Showing papers on "Ideology published in 2019"

Capital and Ideology

Abstract: A New York Times Best Seller An NPR Best Book of the Year The epic successor to one of the most important books of the century: at once a retelling of global history, a scathing critique of contemporary politics, and a bold proposal for a new and fairer economic system. Thomas Piketty's bestselling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system. Our economy, Piketty observes, is not a natural fact. Markets, profits, and capital are all historical constructs that depend on choices. Piketty explores the material and ideological interactions of conflicting social groups that have given us slavery, serfdom, colonialism, communism, and hypercapitalism, shaping the lives of billions. He concludes that the great driver of human progress over the centuries has been the struggle for equality and education and not, as often argued, the assertion of property rights or the pursuit of stability. The new era of extreme inequality that has derailed that progress since the 1980s, he shows, is partly a reaction against communism, but it is also the fruit of ignorance, intellectual specialization, and our drift toward the dead-end politics of identity. Once we understand this, we can begin to envision a more balanced approach to economics and politics. Piketty argues for a new "participatory" socialism, a system founded on an ideology of equality, social property, education, and the sharing of knowledge and power. Capital and Ideology is destined to be one of the indispensable books of our time, a work that will not only help us understand the world, but that will change it.

The Far Right Today

Abstract: 1. History 2. Ideology and Issues 3. Organization 4. People 5. Activities 6. Causes 7. Consequences 8. Responses 9. Gender 10. Twelve Theses on the Fourth Wave

Does Party Trump Ideology? Disentangling Party and Ideology in America

Abstract: Are people conservative (liberal) because they are Republicans (Democrats)? Or is it the reverse: people are Republicans (Democrats) because they are conservatives (liberals)? Though much has been said about this long-standing question, it is difficult to test because the concepts are nearly impossible to disentangle in modern America. Ideology and partisanship are highly correlated, only growing more so over time. However, the election of President Trump presents a unique opportunity to disentangle party attachment from ideological commitment. Using a research design that employs actual “conservative” and “liberal” policy statements from President Trump, we find that low-knowledge respondents, strong Republicans, Trump-approving respondents, and self-described conservatives are the most likely to behave like party loyalists by accepting the Trump cue—in either a liberal or conservative direction. These results suggest that there are a large number of party loyalists in the United States, that their claims to being a self-defined conservative are suspect, and that group loyalty is the stronger motivator of opinion than are any ideological principles.

Signs of Difference: Language and Ideology in Social Life

Abstract: How are peoples' ideas about languages, ways of speaking and expressive styles shaped by their social positions and values? How is difference, in language and in social life, made - and unmade? How and why are some differences persuasive as the basis for action, while other differences are ignored or erased? Written by two recognised authorities on language and culture, this book argues that ideological work of all kinds is fundamentally communicative, and that social positions, projects and historical moments influence, and are influenced by, people's ideas about communicative practices. Neither true nor false, ideologies are positioned and partial visions of the world, relying on comparison and perspective; they exploit differences in expressive features - linguistic and otherwise - to construct convincing stereotypes of people, spaces and activities. Using detailed ethnographic, historical and contemporary examples, this outstanding book shows readers how to analyse ideological work semiotically.

The “Political Ecology” of Amazonia

Abstract: This chapter presents a model of the socio-political system that can be used to analyze the processes pertinent to understanding the human use of natural resources. The framework, drawn from the perspective of political economy, shows the relationship between surplus production, social class, the function of the state in promoting private accumulation, and the role of ideology in public discourse and development planning. The chapter illustrates how economic and political processes determine the way natural resources have been exploited in frontier regions of northern Brazil. It argues that both the design of intervention projects and the strategies to implement them must be formulated on the basis of a thorough assessment of a society's overall political economy. In some societies, such as certain indigenous groups in Amazonia, the goal of production is subsistence. The chapter summarizes the indigenous groups, Caboclos, and peasants share, to a greater or lesser extent, a production system oriented primarily to simple reproduction.

Foundations of a neo-Marxist class analysis

Abstract: The concept of class has greater explanatory ambitions within the Marxist tradition than in any other tradition of social theory and this, in turn, places greater burdens on its theoretical foundations. In its most ambitious form, Marxists have argued that class – or very closely linked concepts like “mode of production” or “the economic base” – was at the center of a general theory of history, usually referred to as “historical materialism.” This theory attempted to explain within a unified framework a very wide range of social phenomena: the epochal trajectory of social change as well as social conflicts located in specific times and places, the macro-level institutional form of the state along with the micro-level subjective beliefs of individuals, large-scale revolutions as well as sit-down strikes. Expressions like “class struggle is the motor of history” and “the executive of the modern state is but a committee of the bourgeoisie” captured this ambitious claim of explanatory centrality for the concept of class. Most Marxist scholars today have pulled back from the grandiose explanatory claims of historical materialism (if not necessarily from all of its explanatory aspirations). Few today defend stark versions of “class primacy.” Nevertheless, it remains the case that class retains a distinctive centrality within the Marxist tradition and is called upon to do much more arduous explanatory work than in other theoretical traditions.

Open Access Policy in the UK: From Neoliberalism to the Commons

Abstract: This thesis makes a contribution to the knowledge of open access through a historically and theoretically informed account of contemporary open access policy in the UK (2010–15) It critiques existing policy by revealing the influence of neoliberal ideology on its creation, and proposes a commons-based approach as an alternative The historical context in Chapters 2 and 3 shows that access to knowledge has undergone numerous changes over the centuries and the current push to increase access to research, and political controversies around this idea, are part of a long tradition The exploration of the origins and meanings of ‘openness’ in Chapter 4 enriches the understanding of open access as a concept and makes possible a more nuanced critique of specific instantiations of open access in later chapters The theoretical heart of the thesis is Chapter 5, in which neoliberalism is analysed with a particular focus on neoliberal conceptions of liberty and openness The subsequent examination of neoliberal higher education in Chapter 6 is therefore informed by a thorough grounding in the ideology that underlies policymaking in the neoliberal era This understanding then acts as invaluable context for the analysis of the UK’s open access policy in Chapter 7 By highlighting the neoliberal aspects of open access policy, the political tensions within open access advocacy are shown to have real effects on the way that open access is unfolding Finally, Chapter 8 proposes the commons as a useful theoretical model for conceptualising a future scholarly publishing ecosystem that is free from neoliberal ideology An argument is made that a commons-based open access policy is possible, though must be carefully constructed with close attention paid to the power relations that exist between different scholarly communities

Grounded Nationalisms: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract: Globalisation is not the enemy of nationalism; instead, as this book shows, the two forces have developed together through modern history. Malesevic challenges dominant views which see nationalism as a declining social force. He explains why the recent escalations of populist nationalism throughout the world do not represent a social anomaly but are, in fact, a historical norm. By focusing on ever-increasing organisational capacity, greater ideological penetration and networks of micro-solidarity, Malesevic shows how and why nationalism has become deeply grounded in the everyday life of modern human beings. The author explores the social dynamics of these grounded nationalisms via an analysis of varied contexts, from Ireland to the Balkans. His findings show that increased ideological diffusion and the rising coercive capacities of states and other organisations have enabled nationalism to expand and establish itself as the dominant operative ideology of modernity.

Psychological Features of Extreme Political Ideologies

Abstract: In this article, we examine psychological features of extreme political ideologies. In what ways are political left- and right-wing extremists similar to one another and different from moderates? W...

Vox como representante de la derecha radical en España: un estudio sobre su ideología

Abstract: The emergence of Vox in Spanish politics has raised a debate around the very ideological nature of this new party. This article addresses this concern by performing a qualitative content analysis of its party manifestos and discourses, based on the causal chain method. The findings show that Vox is a far-right organization as it fits the characteristics of the radical right party family. Its ideology is based on a combination of nationalism and xenophobia (nativism) and an authoritarian view of society, attached to the values of law and order. This authoritarianism, however, represents neither the willingness to establish an autocratic regime nor the use of violence to reach political goals. This nuance moves Vox away from the most extremist elements of the far right. On the other hand, nativism is the element which distinguishes Vox from the mainstream conservative parties. Finally, two specificities of the Spanish representative of the radical right are worth pointing out: Firstly, unlike many of its counterparts in Europe, populism is not very present in its discourse; the rhetoric of Vox is far more nationalist than populist. Secondly, while many representatives of this party family try to blur their socioeconomic position to attract a broader base of voters, Vox shows without complex a clear conservative stance in issues such as traditional values and a neoliberal economic agenda.

A New Model for Industry–Academic Partnerships

Abstract: The mission of the social sciences is to understand and ameliorate society’s greatest challenges. The data held by private companies, collected for different purposes, hold vast potential to further this mission. Yet, because of consumer privacy, trade secrets, proprietary content, and political sensitivities, these datasets are often inaccessible to scholars. We propose a novel organizational model to address these problems. We also report on the first partnership under this model, to study the incendiary issues surrounding the impact of social media on elections and democracy: Facebook provides (privacy-preserving) data access; eight ideologically and substantively diverse charitable foundations provide initial funding; an organization of academics we created, Social Science One, leads the project; and the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard and the Social Science Research Council provide logistical help.

Politics, Policy, And Culture

Abstract: Part 1 Public policy: ideology, culture and risk perception, Hank Jenkins-Smith and Walter K. Smith "This land is your land, this land is my land" - cultural conflict in environmental land-use regulation, D.J. Coyle cars and culture in Munich and Birmingham - the case for cultural pluralism, Frank Hendriks cultural influences on policies concerning mental illness, Brendon Swedlow. Part 2 History: a cultural analysis of populism in late-19th-century America, Gary Lee Malecha the social construction of slavery, R.J. Ellis cultural theory and historical change - the development of town and church in Puritan New England, Dean C. Hammer. Part 3 Theory: culture, rationality and violence, Sun-Ki Chai and Aaron Wildavsky cultural theory and the problem of moral relativism, Charles Lockhart and Gregg Franzwa conceptualizing and operationalizing cultural theory, Richard P. Boyle and Richard M. Coughlin the theory that would be king, D.J. Coyle.

Vanguardism : Ideology and Organization in Totalitarian Politics

Abstract: Providing an innovative conceptualization of extremist political movements founded upon “world-historic” populations and vanguard party organizations, Vanguardism sets out a new path in investigating the intellectual and historical influences that created extremist politics, the totalitarian movements and regimes of the twentieth century, and a framework for interpreting extremism in the present. Expanding its view across the turbulent intellectual currents of the nineteenth century, Phillip W. Gray illustrates how these ideas shaped the shared ideational and organizational structures that would develop into Leninism, Fascism, and Nazism in the early twentieth century. Moving beyond the Second World War, the book explicates how vanguardism did not vanish with the war’s conclusion, but was modified throughout the period of national liberation movements and Western extremist groups over the ensuing decades. Concluding in the present with an eye to the future, Gray presents a framework for comprehending the extremist movements of today, and how organizational shifts can give us clues to the forms of totalitarian politics of tomorrow. Original and provocative, Vanguardism will become essential reading for everyone looking to understand totalitarianism and extremist politics of our time.

Ideology Justifies Morality: Political Beliefs Predict Moral Foundations

Abstract: Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) is employed as a causal explanation of ideology that posits political attitudes are products of moral intuitions. Prior theoretical models, however, suggest the opposite causal path, that is, that moral judgments are driven by political beliefs. In both instances, however, extant research has assumed rather than explicitly tested for causality. So do moral intuitions drive political beliefs or do political beliefs drive moral intuitions? We empirically address this question using data from two panel studies and one nationally representative study, and find consistent evidence supporting the hypothesis that ideology predicts moral intuitions. The findings have significant implications for MFT as a theory of ideology, and also about the consequences of political beliefs for shaping how individuals rationalize what is right and what is wrong.

Symbolic Thickening of Public Culture and the Rise of Right-Wing Populism in Poland:

Abstract: A key feature of thin populist ideology is a sharp division of the social world into “good people” and “bad elites.” Populist ideology “thickens” when it is combined with another ideology, for inst...

Fox Populism: Branding Conservatism as Working Class

Abstract: Fox Populism offers fresh insights into why the Fox News Channel has been both commercially successful and politically effective. Where existing explanations of Fox's appeal have stressed the network's conservative editorial slant, Reece Peck sheds light on the importance of style as a generative mode of ideology. The book traces the historical development of Fox's counter-elite news brand and reveals how its iconoclastic news style was crafted by fusing two class-based traditions of American public culture: one native to the politics in populism and one native to the news field in tabloid journalism. Using the network's coverage of the late-2000s economic crisis as the book's principal case study, Peck then shows how style is deployed as a political tool to frame news events. A close analysis of top-rated programs reveals how Fox hails its audience as 'the real Americans' and successfully represents narrow, conservative political demands as popular and universal.

The White-Centering Logic of Diversity Ideology:

Abstract: In this article, I present a framework for diversity as a racial ideology that rearticulates the logic of civil rights. Diversity ideology is, in part, a co-optation of calls for race consciousness...

An ideological asymmetry in the diffusion of moralized content on social media among political leaders.

Abstract: Online social networks constitute a major platform for the exchange of moral and political ideas, and political elites increasingly rely on social media platforms to communicate directly with the public. However, little is known about the processes that render some political elites more influential than others when it comes to online communication. Here, we gauge influence of political elites on social media by examining how message factors (characteristics of the communication) interact with source factors (characteristics of elites) to impact the diffusion of elites' messages through Twitter. We analyzed messages (N = 286,255) sent from federal politicians (presidential candidates, members of the Senate and House of Representatives) in the year leading up to the 2016 U.S. presidential election-a period in which Democrats and Republicans sought to maximize their influence over potential voters. Across all types of elites, we found a "moral contagion" effect: elites' use of moral-emotional language was robustly associated with increases in message diffusion. We also discovered an ideological asymmetry: conservative elites gained greater diffusion when using moral-emotional language compared to liberal elites, even when accounting for extremity of ideology and other source cues. Specific moral emotion expressions related to moral outrage-namely, moral anger and disgust-were impactful for elites across the political spectrum, whereas moral emotion expression related to religion and patriotism were more impactful for conservative elites. These findings help inform the scientific understanding of political propaganda in the digital age, and the antecedents of political polarization in American politics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Three Pillars of Radicalization: Needs, Narratives, and Networks

Abstract: This book identifies the three major determinants of radicalization that progresses into violent extremism, the three Ns of radicalization. The first determinant is the need: Individuals’ universal desire for personal significance. The second determinant is the narrative. Because significance is conferred by members of one’s group, the group’s narrative guides members in their quest for significance. The third determinant is the network: membership of one’s group who validate the narrative and who dispense rewards (respect and veneration) to members who implement it. The quest for significance is activated in one of three major ways: (a) through a loss of significance occasioned by personal failure or affront to one’s social identity (e.g., ethnicity, religion, race), (b) through a threat of significance loss if one failed to respond to a challenge or to defend one’s group values, and/or (c) through an opportunity for a significance gain (e.g., becoming a hero or a martyr) by selflessly defending one’s group values. In groups that see their values (e.g., religion, sovereignty, culture) under threat from some (real or imagined) actor, the narrative often justifies violence against the detractor and portrays it as a supreme road to significance. Especially where violence is contrary to the norms of the mainstream society, validation of the violence–significance link by the local network is particularly important. The present 3N model of radicalization and the varied empirical evidence that supports it are leveraged to interpret prior theories of radicalization and to address major issues in the domains of deradicalization and recidivism.

Class and Power in Roman Palestine: The Socioeconomic Setting of Judaism and Christian Origins

Abstract: Anthony Keddie investigates the changing dynamics of class and power at a critical place and time in the history of Judaism and Christianity - Palestine during its earliest phases of incorporation into the Roman Empire (63 BCE–70 CE). He identifies institutions pertaining to civic administration, taxation, agricultural tenancy, and the Jerusalem Temple as sources of an unequal distribution of economic, political, and ideological power. Through careful analysis of a wide range of literary, documentary, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence, including the most recent discoveries, Keddie complicates conventional understandings of class relations as either antagonistic or harmonious. He demonstrates how elites facilitated institutional changes that repositioned non-elites within new, and sometimes more precarious, relations with privileged classes, but did not typically worsen their economic conditions. These socioeconomic shifts did, however, instigate changing class dispositions. Judaean elites and non-elites increasingly distinguished themselves from the other, through material culture such as tableware, clothing, and tombs.

The Politics of Chemistry: Science and Power in Twentieth-Century Spain

Abstract: Agusti Nieto-Galan argues that chemistry in the twentieth century was deeply and profoundly political. Far from existing in a distinct public sphere, chemical knowledge was applied in ways that created strong links with industrial and military projects, and national rivalries and international endeavours, that materially shaped the living conditions of millions of citizens. It is within this framework that Nieto-Galan analyses how Spanish chemists became powerful ideological agents in different political contexts, from liberal to dictatorial regimes, throughout the century. He unveils chemists' position of power in Spain, their place in international scientific networks, and their engagement in fierce ideological battles in an age of extremes. Shared discourses between chemistry and liberalism, war, totalitarianism, religion, and diplomacy, he argues, led to advancements in both fields.

Urban China through the lens of neoliberalism: Is a conceptual twist enough?

Abstract: Neoliberalism as a hegemonic global ideology and framework of governance has been the subject of extensive critical analyses in geography and urban studies. Despite the conceptual difficulties invo...

Chinese Politics and Government: Power, Ideology and Organization

Abstract: Part 1: Introducing Chinese Politics 1. Chinese Politics in Comparative Communist Systems 2. Theoretical Models for Studying Chinese Politics Part 2: Land and People 3. Shaping Forces of Chinese State Making, Political Culture, and Political Tradition 4. Traditional Chinese Culture and Confucianism Part 3: Political Development 5. The Collapse of Imperial State and the Communist Road to Power 6. The Making of Communist New State and the post-Mao Transition Part 4: Political Ideology 7. Marxism-Leninism and Chinese Political Ideology 8. Ideological Modifications in Post-Mao China Part 5: Political Institutions 9. The Party-State Structure of Chinese Government 10. Institutional Changes in post-Mao China Part 6: The Chinese Legal and Legislative Systems 11. The Chinese Legal and Legislative Systems 12. Legal and Legislative Reforms in Post-Mao China Part 7: The Chinese Society 13. Chinese Social Structure and State-Society Relations 14. Social Changes and State-Society Relations in Post-Mao China Part 8: The Chinese Economy 15. State Socialism and Chinese Communist Economy 16. Market Socialism and Economic Transition in Post-Mao China Part 9: Chinese Foreign Policy 17. Chinese Foreign Policy Making 18. US-China Relations in Transformation

Populism and feminist politics: The cases of Finland and Spain

Abstract: While populism has been subject to growing scholarly interest, its relationship to feminist politics has remained conspicuously understudied. This article investigates this relationship by analysing two cases of European populism: left populism in Spain (Podemos), and right populism in Finland (the Finns Party). The questions asked, and the challenges posed to feminist politics from populist political forces are intriguing: How is feminist politics articulated in both left and right populism? What differences can be discerned between left and right populism for feminist politics? To explore this, the article analyses three core dimensions: (1) political representation: descriptive representation (numbers of women, men and minority positions) and substantive representation (policy content in relation to gender equality); (2) populist parties’ formal and informal gender institutions such as internal quotas, gender equality plans and institutional culture; and (3) dedicated spaces for feminist politics such as women's sections or feminist groups. It is argued that political ideology matters for feminist politics, and while left parties are more responsive to feminist concerns and populism poses specific problems for feminist politics, it is the gendered culture of political parties that ensures both left and right parties are problematic for feminist politics.

'Austria First' revisited: a diachronic cross-sectional analysis of the gender and body politics of the extreme right.

Abstract: In this paper, Rheindorf and Wodak provide a discourse-historical analysis of extreme-right cultural politics in Austria, ranging from the blatant racism in the speeches of Vienna's former Deputy Mayor Johann Gudenus (now MP in the Austrian parliament) to the construction of an idealized national body in the election campaigns of the Freiheitliche Partei Osterreichs (FPO), its programmatic agenda in handbooks and pamphlets, and the performances of far-right pop singer Andreas Gabalier. Rheindorf and Wodak argue that such cultural politics use a wide spectrum of discursive strategies both inside and outside established party politics and that the accompanying production of an ideal extreme-right subject is informed by nativist ideology. The cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that the cultural politics of the Austrian extreme right ranges from appropriated national symbols to coded National Socialist iconography. These politics pervasively construct a gendered and racialized national body, policed by a 'strict father' and nurtured by a 'self-sacrificing mother', vis-a-vis an apocalyptic threat scenario identified with migration, intellectual and political elites, cosmopolitanism and progressive gender politics.