Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review literature in the area of perceived organizational politics (POPs) and to present a model that explains the positive role of the phenomenon in the workplace. This involves understanding how POPs have evolved from playing a much-publicized destructive role to an emerging constructive one. Design/methodology/approach: An integrative review method was used to review articles on POPs published over the last 13 years (2010–2022). The primary sources of information were several databases, such as ISI Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Scopus. Specific search terms were considered to find relevant articles, leading to 7803 articles (3894 hits on Scopus, 1723 hits on Google Scholar, and 2186 hits on Web of Science). These studies were further examined for their relevance to this study, and 103 articles were identified. The application of exclusion criteria funneled them to 66 studies. The articles, employing quantitative, mixed, and qualitative approaches were coded. The themes were subsequently determined. Findings: The review notes that the POPs literature emphasis is shifting from a negative and dysfunctional approach to one where positive organizational outcomes are possible. The review concludes that POPs have functional consequences too. The phenomenon could illuminate favorable workplace outcomes if viewed as an enhancer rather than a hindrance. POPs should be viewed as a phenomenon that for all purposes is essentially neutral. It is individuals who label the otherwise neutral construct as negative (negative POPs) or positive (positive POPs). Practical implications: The paper reveals how antecedents help organizational members label politics as positive. Perceived organizational politics is largely a neutral construct until the perceiver decides to label it otherwise. A positive perception of politics is significant in predicting important employee outcomes such as motivation, employee satisfaction, and job performance. Management needs to invest in antecedents and moderators to help employees label the construct as positive rather than negative. Originality/value: The study is an original review of the positive POPs literature to identify the significant antecedents, moderators, and work outcomes, vital to organizational success.

Conspiracy theories during Covid-19 pandemic spread worldwide, including in Indonesia. What political and religious factors explain their spread in Indonesia with particular reference to the DKI Jakarta province, its surrounding municipalities, and West Sumatera province? This study aimed to answer the questions. It employed a qualitative approach with multi-data collection methods, including those from media, documents, and interviews. The spread of Conspiracy theories benefited from the democratic system that promotes the freedom of information in using social media. First, the government officials initially spread conspiracy theories to satisfy people’s anxiety about the obscured Pandemic. However, they resulted in the government’s ambiguous, controversial, and reckless policies leading to people’s distrust of the government. Jokowi-Makruf Amien, political opponents capitalized on the government’s poor policies to spread conspiracy theories which partly discredited the Jokowi-Amien administration. Both government officials and the opposition capitalized on politics and religious teaching or supra-natural pretexts to posit their conspiracy theories.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) wants to become a key regional actor in the Arctic. PRC's underlying priority in the region is gaining access to commercial opportunities from trade and natural resources. To this end, PRC is building its domestic capacities for research and commercial development in the Arctic, increasing its involvement in multilateral forums on Arctic governance and deepening ties to Arctic nations, especially Russia.

Attitudes towards PRC among Arctic nations are diverging, but Beijing generally faces high levels of skepticism and opposition to its Arctic involvement, explicitly grounded in perceptions of PRC as a state undermining the rules-based international order and potential military build-up in the high north.

The analytical framework in this article builds on an outline authored by Exner-Pirot in 2012 (Exner-Pirot, 2012) to detail the current schools of thought within Arctic governance, and builds on it by including more recent developments in Arctic governance, incorporating the updated Arctic policies of most Arctic countries and connecting it to PRC.

This article contends that Beijing wants to change the status quo of Arctic governance and shift it towards a more accommodating approach to non-Arctic states. This article finds, based on the stated Arctic strategies of the eight Arctic states and PRC, that there are different views on Arctic governance where Arctic countries for the most part indicate an openness to a Chinese entry into the Arctic, albeit in diverging ways. This creates a complex governance scenario for PRC to navigate as it seeks to become a key Arctic player

When power is exercised, it results in political behavior in organizations. Excessively held organizational politics can hurt an organization and its members though some consider wisely used political behavior as positive. This study was conducted at Wolaita Sodo Polytechnic College (WSPTC) to investigate the effect of power and political dynamism on employee job satisfaction. Cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from stratified, randomly selected 146 informants. The Rahim Leader Power Inventory (RLPI), Interpersonal Power Inventory (IPI), Perception of Organizational Politics (POP), and Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) were employed to collect data. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were made using statistical packages (SPSS version 23). The findings revealed that when managers legitimate, coercive, and reward power bases are higher, then organizational politics becomes higher. Power concentration at higher positions results in increased organizational politics than when it was shared. Regression analysis uncovered that 47% (R-squared 0.468) of variations in job satisfaction were explained by POP and power dynamics. Hence, it is recommended that having power sharing, empowering subordinates, and moderate political maneuvering in the use of power and politics will be helpful in maintaining constructive relationships and job satisfaction.

The erudite priest Marciano Di Leo (1751–1819), a prominent personality in the historical and geographical panorama of his time, not only in his home territory, authored a vast literary and poetic production but also tried his hand at producing some maps, referring to a province of the Kingdom of Naples. At a time when the principles of geodetic cartography had become increasingly known, even locally, hand in hand with improvements in technology and accuracy of measurements, the author reflected on the historical narratives of the progress of the European (and Neapolitan) Enlightenment and translated them into an unpublished manuscript of statistical, historical, and geographical nature, accompanied by numerous maps of various scales. The rediscovery of a largely unknown—and therefore not very thorough—minor cartographic production underscores the spread, even in more marginal contexts, of the most innovative ideas and increasingly precise scientific foundations in the cartographic-mathematical representation of the territory. It also illustrates the role of a number of intellectuals in the service of the political choices of their time, in an attempt—often unrealized—to bring about a decisive change of course in public administration, in accordance with Enlightenment ideals and in the spirit of reform that spread throughout Europe thanks to the French Revolution.

The study builds on Deborah Stone’s foundational work exploring the mechanics of causal narratives and their implications for framing problems, assigning responsibility, and guiding policy solutions. The purpose of this research is to unravel the complexities of causal narratives in contemporary politics and understand their profound influence on public policy and society at large. In the digital age, where information is abundant and the traditional gatekeeping role of media has diminished, causal narratives have become increasingly multifaceted. The study aims to explore how these narratives, influenced by the intersections of natural phenomena, human actions, politics, risk, and media, shape public understanding and policy directions. The study employs an extensive review of existing literature, covering works from political science, media studies, and public policy. This includes analyzing seminal texts like Deborah Stone’s “Policy Paradox” and recent studies on media’s evolving role in political discourse. Today’s causal narratives are multifaceted, influenced by a myriad of factors including political agendas, scientific findings, and media portrayals. In conclusion, the research highlights the dynamic nature of causal narratives in the digital age and their significant impact on public policy and societal outcomes. It underscores the need for nuanced understanding and strategic approaches in crafting and interpreting these narratives.