.
Liberalism and illiberalism in Myanmar’s National League for Democracy
Party Politics, Ahead of Print.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) was largely synonymous with Myanmar’s semi-democratic intermezzo in 2016–21. For 2 years after the military coup in 2021, it resumed the role of major opposition party performed from 1988 to 2015. Although it was dissolved by the military junta in 2023, it remains a dominant political force inside the country. This article examines the commitment of NLD leaders and voters to liberal agendas. It reviews existing literature, draws on our dataset of Facebook posts by NLD members of parliament, analyses our 2017 survey, and triangulates it with 2020 World Values Survey data. It argues that the NLD was a relatively liberal force in Myanmar’s democratisation in the 2010s, though its liberal commitments were coupled with rising illiberal values. It is thus possible that even if the NLD were reconstituted and re-elected under a future democratic settlement, that democracy would not be liberal.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) was largely synonymous with Myanmar’s semi-democratic intermezzo in 2016–21. For 2 years after the military coup in 2021, it resumed the role of major opposition party performed from 1988 to 2015. Although it was dissolved by the military junta in 2023, it remains a dominant political force inside the country. This article examines the commitment of NLD leaders and voters to liberal agendas. It reviews existing literature, draws on our dataset of Facebook posts by NLD members of parliament, analyses our 2017 survey, and triangulates it with 2020 World Values Survey data. It argues that the NLD was a relatively liberal force in Myanmar’s democratisation in the 2010s, though its liberal commitments were coupled with rising illiberal values. It is thus possible that even if the NLD were reconstituted and re-elected under a future democratic settlement, that democracy would not be liberal.
‘Stop the Pact‘! The Foreign Policy Impact of the Far-Right Campaigning Against the Global Compact for Migration
.
Political careers and stability in office of regional ministers in Italy
.
Exchange ideologies: commerce, language, and patriarchy in Preconflict Aleppo
.
Caste-based Stratification in Kashmir: Reflections from Lived Experiences of Inter-caste Couples
Contemporary Voice of Dalit, Ahead of Print.
Caste as a system of stratification plays an important role in Kashmiri society. Though many believe that there is no caste system, the reality is that caste is a working institution affecting many aspects of life in Kashmir. However, endogamy is the principal factor of this caste segregation in Kashmiri society, yet some people choose to marry outside their castes. In order to understand the essential nature of this caste system, the current study uses a phenomenological approach to construct a description of the lived experiences of inter-caste couples. Forty participants (20 couples) from five districts of Kashmir Valley were interviewed from December 2021 to December 2022. The study reported that inter-caste couples face many challenges during pre-and post-marriage. Such couples are stigmatized in society, and sometimes the stigma is passed on to their children as well. The study argues that there is a need for resilient targeted efforts to encourage inter-caste marriages so that the noose of the caste system can be loosened.
Caste as a system of stratification plays an important role in Kashmiri society. Though many believe that there is no caste system, the reality is that caste is a working institution affecting many aspects of life in Kashmir. However, endogamy is the principal factor of this caste segregation in Kashmiri society, yet some people choose to marry outside their castes. In order to understand the essential nature of this caste system, the current study uses a phenomenological approach to construct a description of the lived experiences of inter-caste couples. Forty participants (20 couples) from five districts of Kashmir Valley were interviewed from December 2021 to December 2022. The study reported that inter-caste couples face many challenges during pre-and post-marriage. Such couples are stigmatized in society, and sometimes the stigma is passed on to their children as well. The study argues that there is a need for resilient targeted efforts to encourage inter-caste marriages so that the noose of the caste system can be loosened.
Endurance Lost and Found: Unwanted Return and the Suspension of Time
.
Racial equity, COVID-19, and public policy: The triple pandemic (1st Edition)
.
Whose ‘truth’ matters? Problematizing the epistemological underpinnings of social policy research
.
BEYOND RELIGION: SUPERSTITION, TRADITIONAL BELIEFS AND THE EXTREME RIGHT
World Affairs, Ahead of Print.
By equating the traditional mindset with traditional beliefs (in magic, ritual, superstitions, etc.), several studies have consistently shown that such beliefs significantly influence people's political behavior and preferences. While these studies have highlighted the political consequences of a traditional mindset in several countries from the Global South, they nevertheless have little to say as to whether holding superstitious beliefs (e.g., believing in fortune tellers, horoscopes, or lucky charms) has certain political implications for countries in the Global North. In this article, we explore whether the traditional mindset has political consequences even in an industrially advanced Germany. We present an analysis of data from the German General Social Survey (GESIS 2019) showing that superstitious voters have less trust in the political system, are more inclined to think that Hitler would be remembered as a good stateman if he had not perpetrated the Holocaust, that the Nazi regime also had a good side, and that the Jews are different and, in any case, have too much influence. Hence, dissemination of superstitious beliefs could make right-wing populists more electorally appealing and successful than they once were. We believe our findings to be of some importance as they show that if the proliferation of superstitious beliefs continues unchecked, they may transform our political systems in ways that policy makers and democratic forces should strive to avoid.
By equating the traditional mindset with traditional beliefs (in magic, ritual, superstitions, etc.), several studies have consistently shown that such beliefs significantly influence people's political behavior and preferences. While these studies have highlighted the political consequences of a traditional mindset in several countries from the Global South, they nevertheless have little to say as to whether holding superstitious beliefs (e.g., believing in fortune tellers, horoscopes, or lucky charms) has certain political implications for countries in the Global North. In this article, we explore whether the traditional mindset has political consequences even in an industrially advanced Germany. We present an analysis of data from the German General Social Survey (GESIS 2019) showing that superstitious voters have less trust in the political system, are more inclined to think that Hitler would be remembered as a good stateman if he had not perpetrated the Holocaust, that the Nazi regime also had a good side, and that the Jews are different and, in any case, have too much influence. Hence, dissemination of superstitious beliefs could make right-wing populists more electorally appealing and successful than they once were. We believe our findings to be of some importance as they show that if the proliferation of superstitious beliefs continues unchecked, they may transform our political systems in ways that policy makers and democratic forces should strive to avoid.