis to examine how the movement grew from a small community struggle in an isolated part of Patagonia into the country's largest environmental social movement. We argue that movement actors achieved widespread support for Patagonia Without Dams by strategically reframing the issue in response to key political opportunities, shifting from a primarily environmental and anti-dam frame to a master frame of social justice and democracy. By framing the controversial hydroelectric project as an issue of historical and structural injustice within Chile's neoliberal economic governance structures, movement actors were able to resonate with broader audiences and build a robust alliance structure. Ultim...

Using Lijphart's framework concerning different models of democracy, the objective is to provide a very brief overview of the main social and political divisions in Portuguese society, and to present the main institutional features of Portuguese democracy and the possibilities they offer for minority representation. The article starts by looking at the main social and political divisions in Portuguese society. Then, the main institutional characteristics of Portuguese democracy, as regards the executive-parties dimension and the federal-unitary dimension, and the opportunities they offer for representation of minorities in Portugal, are presented. The article uses a perspective which is both longitudinal (1974 to the present) and comparative (Portugal in the context of Western Europe). The article ends with some brief conclusions.

De acordo com inúmeros estudos comparativos recentes, os cidadãos das democracias consolidadas e das novas democracias continuam a apresentar um forte empenhamento nos ideais e princípios da democracia representativa (Norris, 1999a; Abramson e ...

Social movement research raises many complicated methodological issues for scholars. This study systematically explains the methodological quandaries, decisions, and outcomes researchers confronted in a study of one such social movement, the Gezi Park protests. In the summer of 2013 and the months that followed, anti-government protestors in Turkey were supported by ethnic Turkish minorities living in Europe. These protestors took to the streets, created websites and Facebook pages as well as initiated offline organizations to express that support. In this study of those European Turks who lived in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, we explain how participants were recruited and surveyed in this complex and extremely sensitive environment that divided the participants from the resistors in the Gezi movement. The analysis also illustrates how the lessons learned from this study can be applied to other social movement research, and to other survey research on sensitive issues and with a targeted population.

Dans ce travail, nous proposons une réflexion sur la notion d'identité à partir de la théorie sémiotique. Pour cela, nous prenons en considération le mouvement de transition entre l'identité attribuée aux peuples indigènes brésiliens par le biais du pouvoir et l'identité spécifique qu'ils sont en train de construire eux-mêmes. À cette fin, nous analysons les jeux de vérité utilisés dans la construction des discours identitaires et stéréotypés, ainsi que ceux produits par les influenceurs indigènes dans les médias. Pour ce faire, nous nous appuyons sur les notions de contrat véridictoire ainsi que sur la notion de camouflage. Pour conclure, nous indiquons aussi la façon dont les sujets de ce groupe minoritaire ont revisité les catégories qui leur ont été assignées par l'histoire, en créant ainsi des espaces de disputes discursives.

Analiza e institucioneve politike dhe bilancit politik të Principatës Shqiptare 1914 nxjerr në një përfundim paradoksal. Eksperimenti me institucionet e dala nga Konferenca e Londrës, Statuti Organik dhe problematika komplekse e jetësimit të tyre praktik, me gjithë dobësitë dhe kritikat, krijoi një përvojë pozitive që u përdor më vonë nga elitat politike të post Luftës I Botërore. Më 1918 kur Shqipëria, ende pa shtet dhe pa territor në kontroll, synonte të përfaqësohej në bisedimet e paqes, u krijua një kabinet me drejtues kryeministrin e Wied, Turhan Përmetin. Disa prej ministrave dhe bashkëpunëtorëve të Wied (1914) u bënë më vonë kryeministra dhe liderë politikë të shtetit të ri shqiptar.

Institucioni i Princit/Mbretit u vijua më pas me Këshillin e Lartë të Shtetit dhe pas 1928 me mbretin Zog, kurse institucioni i Asamblesë u jetësua me Këshillin Kombëtar 1920 dhe praktikat parlamentare të secilit prej regjimeve të mëvonshme deri në ditët tona. Statuti Organik me bilancin e kritik dhe pozitiv shërbeu si lëndë e parë referimi në shkrimin e Statutit të Zgjeruar të Lushnjës (1920) dhe më pas edhe në Statutin e Zgjeruar të Lushnjës (1922), duke jetësuar shtetin e ri funksional shqiptar. Përvoja komplekse me sovranitetin e deleguar dhe rolin absolut të faktorit ndërkombëtar në vendimmarrjen vendore shërbeu gjithashtu si praktikë referimi në periudhat e mëvonshme të qeverisjes së Shqipërisë, ku bashkëjetojnë përpjekje serioze për forcimin e institucioneve vendore dhe ftesa për drejtim të huaj të disa segmenteve të rëndësishme administrative të tij.

Në mënyrë simbolike kur përfundoi lufta Princi nuk ishte më aty, por shteti ishte aty, kryeministri i tij ishte pika e parë e kontaktit, statusi dhe rregulloret e tij u bënë dokumentet burimorë për kushtetutën e re, mësimet nga gabimet e vitit 1914 ndihmuan në krijimin e një sistemi më përfaqësues, më demokratik, më funksional dhe më jetëgjatë vetëm 6 vjet më vonë. Trashëgimia e eksperimentit 1914 lidhet edhe me identitetin politik të Shqipërisë, përkatësinë evropiane të saj. Projekti perëndimor i simbolizuar tek Wied u pengua nga ngjarjet e fundvitit 1914 dhe Lufta I Botërore, por mbeti si alternativë orientuese dhe dominuese në identitetin tonë kombëtar. Në këtë mënyrë, Princ Wied i kushtoi shumë më tepër rëndësi shtetit si koncept dhe përfaqësim, institucioneve dhe rregullave të shkruara, nevojës për zgjidhje afatgjata dhe aplikim të modeleve perëndimore në një vend që vinte nga 5 shekuj sundim të ashpër otoman, - duke humbur kështu pushtetin, por duke i dhënë shqiptarëve konceptin e shtetit, njohjen e tij të parë ndërkombëtare,  - një trashëgimi me vlerë përcaktuese kur fundi i Luftës I Botërore krijoi rendin e ri politik evropian.

El presente texto describe las diversas acciones y proyectos para construir una terminal aeroportuaria en la Zona Federal del Lago de Texcoco a lo largo de más de veinte años. Se trata de un panorama general que permite dilucidar dos posturas al respecto: la de aquellos convencidos de su edificación y la de los opositores a este megaproyecto. Esto con el fin de observar la relevancia y el cambio de la noción misma de suelo, dada su transformación y carencia, lo que está conectado también con la valoración de los recursos naturales.

The article takes the approach of multi-level politics to analyse the way the presence of illegalized 'transit migrants' is dealt with within the urban space of Ventimiglia-a medium-sized city located south of the French-Italian border-by the town government and its mayor after heightened French border controls. It focuses on the period running from 2015 to 2019. Within the unneutral and criminalizing framing of 'transit migration', border towns have narrow room for political manoeuvre and yet they can be seen as the contentious scene of migration policies and politics. Presented and justified as a pragmatic compromise between the migrants' humanitarian needs and the inhabitants' claims for security and decorum, Ventimiglia's municipal policy of encampment was built on cooperation, conflict and contestation with both higher tier authorities and grassroots civil society, thus showing an intricate system of multi-level politics. Followed by widespread discontent which partially translated into electoral disavowal, the town government's actions eventually reinforced the framing of 'transit migration' policies as emergency measures and strengthened the migrants' invisibility and precariousness in the urban space. This ethnography-based case study thus provides greater understanding of the particularities of local and multi-level migration politics in border towns and how these contribute to shape and enhance the exclusionary border regime.

After the Vale’s tailings dam failure in Brumadinho (Minas Gerais) in early 2019, a group of researchers and activists from around the world produced a thematic map in the Global Atlas of Environmental Justice (EJAtlas) including 30 cases of environmental conflicts in which Vale had a prominent role. In this paper, these cases are analysed in light of Vale’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) discourses and practices, aiming to explore the contradiction of high CSR standards in the company and in other large multinationals in the mining sector coexisting with many socio-environmental conflicts. The analysis indicates that the company’s performance contrasts with its CSR discourse and that, even when Vale considers its performance both responsible and exemplary, the company reproduces environmental injustices and is therefore rather practicing Corporate Social Irresponsibility.

ABSTRACT
This article examines Arabs with disabilities living in Israel.
Centring their experiences and voices, it argues that the
group’s marginalisation is predominantly shaped by the ongoing political conflict. Arabs in Israel suffer deep social and
institutional marginalisation on the basis of their ethnic identity and perceived threat and opposition to the state. Arabs
with disabilities are neither exempted nor alleviated from
this discriminatory framework. Therefore, those services,
rights, and policies which are in place are not always fully
granted, revealing the deficiency of a rights-based model for
advancing their cause. Strikingly, however, it is the barriers
and limiting normative beliefs within the community of Arabs
in Israel where discrimination is most acutely felt. Being seen
only through their disability means a battle for acceptance,
integration, and participation in Arab society. Again, without
a significant shift in social awareness and underlying normative perceptions, a rights-based model will only go so far.

We analyze the coverage of the Gezi Park protests by two major Western newspapers-The New York Times and The Guardian-through the lens of media framing, rhetoric, and collective memory. We argue that these digital archives frame Turkey's Gezi Park protests as a challenge to an authoritarian government by promoting the themes of unrest as a conflict of ideologies, oppression of citizens, and the park as a site of memory. In a concluding section, we focus on the significance of digital archives as repositories of collective memory and the role of media framing in shaping these reconstructions of events in the past.

Albanians started their resistance on 7 April in 1939. Italians were received by guns by the Albanian people. The Albanians of Kosovo and Çamëria were willing and determined to come to the protection of "their motherland". The evidences demonstrate the great sacrifices that Albanians had made while fighting against the fascists troops; they suffered great material and economic damages. The sacrifices of the Albanian people beyond what were the borders of Albania in 1913 are most evidenced as they fought to crush the Nazi troops in the regions of Montenegro, Sanxhak, Bosnia and Slovenia. Understantig and tolerance have been characteristic features of the Albanias during World War II, as has been the case throughout the history of the Albanien people. Althpungh during the 1939-1944 period the Albanianes were involved in a specific, extremely complicacated, and frequently contradictory situation, they managed to manifest, not only the characteristic mutual tolerance, but also in Naturally the Albanian nation joined the great antifascist coalition, likewise rendering a relatively considerable contribution along with the other nations. In this respect, the Albanians were promtend by the mere reason that such a position should be assumed in view of the pan-national and regional interests involved, the target being the establishment of a postwar free and unified Albania, as well as the establishment of the Balkan characterized by peace, understanding, and collaboration. It is from this angle that Anyone should view the multi-from manifestations of tolerance, existing not only among the common people, but also among the top political opponents, tolerance towards the neighbouring nations, the Italian soldiers captured after the fascist Italy capitulation inclusive. In this context, emphasis should be made of the foct that fratricide and blood feud among the Albanians, during the 1939-1944 period were relatively rare phenomena, since the blood shed by the Albanians during the World War II years contributed to conquering fascism, liberating the world peoples and nations, as well as constructing a democratic world. The controversy over Albanian territories and the Albanian people as a nation is wide and great during the time framework of the World War II. This paper aims at elaborating on the Albanians' positioning towards the world conflict and on realistically determining their standing and attitude as well as elaborating on the political drives which urged that positioning.

Declaration of Authorship The title page should be followed by a signed declaration that the work presented in the thesis is the candidate's own. Please note that there is no set wording for this but an example is provided below: Declaration of Authorship I. (please insert name) hereby declare that this thesis and the work presented in it is entirely my own. Where I have consulted the work of others, this is always clearly stated.

A political opportunity structure that emerged in the Dominican Republic between 2009 and 2012 facilitated the victory of a movement that forced the government to begin spending 4 percent of the gross domestic product on preuniversity education, but the movement was unable to develop a social base that would ensure the effective implementation of its demand. This case suggests that a movement’s success in reaching its formal goal is just the first stage in a struggle whose second stage is continued pressure on the state to ensure that demands are implemented. La estructura de oportunidad política surgida en la República Dominicana entre 2009 y 2012 facilitó la victoria de un movimiento que obligó al gobierno a comenzar a gastar el 4 por ciento del producto interno bruto en la educación preuniversitaria. Sin embargo, dicho movimiento no pudo desarrollar una base social que asegurara la implementación efectiva de sus demandas. Este caso sugiere que el éxito de un movimiento en torno a...