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Theories of religion and democracy -- Research methodology -- Changing political and religious environment -- Buddhism -- General description -- Buddha light mountain -- Buddhist Compassion Relief Cji Foundation -- Dharma-drum mountain -- Zhongtai Can Monastery -- Other Buddhists -- Christianity -- General description -- Presbyterians -- Baptists -- Local churches -- Other denominations -- Daoism and folk religions -- Definition -- Daoism -- Yiguandao -- Mazu belief -- Statistical analysis -- Taiwans religious profile -- Religion and party preference -- Religion and democratic values -- Religion and democratic behavior -- Comparison of taiwanese believers -- Comparing Taiwanese and Korean believers -- Conclusion -- Summary and comparison -- Methodological, theoretical and practical implications

Bangladesh is performing better in the growth of GDP and experiencing remarkable progress in development indicators such as poverty alleviation, maternal mortality, infant mortality and enrollment in primary education. However, despite the restoration parliamentary democracy in 1990s, political governance is decaying in the country. The present study, taking dynamics of Bangladeshi politics into consideration, seeks to explore the interplay between business and politics and its impact on governance with supplementary evidence from public transportation sector as case example. Among others, the principal question of the paper is how business interest creates crisis in governance? It reveals that business elites are involved in all decision-making process in the government institutions and they make pro-business policy undermining people's interest that leads to a confrontation between government institution and business elites which ultimately generates crisis in governance in almost all other section of the nation like transportation sector.

When Nigeria got her independence in 1960 there were high hopes that she would become one of the greatest nations in the nearest future. Those who made this prediction were not wrong because Nigeria has what it takes to become great. In terms of population, it is not just the most populous but also one of the most talented in the continent. In natural resources, very few countries in Africa can boast of the resources the country parades. However, when these endowments are placed side by side with development in the country, the result becomes discouraging. Currently, one may assert that Nigeria is or at the point of becoming the poverty capital of the world looking at the rate her citizens are fleeing to other countries in search of greener pastures. Using the method of documentation and conceptual analysis, this study examines why Nigeria has not been able to translate its potentials into development indexes. The investigation centres around two research questions: 1) what is the relationship between the lack of development in Nigeria and electoral malpractice and 2) is Nigeria's inability to translate its potentials to development caused by executive abuse of powers. The paper discovered that moral decadence in the form of electoral malpractice and executive recklessness are the root causes of Nigeria's political and economic backwardness. It recommended the formation of an enlightened populace who will not only reject but also fight these two ills through civil resistance as the philosopher's stone that will save Nigeria

Dear colleagues, Welcome to the "Journal of Policy & Governance"! In my opinion, an editorial may reflect the general direction of the journal, values, strategy, priorities, goals and objectives, and so on. This is the first edition of the Journal of Policy & Governance where I act as the Editor-in-Chief. The title of the journal includes two key concepts, the "Policy" and the "Governance", and they are crucial for the target audience of the journal. That is, the field of "Policy Science": policy cycle, problem identification for analysis, policy environment, resources, stakeholders' analysis, communications (strategic, multilevel, etc.), policy tools and evaluation, etc. Also, these are values, objectives and methodology of the research and policy analysis, policy as the process and reasons for state intervention, evidence-based policy, quantitative and qualitative methods of data processing and the formation of evidence in the policy process and so on. The field of governance is also valuable for research: democratic, good, sensitive, multilevel, digital, and so on: Service State, public consultation, and interaction between government, business and civil society in the policy-making process. Common decisions, power and out of power policy makers, leadership, analysts and policy actors also require semantic and empirical content in the articles of the journal.

Brick-and-mortar (B&M) retailers in India are constantly devoting their time, effort, energy, and money in discovering and adopting retailing theories, models, and frameworks that are practiced by the B&M retailers in the developed countries that have matured markets and consumers. This is a clear example of a serious timing issue. We believe the Indian market and consumers are moving towards the same maturity levels, but it is still a long way to go as the Indian consumers belong to the widest variety of religions, regions, languages, cultures, sub-cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds with divergent needs. In addition to expecting world-class overall store-image, they yet require retailers to facilitate honest and authentic human-led engagement. This means, thoughtful and logical integration of existing theories aligned to, the Indian market; consumer's maturity level; divergent consumer needs are crucial, and this is the core of our theory. The ToR-b adopts elements of retailing theories that are known and suitable for retailing in the Indian context, in addition to identifying (i) new elements influencing honest and authentic humanled engagement; higher consumer-level customization; higher levels of consumer-orientation, (ii) significance of their association and determination with return on investment, (iii) their role in influencing the long-term sustainability of a retailer, and most importantly (iv) their ability to enhance interest among existing and potential employees, investors, and consumer's minds with a particular retailer. Insights from multiple empirical and qualitative studies, field experiments, and evaluation of consumer-level transactions involved in building this theory made us strongly believe that the overall phenomenon of B&M retailing in India is truly complex and complexity is necessary to an adequate description of a phenomenon. We hope that in addition to laying a foundation for new directions to guide future research on Indian retailing, our theory will ...

An estimated 90% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases occur in rural and urban areas around the world, where all industries and sectors have been severely impacted. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and intensified many of the difficulties and uncertainties local governments face in carrying out their responsibilities. Apart from restoring normalcy, local governments in the National Capital Region face specific challenges, as they must double their efforts and interventions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as restore and reinforce community resilience in both short and long-term response and action. Local government plays a significant role in providing social services in normal times and ensures that these public services are accessible in times of adversity and distress, as well as acting as first responders in disaster prevention, rescue, and restoration. While the world has not yet crossed everyone, and some issues remain unresolved, the author agrees that unprecedented decisions and good practices from neighboring countries should have been taken to protect citizens, especially the most vulnerable. The author examined and reviewed the various mechanisms used by various local governments in Metro Manila, as well as the SDG framework, to analyze the challenges and good practices for local responses to the pandemic and mitigating its effects. The author finds that identifying the challenges faced by various local governments in Metro Manila as well as how they deal with these challenges and recognizing their good practices would aid local governments in long-term sustainability planning and development.

Post-Soeharto Indonesia, known as the era of reform and democracy, has not been able to inhibit corrupt behaviour by state officials at the central and local government levels, in legislative and executive institutions, or in the judiciary as a judicial institution. This article discusses and analyses the corruption process carried out by state officials, especially those occupying legislative, executive, and special judicial institutions at the central government level in interacting with each other and with outside institutions. The public's hope that ongoing democracy will be able to limit political corruption in Indonesia is only an illusion, considering the democracy model that developed in Indonesia post-Soeharto led to a patronage democracy, namely the interaction of power between state institutions which is based on mutually beneficial considerations. Another consideration is that the institution that administers justice which serves as law enforcement agency is involved in corrupt practices.

Oil and gas as the non-renewable resources are considered very valuable for the countries with petroleum economics. These resources are not only diffused equally around the world, but also they are common in some places which their neighbors often come into conflicts. Consequently, it is vital for those countries to manage their resource utilization. Lately, game theory was applied in conflict resolution of common resources, such as water, which is a proof of its efficacy and capability. This paper models the conflicts between Iran and its neighbors namely Qatar and Iraq between their oil and gas common resources using game theory approach. In other words, the future of these countries will be introduced and analyzed by some well-known 2 × 2 games to achieve a better perspective of their conflicts. Because of information inadequacy of the players, in addition to Nash Stability, various solution concepts are used based on the foresight, disimprovements, and knowledge of preferences. The results of mathematical models show how the countries could take a reasonable strategy to exploit their common resources. ; This paper models the conflicts between Iran and its neighbors namely Qatar and Iraq between their oil and gas common resources using game theory approach. In other words, the future of these countries will be introduced and analyzed by some well-known 2 9 2 games to achieve a better perspective of their conflicts. Because of information inadequacy of the players, in addition to Nash Stability, various solution concepts are used based on the foresight, disimprovements, and knowledge of preferences. The results of mathematical models show how the countries could take a reasonable strategy to exploit their common resources.

Election remains the most peaceful means of instituting and institutionalizing democratic government. Liberal democratic theorists argue on the primacy of election as an essential element of democracy. Since the commencement of the Fourth Republic, Nigeria had conducted six successive elections to deepen democratic rule. However, election postponement is fast becoming a recurring decimal in the political landscape. Taken 2019 General election as a unit of analysis, this paper examined the implication of election postponement on the future of democracy in Nigeria. Data were generated from secondary sources, including Textbooks, Journals and Internet, to provide information on the concept of Democracy and 2019 elections. These were subjected to descriptive and content analysis. 2019 Election postponement had cost Nigeria political, economic and social fortunes. It had undermined the integrity of the electoral process resulting in voter apathy. Nigeria lost billions of naira as a result of shutdown of businesses. It resulted in additional financial burden in the conduct of the election. The paper recommends that Nigeria's Electoral Management body needs to be re-engineered to be able to cope with responsibility of conducting election on schedule. Private institutions should be strategically employed to engage in election logistics such as handling of sensitive materials and on-time delivery of these materials. Also, there is need to give a thoughtful consideration to electronic voting, that should take care of the logistics problem of conducting election in Nigeria.

This research addresses the issue of the mutual influence between the administrative judge and the constitutional judge using a comparative analytical approach. In the beginning, the researcher discusses the role of the administrative judge in protecting the rights and freedoms of individuals by presenting the basic elements that prove the effective implementation of this control, such as proportionality and disciplinary decisions. The research also discusses the primary constitutional issue in France, or what some call the review of raising the issue of the unconstitutionality, to demonstrate the strengthening of the role of the judge and his involvement in reviewing the constitutionality of laws. Then the research discusses the role of the constitutional judge in protecting the rights and freedoms based on the achievements of the French constitutional judge, starting with his decision on freedom of association (1971), in which he enshrined the constitutional value of the preamble of the 1958 constitution. What gives the decisions of the Constitutional Council the utmost significance is their compulsory as they are imposed on the judiciary and administration automatically (the power of the case). Then the research addresses and analyzes the positive mutual impact between the constitutional judge and the administrative judge, so it first presents the confirmed influence of the administrative judge, as he turns into a miniature constitutional council through his role in reviewing the unconstitutionality. The researcher also presents the position of the jurist Bernard Stern, who believes that the administrative judge is the one who does not want to violate the authority of the Constitutional Council while he can enforce strong and violent control over the work of the Constitutional Council. Even though the issue of mutual influence between the administrative judge and the constitutional judge is fluctuating, the harmony and cooperation between them remain the master of the situation.

This article deals with the determinants of Pakistan relations with Afghanistan with reference to past present and future. There are numerous writings on the topic under consideration mainly in terrorism perspective but this study deals with the socio-cultural, political, economic and diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Unique relationship of two Muslim and neighboring countries as peace and security of both countries is inter-linked. Although Pakistan and Afghanistan are facing many challenges but both of them are doing their best to handle the issues of terrorism, Pakhtunstan and Durand line. Present study will fill this gap. Since independence Pakistan has endeavored to maintain good relations with Afghanistan in pursuance of its policy to have good relations with Muslim Countries. By focusing on the need to improve socio-economic and cultural ties of both countries is very important for the peaceful co- existence of both the countries which will ensure peace and prosperity in the region. Pakistan, has its plus points and can be useful for the development of the Afghanistan while Afghanistan has colossal untapped mineral and labour assets which can help Pakistan to build its economy. Also, Afghans might have the ability to get coordinate access to Pakistan's ports of Arabian Sea, while Pakistanis can get steer access to Central Asian markets.