SSOAR - Social Science Open Access Repository
Not a member yet
93520 research outputs found
Sort by
The Effects of Data Privacy Regulations on Cybersecurity Practices in Nigeria and Africa
Get PDFBackground: With the rapid digital transformation across the African continent, ensuring the protection of personal data through effective regulatory frameworks is crucial. Key regulations, including Nigeria's Data Protection Regulation (NDPR) and the African Union's Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection, have been enacted to address growing concerns about data privacy and cybersecurity. Aims: This literature review critically examines the impact of data privacy regulations on cybersecurity practices in Nigeria and across Africa, focusing on empirical studies that highlight the interplay between regulation enforcement and cybersecurity outcomes. Methodology: This review synthesizes empirical studies that explore the effectiveness of these regulations in improving cybersecurity practices in both public and private sectors. Results: Empirical research from Nigeria indicates that while the NDPR has led to some positive changes in organizational data protection strategies, challenges in enforcement, resource allocation, and awareness continue to hinder its full impact. Studies reveal that small to medium enterprises (SMEs) face difficulties in complying with the regulations due to a lack of capacity and knowledge. Similarly, research across several African countries shows a significant gap in both the implementation of data privacy laws and the cybersecurity measures required to mitigate emerging threats, such as ransomware and data breaches. Furthermore, empirical evidence highlights that varying levels of regulatory enforcement across the continent result in inconsistent cybersecurity practices, leading to vulnerabilities in the digital infrastructure. The review also explores empirical findings on the socio-economic and political barriers that affect the successful enforcement of data privacy regulations, with particular focus on limited technical expertise, political instability, and insufficient resources for regulatory bodies. Additionally, studies suggest that there is a growing need for cross-border collaboration and capacity building to bridge the regulatory gaps and improve overall cybersecurity resilience. Conclusion: Empirical evidence underscores the need for stronger regulatory frameworks and greater cooperation across African nations to enhance the protection of personal data and fortify cybersecurity practices across the region. Recommendations for future policy development are provided, based on the insights gained from existing empirical studies
Visual Climate Change Communication in Iran’s Social Media: A Discourse Analysis of X
Get PDFBackground: The visual turn is one of the most important features of contemporary culture. Therefore, in climate change communication, images can play a crucial role in conveying environmental messages. Environmental advocates use the potential of visuals to deliver part of their messages to their audience. However, only a limited number of studies have focused on the visualization of climate change communication. Given the characteristics of social media, free from the constraints of mainstream media, they can serve as a suitable platform for visualizing climate change messages. Aims: Despite Iran's role in greenhouse gas emissions and the engagement of environmental activists, no research has been conducted on the role of images in conveying climate change messages on Iranian social media. Therefore, the main question of this research is: How do Iranian users on social media platform X frame climate change through images, and within what discourses? Methodology: To answer the question of the research, a combination of quantitative and qualitative visual discourse analysis was applied to 500 images in 2023. Findings: Studies on the visualization of climate change messages have predominantly focused on developed countries. The findings reveal that Iranian users have addressed climate change through four key discourses: scientific, political, ecological, and protest. Furthermore, the results show that visual discourses have been seen globally in Persian X and it has addressed the present tense and the framework of the consequences. Conclusion: In general, the public's attention to climate change in Iranian society reflects the dynamism of the environmental movement in Iran and the growth of environmental literacy among Iranian social media users
Friedrich Merz und die "Zeitenwende 2.0": Eine "neue Ära" für die transatlantischen Beziehungen?
Get PDFAm 23. Februar 2025 waren fast 60 Millionen Wähler aufgerufen, einen neuen Bundestag zu wählen. Diese Wahlen werden auch eine neue Regierung in der größten Volkswirtschaft Europas hervorbringen. Mit der nächsten Koalition um einen wahrscheinlichen künftigen Kanzler Merz, hofft Deutschland wieder eine gewisse Stabilität zu erlangen. Vor dem Hintergrund des Wiedereinzugs von Donald Trump ins Weiße Haus wird Deutschlands Haltung zur EU und gegenüber den USA entscheidend sein. Wird die künftige deutsche Regierung in diesem Kontext versuchen, einen dezidiert pro-europäischen Kurs einzuschlagen, oder wird sie bedacht sein, vordergründig die deutschen Interessen zu vertreten? Welche neue deutsch-französische Dynamik könnte dadurch entstehen?On February 23, 2025, almost 60 million voters were called upon to elect a new Bundestag. These elections will also give rise to a new government in Europe's largest economy. With the next coalition in place around a likely future Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Germany hopes to regain stability. There is also the question of what role Germany will play within the European Union, and what direction it wishes to take towards the United States following Donald Trump's return to the White House. The coming years will be decisive for the affirmation of Europe's role in the world order and for its security. Will the future German government seek to portray itself as resolutely pro-European, or will it be anxious to defend its own interests? What new Franco-German dynamic could emerge
Neue Geopolitik am Balkan: Wie Drittstatten wie China und Russland zur Autokratisierung und neuen Unsicherheiten beitragen und die fragile Sicherheitsordnung bedrohen?
Get PDFDas vorliegende Arbeitspapier beleuchtet die aktuelle erneute Verschlechterung der Sicherheitslage, den Einflussverlust der EU und die Abkehr von der Demokratie auf dem geopolitischen und ideologischen Marktplatz des Westbalkans. Es problematisiert den teils schleichenden (EU), teils radikalen und abrupten (USA unter Trump II) Übergang des transatlantischen Westens von normativen Vorstellungen zum Transaktionalismus. Die Autor:innen des Papiers legen die Einschätzungen und Intentionen der zunehmend autokratischen Führungen in Belgrad und Banja Luka dar, analysieren die Rolle und den Einfluss von Beijing und Moskau und diskutieren deren Auswirkungen auf die EU. Die chinesische Führung sieht Serbien (neben Ungarn) als Anker einer neuen Weltordnung unter chinesischer Führung in Europa. Dieses Arbeitspapier zeigt, mit welchen Projekten China in den Jahren 2023 und 2024 zu einem größeren Investor in Serbien wurde als die EU-27 insgesamt. Es zeichnet aber auch eine Korrelation mit der Anpassung Serbiens an Chinas außenpolitische Entscheidungen, die nahelegt, dass Belgrad hier zunehmend die Konditionalität Beijings akzeptiert. Im Narrativ der chinesischen Expert:innen und der Regime in Serbien und der Republika Srpska gibt es eine große Übereinstimmung - beide warnen unisono vor Protesten und Opposition als allesamt Teil westlicher "Farbrevolutions"-Bemühungen. Russland als traditionell starker Partner der Serb:innen in der Region bleibt weiterhin sehr populär und auch präsent. Allerdings wirkt die russische Politik auf dem Balkan in den letzten Jahren eher reaktiv und konzentriert sich vor allem auf die Aufrechterhaltung früherer Einflusskanäle durch Desinformation, nachrichtendienstliche Aktivitäten und Energielieferungen. Mit ethno-religiös-nationalistischen Argumenten trägt Russland dazu bei, Serbien an die durch den wirtschaftlichen Aufstieg Chinas attraktive Gruppe der BRICS-Staaten heranzuführen. Die Machthaber in Belgrad und Banja Luka versuchen im Rahmen eines transaktionalen Hedging, so genannte "Third Actors" wie China und Russland zu nutzen, um ihre persönlichen Positionen und ihre Macht zu sichern. Durch intensive und anhaltende Medienkampagnen konnte das Meinungsbild der jeweiligen Bevölkerungen gegen den Westen und für China und Russland beeinflusst werden. Meinungsumfragen zeigen korrelierend immer positivere Einstellungen zu autokratischen Systemen. Während sich der serbische Präsident Vučić und der Präsident der Republika Srpska Dodik verstärkt auf China und Russland stützen können und den Demokratieabbau vorantreiben und sich gegen Proteste immunisieren, steigt die Gefahr eines aktiven Grenzrevisionismus und auch die Gefahr für die KFOR- und EUFOR-Truppen in Bosnien-Herzegowina und Serbien. Als mögliche Entwicklungen für die nächsten Jahre zeigen die Autor:innen drei mögliche Szenarien auf: 1) Status quo und allmählicher Einflussverlust der EU, 2) neues geopolitisches Kampffeld Westbalkan und BRICS-Beitritt Serbiens, 3) Wiedererstarken der EU und demokratischer Wandel in Serbien.This working paper examines the current further deterioration of the security situation, the decline in the influence of the EU and the turning away from democracy in the geopolitical and ideological marketplace of the Western Balkans. It problematizes the partly gradual (EU) and partly radical and abrupt (USA under Trump II) transition of the transatlantic West from normative ideas to transactionalism. The authors of the paper outline the assessments and intentions of the increasingly autocratic leaderships in Belgrade and Banja Luka, analyze the role and influence of Beijing and Moscow and discuss the implications of this for the EU. The Chinese leadership sees Serbia (alongside Hungary) as an anchor of a new China-led world order in Europe. This working paper shows the projects with which China became a larger investor in Serbia in 2023 and 2024 than the entire EU-27. However, it also draws a correlation with Serbia's adaptation to China’s foreign policy decisions, which suggests that Belgrade is increasingly accepting Beijing’s conditionality here. In the narrative of the Chinese experts and the regimes in Serbia and Republika Srpska, there is a great deal of agreement - both warn against protests and the opposition as being part of Western "colorful revolution" efforts. As a traditionally strong partner of the Serbs in the region, Russia remains very popular and present. However, Russia's policy in the Balkans has been rather reactive in recent years and primarily focused on preserving former channels of influence through disinformation, intelligence activities and energy supplies. Russia is using ethno-religious nationalist arguments to help bring Serbia closer to the BRICS group of states, which is attractive due to China's economic rise. Political elites in Belgrade and Banja Luka are trying to use so-called "third actors" such as China and Russia in transactional hedging in order to secure their personal positions and power. Intensive and sustained media campaigns have influenced public opinion in the respective populations against the West and in favor of China and Russia. Opinion polls correlate with increasingly positive attitudes towards autocratic systems. While Serbia’s President Vučić and the President of Republika Srpska Dodik can rely more heavily on China and Russia and push ahead with the dismantling of democracy and immunize themselves against protests, the risk of active border revisionism and also the danger for KFOR and EUFOR troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia increases. For the next ten years, the authors draw the following scenarios: 1) status quo and gradual loss of EU influence, 2) new geopolitical battlefield in the Western Balkans and Serbia’s accession to BRICS, 3) resurgence of the EU and democratic change in Serbia
Rezension: Gesine Bade: Lehrkräfte im Sachunterricht zwischen Anspruch und Wirklichkeit - Unterschätzte Potentiale Politischer Bildung in der Grundschule
Get PDFBook review: Post-Communist Transformations in Baltic Countries - A Restorations Approach in Comparative Historical Sociology
Get PDFThe Many-Worlds Economy: Quantum Interpretations of Political and Financial Fragmentation
Get PDFWe explore the Many-Worlds Interpretation (MWI) of quantum mechanics as a conceptual and metaphorical framework for analyzing the fragmentation of global political and economic reality. Drawing from quantum physics, cognitive theory, and narrative economics, we argue that phenomena such as speculative bubbles, ideological polarization, and policy incoherence reflect an Everettian logic of branching expectations and decoherence among institutional observers. Public discourse of some leaders exemplify narrative superposition and observer dependent truth, while blockchain systems instantiate literal forks in economic meaning. We propose that modular tensor categories (MTCs), used in topological quantum computation provide an advanced formalism for modeling partial re-coherence across fractured epistemic regimes. By viewing economic agents and political institutions as entangled participants in a multiversal information landscape, we offer new insights into governance, cognitive fragmentation, and the symbolic dynamics of power. The paper concludes by identifying strategic pathways for ethical and institutional recoherence in an increasingly post-consensus world
Circular Economy Transition on the Debate: Big Dreams but Harsh Realities
Get PDFThis paper aims to reveal some discrepancies in scientific discourse related to the circular economy subtopics and to recognize some of the current and relevant shortcomings in an antagonism approach that requires more attention from scientists, policymakers, and civil organizations to reach a cohesion level between downstream and upstream measures of circular economy initiatives. These subtopics refer to the lack of basic waste management services and sanitation around the world; circular ambitions on "papers" and massive pollution in open environments; recycling and resource recovery between formal; informal, and criminal organizations; progress towards a circular economy transition and deficient waste-related statistics; Plastics Treaty between high and less ambitious countries; circular business models and greenwashing risks; smart cities and neglected rural communities. These subtopics are interlinked for circular economy discourse from local to global levels while this literature review paper reveals some pathways to overcome such societal discrepancies that act as an impediment towards a functional global circular economy
Movement parties in Europe: a comparative assessment
Get PDFResearch on political parties and social movements has long developed independently, separated by the disciplinary boundaries of political science and sociology. We see the recent successes of 'movement parties' as a push to bridge the two disciplinary traditions in order to describe this new hybrid party type accurately. To this end, we ask to what extent and under what conditions do we observe movement parties in European party systems, and how can we define the various subtypes? In the introduction to the special issue, we make three contributions. First, we identify existing definitions and empirical examples in the study of movement parties based on a systematic review of the emerging literature. Second, we operationalize Herbert Kitschelt's influential definition of lower levels of programmatic and organizational investment coupled with a higher degree of protest mobilization. Third, we introduce the individual contributions to the special issue and situate them within the relevant theoretical debates. Utilizing a new set of quantitative indicators, we empirically assess how parties identified as movement parties in the existing literature score on programmatic, organizational, and protest dimensions. The analysis underscores the heterogeneity of movement parties, with only a few cases aligning with Kitschelt's comprehensive definition
