Perspectivas - Journal of Political Science

Gaspar, Carlos. 2019. O Regresso da Anarquia: Os Estados Unidos, a Rússia, a China e a Ordem Internacional. Óbidos: Alêtheia Editor e Gaspar, Carlos. 2020. O Mundo de Amanhã. Lisboa: Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos

João Rodrigues, J. A. Colen — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

On the Phenomenology of War and Peace: Studying the Ukrainian "Event"

Yunus Emre Özigci — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The current studies of the event and the phenomenon of the war (and of the peace) reflect the ontological and –ensuing- temporal problems of the IR theorising, stemming from the IR field’s purely intersubjective nature, from its lack of the anchor of self-standing objectivity in contrast to the positive and social sciences. As such, the theory-based studies in the field become genetic processes, altering the immediate, pre-theoretical, intersubjective givenness of the IR phenomena and events within their narratives, in accordance to their preceding constructs. Yet, the phenomenology, with the intervention of the phenomenological ontology where it relapses itself into theorising, offers notions and tools for a pre-theoretical access to and description of the intersubjective immediacy of them. In order to outline such a study, this paper examines the event of the Ukrainian War and through it, the phenomena of the war and the peace. It attempts to describe its pre-theoretical, intersubjective immediacy in its synthetic unity in ontological and temporal terms. This attempt brings forth a descriptive and temporally progressive ground of givenness composed of the referentiality to the interstate intersubjectivity, to the “given” interactional forms of the involved actors, which form the synthetic unity of the event (the Ukrainian War and preceding/ upcoming state of Peace) and of the related phenomena (war and peace).

Is Africa ready to join the blockchain revolution: a feasibility study

Tlhokomelo Rethabile Monethi — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

This study assesses the readiness of African governments to adopt blockchain technology, which has gained global recognition since the emergence of bitcoin in 2008. The paper examines whether African governments, given their political, economic, and social challenges, are prepared to embrace the blockchain revolution. The research focuses on a feasibility study of several African countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, and the Central African Republic, using a mixed-methods approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data analysis methods. The author draws on Jennifer Bridges' four interdependent elements of a feasibility study, which include political feasibility, economic feasibility, technical capacities, and legal and regulatory compliance.

The study examines how blockchain technology can provide transparent and reliable systems to combat corruption and mismanagement in government structures, which contribute to poor service delivery in the region. Furthermore, the research evaluates the potential positive and negative outcomes of blockchain implementation on African development, such as an increase in foreign direct investment and productivity, and a reduction in wasteful expenditure.

Rising Incidence of Post-Electoral Dispute in Nigeria: Implications for its Democracy

Solomon Ifejika — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, the country has continued to witness high rates of election petitions filed at election petitions tribunals across the country after each election period, in a bid to resolve electoral disputes. All the elections the country has conducted - 2003, 2011, 2015 as well as the most recent 2019 general elections, have produced large numbers of post-election petitions. In the opinion of this study, the major factor responsible for this unfavorable situation is the weakness of the country’s electoral process and institutions, which persistently paves the way for massive irregularities that render elections results incredible and unacceptable, thereby leading to disputes and filing of petitions at tribunals by aggrieved candidates and their political parties. The study argues that the prevailing high incidence of election petitions being witnessed in Nigeria in the Fourth Republic is unwholesome and inimical to the country’s democratic practice. In view of this, the study emphasizes that Nigeria needs to take urgent necessary measures to address the situation. Accordingly, the study suggests that Nigeria should strengthen her electoral process and institutions to attain highly credible, transparent, free and fair and acceptable elections in future times. This, in the views of the study, will help to reduce the spate of elections-related petitions to the barest minimum and avert the negative effects of the phenomenon on the country’s democracy. The study adopts the documentary methods of data collection and data analysis which enabled adequate achievement of the objective of the study.

A participação cívica e política dos jovens portugueses

Filipe Fernandes — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

De forma transversal entre os países europeus, o envolvimento político tradicional dos jovens é reduzido. A sua ligação a formas de participação formal das diversas democracias representativas do continente europeu é cada vez mais distante, registando-se este afastamento dos jovens face aos partidos políticos e o aumento das taxas de abstenção. Estes jovens têm optado por focar a sua participação através de modos mais informais, como manifestações pontuais, ativismo, assinatura de petições e, claro, aumento da participação com foco em temas sociais e políticos em plataformas digitais como as redes sociais. No entanto, os jovens portugueses não apresentam os mesmos níveis de envolvimento informal quando comparados com os seus congéneres europeus. Os portugueses tendem a ser menos participativos, espelhando uma problemática que se estende visivelmente a toda a população portuguesa, que, de forma mais formal ou informal, também participam pouco. O presente artigo procura compreender a participação cívica e política dos jovens portugueses. Realizaram-se 24 entrevistas e distribuiu-se um questionário ao qual se obteve 262 respostas. Esta amostra permitiu compreender que os jovens se sentem cada vez mais atraídos por modos de participação informal, desconfiando dos partidos políticos e das diferentes organizações. A sua participação pauta-se por ser momentânea, espontânea e direcionada para problemáticas particulares que constituem seus interesses e motivações.

Editorial

Miguel Rocha de Sousa, Irene Viparelli, Miguel Rodrigues, José Palmeira — Fri, 27 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000