(Un)Seeing Augustus: Libertas, Divinisation, and the Iuvenis of Virgil's First Eclogue

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Bobby Xinyue

Abstract This article argues that Virgil's First Eclogue naturalises the power discourse of the future Augustan Principate. Throughout the poem, Virgil not only presents the iuvenis as a libertas-restoring benefactor who is treated as a god by his beneficiaries, but even imagines his elevated status as crucial to maintaining social cohesion and civic stability, and idealises the beneficiaries’ dependence on his efficacious authority. The poem thus produces the grammar of the discourse of authoritarianism, subtly articulating what will eventually become the central tenets of Augustan ideology. I suggest that it is precisely this process of naturalisation which has led readers since antiquity to identify the iuvenis of Virgil's First Eclogue as the future Augustus. However, in this paper I am interested in transcending this question of individual identification to focus instead on how Virgil's poetic anonymisation is no simple pastoral obfuscation, but rather does the hard graft of ‘soft launching’ a new political system.

2007 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-111
Author(s):  
Virginie Collombier

Beyond the relative opening of the political system that characterized 2005 in Egypt — with the President being elected directly for the first time and the increased competition allowed during legislative elections — the 2005 elections also constituted an opportunity to consider and evaluate the internal struggles for influence under way within the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). In a context largely influenced by the perspective of President Husni Mubarak's succession and by calls for reform coming from both internal and external actors, changes currently occurring at the party level may have a decisive impact on the future of the Egyptian regime.


2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-47
Author(s):  
Andrey Makarychev ◽  
Maria Goes ◽  
Anna Kuznetsova

In this article, we discuss the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic as a biopolitical challenge that – along the lines of the contemporary academic debate on biopower – may be approached through the concepts of sovereignty and governmentality. Within this general framework, the authors look at the challenges Russia faces due to the corona crisis from the viewpoint of domestic transformations within the ruling regime, mainly focusing on center – periphery relations as a core element of the power structure in Russia that demands a stronger emphasis on governmentality. We outline several forms of regions’ distancing from the federal center: digital empowerment, the resistance of the North, and the demand for "people’s governors". Our main conclusion is that the relative administrative autonomy obtained by the regions reflects the ongoing process of decentralization of the Russian political system which will affect the structural characteristics of Russian federalism in the future.


Author(s):  
Morris K. Speter

For centuries China has been seen as a backward country. It was dominated by the European powers and, since the middle of the last century, by a very doctrinaire communist government. However, in the last 10 15 years China has emerged as an economic giant with an economy growing at 10% + per annum operating in a decidedly capitalistic fashion. Thus, we have the paradox of an anti communistic economic system operating under an anti capitalistic political system. The question for the future is whether this economic miracle will continue into the 21stcentury or is it but a temporary mirage and China will revert back to its previous secondary role on the worlds stage?


Slavic Review ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Kenez

The NEP was an inherently unstable social and political system: It contained within itself the seeds of its own destruction. The Bolsheviks carried out policies in which they did not fully believe and with implications that worried them. Although the Tenth Party Congress in 1921 forbade factions within the party, the struggle for power during Lenin's final illness and after his death inevitably created factions. The struggle for power and the conflict between contrasting views concerning the future of society came to be intertwined. For the sake of economic reconstruction the party allowed private enterprise to reemerge. As time went on, many Bolshevik leaders came to be convinced supporters of the mixed economic system; others, on the basis of their reading of Marxist ideology, found such policies distasteful.


Author(s):  
Nataliya M. Velikaya ◽  
◽  
Irina S. Shushpanova ◽  
Vladimir A. Afanas’ev ◽  
◽  
...  

The article analyzes the socio-political views of Russian citizens about the future of the Russian state and Russian society. Analyzing the dynamic data series of the monitoring “How do you Live, Russia?” and its last wave of November–December 2020, the authors consider the changes in mass consciousness in terms of assessing the effectiveness of the government’s efforts to ensure the most important rights, freedoms and norms of the social state and the democratic regime, which manifests itself in the attitude to the existing political system and affects the level of trust in the government, where the executive power traditionally leads. Identifying the expectations of Russian citizens about the possible development of the country in the political, economic and cultural spheres, the authors conclude that the level of socio-political optimism allows one to describe the existing political system as fairly stable, on the one hand, with a high level of legitimation, on the other with a high level of alienation of citizens from power


2011 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 268-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Markus S Schulz

This article provides concluding reflections for the monograph on Values and Culture by focusing on the role that values can play in the shaping of global futures. It discusses the emerging reconceptualizations of values and culture vis-a-vis accelerated financial flows and neoliberal deregulation, transnational migration, social movements and incipient global publics. It emphasizes that the study of values is not just about social cohesion but also about social transformation. Social reality is never stagnant but always in the making. Sociology should thus not shy away from reflecting on the future but use its critical imagination to inspire and push public debates further.


2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (03) ◽  
pp. 1650012
Author(s):  
HSIN-WEI TANG ◽  
YUAN FENG

Structural realists, notably Waltz and Mearsheimer, have argued for the persistence of an anarchic international political system characterized by the absence of any centralized authority positioned above individual states. Mearsheimer has further suggested that a Sino-U.S. conflict is likely to occur in the future under conditions of anarchy. Based on the perspectives of classical realism, Chinese traditions, and relevant historical experience, we interrogate Mearsheimer’s contention, arguing that hierarchies can thrive under conditions of international anarchy. Thus, international anarchy does not endure in perpetuity.


2005 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 150-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joachim H. Knoll

AbstractStarting from a political controversy and a wide-ranging media-discussion, the article examines the evolution of German national holidays from the "Kaiserreich" to the reunited Federal Republic (1871-2005). The author lists the dates and attributes of the national festivities (national emblems, national colors, national anthem) and asks to what extent national days can contribute to a collective identification with the given state and its political system. In the process of change one identifies a long run from emotional festivity towards a rather rational attitude in celebrating the National Day. The future of the current German national holiday (October 3) in the frame of a 'democratic culture' is far away from being settled.


Author(s):  
Ol'ga Kryshtanovskaya

The Russian political system has remained stable for many years. Now we are approaching the period of the so-called transit of power, associated with the end of the fourth legislature of President Vladimir Putin in 2024. Experts, politicians, scientists are hypothesizing about how Russia will develop in the future, who will replace the leader, will the transition be smooth or will we face a difficult period of political upheaval. Usually, analysts are guessing about a future Putin’s successor without striving to understand deeper processes of establishment of a new generation of governors who will carry out the transition of power. However, Russia’s development strategy depends on who is going to manage the economy, the public sector, and security area in short term. The authors attempt at creating a collective portrait of the governance elite of the so-called second echelon of power, who will come to the front in the nearest future. The paper aims at identifying the key trends in the establishment of this group, as well as the specifics of the life path of people who are now at the springboard of power.


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