The Subtle Dynamics of Power Struggles in Tunisia: Local media since the Arab Uprisings

This article contributes to the analysis of local media and democratic transformation in Tunisia since the Arab Uprisings. It aims to assess the extent to which pluralism, freedom of expression, and participation—central tenets of democratisation—are evident at the local level. Tunisian local media, unlike the national media, is relatively free of governmental control. Local media is also decentralised. It is this autonomy from the government which makes the analysis of local media fundamentally important for understanding politics in Tunisia. While national media is linked to the most powerful elements in the country, the diversity of voices within the media at the local level provides an opportunity to grasp the grievances, struggles, and agency of people in Tunisia, especially the most marginalised communities. This article will detail the changes in the media landscape, especially for local media, in Tunisia and connect our analysis of local media to better understand the Tunisia that has developed between dictatorship and democracy and the extent that the fledgling Tunisian democracy can withstand its most recent test.

The Image of Media and Journalism on the Pages of the Bulgarian Journalist Periodical (1959–1996): Results of а Quantitative Content Analysis

This paper presents and analyzes the results of a quantitative content analysis of the periodical called Bulgarian Journalist ‒ Journalism and Society. The main research topic is the role of journalism and media in Bulgaria. Based on publications on the topic, it aims to “bring to light”, as far as possible, journalistic, political and public reflections on the role and place of media and journalism in Bulgarian society during the communist regime and the first years of democratic transformation. The main focus is on five research questions, on the basis of which the periodical is monitored and analyzed. The conclusions drawn at the end have an important research significance.

Self-Criticism in Post-Communist Times

This article revisits the category of self-criticism, which, as a speech act, plays a special role in the discourse of the intelligentsia, emerging from the peripheral status of Poland and from the imperative to catch up with the West. In contemporary Poland, self-criticism has revived as a discursive strategy in the context of coming to terms with the democratic transformation. For the right-wing intelligentsia, self-criticism is mainly a postulate that is addressed to political adversaries. For the left-liberal intelligentsia, self-criticism is not only a political weapon but also a strategy of introspective enunciation directed at the post-transformation society. A qualitative discourse analysis of selected acts of self-criticism performed by Polish left-liberal elites between 2013 and 2019 highlights two interconnected conflict-generating fields of debate: (1) reckoning with the neoliberal and pro-Western model of the 1989 democratic transition and (2) retribution on the post-transition intellectual elites that patronized the people and the attribution of responsibility for the Elite-People Division. The distinguished functions of self-criticism point to the political and class conflict as well as to the growing delegitimacy of the dominance of the neoliberal narrative about the Polish model of modernization.

The Role of Political Parties in Supporting the Process of Democratic Consolidation

This study identifies the role of Jordanian political parties in supporting the process of democratic consolidation and in solving the problems and challenges that block the process of democratic transformation. It used a cross-sectional design depending on statistics and analytics, whereby 497 male and female students were selected from three departments of the recruited colleges. Data were collected through a questionnaire, with a reliability score of 0.92 (Cronbach’s alpha). Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, univariate analysis, and multiple contrast tests were used to analyze the data. Findings from the study indicated that the role of Jordanian political parties in entrenching the process of democratic transformation and in solving problems and challenging procedures was partially performed. The obtained p-value of 0.00 indicates that political parties play a significant role in dealing with democratic challenges at behavioral, attitudinal, and constitutional levels.

October 2020 Protests in Poland. A Case Study of Olkusz

Introduction. In October 2020 the most extensive social protests took place in Poland since the democratic transformation in 1989. They were caused pertinently by the Polish Constitutional Tribunal’s decision and government policy on abortion. Numerous protests were held all over the country, both in larger cities, smaller towns and villages. Methods and materials. The study presents the results of the internet surveying method (CAWI) and snowball sampling. These were the only methods which can be used to study protest participants themselves (busy straightening in the streets), but also useful because of the pandemic situation in Poland. A 30 question survey was filled by about 200 people who took part in the protest in Olkusz city. Analysis. Research was made in time of “first main wave of protests” period, i.e. October 24–26, 2020. The author underlines the role of youth in the protests, and wants to answer two main research questions, first of all: what was the role of ‘Generation Z’ in October protests, and as well: what are the political views of the protesters. Researches about the first “hours” of protest are mostly extremely rare, the article also allows to see not only new youth Gen Z, but also modern civil protests. Results. Results show that the participants comprising mostly youth were not conservative, and could easily be considered a new generation of Poles – quite different from their older colleagues. But how and why are youngsters so politically different?

El cuidado de la vida en común en tiempos de pandemia y pospandemia

In this essay, I reflect on the way that the COVID-19 pandemic deepens the care crisis and the radical, democratic transformation this turning point demands. Beginning with an assessment of the status of the free-riding on care (Nancy Fraser) and the gender division of labor, I continue with an analysis of the hegemonic justifications that, as Wendy Brown has shown, underpin such unbalance. I conclude with some remarks on the imminent challenge to advance towards a model of state, society and citizenship capable of securing a sustained and co-responsible social compromise with the care of the community.

Ukraine’s Way to a Consolidated Democracy: Issues, Prospects and International Experience

The article is devoted to current issues of democratic progress of Ukraine within the framework of the constitu-tional and legal provision of direct government by the people. Some aspects of the civil society formation are also considered. The reasons which do not allow Ukraine to be identified as a consolidated democracy in the light of international experience have been analyzed.The article analyzes the difficulties faced by Ukraine in the process of democratic transformation. Democratic state is a state based on the theory of popular sovereignty and the recognition of the people as the only source of power, the consistent guarantee of human and civil rights and freedoms, ensuring their equality, real participation in the management of the affairs of society and the state.Despite the existence of formal institutions of democracy and government by the people, the Ukrainian democ-racy shouldn’t be overestimated, paying particular attention to the essential aspects. Ukraine cannot be considered as consolidated democracy for all indicators. Democratic progress is considered slow, as corruption and a limited field of public initiative stand in the way.Currently, the problem of ensuring a genuine effect for the decisions of the all-Ukrainian referendum is an overdue issue. It is urgent to solve another problem in the sphere of direct democracy, namely the legislative settlement of the issue of local referendums, which have been actually impossible for the last eight and a half years. The adoption of this law is of paramount importance to our society – it can reduce social tensions and change the protest area – from ineffective demonstrations to productive and constructive voting.In terms of sustainable, consolidated democracies, Ukraine still remains an electoral, that is, unstable country. And for its final establishment, transformation into a consolidated one a great amount of time is still needed.

Sectarianism from Popular Participation in the Public Sphere to a Barrier to Participation

This chapter discusses the transformation of sectarianism from a channel for public participation in the political sphere into an obstacle to this participation. Identity politics, which includes sectarianism, means popular participation in service of political interests presented as the interests (in our case) of the ta’ifa. And although this sectarianism politicizes the masses and drives them into the public sphere, it nonetheless quickly becomes an obstacle to popular participation, and specifically to democratic transformation. It is no coincidence that there are no federations or confederations of ta’ifas. A federation in a modern state is either merely administrative or based on ethnic and cultural units. But collective rights are possible in a liberal democracy, assuming that they are based on citizens’ rights.