Political Science and International Relations

Pundits, development practitioners, and scholars worry that rising populism and international disengagement in developed countries have negative consequences on foreign aid. However, how populism and foreign aid go together is not well understood. This paper provides the first systematic examination of this relationship. We adopt the popular ideational definition of populism, unpack populism into its core “thin” elements, and examine them within a delegation model of aid policy—a prominent framework in the aid literature. In so doing, we identify specific domestic political processes through which the core components of populism may affect aid spending. We argue that increases in one component of populism—anti-elitism—and in nativist sentiments, an associated concept, in a donor country lead to a reduction in aid spending through a public opinion channel. We supply both micro- and macro-evidence for our arguments by fielding surveys in the United States and United Kingdom as well as...

This paper examines the e↵ects of South Koreas public diplomacy on its soft power. Using Nye's (2008) conceptualization of the relationship between soft power and public diplomacy, I hypothesize that a country's public diplomacy, if properly implemented, should produce soft power and make South Korea more attractive destination of visit. However, this simple input-output relationship has not been systematically scrutinized in the public diplomacy literature. The present study attempts to fill such inadequacies by directly testing the e↵ect of South Korea's public diplomacy practices on soft power. For this, I use a gravity model to gauge the impact of overseas Korean studies programs on the attraction of South Korea, measured in several quantities of inbound flows of foreigners to South Korea. The data shows that there is a strong association between the installment of Korean Studies programs in a target country and the size of inbound tourism and foreign students to South Korea from that country.

This study explores the changing nature of public confidence and its formation in nondemocratic societies. The existing literature finds that public confidence in democratic societies is understood as citizens' support for democratic values, while citizens' confidence in a non-democratic government is often equated to an assessment of government competency. However, heavy use of social media disassociates the link between government competency and public confidence in non-democracies. Using the World Value Survey data of Kazakhstan, we find that performance-based confidence no longer holds in a non-democratic state when social media becomes the main source of information. These findings suggest that social media promotes the diffusion of global standards among citizens of authoritarian societies.

This study explores the changing nature of public confidence and its formation in non-democratic societies. The existing literature suggests that public confidence in democratic societies is understood as citizens' support for democratic values, while in a non-democratic context citizens' confidence is often equated to an assessment of government competence. However, heavy use of social media weakens the link between government competence and public confidence in non-democracies. Using World Values Survey data for Kazakhstan, we find that performance-based confidence no longer holds in a non-democratic state when social media become the main source of information. These findings suggest that social media promote the diffusion of global standards among citizens of authoritarian societies. P ublic confidence is a crucial topic in governance and statecraft because it is directly connected to the public's evaluation of a political system. Public confidence in a government indicates that the political system is

Individuals have been under more stress since the COVID-19 pandemic began than they were before the pandemic. While social support is a known stress buffer among the general population, its impact on stress among vulnerable populations, such as immigrants and those living in rural areas, has received little attention in the context of South Korea. Accordingly, we examined the relationship between different types of social support and COVID-19 stress among young adult immigrants based on where they live (rural vs. urban). We conducted a survey of 300 young adult immigrants aged 25-34 years and analyzed the results. The dependent variable was COVID-19 stress, and the independent variables were four types of social support: emotional, appraisal, instrumental, and informational. We discovered that young adult immigrants in rural areas perceived higher-level social support in all aspects compared with those in urban areas. Furthermore, social support was not related to COVID-19 stress in urban areas, while appraisal support was positively and informational support was negatively related to COVID-19 stress in rural areas. Our findings suggest that a contextualized understanding of social support is critical to understanding COVID-related stress during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose: As more and more North Korean refugees settle in South Korea, they are compelled to adapt to a "digitalized" society. This study examines whether there are differences in digital capital between North Korean refugees and South Korean citizens, and examines the sociodemographic factors associated with the distribution of digital capital. Methodology: This study used data from the 2019 Digital Divide Survey conducted by the Ministry of Science and ICT in South Korea and conducted OLS regression analysis. Findings: The results show how the three forms of traditional capital - economic, social, and cultural - are differently associated with the distribution of digital capital in each group. All forms of traditional capital are fully associated with the distribution of digital capital across South Korean citizens, whereas traditional capital is partially associated with the distribution of digital capital across North Korean refugees. Practical implications: The results imply that new forms of capital, called digital capital, are also distributed across North Korean refugees and various policies are needed to prevent inequality among North Korean refugees due to uneven distribution of digital capital.

The increasing practice of Islam in Tajikistan in the last few years has contributed to rising social and political tensions. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Northern Tajikistan between May and October 2010, this article intends to highlight underlying religious tensions in Tajikistan, which, I argue, are the result of the emergence of conflicting voices contesting current political spaces. My intention is to revisit two concepts abundantly used in the religious literature. First, I intend to deconstruct the dichotomous relation between the state and society and try to uncover the power relations that lie behind the making, dissemination and understanding of narratives addressing the place of Islam in society. Second, I reconsider the categories of the secular and the religious by illustrating the porous character of these concepts in the Tajik context. I do so by providing accounts of local perceptions of religious politics expressed by politicians and bureaucrats, ordinary believers and representatives of the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan. Finally, I argue that the coexistence of different sets of religious and secular norms reveals that the struggle for political power in Tajikistan is now increasingly articulated around religious issues.

Cet ouvrage collectif original offre un panorama à la fois historique et contemporain permettant de bien cerner les relations complexes entre réalités socio-économiques, jeux de pouvoir locaux et religiosité dans l’espace (post)-soviétique. Il s’agit là d’une thématique qui méritait une telle attention académique. Les auteurs nous présentent en effet le fruit d’un travail de recherche ayant nécessité des incursions prolongées sur le terrain et des recherches archivistiques minutieuses dans les régions sous enquête. L’ouvrage offre onze études de cas qui couvrent l’Asie centrale, le Caucase du nord et la Russie. Le livre traite de réalités spécifiques à l’ex-URSS mais sera également utile à tous ceux intéressés par les questions liées aux phénomènes religieux et à l’autoritarisme.

This article investigates the effects of the Soviet social engineering project and forced secularization in Central Asia. Emphasis is placed on the ideological foundations of Marxism-Leninism, its stance on atheism, its holistic character, and its ideological exclusivity. The article details the measures taken by authorities to eradicate religious
beliefs during the seventy years of Soviet rule. Taking the case of Tajikistan, it highlights the remaining influence of Soviet policies on state-religion relations by reviewing the functions and responsibilities of current regulatory institutions as well as laws and official discourses framing religious practices.

Since independence in 1991, Tajikistan’s authorities have been trying to promote a unifying ideology that could inspire the whole nation. National unity is particularly challenging in this country that has been  wounded by a five-year civil war (1992-1997). As religiosity has become more prevalent over the years, the authorities have tried to thwart the growth of Islam by promoting a conservative ideology devoid of Islamic content, resting on imagined national traditions, national purity and ancient wisdom. Interestingly, the female figure has become increasingly instrumental in the state’s national discourse. Patronizing moral recommendations focus mainly on female clothing and virtue, which have come to embody national values. The role of women in the transmission of family and patriotic values is celebrated, yet discourses hide a difficult reality for Tajik women who are deeply affected by poverty, labor migration, and social and state pressure.

http://www.rferl.org/content/qishloq-ovozi-roundtable-northern-afghanistan/27551540.html
RFE/RL's Turkmen Service, known locally as Azatlyk, assembled a "majlis," or panel, to discuss the recent developments in northern Afghanistan and how these developments are impacting neighbors to the north.

Azatlyk director Muhammad Tahir moderated the discussion. Participating from Kabul was Obaid Ali of the Afghan Analysts Network who recently visited Kunduz, one of the more restive provinces of northern Afghanistan. Joining the talk from Canada was Helene Thibault, professor at the University of Montreal's School of Public and International Affairs who has spent a great deal of time in Tajikistan doing research there and has authored many articles about the country.

Helene Thibault: "Religious people are not necessarily political but their life choices somehow reflect the failure of the state's secular narrative and ideology". Hélène Thibault is a postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for International Studies at the Université de Montréal, Canada. She earned a PhD from Ottawa University in Political Science in 2014. She has worked and published on Central Asian issues since 2005, specializing in religion, national identity and Soviet legacy. She also took part in multiple election observation missions with the OSCE in the former Soviet space.

Вопрос о женском одеянии по исламским предписаниям обернулся большими политическими  баталиями в Центральной Азии, где уже кажется лишним напоминать, что абсолютное большинство жителей являются мусульманами. О хиджабе и причинах пристального внимания политиков к нему мы поговорили с исследователем религии, национальной идентичности и советского наследия в Центральной Азии Элен Тибо.

Борбор Азиядагы диний маселелерди изилдеген окумуштуулардын тобу Эл аралык кризис тобунун (ICG) Борбор Азиядагы ислам радикализми тууралуу кезектеги баяндамасына байланыштуу кайрылуу жасады. The Diplomat басылмасында чыккан ачык катта окумуштуулар отчеттун айрым жерлери менен макул эместигин билдиришкен. Кол койгондордун бири, Астанадагы Назарбаев университетинин саясий илимдер жана эл аралык байланыштар бөлүмүнүн профессору Элен Тибо «Азаттыктын» суроолоруна жооп берди.

Counter-extremism has become an important tool for the authoritarian government of Tajikistan to consolidate its position. In this article, we argue that counter-extremism is not purely about destructive acts, such as banning groups or arresting individuals: it is productive, too. Using a Foucauldian understanding of disciplinary power and biopower, we argue that counter-extremism in Tajikistan is an attempt to produce secular, docile citizen subjects who are resistant to extremist ideas. Using ethnography and discourse analysis, we focus on the way in which these practices are gendered, targeting the bodies of those deemed ‘dangerous’. Counter-extremism, we argue, is exercised not only by the state but also by citizens, who monitor themselves and others for signs of radicalization. Although some support state secularism, most merely accept it. A smaller group resist practices that target certain forms of religious belief and practice. We explore these everyday forms of resistance against disciplinary power and biopower.

L’Asie centrale demeure une région méconnue du grand public, voire des décideurs, et ce, même 25 ans après la dissolution de l’URSS. Les cinq républiques de l’ancienne Union Soviétique soit, le Kazakhstan, le Kirghizstan, l’Ouzbékistan, le Tadjikistan et le Turkménistan, sont toutefois porteuses d’une grande importance stratégique et commerciale en raison des ressources pétrolières, gazières et minières que l’on y retrouve, mais également de leur proximité avec les deux géants eurasiens, la Russie et la Chine, mais aussi de l’Afghanistan. Les médias et les centres de recherches stratégiques ont souvent tendance à peindre un portrait alarmiste de la région, décrite comme un terreau fertile pour l’Islam radical. Un regard plus approfondi permet toutefois de présenter une image plus nuancée de l’Asie centrale, qui demeure une région étonnement stable malgré les difficultés économiques, la présence d’hydrocarbures et la proximité d’une zone en état d’insurrection quasi-permanent depuis 30 ans. Ces pays sont historiquement, politiquement et économiquement près de la Russie mais la volonté de la Chine de développer de nouvelles voies d’exportation et zones d’influence vient troubler les cartes.