Poliarchie / Polyarchies volume 3 n. 1/2020

This paper analyzes and compares three key elections that have been selected among the many held in 2019 in Africa. Countries have been chosen according to the demographic and geographical relevance of the countries and their impact at a macro-regional level. In particular, elections in Tunisia, being the only free country in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, were believed to have a broader impact at the macro-regional level, effects which would embrace the entire Arab world, and therefore well beyond its political, demographic and economic status. South Africa and Nigeria are two continental giants and the impact of their elections speaks for itself. The elections in South Africa occurred in a well consolidated setting of cleavages and parties, which however is still evolving. This evolution deserves specific attention, in particular in the perspective of a future end of ANC dominance. Elections were held in Nigeria under the threat of terrorism and important logistical challenges. In this case too, special attention must be given to considering the interactions of ethno/regional cleavages and their impact on party consolidation. It serves as a test case for other countries as well.

The purpose of this research is to provide a description of the Gilets Jaunes movement in France, in the light of the theoretical approaches to the description of the protest movements. First, it is necessary to consider whether in this case we can explain the emergence of the movement as caused by the “systemic imbalance” or “power imbalance”, which has occurred in France in the aftermath of Macron’s rise to power, and according to Smelser’s approach. Secondly, according to Tilly, the repertoires of the conflict or collective action were recorded to assess to what extent the action of the Gilets Jaunes has inclined towards mobilization, violence, or manifestation of public discontent. The Gilets Jaunes movement looks more like a reaction against the French establishment and the incumbent President Macron, than as a collective movement with its own identity and “systemic” claims. This is the expression of a priori rejection of the political class, without clear alternatives and in a form of almost extreme nihilism. The Gilets Jaunes appear as a manifestation of the opposition to power, refusing any proposal for mediation or dialogue with the political institution. The political class is rejected in its entirety and the Gilets Jaunes can be labelled as a Generally Unwanted Rulers (GURs) movement.

Tatiana tells the story of her deportation to Auschwitz after her arrest in March 1944. Tatiana was six years old and her sister Andra was four. Her cousin Sergio, six years old, was with them. From Fiume (Rijeka), they went through the Risiera of San Sabba, the largest Italian concentration camp, and eventually they were transported to the central station of Trieste. Here they were loaded on to cattle trucks. Their journey lasted three or four days. When the train finally stopped they arrived at the so-called Judenrampe of Birkenau. Sergio did not come back. Andra and Tatiana survived and on December 5, 1946 they returned to Rome and embraced their parents.

The Pashtun question has played a crucial role in the relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan since 1947. In this region, state power has been for centuries the product of the tribal society. The process of modernization of the state power has reversed in part this traditional dependence of the state on the society. The emergence of the post-colonial states in the area after 1947 has crystallized the political boundaries, fragmenting the Pashtun community and increasing the tension between different layers of identity. However, tribalism and state power have not been distant in modern times. In the 1950s, Kabul adopted the Pashtun issue as a symbol of state-sponsored nationalism. Islamabad has followed a similar strategy since the 1960s, more recently by supporting Pashtun-dominated militias, from Hekmatyar’s Hezb-i-Islami to the Taliban. All this demonstrates the continued relevance of ethnicity in the politics of the region, despite the contradictions that it generates.

Poliarchie/Polyarchies is multi-disciplinary journal which aims at promoting the encounter of the social sciences and humanities, ranging from sociology and political science to history, economics, law and philosophy. The analysis of political and social change can indeed be investigated from different perspectives and with the help of a variety of methodological tools. Poliarche/Polyarchies embraces a range of contemporary issues: processes of supranational integration and democratization in the world; the transformation of contemporary societies under the pressure of immigration and environmental challenges; the crises of “electoral democracy” in Europe and the development of a deliberative model of democracy; the potential “clash of civilizations” and socio-religious conflict; the resurgence of nationalisms and micro-regionalism in Europe and in the world; the integration of policy processes into networks and of communities into new frameworks and governance systems. The journal has an anonymous referee system and two issues per year are expected.

Over the last few years, an increasing number of scholars have adopted the so-called “ideational” approach to the study of populism. On the grounds of this approach, the populist phenomenon has been empirically investigated using a variety of different research strategies, including the classification by means of a minimal definition, content analysis, and expert surveys. In this article the main features of each different method are critically examined, and an overview of their pros, cons and pitfalls is provided, especially by comparing the research strategies aiming at classification, on the one hand, and measurement, on the other. I underline that the very rationale of the ideational approach relies in the need to operate a distinction between populist and non-populist actors through a minimal definition, which requires a classificatory effort analyzing the key ideological features of political actors in a qualitative fashion. At the same time, the other methods can only complement, but not replace, the qualitative analysis because they are not equipped to appropriately explore the core ideological features of the populist phenomenon.

The Department of Political and Social Sciences (DiSPeS) is honored to have proposed the conferment of degrees in Diplomacy and International Cooperation to Andra and Tatiana Bucci. Memory and history intertwine in the infancy of Tatiana Bucci and Andra, two little Italian girls who were deported to Auschwitz in 1944. Andra and Tatiana have been sharing for many years their memories as witnesses of the tragedy of the holocaust. The conferment of the degrees is an opportunity to celebrate the Memorial Day and the 30th Anniversary of the inauguration of the curriculum in Diplomacy and International Sciences at the DiSPeS.