Russia: Centralized in Practice

Officially a federation: Has "federal subjects" like republics and oblasts with their own constitutions.

But... power is very centralized: The Kremlin (central government) heavily controls most political and economic decisions.

Autonomy often symbolic: Regions have limited ability to go against central policies.

Strongman politics: Central authority overrides local decisions if needed.

Spirit of Federalism?
Weak in practice. Centralized control dominates despite federal structure.

#RussianFederalism #KremlinControl #Centralization #PutinPolitics #AuthoritarianRule #FederalFacade #PoliticalScience #ComparativePolitics #AutonomyMyth #PowerCentralization #RussiaUkraineWar #Geopolitics #ConstitutionalFarce #StateSovereignty #OligarchRule #Decentralization #PoliticalHypocrisy #StrongmanPolitics #RegimeTypes #EurasianPolitics

United States (USA): Strong Federalism Spirit

States have real power: Each state has its own constitution, laws (e.g. on education, taxes, even abortion), and judiciary.

Clear federal-state boundaries: Powers are divided under the U.S. Constitution. The federal government cannot interfere with state matters without legal basis.

Autonomy respected: States can disagree with federal government and even sue it.

Political diversity: States can lean conservative or liberal and set very different policies.

Spirit of Federalism?
Very strong. States are treated as equal partners.

#Federalism #USPolitics #StateRights #Malaysia #MA63 #Decentralization #ConstitutionalLaw #PoliticalAutonomy #Sarawak #Sabah #ComparativePolitics #FederalvsState #Democracy #Governance #PolicyDiversity #LegalSovereignty #Petros #Petronas #ResourceRights #PoliticalScience

* Did you know?

The Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63) is not just history — it's the foundation of Malaysia.

✅ Sabah & Sarawak did NOT join Malaysia — they CO-FOUNDED it together with Malaya and Singapore.
✅ MA63 is an international treaty signed by all parties and witnessed by the UK.
✅ It promised special autonomy to Sabah & Sarawak in areas like immigration, education, religion, and resource control.
✅ Full MA63 implementation = a real federation, with equal partners — not central control from KL.
✅ Honoring MA63 is NOT anti-Malaysia. It is how Malaysia was meant to be: fair, united, and just.

We don’t need to fight to divide. We need to speak up to restore.

#MA63 #Sabah #Sarawak #EqualPartners #FoundersNotFollowers #MA63 #Sabah #Sarawak #Malaysia #Federalism #PoliticalScience #Decolonization #IndigenousRights #ConstitutionalLaw #InternationalTreaty #Autonomy #PostcolonialJustice #Sovereignty #EastMalaysia #BorneoRights #MalaysianHistory #SocialContract #PoliticalAccountability #HumanRights #Equality #politics #politicalscience #malaysia #sabah #sarawak #sabahsarawak

Plan your trip to Seoul ✈️
Preferential rates have been negotiated for #IPSA2025 World Congress #PoliticalScience participants. We invite you to book your hotel now to take advantage of these discounted rates.
http://wc2025.ipsa.org/wc/accommodation

"Join the APSA Committee on the Status of Graduate Students in the Profession and the APSA Committee on the Status of Disability in the Profession for a professional development workshop on navigating accommodation in graduate school."

1 pm Eastern, Tuesday, May 20, 2025 | Register Here

https://politicalsciencenow.com/navigating-accommodations-in-graduate-school-a-joint-apsa-status-committee-workshop/ #PoliticalScience #GradSchool #Disability #Ableism @academicchatter @disability

Today, I share thoughts prompted by a recent chat between comedian-journalist Jon Stewart and UK politician Rory Stewart. They reflect on democracy, and how our current, wretched state of affairs is an extension of failings in our preceding system.

When we bear up to those failings, instead of pretending that any of this came out of the blue, we start to grasp the immense work needed to build our world in anything even approximating a better way.

#PoliticalScience
https://open.substack.com/pub/mlclark/p/bearing-up-to-the-full-failure-of?r=1ii76&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Which structural features are important in shaping countries' vulnerability & resistance to disinformation amid democratic decline?

A #wjds paper by Antonia Peißker, Mike Cowburn, @ulrikeklinger highlights factors to consider when assessing #disinformation resilience. The paper examines countries that are experiencing various degrees of democratic backsliding, like Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia.

➡️ https://doi.org/10.34669/wi.wjds/5.2.2

#research #media #democracy #socialscience #politicalscience

Book Review: Open Democracy

This book summarizes the improvements to democracy suggested by the political scientists:

https://tiereddemocraticgovernance.org/blog_details.php?blog_cat_id=33&id=196

#tiereddemocraticgovernance
#politicalscience

📊 New study reveals parallel citation universes in US politics! Democrats cite scientific papers 1.8x more than Republicans, while left-leaning think tanks show 5x higher citation rates. With only 5-6% overlap in referenced studies, it seems the scientific method isn't the only thing that's peer-reviewed! 🤓 #SciencePolicy #PoliticalScience

https://politics.slashdot.org/story/25/04/25/1854224/how-democrats-and-republicans-cite-science

Trump wants us to be demoralized. He wants his despotic plans to be a fait accompli. They will be if no one stands in the way. But every time we — and especially those with power and authority — make ourselves into obstacles, we also make it a little less likely that the administration’s authoritarian fantasy becomes our reality.
#authortiarianism #fascism #USpolitics #corruption #legal #PoliticalScience
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/opinion/trump-van-hollen-abrego-garcia.html

Finland loses faith in US defence support

There is "deep disappointment" in relation to America, says Hanna Wass, Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Helsinki.

https://yle.fi/a/74-20157837

#DeepDisappointment #America #HannaWass #PoliticalScience #UniversityOfHelsinki

📢 Are you researching political corruption and integrity mechanisms?
Submit your abstract to the #RESPOND panel at #SISP2025 in Naples 🇮🇹

🧠 We welcome interdisciplinary work on state capture, democracy fragility, anti-corruption policies, new technologies, perceptions, green transition, digital transition, cross-border corruption, transparency and legal corruption.

📅 Deadline: 25 May 2025
🔗 https://www.eu-respond.eu/news/call-for-paper-abstracts-sisp-italian-political-science-association/

#PoliticalScience #CallForPapers #EUProjects #Research #Corruption

Most #Americans support checks on presidential power #PoliticalScience https://phys.org/news/2025-04-americans-presidential-power.html

🇺🇸 **Dr. Boucher: Trump Is Not the Cause, but a Symptom**

“_Dr. Boucher warns that even without Trump, populist forces will endure, backed by media ecosystems, think tanks, and loyalist networks._”

🔗 https://www.populismstudies.org/dr-boucher-trump-is-not-the-cause-but-a-symptom/.

#Trump #Populism #Immigration #SociaMedia #FakeNews #Nativism #PoliticalScience #Politics #USPol #USA #US #UnitedStates @politicalscience

#30DayChartChallenge Día 19: Smooth! 〰️🇵🇱 Hoy aplicamos suavizado (geom_smooth) a las encuestas presidenciales de Polonia (Ene-Abr 2025) para ver las tendencias más allá del ruido. #TimeseriesWeek #SocialData

El gráfico muestra la evolución estimada para los 6 candidatos principales (según apoyo medio). Los puntos tenues son las encuestas individuales. La leyenda incluye orientación política para contexto.

Observaciones rápidas:
* Trzaskowski (PO, centro) lidera ~34%.
* Nawrocki (PiS, ext-der) y Mentzen (Konf, ext-der) compiten por el 2º/3º puesto (~16-23%).
* ¡Bastante estabilidad en estos primeros meses!

Una forma útil de seguir la "foto" general de la carrera electoral.

🛠 #rstats #ggplot2 #data_table | Data: CSV propio | Theme: #theme_week4_social
📂 Código/Viz: https://t.ly/FxTJa

#Day19 #Smooth #dataviz #DataVisualization #Poland #Wybory #Elections #Polling #ggplot2 #RStats #PoliticalScience

Case in point:

"Even our old friends put us down." It's like he was channeling the Mango Mussolini himself. 🦘 🏄‍♂️ 🎢

Political Science - Randy Newman | The Midnight Special

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olOk5cK4lqQ

#Music #RandyNewman #PoliticalScience #USPol #SailAway

#FSU student knew shooting suspect said he attacked '#multiculturalism' in class.

2 killed 5 injured in #FloridaStateUniversityShooting

#PhoenixIkner , #politicalscience major, son of a sheriff's deputy, he stole her weapon to use at the shooting.

#RandyNewman | "#PoliticalScience"

https://youtu.be/olOk5cK4lqQ
#America #USforeignPolicy #PlusÇaChange #mood

📣Affordable sponsorship, exhibition, and visibility opportunities are available at the #IPSA2025 World Congress of #PoliticalScience in #Seoul. Promote your organization or institution, support your brands, and maintain a high profile among delegates.
wc2025.ipsa.org/wc/exhibitors

It came to my mind as an independent person that our goal as Malaysians is not to win anything. We don't want to win any war that others may provoke; we are just here in the world to study, get jobs or do business, make money, and worship and repent to God because being alive every day is a blessing to submit to God. Like what my cousin in the Malaysian military said, Malaysia is not a country at war. We have God to worship, responsibilities to maintain (family and religious teachings), and five national principles:

1. Kepercayaan kepada Tuhan
2. Kesetiaan kepada Raja dan Negara
3. Keluhuran Perlembagaan
4. Kedaulatan Undang-Undang
5. Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan

We are very Malaysian if we put in the effort and make all these principles a reality in ourselves. We're not powerful; we're Malaysians.

#RukunNegara #MalaysianWay #PeacefulNation #FaithAndWork #MalaysiaBoleh #HidupMalaysia #Patriotisme #Malaysia #Politics #PoliticalScience #Mindset #Psychology #RukunNegara