Peter Lentini

Parties of Power and Russian Politics: A Victory of the State over Civil Society?

State-controlled political parties are able to dominate Russian governance because grass-roots parties are weak and personality oriented.

Demonizing ISIL and Defending Muslims: Australian Muslim Citizenship and Tony Abbott's “Death Cult” Rhetoric

In the lead-up to Australia committing military resources and personnel to the coalition opposing the Islamic State in the Levant (ISIL), Prime Minister Tony Abbott consistently categorized the al-Qaeda splinter group as a “death cult.” Examining Abbotts official rhetoric on ISIL and the threat it poses to Australia and the world, this article argues that his use of the term “death cult” reflects patterns in Western political demonology and demonizing enemies, namely, creating adversaries as monsters by highlighting the atrocities they commit in order to garner support for (often lethal) actions against them. In traditional political demonology, establishment representatives often target minority or marginal groups as these pariahs. However, in demonizing ISIL, Abbott deliberately made distinctions between it and its members and the majority of Muslims, including Australian Muslims, and utilized political demonology differently. In so doing, he affirmed this religious minoritys status within the parameters of Australian citizenship. This is indeed commendable. However, Abbott rarely mentioned Muslims outside of references to terrorism. Despite the fact that Abbott acknowledges that only a comparative handful of Muslims are indeed violent, he has not yet fully engaged with the broader notions of Australian Muslims’ contributions to Australian society and their citizenship.

Reforming the electoral system: The 1989 elections to the USSR congress of people's deputies

As part of the programmes of perestroika and democratization, the Soviet electoral system has been overhauled, allowing voters a choice of candidate for the first time for decades. Following an experiment in 1987, the elections to the Congress of Peoples Deputies in March 1989 were the first test of the new system. In a number of ways, opportunities for choice and political participation were expanded, and the flow of relevant information was far greater than on previous occasions. Experience of the campaign shows that the contest was very lively and was taken seriously at the grass‐roots level, and the results showed the electorate willing to make use of the opportunity to reject ‘old‐style’ candidates, even where these were running unopposed. This affected the composition of the Supreme Soviet, which was more capable of performing a significant political role. The subsequent abolition of the partys guaranteed monopoly opens the way for other groups to make use of these fresh political opportunities.

On Terrorism and Its (Re)Sources: A Review Essay:

Abstract This study explores possible ethnic bias in rates of officially recorded convictions among a birth cohort of New Zealand young people studied to age 21 years. Data were gathered as part of the Christchurch Health and Development Study. In this project a cohort of 1265 children born in Christchurch in 1977 have been studied from birth to age 21 years. The measures collected included: officially recorded convictions (17–21 years), self-reported ethnicity (21 years), self-reported offending (17–21 years), family socioeconomic status, leaving school without qualifications, and gender. Young Maori had rates of conviction that were between 4.1–5.9 times higher than for non-Maori. Much of this association was explained by the fact that Maori also reported higher rates of offending. However, even after statistical control for self-reported offending and individual characteristics (gender, socioeconomic status and educational qualifications) Maori still had rates of conviction that were 1.6–1.8 times higher than non-Maori These results suggest the presence of a small bias in the arrest/conviction process which leads to Maori offenders having higher rates of conviction than non-Maori offenders with similar offending history and socioeconomic background.

Elections and political order in Russia: The 1993 elections to the Russian State Duma

For the first time since the Soviet period began in Russia competitive elections were conducted in that country in December 1993 on ‘multi‐party’ principles. In the campaign for election to the Russian State Duma several new issues arose on the Russian political scene: these include media coverage, electoral association campaign techniques, the new institutional structures that were established as a result of the Constitutional referendum and their relationships with one another in the new Russian political system and the significance of the elections in creating of a new Russian political order. The elections served as a major impetus for stimulating the streamlining of the party system in Russia. Nevertheless, the role of political organizations is still not overwhelmingly forceful in contemporary Russian political life, and the political system remains essentially presidential. However, events since the election indicate that there may be further political stalemate. Moreover, the results of the electi...

Electoral associations in the 1993 elections to the Russian State Duma

The Russian Federation elections of December 1993 were the first multi‐party elections in Russian history in over 70 years, and allowed the first real test of the emerging party system, while also giving individual candidates a significant role in the electoral process. The election served to demonstrate how far the system had evolved since the previous elections, held under the reformed Soviet system in 1989, but also showed the limits to the establishment of parties as a central feature of the political landscape. There was a broad range of parties and other electoral associations that competed in the elections, and, given that the results were not as expected, valuable lessons were learnt from the experience.

With guarded optimism? Evidence from focus groups of ‘mainstream’ Australians' perceptions of Muslims

Studies of Australian perceptions of Muslims and Islam tend to be based on research into media representations of these themes. Additionally, most research on attitudes pertaining to social cohesion and security in the post-9/11 environment concentrates on the opinions of minority groups on these matters. The following study is drawn from materials extracted from focus group discussions relating to Islam, multiculturalism and security that took place with 119 Australians from so-called ethnic and religious majority groups (European descended, and identifying with Judaeo-Christian traditions or having no religious affiliation) in selected metropolitan and rural/regional centres of the state of Victoria in 2007–2008. This article is guided by the following research questions: How can ‘mainstream’ Australian attitudes towards Muslims be categorized? What concerns ‘mainstream’ Australians most about Muslims? Can these attitudes be considered to be Islamophobic? If not, how else may we classify these attitudes? Although some participants voiced very strong, critical and at times unflattering and potentially antagonistic opinions of Muslims, most contributors were guardedly optimistic that current tensions with and controversies surrounding Australias Muslims would subside, and that Muslims would soon become well established within Australian society, as previous generations of migrants have since World War II.

Russian Perceptions of the 2008 US Presidential Election: A Case for General Optimism or “Russian” Optimism?

As the United States is the only country with greater military capacities than its own, and with which its predecessor the USSR was engaged in a global ideological struggle for nearly a half century, Russia’s leaders and citizens are inherently concerned about America’s political developments, and the prospects for establishing and enhancing the opportunities to foster smoother relationships between the two states. Indeed, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has indicated that, “Relations with the USA are one of Russia’s foreign policy priorities, and an important factor of international stability.” Moreover, the relationship between the Russian and American presidents is significant, as they are frequently in contact. There were twenty-four meetings between them during 2001–2008. l In these respects, who occupies the White House is of interest to Russians, largely because it will have a potential impact upon Russia’s foreign and domestic policy.

Women and social change in the USSR

Soviet Women: Walking the Tightrope by Francine Du Plessix Gray. New York: Anchor Books, 1991. Pp.213; notes.

Punk's Origins: Anglo-American syncretism

10.00 (paperback). ISBN 0 385 41733 0 Soviet Social Problems edited by Anthony Jones, Walter D. Connor and David E. Powell. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991. Pp.ix + 337; index. £13.50 (paperback). ISBN 0 8133 0876 3