RC48 - Administrative Culture

International Monthly Lecture Series 4 - Organised by RC48- Administrative Culture

Kinga Feenstra — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 20:06:00 -0500

We are pleased to invite you to the 4th International Monthly Lecture Series of RC48! This time on "Transparency in Local Government and Local Governance".

27 November 2025 3.30-4.30 pm (Israel)

Links:
Google Meets:
https://meet.google.com/ssh-vhfo-hqz

Registration:
https://forms.gle/GuxJo7NhWXMSRxJv6

Delivered by:
Mrs. Margarita (Rita) Barer,
Deputy Commissioner, Southern District, Ministry of the Interior, Israel
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

Contact:
Saraswathi Unni, Coordinator, IMLS saraunni228@gmail.com
Ranjith Kumar, Co-coordinator ranjannmt@gmail.com,
Kinga Feenstra, Co-coordinator kingafeenstra@gmail.com

Region	UTC Offset	Local Time
Moscow	UTC +3	4:30–5:30 pm
Israel	UTC +2	3:30–4:30 pm
India	UTC +5:30	7:00–8:00 pm
Pacific (U.S. West Coast)	UTC −8	5:30–6:30 am
Amazon (Peru/Colombia)	UTC −5	8:30–9:30 am
CET (Central Europe)	UTC +1	2:30–3:30 pm
South Africa	UTC +2	3:30–4:30 pm
China	UTC +8	9:30–10:30 pm

E-certificates will be provided to all participants.

IMLS Invite Click on the image

International Monthly Lecture Series 3 - Organised by RC48- Administrative Culture

Kinga Feenstra — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 20:04:00 -0500

The Research Committee on Administrative Culture (RC48) of the International Political Science Association organised its third lecture in the ongoing International Monthly Lecture Series (online), on 31 October 2025.
Dr. Sokolov Alexander Vladimirovich delivered the lecture on 'The peculiarities of Regulation and Management of Individual Behaviour in the Digital Age'. He made a comprehensive and comparative study on the transformative impact of digital technologies on individual behaviour, social behaviour and governance. The lecture was attended by over 50 participants from India, Poland, Morocco, Russia, Colombia, South Africa, Israel, China, Italy & Trinidad and Tobago.

Alexander Sokolv

Lecture: New management of human behaviour through social rating of citizens

Zoom participants 1

Zoom participants 2

Invite lecture 3

International Monthly Lecture Series 1 - Organised by RC48- Administrative Culture

Kinga Feenstra — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 18:07:00 -0400

We are pleased to invite you to the upcoming lecture on:

Serving the Margins: Rethinking Public Administration for Inclusive Governance in India

Delivered by Dr. A. RANJITHKUMAR, Board Member – RC 48, IPSA, Assistant Professor of Political Science, School of Law, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr. Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, INDIA ( drranjithkumara@veltech.edu.in)

Registration Link: https://forms.gle/MoboWR6AQ5narth77

Google Meet Link: https://meet.google.com/wpx-vxur-row

E-certificates will be provided to all participants.

Contact:
Dr. Saraswathi Unni
Co-Vice Chair, IPSA RC48
Senior Research Fellow & Director, Research and Publications
Water Policy Centre, Aurangabad, India
saraunni228@gmail.com

IPSA RC48 – Administrative Culture Leadership

Chair: Dr. Ashok Basu
Vice-Chairs: Dr. Saraswathi Unni, Ms. Kinga Feenstra
Secretary: Dr. Jayanta Sarmah
Board Members: Dr. Alexander Sokolov, Dr. Shane Mohammed, Dr. A. Ranjithkumar, Dr. David Mello, Dr. Arunoday Bajpai, Ms. Margarita Barer, Dr. Caixia Wang, Ms. Veronica Ludek

26 August 2025 | 06:00–06:30 UTC+5:30

India (UTC+5:30): 18:00–18:30 hrs
Trinidad & Tobago (UTC–4): 08:00–08:30 hrs
Colombia, Brazil (UTC–5): 07:30–08:00 hrs
Israel (UTC+3): 15:30–16:00 hrs
China (UTC+8): 20:00–20:30 hrs
Poland, South Africa (UTC+2): 14:30–15:00 hrs
Russia (UTC+3): 15:30–16:00 hrs

One Day International Policy Workshop - IPSA RC48, the Water Policy Centre (Aurangabad), Maharashtra National Law University

Kinga Feenstra — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 17:57:00 -0400

The Policy Workshop, held on 10 December 2024 in Aurangabad, India, adopted the theme “From Ideas to Impact: Exploring Public Policy Processes.” Organized jointly by Research Committee 48 (Administrative Culture) of the International Political Science Association (IPSA), the Water Policy Center, and the Maharashtra National Law University Aurangabad, the event brought together scholars, policymakers, and practitioners in a hybrid format. The workshop examined the complexities of the policy cycle, addressing formulation in the age of data, stakeholder engagement and collaborative governance, challenges of implementation, mechanisms of evaluation and accountability, and the role of innovation and adaptation. Designed as an interactive platform, it facilitated critical dialogue and exchange among emerging and established actors in public policy, thereby strengthening both theoretical and applied perspectives on policymaking in contemporary contexts.

Representatives from IPSA, WPC & MNLUA with delegates from India, SriLanka, Nepal & Bangladesh

Dr. A.R. Basu, Chair, RC-48 delivers the Keynote Address

IPPW,A,I Delegates at the Conference, from India, Sri lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal

IPPW,A,I, Dr. Saraswathi Unni, Co-Vice Chair, RC-48

IPPW,A,I, Dr. Shane Mohamed, RC-48 Board Member, Geo-Political Strategist, Trinidad & Tobago

IPPW,A,I, Natasha -Zarine, Water Conservation Activist, INDIA

IPPW,A,I Delegates from Bangladesh make their presentation

IPPW,A,I Dr. Sangle, Macro Economist speaks to over 70 delegates at the Conference

IPPW,A,I Ms. Maheshi, delegate from Sri Lanka

Leila Kichikova and Ilya Viktorovich of St. Petersburg University presenting in the Students' Section

IPSA's 75th Anniversary Conference

Kinga Feenstra — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 15:05:00 -0400

The IPSA 75th Anniversary Conference on Democratization and Autocratization, held in Lisbon in 2024, brought together scholars from around the world to reflect on one of the most pressing dynamics in global politics. Marking both IPSA’s 75 years of advancing political science and the 50th anniversary of Portugal’s Carnation Revolution — the event that launched Huntington’s “third wave” of democratization — the conference explored the dual forces of democratic progress and autocratic resurgence. Over three days, participants engaged in panels and discussions on elections, populism, the rule of law, the economy, migration, gender, nationalism, and international relations, sharing comparative and case-based insights into the shifting balance between democracy and autocracy worldwide.

RC48 was also present with four board members and a closed panel P-009 [RC 48] Transformation of Administrative Procedures and Processes To Enhance Democratization.

Four board members of RC48

Co-Vice Chair Dr. Saraswathi Unni; Chair Dr. Ashok Basu; Board Member Dr. Ranjith Kumar; Co-Vice Chair Ms. Kinga Feenstra

RC48's panel was chaired by Dr. Ashok Basu, with Co-Vice Chairs Dr. Saraswathi Unni and Ms. Kinga Feenstra as discussants.
Papers:

Administrative Responses to Democratic Backsliding with Reference To India - Saraswathi Unni, Water Policy Centre, India
Assessing the Impact of Digital Literacy on the Accessibility of E-Governance Services in India: An Empirical Study - Ranjithkumar A, Vel Tech Rangarajan Dr.Sagunthala R&D Institute of Science and Technology, Avadi, India
Bureaucratic Responses to Democratic Degeneration - Ashok Basu, Independent Scholar, India Democratic Erosion or Institutional Maturity?
Comparing Outcomes in Brazil, Chile, and Colombia - Malvina Krausz Hladka, Institute of Political Studies, Charles University, Czech Republic
Reshaping AI Governance: Decoloniality and the Quest for Justice as Fairness - Kinga Feenstra, Independent Researcher, Netherlands
The Administrative Guided Governance in an Authoritarian State: The Case of the Financial Sector in China - Chung-min Tsai, National Chengchi University, Taiwan

Group photo panel

Individual photos:

Dr. Ranjith Kumar

Dr. Saraswathi Unni

IPSA's 28th World Congress of Political Science - Seoul, South Korea (2025)

Kinga Feenstra — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 16:00:00 -0400

Post by: Dr. Saraswathi Unni and Ms. Kinga Feenstra

From 12-16 July 2025, several members of RC48 Administrative Culture were present during IPSA's 28th World Congress of Political Science in Seoul, South Korea. The theme of the congress was concerned with resisting autocratization in polarized societies.

In this post, we share some key moments captured on photo in Seoul, South Korea.

RC48 Members after registration

RC48 Members at the opening ceremony

Chair - Ashok Basu, Anamika Basu, Co-Vice Chair Saraswathi Unni

RC48 Business meeting

During RC48's Business Meeting, five new members were elected, namely:

Dr. David D'Mello (South Africa)
Dr. Arunoday Bajpai (India)
Ms.Margarita Barer (Israel)
Dr. Caxia Wang (China)
Ms. Veronica Ludek ( Poland)

RC48 was presented during minimum two different panels, such as RC-48.07 Building Inclusive Governance Frameworks in Politically Polarized Environments and RC-13.05 Enhancing the Resilience of Democratic Administrative Cultures to Resist Autocratization

RC-48.07 Building Inclusive Governance Frameworks in Politically Polarized Environments

Panel RC-48.07
Convenor: Dr. Saraswathi Unni
Chair: Dr. Ashok Ranjan Basu
Discussant: Prof. Jayanta Krishna Sarmah

RC-13.05 Enhancing the Resilience of Democratic Administrative Cultures to Resist Autocratization

RC-13.05 Panel

Convenor: Dr. A. Ranjithkumar
Chair: Mr. Eby John
Co-chair: Dr. A. Ranjithkumar
Discussant: Dr. Saraswathi Unni.

Photo: L to R
Ranjith
Nana Kwusi Nti, Albany Law School, USA (Paper presenter)
Vinita Dipra, King's College, UK (Paper presenter)
Annika Kaiser, University of Heidelberg
Saraswathi Unni
Eby John (Doctoral Student, University of Warsaw)
Ajith Karkhanis (Indian Institute of Management, Indore)
Souleymane Yameogo (Postdoctoral Research Associate, University of Glasgow, UK)

Research Committee 48 on Administrative Culture

Ashok Basu — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 07:02:00 -0400

RC48 Administrative Culture – Key insights from Buenos Aires to Lisbon

From IPSA’s World Congress in 2023 to IPSA’s 75th Anniversary Conference 2024 in Lisbon, RC48 is present again, this time with a new Board. The newly elected Board comprise scholars, policy professionals, political scientists from all over the world, ranging from India to Trinidad and Tobago, to Russia, to the Netherlands. With this diversity of perspectives, the new Board is proud to continue to work on generating key insights related to administrative culture.

From IPSA’s World Congress in 2012 to IPSAs 75th Anniversary Conference 2024 in Lisbon, RC48 has been very a vibrant Panel. From Prof. R.D. Sharma, the first Chairman to Prof. Rosamund Thomas and Prof. Jeremy Lewis, RC48: Administrative Culture has an interesting record. As the Chair of the new Board, I do hope we will maintain the high benchmarks of the previous Boards. I would appreciate and encourage active participation from all the Members of RC48. - RC48 Chair Dr. Ashok Basu

TRANSFORMATION – DEMOCRATISATION – AUTOCRATISATION

The first efforts of the newly elected Board are manifested in the presentation of two closed panels during the upcoming conference in Lisbon. The first panel is concerned with digital transformation, AI governance, transformational leadership, social rating systems and Big Data, Digital literacy, e-Districts, and seek to underscore the concerns that need to be addressed to maximise the positive impact of digital transformation in respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Less than 30 years after Fukuyama and others declared liberal democracy’s eternal dominance, a third wave of autocratisation is manifest. The second panel is concerned with the third wave of autocratisation and its impact on democracy, discussing topics related to democratic backsliding and democratic degeneration

INSIGHTS FROM LAST YEAR’S WORLD CONGRESS

During the World Congress at Buenos Aires in 2023, we had panellists from Ecuador, Russia, France and South Africa in the Panel on “Administrative Transformation Reform in Developing Societies” covering a range of issues from Educational Reform, Digital Ecosystems, Whistle Blowing Culture to Gender Quotas. The Panel on “Administrative Reforms & Administrative Culture in Developing Countries” had panellists from Brazil, Japan, Argentina and Peru who presented their findings on Labour Rights, the Rise of an Efficient Bureaucracy, Gender Parity and Inclusive Participation. The Panels stood out both in terms of diversity of nationalities as well as the range of issues covered.

I look forward to such diversity and a variety of scholarly viewpoints in the two RC 48 Panels at Lisbon - RC48 Vice Chair Dr. Saraswathi Unni.

With this news item, we hope to have sparked your interest, and welcome you to visit our panels in Lisbon – RC48 Vice Chair MSc. Kinga Feenstra.

Open call for new members:s

Are you interested in becoming a member of RC48 Administrative Culture? Please send an email to RC48 Chair Dr. Ashok Basu drarbasu@gmail.com – with Vice Chairs Dr. Saraswathi Unni and MSc. Kinga Feenstra in CC, saraunni228@gmail.com and kingafeenstra@gmail.com

All members of Reserach Committee 48 are as below:

Personal name	Family Name	<	Email Address	>
Margarita	Barer	<	rita.barer@gmail.com	>
Ashok Ranjan	Basu	<	drarbasu@gmail.com	>
Radomir	Bolgov	<	rbolgov@yandex.ru	>
Nittam	Chandel	<	nittam@gmail.com	>
Joseph	Chirwa	<	Joseph-Amazuwa.Chirwa@nau.edu	>
Marcio	Cunha Filho	<	ccfmarcio@gmail.com	>
Andrey	Dakhin	<	nn9222@rambler.ru	>
Kinga	Feenstra	<	kingafeenstra@gmail.com	>
Sandra	Firmino	<	sfirmino@iscsp.ulisboa.pt	>
Nemi Chand	Goliaya	<	dr.nemichand@gmail.com	>
Erica	Gorbak	<	ericagorbak@yahoo.com	>
Rachna	Goswami	<	rachna.ipsa@gmail.com	>
yaguang	hao	<	yaguanghao@gmail.com	>
Ishtiaq	Jamil	<	ishtiaq.jamil@uib.no	>
Ivan	Kopric	<	ikopric@pravo.hr	>
Liia	Laanes	<	liia.laanes@gmail.com	>
Jaein	Lee	<	leejaein@yonsei.ac.kr	>
Cheryl	Mohamed Sayeed	<	mohamed-sayeedc@ukzn.ac.za	>
Shane Anthony	Mohammed	<	shane.a.mohammed@gmail.com	>
Syeda Lubna Bano	Nadvi	<	nadvis@ukzn.ac.za	>
A	Ranjithkumar	<	ranjannmt@gmail.com	>
Miguel	RochaDeSousa	<	mrsousa@uevora.pt	>
Teena	Roy	<	teenaroy35@gmail.com	>
Jayanta Krishna	Sarmah	<	jayanta1947@gauhati.ac.in	>
Leonid	Smorgunov	<	lvsmorgunov@gmail.com	>
Alexander	Sokolov	<	alex8119@mail.ru	>
Tihomira	Trifonova	<	tiho@gateway.bg	>
Saraswathi	Unni	<	saraunni228@gmail.com	>
Masaki	Unohara	<	nyoru011@gmail.com	>
Jana	Vargovcikova	<	jana.varg@gmail.com	>
Arpita	Wadhwa	<	arpitawdh@gmail.com	>