Front. Psychol., 08 February 2023
Sec. Personality and Social Psychology
Volume 14 – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1075779
Background: The number of psychological studies on conspiracy beliefs has been systematically growing for about a dozen years, but in recent years, the trend has intensified. We provided a review covering the psychological literature on conspiracy beliefs from 2018 to 2021. Halfway through this period, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, accompanied by an explosion of movements based on conspiracy theories, intensifying researchers’ interest in this issue.
Methods: Adhering to PRISMA guidelines, the review systematically searched for relevant journal articles published between 2018 and 2021. A search was done on Scopus and Web of Science (only peer-reviewed journals). A study was included if it contained primary empirical data, if specific or general conspiracy belief(s) were measured and if its correlation with at least one other psychological variable was reported. All the studies were grouped for the descriptive analysis according to the methodology used, the participants’ characteristics, the continent of origin, the sample size, and the conspiracy beliefs measurement tools. Due to substantial methodological heterogeneity of the studies, narrative synthesis was performed. The five researchers were assigned specific roles at each stage of the analysis to ensure the highest quality of the research.
Results: Following the proposed methodology, 308 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 274 articles (417 studies) meeting the inclusion criteria were identified and included in the review. Almost half of the studies (49.6%) were conducted in European countries. The vast majority of the studies (85.7%) were carried out on samples of adult respondents. The research presents antecedents as well as (potential) consequences of conspiracy beliefs. We grouped the antecedents of conspiracy beliefs into six categories: cognitive (e.g., thinking style) motivational (e.g., uncertainty avoidance), personality (e.g., collective narcissism), psychopathology (e.g., Dark Triad traits), political (e.g., ideological orientation), and sociocultural factors (e.g., collectivism).
Conclusion and limitations: The research presents evidence on the links between conspiracy beliefs and a range of attitudes and behaviors considered unfavorable from the point of view of individuals and of the society at large. It turned out that different constructs of conspiracy thinking interact with each other. The limitations of the study are discussed in the last part of the article.
European Journal of Science and Theology
Volume 19(3) – 2023 |
We consider QAnon to be a kind of modern and expansive Q-fundamentalism. It has easily overcome the barrier of the virtual world, and – driven by the dissatisfaction with the results of the U.S. presidential election in 2020 – managed to storm the Capitol on 6 January 2021. The multi-threaded QAnon narrative, containing religious, social and political demands, has been fuelled by the covid-19 pandemic crisis and disseminated mainly via social media. QAnon’s potential to be a fundamentalist group stems in particular from its radicalistic postulates, growing popularity, the internationalisation of its postulates and the rapid pace of radicalisation of its supporters. QAnon is a group whose objective consists in a broadly understood transformation of religious and political factors, ideologisation, energisation, as well as addition of conspiracy to its character. The version of fundamentalism presented by QAnon displays the traits of anti-Enlightenment, anti-liberalism, moral rigourism, rejection of modernity if favour of tradition. Its characteristics also include militarism, praise of war, fascination with the warrior ethos and building an empire, but in accordance with the rules of ethics and tradition in the hierarchical society. QAnon’s recruits or precursors of a new model of Q-fundamentalists are the warriors of QAnon, who has a huge number of followers all over the world.
Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies, 2 April 2023
Volume 22(65) – 2023 |
This article aims to validate the research thesis concerning the enduring nature, relevance, and universality of Józef Tischner’s concept of solidarity. Tischner himself defined it as a form of “brotherhood for the stricken”, and this article aims to demonstrate its global significance, despite its origins in Poland during the specific socio-political circumstances of the real socialist era. The first research goal is to analyse the figure of Józef Tischner and his activities during the emergence of the unprecedented ISGTU “Solidarity” movement in Poland. Another goal is to show the most significant elements of the philosophy of solidarity he created, understood as the solidarity of consciences, the solidarity of hope and the brotherhood for the stricken. The last goal is to indicate the global context of Tischner’s philosophy of solidarity concerning challenges and threats such as: the refugee and migrant crisis, the vision of the European Union’s future as a community, the COVID-19 pandemic, and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. The authors of this article employed various research methods and techniques, including historical analysis, source examination, content analysis, and secondary analysis of relevant literature, to attain their stated objectives.
Journal of Human Security
Volume 19(1) – 2023 | DOI:10.12924/johs2023.19010008
The precariat is a new social category that exists in all countries around the world and consists of people who work in the gig economy and/or are employed under civil law contracts. One of the key factors that determines membership of the precariat is the uncertainty felt by individuals in the labour market as a result of, inter alia, being employed on flexible forms. The research aim of this article is to define the specificity of the Polish precariat and their sense of social security in the context of the current employment support and social policy of the Polish government. The utilitarian goal is to evaluate the “Polish Deal” programme currently proposed by the Polish government in terms of its strengths and weaknesses in order to reduce the precariat phenomenon and boost the Polish precariat’s sense of social security. The article also attempts to demonstrate the effects of actions taken by the Polish government since 2015, which were aimed at improving the situation on the precariat labour market. In order to determine the extent to which the current government in Poland affects the social security of the precariat and satisfies their needs by taking social welfare action and implementing indirect operations related to education, a questionnaire was used, conducted via the Internet, involving a survey panel of respondents. In this study, a stratified-quota sample selection was used, corresponding to the proportions of people working on the basis of various flexible forms of fixed-term employment and self-employment. One thousand respondents employed on flexible terms participated in the study. The study was carried out at the turn of March/April 2021.
Journal of Contemporary Religion, 11 October 2023
Online First – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2023.2260165
The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships between personal religiosity, trust, and the acceptance of restrictions which could be imposed on individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic in order to overcome the crisis. The study was carried out in Poland, a country with one of the highest declared levels of religiosity in Europe. Interpersonal and institutional trust were measured. The acceptance of the pandemic restrictions was positively related to personal religiosity and institutional trust (trust in the Church, trust in the Government, and trust in the health authorities). However, there was no association between the acceptance of the restrictions and interpersonal trust. Trust in the Church turned out to mediate the relationship between religiosity and the acceptance of most restrictions associated with the pandemic. The results of the study are discussed in the context of other studies on the relationship between religiosity and health behavior.
East European Politics and Societies
Volume 37(2) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1177/08883254211070853
There are only two European Union (EU) states where hard coal is still mined: Poland and the Czech Republic. One of the key interest groups in the hard coal mining industry are trade unions. They are particularly strong in this sector, almost entirely controlled by the state, in Poland—without their approval, it is in fact impossible to implement any significant reforms. The main goal of the article is to explain the influence of trade unions operating in the hard coal mining sector in Poland and the Czech Republic on the results of the reforms of this sector carried out in 2015–2019. The framework for empirical analysis is the theoretical output on interest groups and the power resources approach. Measuring the influence of an interest group on the decision-making process is one of the greatest challenges in research on interest groups. However, the empirical analysis allows us to conclude that the purposes of mining trade unions both in Poland and in the Czech Republic were consistent, that the shape of the reforms introduced in 2015–2019 was convergent with these goals, and that the activity of trade unions had a very big impact on these reforms. However, in the long run, hard coal mining in Europe is in decline and trade unions are only trying to stop what is inevitable.
Soviet and Post Soviet Review, 15 May 2023
Volume 50(3) – 2023 | https://dx.doi.org/10.30965/18763324-bja10082
February 24, 2022, after several months of preparation, Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine. For the EU and NATO states, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine means, inter alia, a major change for their security. But Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on since 2014. In reaction, the EU, the US, and other Western states imposed economic sanctions on Russia in 2014. The subject of research is primarily comprehensive (general) sanctions. Another type of economic sanctions—targeted (smart) sanctions—are relatively new, so there is also relatively little research devoted to them. The main purpose of the article is to investigate the impact of smart (targeted) sanctions on five banks: Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Rosselkhozbank, and three oil com- panies: Rosneft, Transneft and Gazpromneft. The study has been conducted on the basis of the analysis of the basic indicators illustrating the financial situation and changes in the prices of shares listed on the Moscow Exchange. The main finding is that the effects of sanctions are relatively weak and limited in time; in 2015–2017, a deterioration in the financial situation of only some of the eight corporations surveyed was noticeable, but later their situation improved significantly and in 2018–2019 it was clearly better than before the sanctions were imposed.
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 21 September 2023
Online First – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2023.2259195
This paper is based on an experiment-based study carried out in the first half of 2023, which aimed to understand how terrorist organizations can potentially exploit artificial intelligence. It discusses the risks of using AI to produce and disseminate propaganda, as well as verifies whether it can be used to facilitate access to terrorist content. It also explores if AI-based platforms can be used to access terrorism-related know-how. This paper also focuses on understanding the specificity of content moderation procedures introduced by these services to mitigate their use by violent extremists and provides recommendations for increasing their efficiency.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 29 September 2023
Volume 15 – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2021.1977372
The primary objective of this paper is to map the online presence of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s (HTS) media branch – Ebaa News Agency (ENA) – on the surface web. It also measures three years of propaganda output of the group and its viewership, as well as outlines the thematic landscape of its productions based on the content analysis of a sample. It argues that Ebaa’s messaging pattern constitutes a peculiar mixture of opposing priorities. It paid a great deal of attention to portraying itself as an independent news agency that has nothing to do with violent terrorist organizations (VEOs). In effect, its productions are easily available on the surface web. A closer look, however, proves that since 2017 ENA has been dedicated to supporting HTS’s radical Islamist agenda. This paper provides evidence of this. Moreover, Ebaa adopted a two-vector distribution strategy of its productions, composed of standalone websites and Telegram channels. In this context, the output of this media cell appears to be quite impressive. Between 2017 and 2020, it was capable of releasing more than 13,000 pieces of propaganda on its websites. At the same time, however, their viewership was lower than initially expected.
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, 9 January 2023
Online First – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2022.2164326
This paper maps communication channels exploited by the Salafi-jihadist violent extremist organisations (VEOs) and their followers between March 2020 and June 2022 on The Onion Router (TOR). It argues that the true scale of digital jihadist presence on TOR has remained insignificant for years. Militant Islamists have mostly used .onion domains as backup propaganda dissemination channels, which enable content takedown policies introduced by countering violent extremism stakeholders to be circumvented. Aside from propaganda distribution, TOR attracts Salafi-jihadist VEOs and their followers for other reasons, as it facilitates anonymous communication, crowdfunding, sharing of terrorist manuals or the organisation of terrorist attacks.
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 21 April 2021
Volume 46 – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2021.1914361
This article aims to map the online propaganda presence and activities of the Turkestan Islamic Party’s media arm—Islam Awazi (“Voice of Islam”). It also discusses its capabilities in terms of producing new releases and attracting online audiences. In order to reach these objectives, this study exploited a methodology which is a combination of open source intelligence techniques (OSINT) with limited content analysis. It argues that the Uyghur-oriented Islam Awazi’s (IA) propaganda strategy was primarily based on one standalone website, which constituted a central repository of its new productions. It was supported by several Telegram channels. However, open source intelligence investigation allowed other domains proliferating the IA’s productions, which were still accessible but abandoned at the time when this study was carried out, to be discovered. It also proved that the organization was capable of producing more than 160 propaganda releases between January and September 2020. Their viewership on the surface web was, however, quite limited. Finally, this study also outlines a peculiar connection between Islam Awazi’s websites and two networks of domains exploited by the cyber-criminal underground to distribute pornography and malware. This may be considered as a sign of an existing—and widely discussed by the academia—terror-crime nexus.
Terrorism and Political Violence, 17 March 2022
Volume 35(6) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2022.2038575
This article discusses the reasons why content moderation and control in cyberspace, being a primary means of online countering violent extremism (CVE), does not work as intended. It makes four main arguments. Firstly, despite years of efforts from CVE stakeholders, the propaganda of militant Islamist VEOs is still easily accessible on the Internet. This study has mapped hundreds of addresses engaged in digital jihadist activities at the turn of 2020–2021. It effectively proves that the current approach to online CVE brought few tangible effects. Secondly, these programs have been unevenly applied to militant Islamist organizations. There have been groups which represent violent extremist ideology but are not actively combated by stakeholders. As a result, these groups have been able to establish a solid foothold on the surface web. Thirdly, the efficiency of CVE strategies based on content takedowns are decreased by the relative ease of terrorists reestablishing banned communication channels, the availability of vast alternatives for online propaganda dissemination, the introduction of impractical legislation by governments, overlapping jurisdictions on the Internet and the “Streisand effect.” Finally, adequate strategies aimed at curbing digital jihad should be primarily based on offline and online activities which fall outside of the remit of CVE.
Stosunki Międzynarodowe – International Relations, 28 July 2023
Online First – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.12688/stomiedintrelat.17623.3
Background: The fight against the COVID-19 pandemic has been instrumentalised on several occasions by powers that have seen a new sphere for realising their interests. One such power is the Russian Federation. The article aims to explain the importance of close relations with Venezuela for Russia’s strategic objectives in expanding its political power in the Latin American region in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. To achieve the research objective, the authors focused on answering the following research questions: How has the political crisis in Venezuela affected the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic? Why and how does Russia consistently support the regime of Nicolás Maduro in times of a pandemic crisis? The article’s research hypothesis is that Russia used the new conditions of superpower policy, the COVID-19 pandemic, to strengthen its influence on Venezuela’s domestic politics to secure the realisation of its superpower interests.
Methods: The authors used content analysis of media broadcasts, statements by politicians, and literature on the subject (in English, Russian and Spanish). In addition, the re-analysis of quantitative data made it possible, for example, to characterise the economic level of the relations. The main part of the research was completed in November 2021. The article uses methods characteristic of international relations research, including the method of decision analysis.
Results: The results of the research confirm that Moscow’s activity in Latin America should be interpreted as one of the manifestations of the reactivity of Russian geostrategy, i.e. a response to U.S. actions in the post-Soviet area.
Conclusions: In this context, Caracas has a special position in Russia’s policy as a key regional partner in energy cooperation and a market for the sale of military technologies. The research was conducted on 13 March 2020 and ended before 24 February 2022.
Nationalities Papers, 4 July 2022
Special Issue on Peripheral Elites in West European Central States’ Apparatus
Volume 51(5) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2022.26
The aim of the article is to analyze Armenia’s limited capacity to function as a patron of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). In the article, the author focused on the analysis of 3 levels of relations on the line Yerevan-Stepanakert: (1) the political dimension of bilateral relations; (2) the economic dimension of bilateral relations; (3) the security policy dimension, in particular the significance of the last phase of the armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh (2020) for the further shape of relations. In addition, the features that distinguish Armenia’s relations with the NKR from Russia’s relations with the de facto states for which it is a patron are highlighted. The results prove that mid-level states have a limited capacity to be a patron for de facto states, including being a guarantor of their survival.
International Journal of Minority and Group Rights, 8 September 2022
Volume 30(2) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1017/nps.2022.26
Three decades ago, political science and legal studies took almost no interest in a small region in Central Europe called Upper Silesia. Today, the scholarly literature in many disciplines is growing due, among other things, to the references to the situation of Silesians made by the Advisory Committee of the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities in the Fourth Opinion on Poland. However, most of those studies do not include analysis of the most important political context: ethnopolitics in the Republic of Poland, its past and present. In this paper, we aim to explore the dynamic relations between Poles and Silesians and the consequences of those relations on public law. We also analyse the rise of the ethnoregionalist movement in Upper Silesia. Then, we analyse ethnopolitics in Poland in relation to Upper Silesia, especially in the context of Polish national identity.
East European Politics and Societies, 25 February 2022
Volume 37(2) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1177/0888325422108530
This article analyzes how the 2020 Polish Presidential election was affected by the recent COVID-19 pandemic in the context of global democratic backsliding. Specifically, this article examines how the incumbency advantage of President Andrzej Duda was bolstered during the pandemic by the ruling Law and Justice party (PiS). Although PiS was unable to carry out every planned electoral manipulation, the party nonetheless helped Duda secure a second term in office in a historically close election. On the one hand, this article illustrates that while many of the tactics undertaken by PiS were within the limits of the letter of the law, its actions still undermined the spirit of Polish democracy. On the other hand, this article also contributes to the literature on democratic backsliding by underscoring the fact that the election in Poland was free and fair, which makes this regime qualitatively different from other cases in the region.
Endeavour, September 2023
Volume 47(3) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.endeavour.2023.100874
The past two decades have seen an increase in the use of theories, data, assumptions and methods of the biological sciences in studying political phenomena. One of the approaches that combine biology with political science is genopolitics. The goal of the study was to analyse the basic ontological, methodological and epistemological assumptions for the reductionism of genopolitics. The results show that genopolitics assumes methodological reductionism but rejects ontological and epistemological reductionism. The key consequences of the findings are the irreducibility of political science to biology and the complementarity of genopolitical explanations and political science explanations based on culturalism. If my findings prove to be correct, they give rise to the formation of a hypothesis regarding the anti-reductionist orientation of the contemporary links between political science and biology. An important step towards confirming or falsifying such a hypothesis will be exploring the reductionism of contemporary biopolitical approaches such as neuropolitics or evolutionary political psychology.
Political Studies Review, 26 October 2021
Volume 21(1) – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299211053780
In the article, we review key methodological issues and study results on the heritability of political attitudes. These studies show to what degree the variance of observed attitudes can be explained by genetic variance. We have analysed studies differing in terms of applied methods, techniques and research tools, as well as sample populations of different age and sex structures. Regardless of these differences, the studies show that political attitudes are most likely influenced to some extent by genetic factors. This research suggests that the influence of genes on attitudes is subject to change over the life cycle. It also provides knowledge regarding the mechanisms that may link genes and attitudes. The studies conducted to date offer the opportunity to broaden the culturalism-based explanations of political attitudes with biological aspects; however, they also point to several issues that will require additional attention from the researchers.
Journal of Big Data
DOI:10.1186/s40537-023-00846-w
Background Any nation’s health policy aims to properly care for its citizens and the society’s quality of life. Since in the healthcare system, the population’s health is the essential component of national wealth, health is treated as a public good and a social value. Therefore, in recent times, in addition to traditional instruments for promoting healthy lifestyles, health policy has increasingly turned to information instruments and digital technologies. Aims The paper aims to recognize the role of Big Data Analytics (BDA) in developing Digital Social Innovation (DSI) in the healthcare field. The proposal of the author’s Individual Health Plan Platform (IHPP) solution is presented as an example of Digital Social Innovation. Material and methods The research is based on a critical analysis of the literature, followed by a Focus Group study aimed at determining the potential of Big Data Analytics, including especially analysis based on data from wearables, to help manage one’s health and improve the society’s well-being. The focus research also included verification of the research model presented in the article and evaluation of the proposed solution, the Individual Health Plan Platform, including the possibilities of its implementation as a solution to complement healthcare provided by medical facilities in Poland. Results The results of the focus group interviews show that analysing data from wearables and the proposed IHPP could be helpful in managing one’s own health and helping to level important problems in healthcare. Conclusion One of the goals of this paper was to determine the role of BDAs in the development of social innovations in healthcare. From the analysis of the literature, results of the focus group study and discussion, it was concluded that Big Data Analytics has the potential to develop social innovation in healthcare.
Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne
DOI:10.15804/athena.2023.80.02
Within the article activity of media broadcasters during the migration crisis of 2015 has been analysed – the crisis whose peak coincided with the period of political campaign preceding the parliamentary elections in Poland. In this context, strong emphasis on issues related to the migration crisis, which had become one of the leading themes of the parliamentary campaign, could have been expected in Polish press market, especially taking into consideration strong political affiliations of weekly opinion magazines existing in the said market at the time. In the presented article, 207 issues of the following opinion weeklies have been analysed: “Newsweek”, “Polityka”, “wSieci” and “Do Rzeczy”, in order to determine the media importance of migration-related themes and of the level of political parallelism of the studied media (political/axiological or party profiling of media releases). The study used the content analysis method with reference to the concept of framing.
Studia Polityczne
This article aims to show that Poland’s foreign policy towards the Middle East is important, although not a priority in the pursuit of its interests. However, the significance of the Middle East in the Polish raison d’État has been increasing continuously and this trend will continue. Dilemmas related to the issue of military involvement in the region were among the most important for the Polish ruling class over the last three decades. Of equal importance were implications of the Arab Spring, the refugee crisis and the threats of lone wolf terrorist attacks. Also problematic was the position of Polish authorities regarding Iran, or rather the dilemmas connected with unthinking support for the United States in this matter, and the simultaneous cooling of relations with Tehran and the European Union’s states. The policy towards the Middle East is a derivative of the Euro-Atlantic direction, which has been a matter of priority to Poland. Presenting Poland as a loyal ally as regards policy towards the Middle East is an outcome of Polish elites’ endeavours to ensure security in Poland by strengthening the alliance with the USA and NATO, which are to constitute a security provider against the neo-imperial policy of Russia.
Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego
After Viktor Orbán came to power, a new constitution of Hungary was adopted in 2011, which includes a separate section devoted to the states of emergency. In this time a constitutional state of danger was introduced in Hungary in the face of the covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and the war in Ukraine in 2022, and in the case of the migration crisis in 2015, a state of crisis was introduced regulated by law. The aim of the article is to present the types of states of emergency in Hungary and the practice of their application during the rule of the Fidesz party based on the analysis of legal acts regulating the issue of extraordinary measures. The main thesis assumes that the government of Orbán used the extraordinary situation in the country not only to fight the threat, but also to strengthen its already strong position in the Hungarian political system.
Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego
The aim of this paper is to present a way of measuring the actual opposition distance between parliamentary political groups. Attention was focused on opposition observed through the lens of parliamentary group behaviour in potentially final passage votes. The research was conducted on the basis of a case study. The analysis was based on 1524 votes that were taken in the first half of the ninth term of the Polish Sejm. Consideration was given to the degree of opposition between the ruling group and those that formally remained outside the government camp. It was first measured using the Index of Voting Likeness. A new measurement tool was then proposed to quantify the level of opposition between the two groups, taking into account the position of each group on a particular issue, as well as the extent of their internal unity.
Studia Politologiczne
Deterioration of Hungarian democracy has weakened the rule of law since 2010. The changes that favour the executive power at the expense of the legislative one are implemented by National Assembly. The paper analyses the formal and practical outcome of the functioning of the Hungarian parliament (2010–2022), which meets the criteria of novelty by referring to only one of the parts of the political system, while many other researchers focus on global regime changes. The research aims to analyze how the Hungarian parliament introduces illiberal legalism. The main question refers to the role and position of the National Assembly in the process of deterioration of Hungarian democracy. The research methods are the legal analysis, neo-institutional approach and comparative method.
Romanian Journal of European Affairs
The research conducted for this article has explored the controversy between the EU and Hungary surrounding the interpretations of the Europeanisation process: to what extent do they diverge, and to what degree do they converge? Both before and after its 2004 accession to the EU, Hungary has tried to follow the EU’s approach towards liberal democracy. And yet, from 2010 onwards, the state has developed an illiberal political and legal system. This fact revealed a rift between Hungary and the EU. The research questions focused on the problem of the trajectory of the systemic deterioration of democracy in Hungary, the EU’s reaction to this situation and its decision to apply a conditionality mechanism in 2022. The main hypothesis of this research is that the EU’s reluctance to use more severe sanctioning tools after 2010 has helped Hungary utilise the EU funds to develop an illiberal democratic state which diverges from the EU’s concept of Europeanisation. The research methods we have employed are: the quantitative and the qualitative methods, synthesis and analysis of facts, the comparative method, and the neo-institutional approach. The results and conclusions allow us to state that until 2022, the EU has been unable to force Hungary to obey the rule of law and other liberal democratic principles, though it has made some efforts in this direction. The worsening of the economic situation, after the COVID-19 pandemic and the onset of the war in Ukraine, determined the EU to create a conditionality mechanism that correlates the access to EU subsidies with the observance of the EU rules.
Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Sklodowska, sectio M – Balcaniensis et Carpathiensis
The article analyzes the problem of limiting the competences of the Hungarian legislative and judiciary at the expense of the increase in the significance of the executive after 2010. Although the Fundamental Law provides the rule of the separation of power, Viktor Orbán and his party, using their position in the parliament and government, limit the autonomy of the judiciary and legislative authorities. From the methodological perspective, the analysis is embedded in the neo-institutional approach and derives from the concept of the mechanism of democracy regression proposed by Gerschewski. The main question posed in the article refers to the trajectory of limiting the autonomy of the judiciary and legislative power in Hungary after 2010.
Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne
DOI:10.15804/athena.2023.80.08
The interdependence between the economy and politics is particularly visible during economic crises. The subject of research is the impact of the economic crisis in Spain after 2008 on its political system. And the main aim is to answer the question: what factor had the most important impact on the functioning of the state’s political system. Authors assume that it was the amendment of the Art. 135 of the state constitution. The theoretical framework of the study is the output on the relationship between the economy and politics. The empirical research was based on the analysis of changes in the economic situation in Spain after 2008, and on the analysis of the evolution of the Spanish political system. Obtained results may be useful in the context of the impact of changes in the economic situation caused by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Security Journal
DOI:10.1057/s41284-022-00364-z
This study maps the surface web information ecosystem exploited by the Islamic State (IS) and its followers between December 2020 and June 2021. Open-source intelligence investigation allowed a massive online presence of Daesh, manifested by hundreds of communication channels, to be detected. Its propaganda dissemination was founded mainly on one “central” Arabic domain, linked to a constellation of auxiliary standalone websites, blogs, encrypted messaging apps, as well as file-sharing and streaming services. Aside from it, the Islamic State utilised other surface web environments, including numerous Internet Archive profiles and a network of communication channels established by Afaaq Electronic Foundation. This study also shows that URLs banned by law enforcement in 2020 and 2021 were usually quickly restored by the IS’s media offices.
Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego
Artykuł jest poświęcony praktyce stosowania narzędzi partycypacyjnych w procesie stanowienia prawa w Polsce. Przedmiotem badania uczyniono wysłuchanie publiczne, wprowadzone do polskiego porządku prawnego w 2005 r. Wykorzystano w nim przede wszystkim metodę instytucjonalno- prawną oraz porównawczą. Analizy zostały osadzone w ramach teoretycznych koncepcji demokracji partycypacyjnej, deliberatywnej i pluralistycznej, koncentrując się na wymiarze legitymizacyjnym procedury wysłuchania publicznego. Analiza normatywna oraz praktyka stosowania tej instytucji pozwala na sformułowanie uogólniających wniosków, które wskazują na jej potencjał legitymizacyjny, w tym na możliwości wpływania na układy instytucjonalne. Zarazem ujawniły one swoistą „wrażliwość” procedury wysłuchania publicznego na kontekst polityczny i społeczny, niosącą ryzyko przekształcenia jej w rodzaj instytucjonalnej fasady dla przedstawicielskiej reguły (o iluzorycznie partycypacyjnym charakterze).
Israel Affairs
DOI:10.1080/13537121.2023.2206227
Australia played an important role in the acceptance of the November 1947 UN Partition Resolution underpinning the establishment of the State of Israel, recognising the nascent Jewish state in January 1949 and presiding over its admission to the UN four months later. In subsequent decades, the two states have developed a close and warm relationship (albeit not without the odd political disagreement) and multifaceted political, economic, technological, and strategic collaboration. This article explores the nature and characteristics of this relationship as it evolved the past seven decades in an attempt to determine its underlying causes and most important driving forces.
Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne
DOI:10.15804/athena.2023.79.15
For Venezuela, the COVID-19 pandemic has hit a country that already has been in a multidimensional crisis for years in circumstances of economic and social devastation, and authoritarian rule. However, the pandemic accelerated Venezuela’s transformation into a police state by introducing unsubstantiated pandemic restrictions that were enforced by the state security apparatus and abusive armed forces. The aim of the article is to show the instrumentalization of the COVID-19 pandemic in the area of radicalization of the Maduro regime and to answer the questions in which areas of the state’s functioning and in what dimension the Nicolás Maduro regime used the pandemic and the related restrictions on civil rights to strengthen its authoritarian power, radicalize the activities of the security services, violate human rights, and to transform Venezuela into a police state.
Athenaeum. Polskie Studia Politologiczne
DOI:10.15804/athena.2023.80.07
The article analyzes how personality determines the civic activity of young voters in Poland. To check this, empirical research combining Big Five traits (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, intellect) and, unlike other studies, four types of civic activity (social commitment, political participation, electoral participation, individual political activity) was conducted. The OLS regression analysis revealed a significant effect of extraversion on most manifestations of civic activity. Those who score higher on this trait were more likely to involve in individual political activity, social commitment, and political participation. Moreover, intellect was associated with individual political activity, while emotional stability had no significant impact on civic activity. The study also discovered some dependencies with the other Big Five traits. Agreeableness positively influenced social commitment and electoral participation, while conscientiousness increased political participation.
Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego
The paper concerns the subject of the early mayoral elections at the town level in Ruda Śląska, held in September 2022. As a background for the presentation of the central case, the article refers to other earlier mayoral elections held in the same term (after the elections of 2018). The main aim of the analysis is to verify the research hypothesis that early elections of town mayors, held in Poland after 2018, confirm that application of the principle of direct elections favors candidates independent of state-wide parties. The source material for the research consisted mainly of documents of the National Electoral Commission, as well as Polish legal acts related to local electoral processes. The authors have investigated selected sources using the content analysis method. To achieve the research aim, results for particular elections were compared.
Procedia Computer Science
DOI:10.1016/j.procs.2023.10.450
The paper aims to analyze the expectations of employers towards the competencies possessed by graduates that arise along with the digital transformation processes. It presents the result of research in which the diagnostic survey method was used. In research, 144 University stakeholders from various Polish companies have participated. The study identified the expected competencies university graduates should have in the mentioned process and issues necessary for their development, which should form the basis of modern fields of study.
Przegląd Prawa Konstytucyjnego
Artykuł poświęcony jest analizie działalności Europejskiej Sieci Rzeczników Praw Dziecka. Dotychczasowe doświadczenia powalają wyciągać wnioski, co do działalności instytucji koordynującej działania ombudsmanów do spraw dzieci w Europie i potwierdzają, że wymiana dobrych praktyk, wspieranie i koordynacja skutecznie wzmacniają ochronę praw dzieci. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest zwrócenie uwagi na wybrane problemy związane ze specyfiką działalności tej europejskiej instytucji, scalającej nie tylko instytucje rzeczników praw dziecka, ale także inne instytucje powołane do ochrony praw najmłodszych, w sytuacji wieloaspektowych zagrożeń współczesnego świata. Autor stara się wykazać, że Europejska Sieć Rzeczników Praw Dziecka podejmuje zintensyfikowane wysiłki na rzecz ochrony praw dzieci i jest w tym zakresie skuteczna.
Asian Affairs
DOI:10.1080/03068374.2023.2283305
China’s Social Credit System (SCS) has been portrayed in much Western media coverage as an instrument for full-scale social control that collects and analyses behavioural data on an unprecedented scale. This perception has been countered by scholars who argue that the SCS should be seen more as a tool focused on strengthening law enforcement. This article argues that the development and operations of the SCS should be understood as a long-term process of “securitisation”, intended to counter a crisis of trust in Chinese society. By introducing this “trust” discourse, the SCS creates an environment that justifies the need to employ extraordinary measures against breakers of social trust, measures that include reputational sanctions and joint punishments. Whether this securitisation process will succeed in efficiently curtailing untrustworthy behaviours in the social, political and economic spheres remains uncertain. It might be hampered by Chinese society’s limited knowledge of the SCS, as well as by the limited impact of the SCS on people’s lives. Alternatively, the introduction of measures that are too intrusive might trigger public disapproval. While ongoing local trials primarily involve schemes to reward “good” behaviour, since 2021 punitive measures targeted at trust-breakers have been standardised at the central government level. This article is based on an analysis of Chinese-language documents and its primary focus is on these centrally-designed SCS sanctions. It adds to the existing literature not only by proposing a new perspective through which the SCS may be perceived but also by discussing the measures targeted at individuals, the shape of which has been moulded by the recent standardisation activities.
Studia Polityczne
This article assesses the effectiveness of Poland’s development cooperation as a tool for realising the role of democracy (and broader – transition experiences) exporter. The assessment implements and adapts the framework presented by Justyna Zając, who indicated that an evaluation of the effectiveness of the international role must consider the rationality of its adopted concept, the feasibility and consistency of its implementation and the degree of its approval by other participants in international relations.
Horyzonty Polityki
CEL NAUKOWY: Celem naukowym jest ukazanie specyficznej roli Johna Rawlsa dla współtworzenia koncepcji demokracji deliberatywnej. PROBLEM I METODY BADAWCZE: Demokracja deliberatywna skupia się na deliberacji, która powinna nieść za sobą pogłębioną wiedzę uczestników w danej sprawie oraz świadomość interesów innych jednostek. Propozycja Rawlsa ma charakter absolutnie normatywny. Teoria sprawiedliwości formułuje reguły, na których powinna opierać się organizacja życia społecznego. Należy posiąść wiedzę o rozróżnieniu pomiędzy rozumem publicznym a wieloma rozumami niepublicznymi, a jednocześnie zachować bezstronność wobec punktów widzenia rozległych rozumnych doktryn. Metoda badań opiera się na analizie tekstu. PROCES WYWODU: Artykuł rozpoczyna się od próby syntetycznej analizy kontraktualistycznej propozycji Rawlsa mającej na celu „dobrą organizację państwa”. Następnie analizie poddana jest koncepcja sprawiedliwości jako bezstronności ze wskazaniem podstawy do tworzenia teorii demokracji deliberatywnej. Skupiono się tutaj na nowatorskim rozwiązaniu – refleksja równowagi może zostać osiągnięta tylko poprzez wynik pewnej struktury (konstrukcji) – oraz wskazano normatywny charakter jego propozycji, co odróżnia tę koncepcję od koncepcji poprzedników zadających podobne pytania. WYNIKI ANALIZY NAUKOWEJ: W swoich próbach skonstruowania „maszyny rozumu” i „gry rozumowej”, a wreszcie „sytuacji pierwotnej”, z której można wyprowadzić zasady sprawiedliwości jako bezstronności, Rawls dokonał próby stworzenia modelu rozsądnej deliberacji przez demokratycznych obywateli w sposób, który może wzbudzić ich lojalność wobec ustanowionego porządku. WNIOSKI, INNOWACJE I REKOMENDACJE: We wnioskach autorka wskazuje, że założenie wspólnego rozumu publicznego oraz rozumnego pluralizmu, jak również idea wolności jako zdolności do posiadania wyższych władz moralnych prowadzi Rawlsa do stworzenia „dobrej organizacji państwa”, gdzie kluczową rolę odgrywać musi deliberatywna formuła demokracji.
Polish Political Science Yearbook
The study’s main aim is to look for relationships between political beliefs and po- litical subjectivity of grey voters (over 65). Political beliefs contain a motivational element, mainly due to being embedded in the values and needs of the respective individuals. This can affect the consciously created place of the citizen within the political system in different directions. The orientation of the study on the grey voters may be cognitively engaging due to the several sources related to historical events that took place in Poland. Political beliefs were conceptualized through dimensions on a left-right scale, where xenophobia and religious fundamentalism were diagnosed in the area of cultural beliefs. In contrast, acceptance of capitalism and anti-welfare were diagnosed in the area of economic beliefs. Political subjectivity was diagnosed using an original tool, whose preliminary analysis made it possible to distinguish three factors of the construct: political initiative, political sense, and identification with the political system.