CULTURA POLÍTICA BRASILEIRA, PRÁTICAS PENTECOSTAIS E NEOPENTECOSTAIS: A presença da Assembléia de Deus e da Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus no Congresso Nacional (1999-2006)

Esta tese apresenta uma análise das práticas políticas de parlamentares pentecostais e neopentecostais da Assembléia de Deus e Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus no Congresso da República do Brasil, de 1999 a 2006. Compara essas práticas pentecostais e neopentecostais com padrões de comportamento da cultura política brasileira e as ações correspondentes do Estado nacional como preservador dessa mesma cultura. São estudados os agentes religiosos citados desde a investida que suas igrejas fizeram na política nacional, a partir da Constituinte de 1987-1988, mas o corte temporal são as duas legislaturas, de 1999 até 2006. O foco principal da análise é a Frente Parlamentar Evangélica constituída em 2003. O envolvimento de pentecostais e neopentecostais em casos de corrupção e apropriação de recursos públicos, conhecidos como mensalão e máfia dos sanguessugas , é amplamente abordado no último capítulo deste trabalho.(AU)

Youth, Religion and Participation : Theoretical and Methodological Approaches

This roundtable session focus on religious and social change as well as democracy and political culture, startingfrom the role of youth in these processes. The role of religion in young people’s participation is a key theme inthe cross-disciplinary network “youth and religion” connected to the Impact program. Participation here includesboth citizens’ “vertical” capacities to make their voices heard and influence decision-makers in the political system(e.g. via elections or civic organizations and social movements) and their “horizontal” capacities to communicateand cooperate with other people (within society at large or certain associations/communities). The participants ofthe session will present influential theories and methodologies used to study participation among youth within theresearch disciplines they represent (i.e. sociology of religion; theology; ethnology; political science). This will befollowed by a joint discussion of how these theories and methodologies have approached religious involvement witha particular focus on youth’s participation in politics, civil society as well as social media and the internet. The aim ofthe session is to look for common themes and new issues that can guide contemporary studies of participation in thefield of youth and religion. The session is open to conference participants interested in the issues discussed.

Ireland and immigration: explaining the absence of the far right

Garner seeks to explain the absence of far-right political formations in the history of the Republic of Ireland, especially in relation to immigration. He argues that the ‘mainstream’ nationalist parties have implemented a racialized governance of Ireland via the issue of citizenship (in the referendum of 2004). While hegemonic ideas on the racial purity of indigenous populations and the highly ambivalent attitudes and policies on immigration pursued over the last decade are characteristic of a broader European trend, this has not, in the Republic, been accompanied by meaningful far-right political mobilization. Ireland has frequently been seen as sui generis in political terms, and indeed emerges in some ways as a counter-case: increasing hostility towards Others has been identified in the midst of rapid economic growth and political stability. A variety of issues related to the country’s political development have given rise to an especially small left-wing vote, a nationalist centre ground and longlasting domination by a single populist party, Fianna Fa´ il. This party has been partnered in government since 1997 by a free-market party, the Progressive Democrats, who have contributed to Ireland’s movement towards neo-liberal policies and a highly functional approach to immigration. The transition from country of emigration to country of immigration has thus taken place against an ideological backdrop in which the imperatives of labour demand and consolidating domestic support for reform have made an uneasy match, resulting in the racialization of Irishness. The state has, however, amended the Constitution in order to qualify jus soli citizenship entitlement in the case of particular categories of people: those whose parents are not Irish nationals. The significant stakes of these changes are analysed in the context of state responses to Eire’s transition to a country of immigration, and the role of nationalist-populism in the country’s political culture.

Determinants of local government pension funding: Empirical evidence from Florida

The financial community is well aware that continued underfunding of state and local government pension plans poses many public policy and fiduciary management concerns. However, a well-defined theoretical rationale has not been developed to explain why and how public sector pension plans underfund. This study uses three methods: a survey of national pension experts, an incomplete covariance panel method, and field interviews.^ A survey of national public sector pension experts was conducted to provide a conceptual framework by which underfunding could be evaluated. Experts suggest that plan design, fiscal stress, and political culture factors impact underfunding. However, experts do not agree with previous research findings that unions actively pursue underfunding to secure current wage increases.^ Within the conceptual framework and determinants identified by experts, several empirical regularities are documented for the first time. Analysis of 173 local government pension plans, observed from 1987 to 1992, was conducted. Findings indicate that underfunding occurs in plans that have lower retirement ages, increased costs due to benefit enhancements, when the sponsor faces current year operating deficits, or when a local government relies heavily on inelastic revenue sources. Results also suggest that elected officials artificially inflate interest rate assumptions to reduce current pension costs, consequently shifting these costs to future generations. In concurrence with some experts there is no data to support the assumption that highly unionized employees secure more funding than less unionized employees.^ Empirical results provide satisfactory but not overwhelming statistical power, and only minor predictive capacity. To further explore why underfunding occurs, field interviews were carried out with 62 local government officials. Practitioners indicated that perceived fiscal stress, the willingness of policymakers to advance funding, bargaining strategies used by union officials, apathy by employees and retirees, pension board composition, and the level of influence by internal pension experts has an impact on funding outcomes.^ A pension funding process model was posited by triangulating the expert survey, empirical findings, and field survey results. The funding process model should help shape and refine our theoretical knowledge of state and local government pension underfunding in the future. ^

Lions and roses: An interpretive history of Israeli-Iranian relations

This multi-disciplinary research project explores the religious and cultural foundations within the "master commemorative narratives" that frame Israeli and Iranian political discourse. In articulating their grievances against one another, Israeli and Iranian leaders express the tensions between religion, nationalism, and modernity in their own societies. The theoretical and methodological approach of this dissertation is constructivist-interpretivist. The concept of "master commemorative narratives" is adapted from Yael Zerubavel's study of ritualized remembrance in Israeli political culture, and applied to both Israeli and Iranian foreign policy. Israel’s master commemorative narrative draws heavily upon the language of the Hebrew Bible, situating foreign policy discourse within a paradigm of covenantal patrimony, exile, and return, despite the unrelenting hostility of eternal enemies and "the nations." Iran’s master commemorative narrative expresses Iranian suspicion of foreign encroachment and interference, and of the internal corruption that they engender, sacralizing resistance to the forces of evil in the figurative language and myths of pre-Islamic tradition and of Shi'a Islam. Using a constructivist-interpretive methodological approach, this research offers a unique interpretive analysis of the parallels between these narratives, where they intersect, and where they come into conflict. It highlights both the broad appeal and the diverse challenges to the components of these "master" narratives within Israeli and Iranian politics and society. The conclusion of this study explains the ways in which the recognition of religious and cultural conflicts through the optic of master commemorative narratives can complement the perspectives of other theoretical approaches and challenge the conventions of Security Studies. It also suggests some of the potential practical applications of this research in devising more effective international diplomacy.

Constructing threat: How Americans identify economic competitors

China's emergence as an economic powerhouse has often been portrayed as threatening to America's economic strength and to its very identity as "the global hegemon." The media's alarmist response to an economic competitor is familiar to those who remember US-Japanese relations in the 1980s. In order to better understand the basis of American threat perception, this study explores the independent and interactive impact of three variables (perceptions of the Other's capabilities, perceptions of the Other as a threat versus as an opportunity, and perceptions of the Other's political culture) on attitudes toward two different economic competitors (Japan 1977-1995 and China 1985-2011). Utilizing four methods (historical process tracing, public polling data analysis, social scientific experimentation, and content analysis), this study demonstrates that increases in the Other's economic capabilities have a much smaller impact on attitudes than is commonly believed. It further shows that while perceptions of threat/opportunity played a significant role in shaping attitudinal response toward Japan, perceptions of political culture are the most important factor driving attitudes toward China today. This study contributes to a better understanding of how states react to threats and construct negative images of their economic rivals. It also helps to explain the current Sino-American relationship and enables better predictions as to its potential future course. Finally, these findings contribute to cultural explanations of the democratic peace phenomenon and provide a boundary condition (political culture) for the liberal proposition that opportunity ameliorates conflict in the economic realm.^

Lions and Roses: An Interpretive History of Israeli-Iranian Relations

This multi-disciplinary research project explores the religious and cultural foundations within the “master commemorative narratives” that frame Israeli and Iranian political discourse. In articulating their grievances against one another, Israeli and Iranian leaders express the tensions between religion, nationalism, and modernity in their own societies. The theoretical and methodological approach of this dissertation is constructivist-interpretivist. The concept of “master commemorative narratives” is adapted from Yael Zerubavel’s study of ritualized remembrance in Israeli political culture, and applied to both Israeli and Iranian foreign policy. Israel’s master commemorative narrative draws heavily upon the language of the Hebrew Bible, situating foreign policy discourse within a paradigm of covenantal patrimony, exile, and return, despite the unrelenting hostility of eternal enemies and “the nations.” Iran’s master commemorative narrative expresses Iranian suspicion of foreign encroachment and interference, and of the internal corruption that they engender, sacralizing resistance to the forces of evil in the figurative language and myths of pre-Islamic tradition and of Shi‘a Islam. Using a constructivist-interpretive methodological approach, this research offers a unique interpretive analysis of the parallels between these narratives, where they intersect, and where they come into conflict. It highlights both the broad appeal and the diverse challenges to the components of these “master” narratives within Israeli and Iranian politics and society. The conclusion of this study explains the ways in which the recognition of religious and cultural conflicts through the optic of master commemorative narratives can complement the perspectives of other theoretical approaches and challenge the conventions of Security Studies. It also suggests some of the potential practical applications of this research in devising more effective international diplomacy.

"Ombro a ombro com os mais fracos": a inserção de João Café Filho nos espaços do trabalhador na cidade do Natal 1922 - 1937

The purpose of this thesis is to analyze how João Café Filho constituted a discourse of advocate of the labor movement and workers in different sociability spaces. It is intended to understand, on one hand, how political relations were established between different categories of workers and the ‘middle classes’ and, on the other hand, how places were instituted to house the meeting of these relations. It a ims to understand the insertion of Café Filho in union activities in the urban world. It demonstrates specificities of the political culture in Natal emphasizing the dispute between a city politically ruled by a still reigning rural paternalistic mentality and the rise of a new way to experience the urban conflicts which appeared. Temporally, the work is delimited between 1922 (proclaimed by Café Filho himself as the initial period of his political action) and 1937 (when he broke up with Vargas and went into exile in Argentina). The research was constituted by three main document types: several published newspapers between the decades of 1920 and 1930 in the cities of Natal, Recife, São Paulo, Porto Alegre and Rio de Janeiro; the autobiographical memoirs written by Café Filho himself and memoirs of other people who lived in his time. The main pillars that have supported the work were: the concepts of society and individuals (ELIAS, 1994; 1995), political cultures (BERSTEIN, 1998) and theater of the memory (GOMES, 2004); the sociability spaces category (CERTEAU, 1994; MALATIAN, 2001; RIOX, 1996); the biography notion (DOSSE, 2009; LORIGA, 2011). We demonstrated that Café Filho acted in some sociability spaces as: the Jornal do Norte, the Federação Regional do Trabalho and the Partido Democrático Nacional. In such spaces, Café Filho, gradually, become an important leader of workers and, at the same time, linked to national entities led to the opposition that fight against the power established in the Brazilian First Republic. In Café Filho’s interpretation, workers were individuals who needed to fight against the political structures prevailing at that time because the poor living conditions and the low representativeness of this group were caused by the way the political system in the First Republic was structured. After the 1930 Movement, the 3 de Outubro Club, the Jornal and the Labor Federation of Natal were constituted in spaces where the cafeista critical discourse about the government was changed: workers should follow the official syndicalism and defend the 1930 Movement which put Vargas in the presidency of the Republic.

Explicación histórica, socialismo y democracia : La trayectoria de Juan Carlos Portantiero

Uno de los objetivos de este artículo es reconstruir la trayectoria intelectual de Juan Carlos Portantiero en torno a un conjunto limitado de sus intereses: el socialismo y la democracia, en su relación, no por separado, a la vez que ello se vincula con la articulación de una estrategia de explicación histórica y sociológica. La otra veta del artículo analiza las relaciones entre culturas políticas y ciencia social, en particular la cultura de izquierdas y el desarrollo de las ciencias sociales en América Latina. Ello se ha realizado sobre la base de una lectura de casi toda su producción intelectual, tratando de rastrear y mostrar algunas continuidades y cambios o desplazamientos en sus ideas y preocupaciones. Se muestra que Portantiero elabora una estrategia de explicación social sobre la base de Marx, Lenin, Gramsci, Mao hasta fines de los setenta, preocupado por la socialización del poder y, entonces, de la economía. Las dos últimas décadas se concentra en la construcción de las condiciones de consolidación de la democracia, pensada como un régimen que incluya reconocimiento de minorías y funcione para reducir los monopolios económicos y políticos.

Estructura formal, textual y oral del discurso público

Estructura formal, textual y oral del discurso públicoExisten tres competencias comunicativas muy valoradas en la sociedad de la información. Primero, la búsqueda, selección y gestión de grandes cantidades de información. Segundo, la redacción de textos claros, concisos y rigurosos. Y en tercer lugar, la exposición y defensa oral de esta información en un discurso público. Tradicionalmente, los estudios de periodismo han abordado estas competencias de forma independiente. Pero actualmente, instituciones y empresas de ámbitos diferentes demandan un perfil profesional capaz de aplicarlas ante cualquier tipo de información y con objetivos diversos. Se propone un modelo integral en tres niveles estructurales basado en teorías, conceptos y estudios específicos de periodismo, oratoria, retórica… o comunicación, en los últimos años. Este modelo puede contribuir a encauzar las investigaciones de académicos y representa una herramienta de entrenamiento para profesionales.

El conflicto sobre la peeregrinación entre Arabia Saudí e Irán: La posición de la República Islámica

El conflicto geopolítico entre Arabia Saudí e Irán es un hecho conocido en la academia y los medios de comunicación. Tiene diferentes focos. Quizás su cara más oculta es el Hajj. Incidentes trágicos durante la peregrinación a la Meca y Medina pueden incrementar las tensiones entre los dos países. En esto intervienen agentes políticos y estatales igual que personas privadas. Nos interesa especialmente cómo el discurso y la acción política se utilizan con fines de legitimación del régimen. Para ello, hacemos uso del análisis del discurso. Este artículo se centra en la posición de la República Islámica de Irán. Por esto, entre nuestras fuentes destacan medios de comunicación iraníes y las páginas web gubernamentales de este país. A partir de ellos, analizamos la cultura política y la identidad étnico-religiosa de este país. También identificamos las reacciones a los incidentes y las demandas de la República Islámica.

The value of military oath in civil wars in Rome: The example of conflict 49-45 BC

During the civil war between Caesar and Pompey, the military oath which binds the soldier to his army is often openly violated. Yet despite this offense, commanders of armed struggle require recursively the oath to their men. Admittedly, this ritual act seems ineffective given the many desertions and mutinies identified, but military leaders use its symbolic and sacred meaning to legitimize one hand their “anti-republican” actions, on the other armies fighting in a context deemed impius.

Francisco Campos and the Brazilian Authoritarianism. A Hidden Dialogue with Carl Schmitt

This article propose to analyse the theoretical sources which constitutes the political culture of the Brazilian authoritarianism in the 20th century, principally in the work of Francisco Campos and his connection with the “integralismo” and its catholic conservatism ways. The hypothesis is that the mentioned connection which had inspired the ideological political culture which make possible all the sources and historical conditions to the implementation of the Brazilian dictatorship in the year 1964. This article has analysed the facist inspiration of the Campos´s theory and how it has happened, his hidden dialogue with Carl Schmitt, settling issuing lines of understanding on contemporary authoritarianism whose spreading still proceed, but now standing under new figures, discourses, rhetorics, symbologies and enemies.

Of Marx and Makers: an Historical Perspective on Generative Justice

In Marxist frameworks “distributive justice” depends on extracting value through a centralized state. Many new social movements—peer to peer economy, maker activism, community agriculture, queer ecology, etc.—take the opposite approach, keeping value in its unalienated form and allowing it to freely circulate from the bottom up. Unlike Marxism, there is no general theory for bottom-up, unalienated value circulation. This paper examines the concept of “generative justice” through an historical contrast between Marx’s writings and the indigenous cultures that he drew upon. Marx erroneously concluded that while indigenous cultures had unalienated forms of production, only centralized value extraction could allow the productivity needed for a high quality of life. To the contrary, indigenous cultures now provide a robust model for the “gift economy” that underpins open source technological production, agroecology, and restorative approaches to civil rights. Expanding Marx’s concept of unalienated labor value to include unalienated ecological (nonhuman) value, as well as the domain of freedom in speech, sexual orientation, spirituality and other forms of “expressive” value, we arrive at an historically informed perspective for generative justice.