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Review Article
A Review of Political Culture, Confessions, and Violence
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 6, December 2026
Pages:
312-320
Received:
10 March 2024
Accepted:
31 May 2024
Published:
9 November 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20261506.11
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Abstract: Authoritarian states have long employed coerced political confessions to suppress dissent, reinforce ideological authority, and legitimize existing political orders. While scholarship on interrogation and repression has largely focused on the extraction of information and punishment of political opponents, less attention has been given to the relationship between public confession and political culture. Drawing on theories of political culture, legitimacy, hegemony, and organized violence, this article examines televised political confessions in Iran as instruments through which the state seeks political compliance, social acquiescence, and ideological dominance. Building on the works of Charles Tilly, Ervand Abrahamian, Darius Rejali, and Michel Foucault, I argue that political confessions historically derived their power from a political culture that associated confession with truth, repentance, and moral transformation. The Iranian case suggests, however, that these cultural foundations have eroded. Growing public awareness of coercion, torture, and state manipulation has significantly weakened the credibility of televised recantations, reducing their capacity to generate compliance or legitimize political authority. Rather than functioning as effective instruments of coercion, public confessions increasingly expose the coercive power of the state itself, producing skepticism and further delegitimation. The article contends that when audiences cease to regard political confessions as authentic, their capacity to discipline the population is substantially diminished and their political utility becomes increasingly exhausted.
Abstract: Authoritarian states have long employed coerced political confessions to suppress dissent, reinforce ideological authority, and legitimize existing political orders. While scholarship on interrogation and repression has largely focused on the extraction of information and punishment of political opponents, less attention has been given to the relat...
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Research Article
Migration to South and Literary Expressions of Aboriginal Peoples of Mesoamerica (Central America)
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 6, December 2026
Pages:
321-326
Received:
23 August 2026
Accepted:
11 September 2026
Published:
9 November 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20261506.12
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Abstract: The lowlands of southern Mesoamerica, including the Petén region of Guatemala and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, together with the highlands of Chiapas, formed the principal territory of the Maya civilization. The Maya developed sophisticated agricultural systems, including crop rotation, and established complex political, economic, and cultural networks. Language played a central role in the preservation of identity and in the transmission of pre-Hispanic literary traditions, while women served as the principal custodians of values, beliefs, oral traditions, tolerance, and frugality. Long before the arrival of the Spaniards, the Putun Maya controlled an extensive commercial network extending from Yucatán to the Gulf of Honduras, where cacao functioned both as a valuable commodity and as a medium of exchange. Important cacao-producing regions also included Soconusco, from which cacao was transported to Tenochtitlan. During the reigns of Izcoatl (1440) and Axayacatl (1469), the expansion of the Nahua states toward the Pacific coast of present-day Guatemala intensified political and commercial interactions throughout Mesoamerica. Between approximately AD 800 and 1400, several groups migrating southward from what is now Mexico encountered indigenous populations already established across Central America. These migrations transformed the demographic, political, and cultural landscape, as incoming groups often possessed greater military organization and displaced earlier inhabitants. Cultural practices, however, continued to circulate across the region. One example is the Flying Pole ritual, preserved today among the Papantla Voladores in Mexico and the K'iche' communities of Guatemala. A related ceremony was documented in 1529 at Tecoatega, Chinandega, Nicaragua, where young men descended from a ceremonial pole in rhythm with music performed by musicians on the ground. These traditions illustrate the continuity of ritual performance and oral transmission as essential elements of Mesoamerican identity and literary expression.
Abstract: The lowlands of southern Mesoamerica, including the Petén region of Guatemala and the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, together with the highlands of Chiapas, formed the principal territory of the Maya civilization. The Maya developed sophisticated agricultural systems, including crop rotation, and established complex political, economic, and cultural ...
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Research Article
A Sociological Analysis of Infertility and Its Implications: with Special Reference to India
Chandrika Kathalagere Basavalingappa*
Issue:
Volume 15, Issue 6, December 2026
Pages:
327-334
Received:
17 September 2026
Accepted:
5 October 2026
Published:
9 November 2026
DOI:
10.11648/j.ss.20261506.13
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Abstract: Infertility is a global Reproductive Health issue that has socio-economic implications on both the individual and society. The prevalence rate of infertility has been reported as 3.5% to 16.7% in more developed nations and from 6.9% to 9.3% in less-developed ones. Worldwide, 8–10% of couples are suffering from infertility every year and 25% are in India. Primary or secondary Infertility may be caused by a number of factors in either male or female reproductive systems. Indian Council of Medical Research says that, the prevalence of male infertility is around 10-15%, among women, it is 13.4% in 1015-2019. WHO estimated prevalence of primary infertility among women is 11.8%. 40% of infertility cases were related to men, out of every 100 couples, 10-15 of them will be facing difficulties due to male infertility. Various studies have been evidenced the remarkable rise in the infertility rate. NFHS survey, 2019–21 assessed the prevalence of primary infertility at both national and state levels in India with 3.9% to 16.8%, higher in urban areas. In this backdrop, the study aimed to comprehend the infertility scenario in the world and in India. It explores the determinants, causes, challenges and its implications based on systematic standard survey data from a Sociological Perspective. The study on infertility is important for health-care providers and policymakers to design and implement policies related to prevention. Diagnosis and treatment. The impact of infertility on the woman’s life in India is also substantial. Due to socio-cultural factors, they suffer from social stigma of being infertile. It has an impact on their families and communities. Equitable access to fertility care is also a challenge for poor, un-educated and marginalized groups. Fertility care is not prioritized in national health coverage. The study suggests to improve the current reproductive health programmes.
Abstract: Infertility is a global Reproductive Health issue that has socio-economic implications on both the individual and society. The prevalence rate of infertility has been reported as 3.5% to 16.7% in more developed nations and from 6.9% to 9.3% in less-developed ones. Worldwide, 8–10% of couples are suffering from infertility every year and 25% are in ...
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