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1. PROCESS TRACING AND PROFESSIONALIZATION OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNS

Author:
Pratyush Paras Sarma
Publication Date:
03-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
Recent years have witnessed a significant inner transformation among political parties in both developed and developing democracies of the world. Different factors, such as changes in the structure of the media environment owing to the technological boom in the last two decades and changes in voting behavior, led to the transformation of the political parties in different democracies worldwide. Therefore, studying the patterns of this transformation has become an integral part of the current political science research. Early studies have demonstrated the indexes based on professionalization. However, limited studies have tried to examine the process of transformation relating to professionalization and are almost missing from the studies based on non-western democracies like India. Therefore, against this backdrop, this study tries to expand the literature by providing a theoretical framework consisting of causal mechanisms which would explain the process of professionalization of campaigns with special reference to Indian elections through the theory testing method of process tracing. The framework has been provided in a series of causal mechanisms to answer how the considered individual variables react when they come in contact. This paper concludes by justifying the conceptual framework of professionalization.
Topic:
Elections, Democracy, Political Parties, and Professionalization
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Sudanese Professionals Association: Structure, Evolution, Roles and Coalitions - Challenges and Future Prospects

Author:
Mohamed El Agati, Omar Samir, Abdel Moneim Sayed Ahmed, and Zeinab Srour
Publication Date:
11-2021
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
Abstract:
Strong trade unions and professional associations are among the most important forms of civil society organizations. These organizations are the best suited to contribute to overcoming dictatorships, driving democratic transformation, promoting freedoms, and ensuring that economic and social rights are maintained in the various sectors which they regulate. These include health, education, housing, transportation, labour and employment, freedom of association, as well as the right to protest and strike. Professional associations, such as labour unions, have always been a target for totalitarian regimes in the Arab region. Autocratic regimes aim to control organizations and unions, void them of any substance and goals, and exclude them along with their leadership from professional and political participation that might potentially lead to networks and connections that could threaten those regimes or even advance the interests of union members. Nonetheless, the Arab region has seen a few experiences where efforts were mobilized to organize, overcome the aforementioned context, and impose successful attempts to change it. Among these experiences is the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA) – the most prominent organized effort in the protests that led to al-Bashir’s resignation on 11 April 2019 after years of networking attempts among independent trade unions and months of various means of protest. This study explores how we can understand the role of independent trade unions in the democratic transition based on the Sudanese experience. It also looks at the capacity of these organizations to challenge attempts by dictatorial regimes which prevent associations that may drive or lead any social chance that opposes them. This paper will also examine various dimensions of the current experience based on the previous historical context of trade unions in Sudan before the SPA and subsequent mobilization efforts. Additionally, it seeks to analyze the SPA’s structures, alliances, development before, during, and after the December Revolution, as well as decision-making mechanisms. The study also considers the SPA’s role in the movement, negotiations with political forces and the army during the transitional phase, organizational challenges in the current political context, and its structural alignment with the assumed roles as well as potential prospects. This study uses an analytical approach based on desktop research and the analysis of articles and texts concerning the SPA. It also reviews the SPA’s discourse during the transitional period, relationships with other parties based on firsthand accounts, statements and documents it issued, and written views of its members. A series of interviews with some members and key figures have been conducted, taking into account the gender and age diversity within the SPA community.
Topic:
Labor Issues, Professionalism, Professionalization, and Labor Unions
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

3. Lights and Shadows in the Professionalization of the National Civil Police of El Salvador after the Peace Agreement of Chapultepec (1992-2017)/Luces y sombras en la profesionalización de la policía nacional civil de El Salvador tras los acuerdos de paz de Chapultepec (1992-2017)

Author:
María Eugenia Bonilla and Jerónimo Ríos
Publication Date:
01-2021
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:
Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:
The following article tries to analyze the transformation of the Salvadoran police from the implications of the 1992 Chapultepec Peace Agreements. In this way, the 25 years between 1992 and 2017 are taken as the period of study, in order to observe the level of transformation experienced by the new National Civil Police. Making use of an in-depth legislative review and different in-depth interviews, the article analyses in particular the scope and meaning of three dimensions in this transformation: police selection and training, the degree of delimitation of the police function and the foundations of the police career. Thus, while it is true that important progress has been made, it is possible to find shortcomings and weaknesses that persit, after more than two decades, in a way that is so worrying that it must be resolved./El siguiente trabajo tiene como objetivo analizar la transformación de la policía salvadoreña a partir de las implicaciones que tuvieron los Acuerdos de Paz de Chapultepec de 1992. De este modo, se toma como tiempo de estudio los 25 años que transcurren entre 1992 y 2017, para así observar el nivel de transformación experimentado por la nueva Policía Nacional Civil. Haciendo uso de una profunda revisión legislativa y de diferentes entrevistas en profundidad, se analiza en concreto el alcance y significado de tres dimensiones en particular: la selección y formación policial, el grado de delimitación de la función policial y los fundamentos de la carrera policial. Así, si bien es cierto que se han conseguido importantes avances, es posible encontrar carencias y debilidades que, tras más de dos décadas, persisten de manera tan preocupante como irresoluta.
Topic:
Treaties and Agreements, Police, and Professionalization
Political Geography:
Latin America and El Salvador

4. Glass half full? Or half empty? Civil service professionalization in the Western Balkans between successful rule adoption and ineffective implementation

Author:
Jan-Hinrik Meyer-Sahling
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Nottingham Interdisciplinary Centre for Economic and Political Research (NICEP)
Abstract:
This paper examines the professionalization of the civil service in the Western Balkans in the context of European integration. It focuses on the fit of civil service systems with European principles of administration as applied by SIGMA and the European Commission to accession states. The analysis distinguishes ten domains of civil service management and three levels of institutionalisation including formal rules, the quality of implementation and the attitudes of civil servants towards European principles. Based on extensive documentary research, personal interviews and a web-based survey of ministerial civil servants, the analysis reveals that formal-legal frameworks fit the European principles to a considerable extent. The main challenge for civil service developments in the Western Balkans concerns the ineffective implementation of formal rules. Even if formal rules and procedures are routinely applied, they do not reach expected outcomes such as merit selection and impartial behaviour of civil servants in policy-making and implementation. Finally, it is shown that civil servants partially support the European principles. In particular, discretionary approaches to civil service management have become increasingly popular in the region. The conclusion explores potential explanations of the emerging pattern of civil service professionalization in the Western Balkans.
Topic:
Regional Integration, Civil Servants, and Professionalization
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans

5. Measuring the effectiveness of Norwegian peace facilitation

Author:
Javier Fabra-Mata
Publication Date:
01-2014
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Over the past twenty years Norway has established an international reputation as a peace facilitator. The Oslo Accords and Norway’s active involvement in other peace processes in the 1990s provided the basis for constructing a peace narrative around the supposed disinterestedness and uniqueness of the Norwegian approach, which has evolved over the years, with a major move towards the professionalisation of the country’s peace efforts. Critics have questioned the results and effectiveness of Norwegian peace engagement. While they point to the collapse of peace processes and conflict recurrence, Norwegians engaged in these processes take a more positive view, avoiding absolutes and underscoring instead less spectacular, but nonetheless important achievements. Over and above peace agreements, peace processes can generate a series of tangible and intangibles peace assets – e.g. confidence building, informal peace alliances, formal institutions, etc. – some of which may help to reduce the severity of the conflict and even survive the collapse of the peace process. This expert analysis deals with the issue of conceptualising success in peace facilitation. From a study of the fundamentals underlying Norwegian peace facilitation, it shows the importance of being able to measure the degree of success of peace processes, presenting a three-tier, modular proposal for Norway to capture tangible and intangible gains in the short, medium and long term.
Topic:
Negotiation, Dialogue, Professionalization, and Peace Process
Political Geography:
Norway and Global Focus