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1 – 10 of 127This study aims to identify the political alignment and political activity of the 11 Presidents of Britain’s most important scientific organisation, the Royal Society of London…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the political alignment and political activity of the 11 Presidents of Britain’s most important scientific organisation, the Royal Society of London, in its early years 1662–1703, to determine whether or not the institution was politically aligned.
Design/methodology/approach
There is almost no information addressing the political alignment of the Royal Society or its Presidents available in the institution’s archives, or in the writings of historians specialising in its administration. Even reliable biographical sources, such as the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography provide very limited information. However, as 10 Presidents were elected Member of Parliament (MP), The History of Parliament: British Political, Social and Local History provides a wealth of accurate, in-depth data, revealing the alignment of both.
Findings
All Presidents held senior government offices, the first was a Royalist aristocrat; of the remaining 10, 8 were Royalist or Tory MPs, 2 of whom were falsely imprisoned by the House of Commons, 2 were Whig MPs, while 4 were elevated to the Lords. The institution was Royalist aligned 1662–1680, Tory aligned 1680–1695 and Whig aligned 1695–1703, which reflects changes in Parliament and State.
Originality/value
This study establishes that the early Royal Society was not an apolitical institution and that the political alignment of Presidents and institution continued in later eras. Furthermore, it demonstrates how the election or appointment of an organisation’s most senior officer can be used to signal its political alignment with government and other organisations to serve various ends.
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Though the English newspaper was born in the early 1620s, government interference prevented it from developing into a regular feature of English life. The destruction of Charles…
Abstract
Though the English newspaper was born in the early 1620s, government interference prevented it from developing into a regular feature of English life. The destruction of Charles I's government in 1641–42 saw the removal of censorship, and journalism burgeoned. For 20 years newspapers developed, first as independent institutions and then as government mouthpieces. Style and presentation improved, advertising was introduced, if not in sophisticated form, and many of the features of modern journals began to appear in the often confused period of freedom and censorship.
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Meanwhile, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD), which has headed the government since 2011, suffered a humiliating defeat. Changes in the electoral system…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB264019
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
Opposition reaction to the Thai junta's order on political parties.
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB227772
ISSN: 2633-304X
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Geographic
Topical
Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) is bidding to retain power. The royalist Funcinpec, led by Prince Norodom Ranariddh, will be among the opposition parties…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB236392
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Thailand has seen waves of youth-led protests over the past three years. Pro-democracy youth activists have vociferously criticised authority figures: teachers, parents and…
Abstract
Thailand has seen waves of youth-led protests over the past three years. Pro-democracy youth activists have vociferously criticised authority figures: teachers, parents and political leaders, especially the king. Drawing on vignettes assembled over a 14-year ethnographic work with young people in Thailand, as well as on current research on youth (online and offline) activism in Bangkok, I examine the multi-layered meaning of kinship in Thai society. The chapter reveals the political nature of childhood and parenthood as entangled modes of governance that come into being with other, both local and international cultural entities. I argue that Thai youth activists are attempting to rework dominant tropes that sustain “age-patriarchy” in the Buddhist kingdom. Their “engaged siblinghood” aims to reframe Thailand's generational order, refuting the moral principles that establish citizens' political subordination to monarchical paternalism and, relatedly, children's unquestionable respect to parents. As I show, Thai youth activists are doing so by engaging creatively with transnational discourses such as “democracy” and “children's rights,” while simultaneously drawing on K-pop icons, Japanese manga and Buddhist astrology. In articulating their dissent, these youths are thus bearers of a “bottom-up cosmopolitanism” that channels culturally hybrid, and politically subversive notions of childhood and citizenship in Southeast Asia's cyberspace and beyond. Whatever the outcome of their commitment, Thai youth activism signals the cultural disarticulation of the mytheme of the Father in Thailand, as well as the growing political influence of younger generations in the region.
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Palace politics
This chapter has two major objectives. It discusses the political leadership in Thailand in terms of historical development and examines the role adaptation of Thai elites in…
Abstract
This chapter has two major objectives. It discusses the political leadership in Thailand in terms of historical development and examines the role adaptation of Thai elites in order to respond to different demands from various sectors in the society. The chapter concludes that political leaders have to adjust their roles to cope and to survive. Apart from the old bureaucratic elites, both military and civil, there are also some other stakeholders who have become stronger over time, making more demands on political leaders (and, consequently, on the state apparatus). In reaction to these stakeholders, political leaders have used public administration reforms and initiated public policies to gain more capacity to lead.
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It faces major hurdles to regaining its former role and influence, and the party's statements suggesting the September 8 earthquake was a divine punishment for Moroccans’ sins…
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DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB282371
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
Prayut earlier this month reshuffled his cabinet. New appointments to the finance and energy ministries will have a key role in spurring post-pandemic economic recovery.