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The contestation of national adaptation policies in Indonesia
Get PDFIndonesia actively supports the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to achieve the Global Goal on Adaptation by setting ambitious climate change adaptation pledges in its Nationally Determined Contributions. This paper explores the implementation of those adaptation commitments within a polycentric governance structure in Indonesia. There is a debate about whether polycentric institutions help or hinder the effectiveness of adaptation outcomes. The question remains, why is the implementation of climate change adaptation policies in Indonesia ineffective? This paper argues that the contestation between the National Development Planning Agency and the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, as two dominant ministries in adaptation, has beset the polycentric structure of adaptation governance in Indonesia and resulted in ineffective adaptation policy implementation. Moreover, the polycentric adaptation governance is ineffective because Indonesia is still facing problems in coordination, collaboration, policy learning, leadership, resource distribution, and dispersion of power
Elite perceptions of a China-led regional order in Southeast Asia
Get PDFHow do Southeast Asian states perceive a China-led regional order? To answer this question, we conducted a survey of elites from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, countries that are "least likely" to acquiesce to a China-led regional order. Our survey indicates that although most elites view China as influential and have a cultural affinity with it, they do not perceive China as having the authority to preside over the regional order. They do not identify with China's political values and the normative order it propounds. Our survey also reveals the salience of ASEAN as the region navigates great power rivalry. We explain these views by drawing from the concept of legitimate authority. Our findings are significant; if China cannot persuade its Southeast Asian neighbours of its right to lead, it will be even harder for China to exercise global leadership
What the New U.S. Foreign Policy Means for Belarus
Get PDFAs the Trump administration formulates a new foreign policy for the U.S., Belarus remains a blind spot - treated more as a subset of the Russia problem than as a country with its own trajectory. This analysis explores how Washington's approach to Belarus is shaped by institutional memory and strategic trade-offs. From negotiations over political prisoners to shrinking support for civil society, the piece examines what reengagement might look like
Moldova Between West and East: The Return of the "Russian Left"?
Get PDFMoldova has long been torn between competing (pro-EU or pro-Russian) geopolitical projects, whose polarization has increased in the context of the Russo-Ukraine war. Against this background, Moldova's so-called "Left" represents a genuine threat to its stability. The Moldovan Left has been a "Russian Left" in terms of its geopolitical and cultural preferences, as well as real or suspected links with the Russian state, even if the Russo-Ukrainian war has caused pro-Russian actors to obfuscate and ostensibly moderate their positions with the emergence of a "Pro-EU Left". The effects of Moldova's 2024 presidential elections and the upcom- ing 2025 parliamentary elections will show whether the "Russian Left" and the nascent "Pro-EU Left" aim to compete or coalesce, and will weaken or unseat the pro-EU Sandu/Recean administration
Energy Crisis in Moldova: Russia's Game with Uncertainty
Get PDFAt the end of 2024, Ukraine ended its transit of gas from Russia to Moldova. Unlike many in Chișinău and the breakaway territory of Transdniestria had assumed, Russia simply stopped providing the previously subsidised de facto regime with free gas. The present crisis in Moldova could have been anticipated and prepared for better - not only by the Moldovan government but also by its supporting partners in the EU. Instead of letting Russia play them off against each other, Moldovans and Transdniestrians should finally accept that they are sitting in the same boat that either is getting back on track or continues to meander at the discretion of Russia
Editorial: Towards Generative Governance: Co‐Creation With Emerging Technologies to Address Climate Challenges in Cities
Get PDFThis thematic issue explores how co‐creation processes, facilitated by emerging technologies, can help cities in addressing complex climate adaptation challenges. Drawing on seven interdisciplinary contributions, this issue examines the roles of digital tools, participatory methods, and institutional innovations in fostering inclusive and collaborative governance. The contributions highlight diverse approaches, ranging from computational planning support systems and interactive lighting simulations to community‐based toolkits and scenario evaluators, that are implemented across various urban contexts. Collectively, they reveal both the opportunities for and the tensions of integrating emerging technologies into co‐creation processes. This editorial identifies four key enablers of co‐creation as generative governance - interactions, tools, processes, and institutions - and offers directions for future research at the intersection of digital innovation, collaborative governance, and climate adaptation. Together, the contributions provide a deeper understanding of how cities can design and support co‐creation initiatives that are inclusive, adaptive, and capable of building long‐term capacities to address climate change challenges
Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Authoritarianism in Germany: The Role of Critical and Emancipatory Education
Get PDFGerman society, like many others, experienced trends and developments that posed a threat to democratic values. These manifested on the individual level through authoritarian attitudes and on the societal level through the spread of resentment and anti-democratic ideologies. This article proposed educational principles aimed at countering such developments, drawing on the framework of Critical Theory. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study examined recent studies that analyzed contemporary sociopolitical trends in Germany, thereby enabling an adaptation of Critical Theory to current challenges. Based on these insights, the article outlined a concept of education that was both critical and emancipatory
Media Hybridization and the Strategic Value of Political Incivility: Insights From Italian Journalists
Get PDFThis study investigates political incivility in journalism through a discursive approach, conceptualizing journalism as continuously constituted through interpretative processes. Building on theories of hybrid journalism as an everyday condition embedded in journalistic practices rather than merely a technological phenomenon, the research examines how journalists discursively construct, interpret, and utilize political incivility. Through interviews with 32 political journalists, the study identifies three interconnected dimensions of hybridization that facilitate the spread of uncivil content in the Italian media landscape: media platforms and production processes, journalistic roles and practices, and content genres. Findings reveal that the cross-platform circulation of uncivil content amplifies its visibility, while economic pressures incentivize its use as a monetization strategy. Journalists experience tension between professional ideals and market demands, leading to role hybridization that combines traditional practices with entertainment-oriented ones. Five approaches to political incivility emerge: providing interpretive frames, spreading uncivil content, contextualizing it, fueling it, and avoiding it. The Italian context, characterized by strong political parallelism and polarization, offers a compelling case for understanding how incivility functions as a structural feature rather than a side effect of hybrid media systems. This study contributes to existing scholarship by demonstrating how multiple levels of hybridization mutually reinforce the proliferation of incivility, potentially undermining public trust in journalism and its democratic function
Parental support and diversity in sibling personality
Get PDFPersonality is associated with important life outcomes such as occupational status, and there is continued interest in understanding how family processes shape people’s character. Previous research has shown that despite being exposed to a common family environment, sibling personalities differ substantially. We test one explanation of this phenomenon: differential parental support within families. Fitting family fixed-effects models to data from the German Socio-economic Panel (SOEP), we find that, even within families, differences in parental support contribute to explain the personality of adolescent children. However, this association declines when children reach early adulthood. We interpret these results as demonstrating the importance of within-family factors for shaping personality, and how the influence of parent-child relationships varies over the life course
Digitales Präsenzverhalten: Konzeptvorstellung und erste explorative Analysen
Get PDFDank digitaler Technologien können Beschäftigte auch dann "präsent" sein, wenn sie nicht vor Ort arbeiten. Der vorliegende Beitrag schlägt das Konzept des digitalen Präsenzverhaltens mit den theoretisch hergeleiteten Facetten digitale Verfügbarkeit, Sichtbarkeit, Vortäuschung, Multitasking und Teilhabe vor. Deskriptive Ergebnisse auf Basis von repräsentativen Daten von Beschäftigten im Homeoffice illustrieren die Ambivalenz und Ungleichheiten, die mit digitalen Technologien und ihrer Nutzung zur Herstellung von digitaler Präsenz verbunden sind.Thanks to digital technologies, employees can be "present" even when they are not working on site. This article proposes the concept of digital presence behavior with the theoretically derived facets of digital availability, visibility, faking, multitasking and inclusion. Descriptive results based on representative data from employees working from home illustrate the ambivalence and inequalities associated with digital technologies and their use to establish digital presence