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• Interconnections between social work and the natural environment

  96-112

  Julia Kosztka

  Views:

  59

  The aim of my study is to examine the appearance of ecology and natural environment in the
  theory and practice of social work. By reviewing international literature, my aim is to review and
  systematize basic theories and professional directions. I also consider it important to look at the
  Hungarian aspects. Global environmental changes and social changes interact, and the social
  work profession evolves, and incudes new trends and approaches while reflecting ever-changing
  challenges. The relationship between the person and his/her environment has always been one
  of the central themes of social work, but the pursuit of sustainability and the focus on the natural
  environment may bring a new dimension to the interpretation of the person-in-environment
  approach. In my paper, I attempt to understand the values and motivations of ‘green social work’,‘environmental social work’ and ‘eco-social work’ and I attempt to understand the relationship
  between social work and the natural environment, and examine the roles social workers may
  carry on related to the global environmental changes.

• Trojan horse and fig leaf: the role of populism in the global crisis of democracy and the postmodern autocracies

  30-61

  István Benedek

  Views:

  72

  It is my contention that populism could be an appropriate framework to understand and link the phenomena of global crisis of democracy and spread of postmodern autocracies. In order to substantiate this claim with the method of literature review, I have examined first the characteristics of these phenomena and then I have focused the nature of relationship between them, in particular with regard to the complex system of stability of new types of autocracies, in which, I think, populism playing a key role. Populism, understood it as an autocratic interpretation of democracy and representation, could be a particularly dangerous Trojan horse for democracy. Above all, because of its idea of a single, homogeneous and authentic people that can be genuinely represented only by populists, and because of this representative claim is a moralized form of antipluralism. In addition, populism is also an important feature of postmodern autocracies, especially of electoral autocracy. By means of populism, it is possible for these regimes to camouflage and even legitimise the autocratic trends and exercise of power, as well as the creation an uneven playing field for political contestation behind their formally multi-party elections and democratic façade. As a radical turn towards traditional forms of autocracies would be too expensive, postmodern autocrats need manipulated multi-party elections and other plebiscite techniques that could serve as quasi-democratic legitimation, as well as populism that could transform political contestation to a life-and-death struggle and, provides other important cognitive functions. Therefore, populist autocracy, as a paradigmatic type of postmodern autocracies, will remain with us for a long time, giving more and more tasks to researchers involved in them.