The 1978 Spanish Constitutional Design

2020 ◽  
pp. 170-189
Author(s):  
Josep M. Vallès
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
The West ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Territorial Conflict ◽  
Prospective Development ◽  
Spanish Constitution ◽  
European Welfare State

Forty years after its making, the 1978 Spanish Constitution is now subject to growing criticism and demands for reform. This chapter examines first the context in which this constitutional design developed, and the main influences it received: the West European welfare state model, external economic and geostrategic constraints and a tight balance of power between the most significant actors in the Spanish political arena. It then points to the key founding bargains achieved during the democratic transition over traditional and new political and social issues. Finally, it assesses the constitutional design performance and looks at its prospective development. Having exceeded all its historical precedents in time and efficiency, the 1978 Constitution is now challenged by a deep social and economic unrest, a recurrent national-territorial conflict and public distrust of political institutions

Congress and the President in Times of War

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 840-865 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Schorpp ◽  
Charles J. Finocchiaro
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The United States ◽  
Constitutional Design ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
Major Aspect ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Binary Approach ◽  
And Function

The increasingly common involvement of the United States in military conflict resonates throughout American political institutions and affects the balance of power in important ways. We examine one particular aspect of executive augmentation of power in times of war—legislative deference—and move beyond a binary approach to the effect of war. Instead, we contend that executive advantage depends on the salience and severity of the conflict. Matters of war often drive upward the prevalence of security concerns in public discourse. Although this can leave the president to compete with Congress on a much more friendly playing field, perceptions of the war’s development can turn the tide. We empirically test our hypotheses with data spanning a 50-year period and find that the salience and severity of war matter, though not equally for both chambers of Congress. The findings hold implications for how we understand the institutional balance of power within and across conflicts, which represents a major aspect of American constitutional design and function.

US and Russian policies and strategies in the Middle East: Iraq and Syria as a model

2019 ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Esraa Aladdin Noori ◽  
Nasser Zain AlAbidine Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Middle East ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Western World ◽  
International Conflicts ◽  
The South ◽  
The West ◽  
The North ◽  
East Region ◽  
Middle East Region

The Russian-American relations have undergone many stages of conflict and competition over cooperation that have left their mark on the international balance of power in the Middle East. The Iraqi and Syrian crises are a detailed development in the Middle East region. The Middle East region has allowed some regional and international conflicts to intensify, with the expansion of the geopolitical circle, which, if applied strategically to the Middle East region, covers the area between Afghanistan and East Asia, From the north to the Maghreb to the west and to the Sudan and the Greater Sahara to the south, its strategic importance will seem clear. It is the main lifeline of the Western world.

Murderous Mumbo-Jumbo: The Significance of Fraternity to Three Criminal Organizations in Late Nineteenth-Century America

2015 ◽  
Vol 50 (4) ◽  
pp. 1067-1088
Author(s):  
KRISTOFER ALLERFELDT
Keyword(s):  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
The West ◽  
Nineteenth Century America ◽  
The Past ◽  
Criminal Organizations ◽  
Mumbo Jumbo ◽  
Late Nineteenth

Over the past thirty years or so the study of American fraternity has been used to explore a variety of phenomena in the nation's evolution, especially around the turn of the twentieth century. Fraternities have been used to understand the exploration, taming and exploitation of the West. They have been shown to represent proof of the various turn-of-the century crises of gender, race and ethnicity. They have been seen as the very embodiment of bygone caring, sharing, communities. However, among the aspects to have escaped attention is the importance of fraternity in criminal organizations. Given that crime, then as now, was seen as one of the most pressing of social issues, and given that over these years there was a deep suspicion that there were a variety of ultra-secret fraternities organizing, facilitating and manipulating wide-ranging criminal activities, this may be considered a little odd. This article investigates the idea that there was really such a thing as a genuine criminal “fraternity.” Looking at three of the most famous of such organizations – the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the Molly Maguires and the Mafia – it demonstrates that not only were ideas of fraternity central to their very existence, but they are also crucial to our understanding both of them and of the period in which they were situated.

scholarly journals Preventing Extremism with Extremists: A Double-Edged Sword? An Analysis of the Impact of Using Former Extremists in Danish Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 111 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Parker ◽  
Lasse Lindekilde
Keyword(s):  
Political Violence ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Political Tolerance ◽  
Effect Evaluation ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The West ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Violent Extremism ◽  
The Impact

Governments across the West have invested significant resources in preventing radicalization, and strategies to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE) are increasingly prominent within wider counter-terrorism policies. However, we know little about their effects, especially about projects that utilize former extremists to counter extremist narratives and increase critical thinking. Despite the prominence of interventions utilizing “formers”, there are almost no systematic, scientific evaluations of these programs. The lack of evaluation is problematic given the recognized risks and negative effects of using formers to address other social issues, such as crime prevention. This paper presents findings from the largest study to date of the effects of using former extremists to prevent violent extremism. Based on a randomized controlled effect evaluation with 1931 Danish youths, it highlights significant successes, including reducing the perceived legitimacy of political violence, as well as negative effects, including a small decrease in political tolerance. Overall, the findings suggest a need for cost–benefit analyses of P/CVE initiatives, weighing the benefits against the risks.

Future Animal: Environmental and Animal Welfare Perspectives on the Genetic Engineering of Animals

2001 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
LYLE MUNRO
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Engineering ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The West ◽  
Social Invention ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Case Basis ◽  
Ordinary Citizens

Genetic engineering is a social invention as much as a biological one. Ordinary citizens interested in the well-being of life on the planet should therefore be involved in the ethical debates concerning the future of nonhuman animals. The creations of genetic engineers ought to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by what the American philosopher R. G. Frey calls “a jury of concerned individuals.” Frey is an advocate for putting animals in perspective, which means that animals matter, but not as much as humans. He therefore supports the prevailing moral orthodoxy, which currently in the West means that animals can be eaten, dissected, hunted, and exhibited, provided that these things are done humanely and that the benefits to humans outweigh the harms to the animals. The “concerned individual,” he suggests, would have no objection to humans killing animals as long as the animals do not suffer. In the present paper, my aim is to raise some of the ethical, welfare, and social issues from an animal-protectionist perspective which ordinary citizens would need to consider if they were ever asked to vote on the benefits or otherwise of the impact of genetic engineering on animal welfare.

scholarly journals The Human Wallace Line: Racial Science and Political Afterlife

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-329
Author(s):  
Fenneke Sysling
Keyword(s):  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Human Body ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
The West ◽  
Alfred Russel Wallace ◽  
Racial Science ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
The Difference

This paper examines racial science and its political uses in Southeast Asia. It follows several anthropologists who travelled to east Nusa Tenggara (the Timor Archipelago, including the islands of Timor, Flores and Sumba), where Alfred Russel Wallace had drawn a dividing line between the races of the east and the west of the archipelago. These medically trained anthropologists aimed to find out if the Wallace Line could be more precisely defined with measurements of the human body. The paper shows how anthropologists failed to find definite markers to quantify the difference between Malay and Papuan/Melanesian. This, however, did not diminish the conceptual power of the Wallace Line, as the idea of a boundary between Malays and Papuans was taken up in the political arena during the West New Guinea dispute and was employed as a political tool by all parties involved. It shows how colonial and racial concepts can be appropriated by local actors and dismissed or emphasised depending on political perspectives.

Russia's Armenia reinforcement may destabilise region

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Balance Of Power ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
The South ◽  
South Caucasus ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Operational Capabilities ◽  
Russian Military

Significance As Russia expands military operations in Syria and escalates the crisis with Turkey, it has also bolstered its forces at its base in Armenia, the sole Russian military facility in the South Caucasus. The expanded Russian force in Armenia not only enhances its operational capabilities, but also endangers an already delicate regional balance of power in the region. It can be seen as a response both to the shooting down of a Russian military warplane by Turkey in November, and to two separate incursions into Armenian airspace by Turkish army helicopters in early October. Impacts Neighbouring Turkey will see the expansion of Russian forces in Armenia as a provocative move, aimed against both Turkey and NATO. Azerbaijan may expand its own operations, amid a wider escalation of hostilities over Nagorno-Karabakh. By being drawn into supporting Russia's Syrian operations, Armenia's relations with the West become more complicated.

scholarly journals Towards freedom and social awareness: Hopeful narratives and performatives in American theatre and literature

Ars Aeterna ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-13
Author(s):  
Ivan Lacko
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
American Art ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
American Theatre ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
American Society ◽  
The Aesthetic

Abstract The paper addresses the complexity of social issues in contemporary American society through the prism of its reflection in theatre and literature. The characteristic features of American narratives and performatives are freedom and an almost utopian belief in diversity and social understanding. At the same time, the discussed works present a comprehensive look at social issues using a great variety of forms and genres, and appealing to the aesthetic sensitivity of different groups of recipients. In the face of future problems in the political arena, American art offers an interesting transatlantic perspective on the complexity of 21st-century issues which are relevant all over the world.

scholarly journals CZY ROSJA PROWADZI NA BAŁKANACH WOJNĘ HYBRYDOWĄ?

2019 ◽  
pp. 23-49
Author(s):  
Wojciech Szczepański
Keyword(s):  
Central Europe ◽  
Economic Activity ◽  
Balance Of Power ◽  
The West ◽  
The Balkans ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Media Messages ◽  
Special Services ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
Balkan States

Abstrakt: Napięte stosunki między Federacją Rosyjską a Zachodem, konflikty, wyraźnie interpretowane jako wojna hybrydowa prowadzona przez Rosjan w krajach, w których interesy Rosji i Zachodu zderzają się (głównie na Ukrainie), kwestionują skalę i rodzaj rosyjskiego zaangażowania na Bałkanach - obszarze tradycyjnego wielowymiarowego konfliktu między Wschodem i Zachodem, w którym destabilizacja stanowi klucz do odbudowy równowagi sił w całej Europie Środkowej. Artykuł analizuje formy rosyjskiej obecności w krajach bałkańskich - zwłaszcza na obszarze post-jugosłowiańskim - działalność gospodarczą rosyjskich służb specjalnych, wywiadowcze operacje ofensywne w Serbii, Czarnogórze, Macedonii, powiązania Moskwy z procesami politycznymi i wojną medialną sprzyjającą radykalizacji społecznej i wzrostowi nastrojów prorosyjskich. Abstract: Currently strained relations between the Russian Federation and the West, conflicts clearly interpreted as hybrid warfare led by the Russians in countries in which the interests of Russia and the West (mainly Ukraine) are overwhelming, question the scale and type of Russian involvement in the Balkans - the area of traditional multidimensional conflict between East and West, in whose destabilization lies the key to the reconstruction of the balance of power throughout Central Europe. The article examines the forms of Russian presence in the Balkan states - especially post-Yugoslavian - Russia's economic activity of its special services, intelligence offensive operations in Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia in the last few years, Moscow's links with political processes and the targeting of media messages favouring social radicalization and increase in pro-Russian moods.

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