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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Malaysia's Transitional Moment? : Democratic Transition Theory And The Problem Of Malaysian Exceptionalism., Jason P. Abbott
Malaysia's Transitional Moment? : Democratic Transition Theory And The Problem Of Malaysian Exceptionalism., Jason P. Abbott
Jason Abbott
Many theorists of democratization transition have, either explicitly or implicitly, a teleological concept of political progress, liberalization and reform. For such theorists, countries such as Malaysia are therefore in transition towards substantive 'full' liberal democracy. Taken in this light, the significant advances by opposition political parties in the 2008 federal and state elections in Malaysia represent a major advance towards this end goal. While many have highlighted that Malaysia may in fact be an exception to this rule, this paper contends instead that the Malaysian case study challenges the central tenets of democratic transition more profoundly. Indeed, since independence the …
Cacophony Or Empowerment? : Analyzing The Impact Of New Information Communication Technologies And New Social Media In Southeast Asia., Jason P. Abbott
Cacophony Or Empowerment? : Analyzing The Impact Of New Information Communication Technologies And New Social Media In Southeast Asia., Jason P. Abbott
Jason Abbott
The capabilities, tools and websites we associate with new information communication technologies and social media are now ubiquitous. Moreover tools that were designed to facilitate innocuous conversation and social interaction have had unforeseen political impacts. Nowhere was this more visible than during the 2011 uprisings across the Arab World. From Tunis to Cairo, and Tripoli to Damascus protest movements against authoritarian rule openly utilized social networking and file sharing tools to publicize and organize demonstrations and to catalogue human rights abuses. The Arab Spring, or Jasmine Revolution, was an event that was both witnessed and played out in real time …
Policy Dilemmas And Political Unrest In Poland, David Mason
Policy Dilemmas And Political Unrest In Poland, David Mason
David S. Mason
The recent unrest in Poland is not simply a struggle between the workers and the regime over political freedom and economic reform. A basic cause of the unrest, as in past years, is the failure of the regime to balance adequately the conflicting policies of promoting long-term investment in industry, raising the standard of living, and reducing social class inequalities. Each of these policies represents a major goal of the regime, and of socialist ideology. The regime has not been able to emphasize all three goals simultaneously, and has shifted resources and attention from one to the other over the …