Showing papers on "Politics published in 2021"

And the Band Played On : Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic

Abstract: Why was AIDS allowed to spread unchecked during the early 1980s while our most trusted institutions ignored or denied the threat? In this expose of one of the most important issues of our time, the author answers this question - revealing how the federal government put its budgetary concerns ahead of the nation's welfare, how health authorities placed political expediency before public health, and how some scientists valued national prestige more than saving lives.

Neoliberalism: A Very Short Introduction

Abstract: Anchored in the principles of the free-market economics, 'neoliberalism' has been associated with such different political leaders as Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bill Clinton, Tony Blair, Augusto Pinochet, and Junichiro Koizumi. In its heyday during the late 1990s, neoliberalism emerged as the world's dominant economic paradigm stretching from the Anglo-American heartlands of capitalism to the former communist bloc all the way to the developing regions of the global South. At the dawn of the new century, however, neoliberalism has been discredited as the global economy, built on its principles, has been shaken to its core by a financial calamity not seen since the dark years of the 1930s. So is neoliberalism doomed or will it regain its former glory? Will reform-minded G-20 leaders embark on a genuine new course or try to claw their way back to the neoliberal glory days of the Roaring Nineties? Is there a viable alternative to neoliberalism? Exploring the origins, core claims, and considerable variations of neoliberalism, this Very Short Introduction offers a concise and accessible introduction to one of the most debated 'isms' of our time.

Moral Man and Immoral Society: A Study in Ethics and Politics

Abstract: Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) was one of America's foremost twentieth-century religious thinkers and social critics. As pastor of Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, he became deeply interested in social problems. He was Professor of Applied Christianity at Union Theological Seminary, remaining there until his retirement. Ultimately, he abandoned his liberal Protestant hopes for the church's moral rule of society and became a Socialist activist. Moral Man and Immoral Society is Niebuhr's eloquent argument for the church's involvement in social reforms as well as a platform for his beliefs that men are sinners, that society is ruled by self-interest, and that history is characterized by irony, not progress.

Crimes of style : urban graffiti and the politics of criminality

Abstract: Jeff Ferrell draws on his own extensive field research to thoroughly examine the practices of graffiti artists. Focusing on the city of Denver, he takes a close look at the war against graffiti and the interplay between cultural innovation and institutionalized intolerance, arguing that coordinated corporate and political campaigns to suppress and criminalize graffiti writers further disenfranchises the young, the poor, and people of color.

The effect of COVID-19 lockdowns on political support: Some good news for democracy?

Abstract: Major crises can act as critical junctures or reinforce the political status quo, depending on how citizens view the performance of central institutions. We use an interrupted time series to study the political effect of the enforcement of a strict confinement policy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we take advantage of a unique representative web-based survey that was fielded in March and April 2020 in Western Europe to compare the political support of those who took the survey right before and right after the start of the lockdown in their country. We find that lockdowns have increased vote intentions for the party of the Prime Minister/President, trust in government and satisfaction with democracy. Furthermore, we find that, while rallying individuals around current leaders and institutions, they have had no effect on traditional left–right attitudes.

The Tyranny of Experts: Economists, Dictators, and the Forgotten Rights of the Poor

Abstract: Over the last century, global poverty has largely been viewed as a technical problem that merely requires the right "expert" solutions. Yet all too often, experts recommend solutions that fix immediate problems without addressing the systemic political factors that created them in the first place. Further, they produce an accidental collusion with "benevolent autocrats," leaving dictators with yet more power to violate the rights of the poor. In The Tyranny of Experts, economist William Easterly, bestselling author of The White Man's Burden, traces the history of the fight against global poverty, showing not only how these tactics have trampled the individual freedom of the world's poor, but how in doing so have suppressed a vital debate about an alternative approach to solving poverty: freedom. Presenting a wealth of cutting-edge economic research, Easterly argues that only a new model of development-one predicated on respect for the individual rights of people in developing countries, that understands that unchecked state power is the problem and not the solution -will be capable of ending global poverty once and for all.

Political Beliefs affect Compliance with Government Mandates

Abstract: We use the state-mandated stay-at-home orders during the coronavirus pandemic as a setting to study whether political beliefs inhibit compliance with government orders. Using geolocation data sourced from smartphones, we find residents in Republican counties are less likely to completely stay at home after a state order has been implemented relative to those in Democratic counties. Debit card transaction data shows that Democrats are more likely to switch to remote spending after state orders are implemented. Heterogeneity in factors such as Covid-19 risk exposure, geography, and county characteristics do not completely rule out our findings, suggesting political beliefs are an important determinant in the effectiveness of government mandates. Political alignment with officials giving orders may partially explain these partisan differences.

Siting Culture: The Shifting Anthropological Object

Abstract: Introduction Kirsten Hastrup and Karen Fog OlwigPart I: Finding a key debate place for cultureCultural Sites: Sustaining a home in a deteritorialized world Karen Fog Olwig Imaginging a place in the Andes: In the borderland of lived, invented and analyzed cultures Karsten Paerregaard Which world? On diffusion of Algerian Rai to the West March Schade-Poulsen Seeking place: Capsized identities and contracted belonging among Sri lankan Tamil refugees Ann-Belinda Steen PreisPart II: The Culture and Politics of PlaceThe nation as a human being: A metaphor in a mid-life crisis? Notes on the imminent collapse of Norwegian national identity Thomas Hylland Eriksen Paradoxes of sovereignty and independence: 'real' and 'pseudo' nation-states and depoliticization of poverty James Ferguson The experience of displacement: reconstructing places and identities in Sri Lanka Brigitte Refslund Sorensen Localizing the American Dream: constructing Hawaiian homelands Ulla Hasager Picturing and placing Constable country Judith OkelyPart III: Topical Metaphors in Anthropological ThinkingSpeechless emissaries: refugees, humanitarianism and dehistoricization Liisa H. Malkki 'Roots' and 'Mosaic' in a Balkan border village: locating cultural production Jonathan Schwartz Simplifying Complexity: assimilating the global in a small paradise Jonathan Friedman There are no Indians in the Dominican Republic: the cultural construction of Dominican identities

The Creation and Detection of Deepfakes: A Survey

Abstract: Generative deep learning algorithms have progressed to a point where it is difficult to tell the difference between what is real and what is fake. In 2018, it was discovered how easy it is to use this technology for unethical and malicious applications, such as the spread of misinformation, impersonation of political leaders, and the defamation of innocent individuals. Since then, these “deepfakes” have advanced significantly. In this article, we explore the creation and detection of deepfakes and provide an in-depth view as to how these architectures work. The purpose of this survey is to provide the reader with a deeper understanding of (1) how deepfakes are created and detected, (2) the current trends and advancements in this domain, (3) the shortcomings of the current defense solutions, and (4) the areas that require further research and attention.

Partisan pandemic: How partisanship and public health concerns affect individuals' social mobility during COVID-19.

Abstract: Rampant partisanship in the United States may be the largest obstacle to the reduced social mobility most experts see as critical to limiting the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzing a total of just over 1.1 million responses collected daily between 4 April and 10 September reveals not only that partisanship is more important than public health concerns for explaining individuals' willingness to stay at home and reduce social mobility but also that the effect of partisanship has grown over time-especially among Republicans. All else equal, the relative importance of partisanship for the increasing (un)willingness of Republicans to stay at home highlights the challenge that politics poses for public health.

Algorithmic inference, political interest, and exposure to news and politics on Facebook

Abstract: The visibility of news and politics in a Facebook newsfeed depends on the actions of a diverse set of actors: users, their friends, content publishers such as news organizations, advertisers, and a...

The State of the Nation : Ernest Gellner and the Theory of Nationalism

Abstract: Introduction John A. Hall Part I. The Making of the Theory: 1. Thoughts about change: Ernest Gellner and the history of nationalism Roman Szporluk 2. Ernest Gellner's diagnoses of nationalism: a critical overview, or, what is living and what is dead in Ernest Gellner's philosophy of nationalism Brendan O'Leary Part II. The Classical Criticisms: 3. Real and constructed: the nature of the nation Miroslav Hroch 4. The curse of rurality: limits of modernisation theory Tom Nairn 5. Nationalism and language: a post-Soviet perspective David Laitin 6. Ernest Gellner's theory of nationalism: some definitional and methodological issues Nicos Mouzelis Part III. Bringing Politics Back In: 7. Nationalisms that bark and nationalisms that bite: Ernest Gellner and the substantiation of nations Mark Beissinger 8. Nationalism and modernity Charles Taylor 9. Modern multi-national democracies: transcending a Gellnerian oxymoron Alfred Stepan Part IV. Wider Implications: 10. Nationalism and civil society in Central Europe: from Ruritania to the Carpathian Euroregion Chris Hann 11. From here to modernity: Ernest Gellner on nationalism and Islamic fundamentalism Dale F. Eickelman 12. Myths and misconceptions in the study of nationalism Rogers Brubaker.

The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot

Abstract: "It is inconceivable even to imagine, let alone hope for, a dominant conservative movement in America without Kirk's labor." - WILLIAM F BUCKLEY "A profound critique of contemporary mass society, and a vivid and poetic image - not a program, an image - of how that society might better itself. [ The Conservative Mind ] is, in important respects, the twentieth century's own version of the Reflections on the Revolution in France... [Kirk] was an artist, a vsionary, almost a prophet." - DAVID FRUM, author of Dead Right "I have been one of your fans since the time many years ago when I read The Conservative Mind." - RICHARD NIXON "Dr. Russell Kirk's impact on conservative thought and policy in America has been decisive. It was his writings, and in particular his seminal work, The Conservative Mind, that laid the foundation for many of the ideas that continue to shape public discourse and debate to this day." - JOHN ENGLER, former Governer of Michigan "Kirk is assured a place of prominence in the intellectual histories for helping to define the ethical basis of conservatism. He has tried to pull conservatism away from the utilitarian premises of libertarianism, toward which conservatism often veers, toward a philosophy rooted in ethics and culture." - THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Russell Kirk's The Conservative Mind is one of the greatest contributions to twentieth-century American conservatism. Brilliant in every respect, from its conception to its choice of significant figures representing the history of intellectual conservatism, The Conservative Mind launched the modern American Conservative Movement when it was first published in 1953 and has become an enduring classic of political thought. The seventh revised edition features the complete text and an introduction by publisher Henry Regnery. A must-read.

Economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and ecological footprint: Exploring the role of environmental regulations and democracy in sustainable development

Abstract: Countries enact environmental regulations to achieve sustainable development andecological sustainability. However, environmental regulations do not guarantee envi-ronmental sustainability unless implemented efficiently. Furthermore, political institu-tions play a key role in the formulation and management of environmentalregulations. This research examines the relationship between democracy, environ-mental regulations, economic growth, and ecological footprint (EF) in the panel of G7nations from 1985 to 2017. Second generation econometric techniques are used toanalyze the data. The empirical evidence indicates that economic growth enhancesEF while democracy and environmental regulations positively contribute to ecologicalsustainability by reducing EF. The causal outcomes reveal that democracy Grangercauses EF and renewable energy indicating that democracy curbs environmental deg-radation and stimulates the share of renewables. Further, democracy and environ-mental regulations Granger cause each other. Lastly, the implication of these findingsfor sustainable development and ecological sustainability are discussed.

Popular Religion in China: The Imperial Metaphor

Abstract: The institution of local festivals and temples is not as well known as that of ancestor worship, but it is just as much a universal fact of Chinese life. Its content is an imperial metaphor, which stands in relation to the rest of its participants' lives as the poetry of collective vision, theatrically performed, built and painted in temples, carved and clothed in statues. Stephan Feuchtwang has brought together unpublished as well as published results of his own and other anthropologists' fieldwork in the People's Republic of China and Taiwan and put them into an historical, political and theoretical context. Students of anthropology will be intrigued. This is not a religion of a Book. Nor is it one of the named religions of China. Popular religion includes some elements of both Buddhism and the former imperial cults, more of Daoism, but it is identifiable with none of them. It is popular in the sense of being local and true of the China of the Han, or Chinese-speaking people, where every place had or has its local cults and the festivals peculiar to them. Its rites, in particular offerings of incense and fire, suggest a concept of religion. It is quite different from theories of religion based on doctrine and belief. Students of politics will also find here vital and new perspectives. Politics is never far from religion, least of all in the People's Republic of China or colonial and post-colonial Taiwan. In the People's Republic of China, there is continuing conflict between the state and the growth of congregational and lo

Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why Haven't We Bent the Global Emissions Curve?

Abstract: Despite three decades of political efforts and a wealth of research on the causes and catastrophic impacts of climate change, global carbon dioxide emissions have continued to rise and are 60% high...

The Essential Weber: A Reader

Abstract: Introduction to Max Weber Part 1: Comparing Civilizations and the Origins of Modernity Introduction to Part 1 1. Puritanism and the Spirit of Capitalism 2. Confucianism and Puritanism Compared 3. Introduction to the Economic Ethics of World Religions 4. Religions of Civilization and their Attitude to the World 5. Prefatory Remarks to the Collected Essays in the Sociology of Religion Further reading Part 2: Structures of Power and Stratification Introduction to Part 2 6. Politics and the State 7. The Three Pure Types of Legitimate Rule 8. The Nation 9. The Belief in Common Ethnicity 10. The Household Community 11. Capitalism in Antiquity 12. The Conditions of Maximum Formal Rationality of Capital Accounting 13. Status Groups and Classes 14. The Distribution of Power in Society: Classes, status groups and parties 15. Parties Further Reading Part 3: The Dilemmas of Modernity Introduction to Part 3 16. Intermediate Reflection on the Economic Ethics of World Religions 17. Bureaucracy: Characteristics of modern bureaucracy the technical superiority of bureaucratic organization over administration by notables 18. Formal and Substantive Rationalization: The general conditions of legal formalism 19. The Vocation of Politics 20. The Vocation of Science Further reading Part 4: Methodology of the Social Sciences Introduction to Part 4 21. Basic Sociological Concepts 22. The 'Objectivity' of Knowledge in the Social and Policy Sciences Further Reading

Excavating AI: the politics of images in machine learning training sets

Abstract: By looking at the politics of classification within machine learning systems, this article demonstrates why the automated interpretation of images is an inherently social and political project. We begin by asking what work images do in computer vision systems, and what is meant by the claim that computers can “recognize” an image? Next, we look at the method for introducing images into computer systems and look at how taxonomies order the foundational concepts that will determine how a system interprets the world. Then we turn to the question of labeling: how humans tell computers which words will relate to a given image. What is at stake in the way AI systems use these labels to classify humans, including by race, gender, emotions, ability, sexuality, and personality? Finally, we turn to the purposes that computer vision is meant to serve in our society—the judgments, choices, and consequences of providing computers with these capacities. Methodologically, we call this an archeology of datasets: studying the material layers of training images and labels, cataloguing the principles and values by which taxonomies are constructed, and analyzing how these taxonomies create the parameters of intelligibility for an AI system. By doing this, we can critically engage with the underlying politics and values of a system, and analyze which normative patterns of life are assumed, supported, and reproduced.

Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 on College Campuses: Initial Efforts, Lessons Learned, and Research Needs.

Abstract: Wastewater surveillance for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an emerging approach to help identify the risk of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak. This tool can contribute to public health surveillance at both community (wastewater treatment system) and institutional (e.g., colleges, prisons, and nursing homes) scales. This paper explores the successes, challenges, and lessons learned from initial wastewater surveillance efforts at colleges and university systems to inform future research, development and implementation. We present the experiences of 25 college and university systems in the United States that monitored campus wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 during the fall 2020 academic period. We describe the broad range of approaches, findings, resources, and impacts from these initial efforts. These institutions range in size, social and political geographies, and include both public and private institutions. Our analysis suggests that wastewater monitoring at colleges requires consideration of local information needs, sewage infrastructure, resources for sampling and analysis, college and community dynamics, approaches to interpretation and communication of results, and follow-up actions. Most colleges reported that a learning process of experimentation, evaluation, and adaptation was key to progress. This process requires ongoing collaboration among diverse stakeholders including decision-makers, researchers, faculty, facilities staff, students, and community members.

Not-so-nuclear Families Class Gender And Networks Of Care

Abstract: "In vivid portraits drawn from the top and bottom of the social-class ladder, Hansen shows the profound effect social class has on care. Well observed, beautifully written, this book is a must read." --Arlie Hochschild, author of The Commercialization of Intimate Lives: Notes from Home and Work "Not-So-Nuclear Families explains the often painful choices that parents have to make for their children's--and their own--well-being." --Barbara Schnieder, professor of sociology and human development, director of the Data Research and Development Center, and codirector of the Alfred P. Sloan Center on Parents, Children, and Work at the University of Chicago In recent years, U.S. public policy has focused on strengthening the nuclear family as a primary strategy for improving the lives of America's youth. It is often assumed that this normative type of family is an independent, self-sufficient unit adequate for raising children. But half of all households in the United States with young children have two employed parents. How do working parents provide care and mobilize the help that they need? In Not-So-Nuclear Families, Karen V. Hansen investigates the lives of working parents and the informal networks they construct to help care for their children. She chronicles the conflicts, hardships, and triumphs of four families of various social classes. Each must navigate the ideology that mandates that parents, mothers in particular, rear their own children, in the face of an economic reality that requires that parents rely on the help of others. In vivid family stories, parents detail how they and their network of friends, paid caregivers, and extended kin collectively close the "care gap" for their school-aged children. Hansen not only debunks the myth that families in the United States are independent, isolated, and self-reliant units, she breaks new theoretical ground by asserting that informal networks of care can potentially provide unique and valuable bonds that nuclear families cannot. Karen V. Hansen is an associate professor of sociology and women's studies at Brandeis University and is the coeditor of Families in the U.S.: Kinship and Domestic Politics.

Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media.

Abstract: There has been growing concern about the role social media plays in political polarization. We investigated whether out-group animosity was particularly successful at generating engagement on two of the largest social media platforms: Facebook and Twitter. Analyzing posts from news media accounts and US congressional members (n = 2,730,215), we found that posts about the political out-group were shared or retweeted about twice as often as posts about the in-group. Each individual term referring to the political out-group increased the odds of a social media post being shared by 67%. Out-group language consistently emerged as the strongest predictor of shares and retweets: the average effect size of out-group language was about 4.8 times as strong as that of negative affect language and about 6.7 times as strong as that of moral-emotional language—both established predictors of social media engagement. Language about the out-group was a very strong predictor of “angry” reactions (the most popular reactions across all datasets), and language about the in-group was a strong predictor of “love” reactions, reflecting in-group favoritism and out-group derogation. This out-group effect was not moderated by political orientation or social media platform, but stronger effects were found among political leaders than among news media accounts. In sum, out-group language is the strongest predictor of social media engagement across all relevant predictors measured, suggesting that social media may be creating perverse incentives for content expressing out-group animosity.

Politicizing international cooperation: the mass public, political entrepreneurs and political opportunity structures

Abstract: International institutions are increasingly being challenged by domestic opposition and nationalist political forces. Yet, levels of politicization differ significantly across countries facing the same international authority as well as within countries over time. This raises the question of when and why the mass public poses a challenge to international cooperation. In this article, we develop a theoretical framework for understanding the nature and implications of politicization of international cooperation, outlining three scope conditions: the nature of public contestation, the activities of political entrepreneurs, and the permissiveness of political opportunity structures. By empirically examining these scope conditions, we demonstrate that politicization can have both stabilizing and destabilizing effects on international cooperation. Highlighting the systemic implications of politicization for international cooperation has important implications for international relations scholarship. Although international organizations may face challenges, they also have ways of being remarkably resilient.

The Opinion-Mobilizing Effect of Social Protest against Police Violence: Evidence from the 2020 George Floyd Protests

Abstract: Does social protest following the police killing of unarmed Black civilians have a widespread “opinion-mobilizing” effect against the police? Or, does the racialized nature of these events polarize mass opinion based on standing racial and political orientations? To answer these questions, we use a large dataset comprised of weekly cross sections of the American public and employ a regression discontinuity in time (RDiT) approach leveraging the random timing of the police killing of George Floyd and ensuing nationwide protests. We find that the Floyd protests swiftly decreased favorability toward the police and increased perceived anti-Black discrimination among low-prejudice and politically liberal Americans. However, attitudes among high-prejudice and politically conservative Americans either remained unchanged or evinced only small and ephemeral shifts. Our evidence suggests that the Floyd protests served to further racialize and politicize attitudes within the domain of race and law enforcement in the U.S.

How Affective Polarization Shapes Americans’ Political Beliefs: A Study of Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: Affective polarization – partisans’ dislike and distrust of those from the other party – has reached historically high levels in the United States. While numerous studies estimate its effect on apolitical outcomes (e.g., dating and economic transactions), we know much less about its effects on political beliefs. We argue that those who exhibit high levels of affective polarization politicize ostensibly apolitical issues and actors. An experiment focused on responses to COVID-19 that relies on pre-pandemic, exogenous measures of affective polarization supports our expectations. Partisans who harbor high levels of animus towards the other party do not differentiate the “United States’” response to COVID-19 from that of the Trump administration. Less affectively polarized partisans, in contrast, do not politicize evaluations of the country’s response. Our results provide evidence of how affective polarization, apart from partisanship itself, shapes substantive beliefs. Affective polarization has political consequences and political beliefs stem, in part, from partisan animus.