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Political Strategies (political + strategy)
Kinds of Political Strategies Selected AbstractsAnti-Politics as Political Strategy: Neoliberalism and Transfrontier Conservation in Southern AfricaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2010Bram Büscher ABSTRACT Studies on conservation and development often point out that interventions rely on anti-political manoeuvring to acquire legitimacy and support. Recent ,aidnography', in particular, has done much to expand and add nuance to our understanding of the complex, micro- (anti-)politics at work in conservation and development interventions. In doing this, however, aidnography seems to have led the focus away from two crucial, broader issues related to conservation and development interventions: how they are regulated through the wider, neoliberal political economy, and how this fuels and obscures (global) inequality. Drawing on empirical research on a transfrontier conservation and development intervention in Southern Africa, this article argues that the differential workings of anti-politics in practice warrant a renewed appreciation and a more explicit political operationalization of the concept. This is done by re-emphasizing anti-politics as an essential political strategy within conservation and development interventions and as an intrinsic element of the wider political economy of neoliberalism. [source] Playing the Market: A Political Strategy for Uniting Europe, 1985,2005 , By N. JabkoJCMS: JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, Issue 1 2007AMELIA HADFIELD No abstract is available for this article. [source] A Neo-Gramscian Approach to Corporate Political Strategy: Conflict and Accommodation in the Climate Change Negotiations*JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 4 2003David L. Levy ABSTRACT A neo-Gramscian theoretical framework for corporate political strategy is developed drawing from Gramsci's analysis of the relations among capital, social forces, and the state, and from more contemporary theories. Gramsci's political theory recognizes the centrality of organizations and strategy, directs attention to the organizational, economic, and ideological pillars of power, while illuminating the processes of coalition building, conflict, and accommodation that drive social change. This approach addresses the structure-agency relationship and endogenous dynamics in a way that could enrich institutional theory. The framework suggests a strategic concept of power, which provides space for contestation by subordinate groups in complex dynamic social systems. We apply the framework to analyse the international negotiations to control emissions of greenhouse gases, focusing on the responses of firms in the US and European oil and automobile industries. The neo-Gramscian framework explains some specific features of corporate responses to challenges to their hegemonic position and points to the importance of political struggles within civil society. The analysis suggests that the conventional demarcation between market and non-market strategies is untenable, given the embeddedness of markets in contested social and political structures and the political character of strategies directed toward defending and enhancing markets, technologies, corporate autonomy and legitimacy. [source] Dilemmas of Counter-Mapping Community Resources in TanzaniaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2002Dorothy L. Hodgson Recent work has celebrated the political potential of ,counter-mapping', that is, mapping against dominant power structures, to further seemingly progressive goals. This article briefly reviews the counter-mapping literature, and compares four counter-mapping projects from Maasai areas in Tanzania to explore some potential pitfalls in such efforts. The cases, which involve community-based initiatives led by a church-based NGO, ecotourism companies, the Tanzanian National Parks Authority, and grassroots pastoralist rights advocacy groups, illustrate the broad range of activities grouped under the heading of counter-mapping. They also present a series of political dilemmas that are typical of many counter-mapping efforts: conflicts inherent in conservation efforts involving territorialization, privatization, integration and indigenization; problems associated with the theory and practice of ,community-level' political engagement; the need to combine mapping efforts with broader legal and political strategies; and critical questions involving the agency of ,external' actors such as conservation and development donors, the state and private business interests. [source] Competitiveness through political environmental strategies: The case of Michelin's green tiresGLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 1 2009Julien Hanoteau There is a debate as to whether green firms may become economically more competitive, as well. The answer appears circumstantial, depending on the abilities of these firms to implement and benefit from environmental competitive strategies such as environmental differentiation or eco-efficiency. This article discusses corporate political strategies, targeting environmental regulations, as another source of competitiveness. Based on the case of Michelin's green tires, we characterize this strategy and its conduct, and analyze the conditions for its success. We show that it was the necessary complement to the environmental differentiation strategy developed and implemented by Michelin since the early 1990s. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Private Environmental Activism and the Selection and Response of Firm TargetsJOURNAL OF ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT STRATEGY, Issue 1 2009Michael J. Lenox Environmental activists are increasingly resorting to private strategies such as boycotts and protests focused on changing individual firms' behavior. In this paper, we examine activists' use of such "private politics" to engender firm compliance with activist objectives. We begin by developing a simple theoretical model of an activist campaign from which we develop a set of empirical hypotheses based on a set of observable features of firms. We test our hypotheses using a unique dataset of environmental activist campaigns against firms in the United States from 1988 to 2003. This paper fills an important need in the literature as one of the first empirical attempts to examine the private political strategies of activists and has important implications for the burgeoning literatures on industry self-regulation and the nonmarket strategies of firms. [source] The determinants of corporate political strategy in Chinese transitionJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2007Zhilong Tian Corporate political strategy (CPS) formulation in Chinese transition is an area with little empirical work. We fill this gap validly and the primary focus of this study is to examine the firm- and industry-level factors influencing Chinese firms' political strategy choice. Empirical support is found for the taxonomy of corporate political strategies in Chinese transition,that is direct participation strategy, financial incentive strategy, prolocutor strategy, institution innovation strategy, government association strategy and government involvement strategy. The results indicate that there is no consistently significant firm- and industry-level predictor of all six political strategies and we explore what determinants are related to each specific decision independently. We also verify the random effects of industry-level variables and our hypotheses are tested through using general evaluation equations (GEEs). Our study aims to be helpful to point managers toward both industrial environments and internal resources to consider when making appropriate political strategy choices and thus improve Chinese firms' strategy management level. Some implications of findings are also discussed finally. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Community unionism versus business unionism: The return of the moral economy in trade union studiesAMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST, Issue 4 2009MASSIMILIANO MOLLONA ABSTRACT In this article, I discuss different forms of working-class activism in two steel factories in Sheffield, England, where I conducted fieldwork between 1999 and 2000. Locating the ethnography in the broader context of the U.K.'s financial capitalism, I describe how the models of "community unionism" and "business unionism" were implemented on the two shop floors, affecting the work practices, political strategies, and forms of solidarities of workers. I show, first, how the current financialization of the economy challenges existing labor strategies, leading to new political solidarities and moralities of labor. Second, I use current debates on trade union activism to think anthropologically about class, labor, and the relations between society and the economy under capitalism. [source] The Political Strategies of Winning and Losing Coalitions: Agricultural and Environmental Groups in the Debate over Hypoxia1POLITICS & POLICY, Issue 4 2007Mary Hallock Morris In any debate over a particular policy issue, one must be curious about what will happen when conflicting viewpoints emerge. How do winning and losing coalitions react to potential changes in the status quo? What political strategies are used by the opposing sides of the debate? This article presents a new typology that can be used to assess the political strategies used by winners and losers, ranging from mobilization to venue shifts and issue framing. The typology takes into account the "threat" factor, creating new categories for potential winners and losers. The debate over the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is used to illustrate the typology. [source] The South, Medium-Sized Cities, and a New Look at the Determinants of African-American RepresentationPOLITICS & POLICY, Issue 4 2003Peter F. Burns This paper examines the determinants of African-American representation on city councils in medium-sized urban areas to provide greater insight into the strategies African-Americans use to achieve political incorporation and the extent to which traditionally excluded groups have access to elected positions in the United States. I argue that previous studies generate varied conclusions about the determinants of African-American representation on city councils because scholars fail to recognize that minority political strategies may vary based on the relative and absolute size of the minority population. I examine the determinants of African-American representation in medium-sized cities to consider whether African-Americans employ an electoral mobilization strategy when they make up a large percentage of the electorate but lack the large absolute numbers necessary to sustain demand-protest activities. A regression analysis indicates that the percentage of African-Americans in the electorate is the only factor that significantly affects African-American descriptive representation. This finding supports the hypothesis that African-Americans use an electoral strategy when they lack large absolute numbers. This research also confirms Guinier's (1994) claims that African-Americans fail to achieve proportional representation in the current electoral system and suggests that the plurality system comes with high start-up costs for a traditionally excluded group. [source] The Perils of Rights Discourse: A Response to Kitzinger and WilkinsonANALYSES OF SOCIAL ISSUES & PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2004Susan B. Boyd This commentary responds to Celia Kitzinger and Sue Wilkinson's argument for the use of human rights discourse rather than a discourse of mental health when arguing for the legalization of same-sex marriage. Without disagreeing with their basic argument, I "problematize" it, showing that legal and human rights discourses also have a history of reinforcing power dynamics and operating to the disadvantage of marginalized groups such as lesbians and gay men. First, equality rights discourse can force lesbians and gay men into a conservative mode of argument, for instance, having to show how similar they are to traditionalist opposite-sex couples, rather than emphasizing potentially significant differences. Second, the increasing use of rights discourse has arguably narrowed the scope of the lesbian/gay social movement and rendered its political strategies more conservative, rather than aiming for the elimination of heterosexism and patriarchy. Third, the focus on marriage as a human right tends to render invisible, and to reinscribe, the extent to which marriage as a socio-legal institution has operated in oppressive ways. Modern marriage is not innocent of oppression, tied as it is to the increasing privatization of social and economic responsibilities. While human rights discourse offers an important avenue for lesbians and gay men, the perils of its use should not be overlooked. [source] Globalisation, governance and post-structural political economy: Perspectives from AustralasiaASIA PACIFIC VIEWPOINT, Issue 1 2007Richard Le HeronArticle first published online: 23 MAR 200 Abstract: The paper argues that post-structural political economy (PSPE) offers geography and geographers interesting potential for the development of a style of geographic inquiry that has qualities that may be constitutive of progressive spaces. This new style of inquiry is seen as adding to the repertoire of political strategies and potential geographies of responsibility and extending notions of ethical behaviours. Issues relating to the assemblage of PSPE as a distinctive approach to knowledge production are considered and situated in the Australasian context. Discussion focuses especially on insight about the use of PSPE derived from three illustrative research case studies (a project on learning challenges in sheep meat and dairy supply chain realignment, tensions around fisheries management in New Zealand and an international workshop series on the topic of governmentality). The case studies provide a lens on the socio-spatial relationships between globalisation and governance and interrogate the value of PSPE for understanding the connections between individual choices, governing practices and the construction of the globalising economy. The PSPE approach if actively incorporated into research processes may have important implications for future relationships between social responsibility, national economic development and globalisation. [source] Anti-Politics as Political Strategy: Neoliberalism and Transfrontier Conservation in Southern AfricaDEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2010Bram Büscher ABSTRACT Studies on conservation and development often point out that interventions rely on anti-political manoeuvring to acquire legitimacy and support. Recent ,aidnography', in particular, has done much to expand and add nuance to our understanding of the complex, micro- (anti-)politics at work in conservation and development interventions. In doing this, however, aidnography seems to have led the focus away from two crucial, broader issues related to conservation and development interventions: how they are regulated through the wider, neoliberal political economy, and how this fuels and obscures (global) inequality. Drawing on empirical research on a transfrontier conservation and development intervention in Southern Africa, this article argues that the differential workings of anti-politics in practice warrant a renewed appreciation and a more explicit political operationalization of the concept. This is done by re-emphasizing anti-politics as an essential political strategy within conservation and development interventions and as an intrinsic element of the wider political economy of neoliberalism. [source] A NEW THEORY OF THE BUDGETARY PROCESSECONOMICS & POLITICS, Issue 1 2006SOUMAYA M. TOHAMY This paper offers an alternative to the view that budgetary decisions are incremental because they are complex, extensive, and conflicted. Our model interprets incrementalism as the result of a legislative political strategy in response to interest group politics and economic conditions. Accordingly, a legislator chooses between single-period budgeting or multiperiod budgeting, where single-period budgeting is associated with a greater chance of non-incremental budgeting outcomes. We use a statistical procedure developed by Dezhbakhsh et al. (2003) for identifying non-incremental outcomes to test the implications of the model. Results support the model's predictions: a higher discount rate and a persistently large deficit appear to cause departures from incremental budgeting; Democrats' control over the political process have a similar effect, while a higher inflation rate has an opposite effect. [source] The German sustainable development strategy: facing policy, management and political strategy assessmentsENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2007Ralf Tils Abstract The Germans' conviction of being an international frontrunner in environmental policy stands in contrast to the unwillingness of the German national governments of the 1990s to undertake a commitment for a nationwide sustainable development strategy. Using five core strategy categories, namely horizontal and vertical integration, participation, implementation mechanism, monitoring and evaluation, this article provides an overview of the German sustainable development strategy preparation and implementation process. While the strategy is an ambitious concept, it also exhibits important shortcomings when viewed with different analytical perspectives such as policy, management and political strategy. Only with all of these perspectives combined can we arrive at specific conclusions about the assessment of the strategy process and make the essential characteristics of political strategy apparent. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The Swiss Federal Dairy Research StationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DAIRY TECHNOLOGY, Issue 1 2003Max Rüegg The Federal Dairy Research Station (FAM) was established at the beginning of the last century. It is one of six agricultural research stations of the Swiss Department of Agriculture and the leading national research institute in dairy technology and consulting. It is part of the Swiss Centre of Competence for Animal Production and Foods of Animal Origin. Its mission is to improve the competitive position of the Swiss milk producers and dairy industry. The institute is organized into three functional areas corresponding to its well-established core competencies: (1) production of raw milk cheese and microorganisms for fermentation, (2) knowledge transfer and consultation for the dairy industry and beekeeping, and (3) testing of, and providing expertise on dairy and bee products. Research work is carried out using a multidisciplinary approach in a matrix organization. Two product- and customer-orientated technology units and one unit for consulting, contractual work and other services for the dairy industry are supported in their projects by three scientific and technical units (microbiology; chemistry, physics and sensory analysis; engineering and production) as well as by a unit offering central services. The 4-year research programmes are based on the strategic goals of the agricultural policy as well as on the current needs of the dairy industry. An advisory board oversees the preparation and execution of the projects. FAM is connected to an international network for both scientific work and supervisory tasks. Work is carried out within the background of the political strategy of a sustainable development including economic, ecological and social aspects. A primary research focus is therefore the avoidance of excessive processing of milk and dairy products, and keeping products natural and free of residues by applying only minimal, unavoidable treatments and additives. [source] A Neo-Gramscian Approach to Corporate Political Strategy: Conflict and Accommodation in the Climate Change Negotiations*JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 4 2003David L. Levy ABSTRACT A neo-Gramscian theoretical framework for corporate political strategy is developed drawing from Gramsci's analysis of the relations among capital, social forces, and the state, and from more contemporary theories. Gramsci's political theory recognizes the centrality of organizations and strategy, directs attention to the organizational, economic, and ideological pillars of power, while illuminating the processes of coalition building, conflict, and accommodation that drive social change. This approach addresses the structure-agency relationship and endogenous dynamics in a way that could enrich institutional theory. The framework suggests a strategic concept of power, which provides space for contestation by subordinate groups in complex dynamic social systems. We apply the framework to analyse the international negotiations to control emissions of greenhouse gases, focusing on the responses of firms in the US and European oil and automobile industries. The neo-Gramscian framework explains some specific features of corporate responses to challenges to their hegemonic position and points to the importance of political struggles within civil society. The analysis suggests that the conventional demarcation between market and non-market strategies is untenable, given the embeddedness of markets in contested social and political structures and the political character of strategies directed toward defending and enhancing markets, technologies, corporate autonomy and legitimacy. [source] The determinants of corporate political strategy in Chinese transitionJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2007Zhilong Tian Corporate political strategy (CPS) formulation in Chinese transition is an area with little empirical work. We fill this gap validly and the primary focus of this study is to examine the firm- and industry-level factors influencing Chinese firms' political strategy choice. Empirical support is found for the taxonomy of corporate political strategies in Chinese transition,that is direct participation strategy, financial incentive strategy, prolocutor strategy, institution innovation strategy, government association strategy and government involvement strategy. The results indicate that there is no consistently significant firm- and industry-level predictor of all six political strategies and we explore what determinants are related to each specific decision independently. We also verify the random effects of industry-level variables and our hypotheses are tested through using general evaluation equations (GEEs). Our study aims to be helpful to point managers toward both industrial environments and internal resources to consider when making appropriate political strategy choices and thus improve Chinese firms' strategy management level. Some implications of findings are also discussed finally. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Economic Constraints and Strategic Choices: The Case of the Frente Amplio of Uruguay's First Year in OfficeBULLETIN OF LATIN AMERICAN RESEARCH, Issue 2 2008FRANCISCO PANIZZA The article analyses the economic constraints and strategic choices that shaped the economic policies of the Frente Amplio of Uruguay's first year in office. It argues that the economic strategy of the Frente Amplio's administration can be described as the adoption, completion and correction of the incomplete free market reforms enacted by previous right of centre administrations and that this strategy can be explained as the product of two interrelated factors: first, a pragmatic compromise between partially conflicting visions of economic development; and, second, a political strategy that has sought to consider the demands of the different socio-political constituencies which make up the coalition. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||