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32. Alone in Sa'dabad Palace: One Year since Rouhani’s Reelection
- Author:
- Raz Zimmt
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for National Security Studies (INSS)
- Abstract:
- One year after his reelection as President of Iran, Hassan Rouhani faces severe challenges at home and abroad. It is more difficult than ever for him to keep his promises to the public, especially his promises to improve the economic situation and expand individual freedom. His freedom of action is restricted by the conservatives controlling most of the power centers in Iran, and criticism of him by his traditional rivals on the conservative right, among the religious establishment, and in the Revolutionary Guards, as well as by his reformist supporters, is growing. The difficulties facing the President not only threaten his ability to ease the distress among Iranians; they threaten his political future in advance of the anticipated succession struggle for the post of Supreme Leader. Moreover, his failure is liable to exacerbate the public despair that is already evident in the ongoing wave of protest in the streets of Iran and further erode the legitimacy of the entire regime.
- Topic:
- Reform, Conservatism, Legitimacy, and Theocracy
- Political Geography:
- Iran and Middle East
33. The Mobilization of Conservative Civil Society
- Author:
- Richard Youngs, Gareth Fowler, Arthur Larok, Pawel Marczewski, Vijayan Mj, Ghia Nodia, Natalia Shapoavlova, Janjira Sombatpoonsiri, Marisa Von Bülow, and Özge Zihnioğlu
- Publication Date:
- 10-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
- Abstract:
- As the domain of civil society burgeoned in the 1990s and early 2000s—a crucial component of the global spread of democracy in the developing and postcommunist worlds—many transnational and domestic actors involved in building and supporting this expanding civil society assumed that the sector was naturally animated by organizations mobilizing for progressive causes. Some organizations focused on the needs of underrepresented groups, such as women’s empowerment, inclusion of minorities, and LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) rights; others addressed broader societal issues such as economic justice, social welfare, and antipoverty concerns. In many countries, the term “civil society” came to be associated with a relatively bounded set of organizations associated with a common agenda, one separate from or even actively opposed by conservative political forces. However, in the past ten years, this assumption and outlook are proving increasingly incorrect. In many countries in the developing and postcommunist worlds, as well as in long-established Western democracies, conservative forms of civic activism have been multiplying and gaining traction. In some cases, new conservative civic movements and groups are closely associated with illiberal political actors and appear to be an integral part of the well-chronicled global pushback against Western liberal democratic norms. In other cases, the political alliances and implications of conservative civil society are less clear. In almost all cases—other than perhaps that of the United States, where the rise of conservative activism has been the subject of considerable study—this rising world of conservative civil society has been little studied and often overlooked. This report seeks to correct this oversight and to probe more deeply into the rise of conservative civil society around the world. It does so under the rubric of Carnegie’s Civic Research Network project, an initiative that aims to explore new types of civic activism and examine the extent to which these activists and associations are redrawing the contours of global civil society. The emerging role and prominence of conservative activism is one such change to civil society that merits comparative examination. Taken as a whole, the report asks what conservative civic activism portends for global civil society. Its aim is not primarily to pass judgment on whether conservative civil society is a good or bad thing—although the contributing authors obviously have criticisms to make. Rather, it seeks mainly to understand more fully what this trend entails. Much has been written and said about anticapitalist, human rights, and global justice civil society campaigns and protests. Similar analytical depth is required in the study of conservative civil society. The report redresses the lack of analytical attention paid to the current rise of conservative civil society by offering examples of such movements and the issues that drive them. The authors examine the common traits that conservative groups share and the issues that divide them. They look at the kind of members that these groups attract and the tactics and tools they employ. And they ask how effective the emerging conservative civil society has been in reshaping the political agenda.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Politics, Political Activism, and Conservatism
- Political Geography:
- Uganda, Africa, Europe, South Asia, Turkey, Ukraine, Caucasus, Middle East, India, Poland, Brazil, South America, Georgia, North America, Thailand, Southeast Asia, and United States of America
34. In Conversation with Sam Gyimah
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- The Mile End Institute's ‘In Conversation’ series brings senior figures from across the political spectrum and UK media to Queen Mary University of London for in-depth discussions about British politics. The interviewer is Philip Cowley, Professor of Politics at QMUL and Director of the Mile End Institute. Sam Gyimah is Conservative MP for Surrey East and the Minister for Prisons and Probation. He has wide government experience, having previously been the Minister for Childcare, the Minister for the Constitution, a Government Whip, and Parliamentary Private Secretary to former Prime Minister David Cameron.
- Topic:
- Governance, Leadership, Domestic Politics, and Conservatism
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
35. The Kremlin Emboldened: What Is Putinism?
- Author:
- M. Steven Fish
- Publication Date:
- 10-2017
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Democracy
- Institution:
- National Endowment for Democracy
- Abstract:
- Under Vladimir Putin, Russia’s ruling class again claims to represent a superior alternative to liberal democracy. How can we theorize this regime? Putinism is a form of autocracy that is conservative, populist, and personalistic. Its conservatism means that Putinism prioritizes maintaining the status quo and avoiding instability. Conservatism also overlaps with Putinism’s populism in crowd-pleasing broadsides against gay rights and feminism, but gives that populism a distinct cast when it comes to questions of social spending and interethnic or interconfessional relations. Finally, as a personalist autocracy, Putinism rests on one-man rule. Yet the identification of the regime with a single person may fatally undermine Putinism’s effectiveness in its self-appointed role as a bulwark against upheaval.
- Topic:
- Authoritarianism, Democracy, Liberal Order, and Conservatism
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Eastern Europe
36. Italian Right Wing Populism
- Author:
- Marco Torresin
- Publication Date:
- 12-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- European Centre for Minority Issues (ECMI)
- Abstract:
- Right wing populism and Euroscepticism have experienced an important growth in the last decades all around Europe. Italy has also been highly affected by this phenomenon and, since the early 1990s, various populist parties appeared on its political scene. Since the early 1990s Silvio Berlusconi`s Forza Italia, Umberto Bossi`s Lega Nord and Gianfranco Fini`s Alleanza Nazionale became the hegemonic forces of the conservative political area. However, since 2012, Beppe Grillo transformed Italian politics introducing a new form of populism: his Movimento 5 Stelle, not following the traditional left-right paradigm, represented a shock in the static world of the Italian politics. The working paper is going to focus on the phenomenon of right wing populism and Euroscepticism at national level, exploring the reasons for the success of Forza Italia, Lega Nord and Alleanza Nazionale- Fratelli d`Italia.
- Topic:
- Nationalism, Populism, Conservatism, Far Right, and Partisanship
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Italy
37. Mile End Institute - In Conversation with John Bercow
- Publication Date:
- 11-2017
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
- Abstract:
- John Bercow talks to Professor Phil Cowley about why he didn't invite Donald Trump to the houses of parliament and other current issues facing British politics.
- Topic:
- Politics, Governance, Leadership, and Conservatism
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
38. Economic Valuation of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
- Author:
- Oxford Economics
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxford Economics
- Abstract:
- This study assesses the total economic value generated by the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew. It considers a range of benefits, including the value accruing to visitors; the value attributed to Kew by non-users; educational benefits for visiting students; and productivity benefits which result from RBG Kew’s scientific research. We find that RBG generated a total of £182 million of economic value for the UK in 2014/15. A further £8 million of value accrues to international visitors and students. This valuation should be regarded as conservative since it does not incorporate some important areas of RBG Kew's work, such as the ‘insurance’ value and potential future economic value of species held in RBG Kew’s scientific collections; the benefits of increased planting activity encouraged amongst the wider UK population; and the international value of RBG Kew’s scientific research. The latter, in particular, could be very substantial, both because of the large contribution Kew makes to the infrastructure upon which large swathes of plant biology research around the world rely, and because much of RBG Kew’s conservation and other applied work primarily benefits other countries.
- Topic:
- Science and Technology, Tourism, Conservatism, and Economic Development
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
39. From the Vatican to Madrid, Paris and Warsaw: “Gender Ideology” in Motion
- Author:
- David Paternotte
- Publication Date:
- 04-2016
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues
- Abstract:
- After decades of steady progress in terms of gender and sexual rights, several parts of Europe are facing new waves of resistance. These oppose the so-called ‘gender ideology,’ and unveil a crucial role of the Roman Catholic Church. This talk by David Paternotte gives an overview of anti-gender movements in Europe.
- Topic:
- Education, Gender Issues, Religion, Social Movement, Conservatism, Social Justice, and Christianity
- Political Geography:
- Europe, France, Poland, Belgium, Spain, North America, Vatican city, and European Union
40. Resisting the New Conservatism: Women’s campaigns for rights, peace and participation in Turkey
- Publication Date:
- 12-2015
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
- Abstract:
- For nearly a century, Turkey has been a model of a modern secular Islamic nation. As a member of the G-20 and NATO, a candidate for the European Union, and boasting the world’s 16th largest economy, Turkey’s influence in regional and international security and economics has steadily grown. Yet modern Turkey is at risk from a rising conservatism, willing to trade economic growth for human rights advances. This brief examines the current challenges of women’s and civil society groups in Turkey, highlighting effective initiatives and advocacy strategies. Turkey offers significant lessons for other countries similarly struggling to maintain the momentum of democratic reform in the context of growing conservatism. The stakes are higher than ever for international actors, Turkish civil society, and women’s rights groups to strategize and work together effectively.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Gender Issues, Human Rights, Islam, Women, Conservatism, WPS, and Civil Society Organizations
- Political Geography:
- Turkey