Constitutional Politics

Author(s):  
Sylvain Brouard

This chapter presents the intriguing puzzle of French constitutional politics: a spectacular increase in judicialization of French politics in the context of a flexible constitution and a politicized Constitutional Council. The state of the art is reviewed first at the international level and then within France in terms of both theory-building and empirical understanding of amending constitutions, judicialization of politics, and politicization of constitutional review. The French case, thus, provides an important case for developing comparative theory on constitutional politics and will remain a promising area of inquiry for many years to come. The chapter points to three promising areas of inquiry: the relationships between the types of government control and constitutional amendments, the patterns of judicialization, and the legitimacy of the role of constitutional review.

Author(s):  
Yvonne Tew

This chapter explores the role of courts and how judicial review operates in practice within the wider political context of Asian states historically dominated by consolidated political power. Judiciaries in Malaysia and Singapore are empowered by their written constitutions to invalidate legislation and executive actions for rights violations. Yet these Asian courts have traditionally adopted an insular, rigidly formalistic approach toward constitutional review, marked by extensive deference to the political branches, stridently rejecting notions of implied constitutional principles or basic structures. This chapter consider why. Constitutional adjudication in practice is inextricably bound to constitutional politics. Courts facing a dominant political party operate within a challenging environment for exercising strong judicial review. In the 1980s, the government’s aggressive backlash to judicial decisions with which it disagreed resulted in constitutional crises in Malaysia and Singapore. Chastened, the courts retreated to a subdued position toward constitutional review. Over the next two decades the Malaysian apex court refrained from invalidating any federal statute, while its Singaporean counterpart has not once struck down any law. Recent displays of assertiveness by the Malaysian Federal Court, however, show signs of a reinvigorated judiciary. The chapter tells the story of the courts’ rise, fall, and uneven journey toward constitutional redemption in these Asian democracies.


1965 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric A. Nordlinger

The outstanding characteristic of the French political system is its historical instability. Constitutional monarchy was overthrown by a revolution, replaced by a republic, which in turn quickly evolved into a dictatorship, and when it too was dismissed by an armed uprising, the interminable squabbles among the monarchist factions allowed another republic to come into existence by default. But for an “accident” of history this republic too would have given way to a dictatorship through the bloodless medium of the coup d'état, but while the republic tottered on in the interwar period the life-span of its governments was calculated in terms of months rather than years, and with its “collapse” under the coup de grâce of military defeat a new dictatorship immediately sprang up to take its place, to be succeeded by another republic lasting for thirteen years amid constantly recurring cabinet crises, then falling in the wake of an eminently successful revolution, out of which emerged the present regime. Here we have what sociologists might label the “institutionalization of instability”, interpreted by a number of leading writers on French politics as the product of a deep-seated conflict between the “two Frances”, whether these two political subcultures are viewed as the parties of mouvement and of I'ordre établi, or as the “administrative and representative traditions.”


Postcolonial studies, postmodern studies, even posthuman studies emerge, and intellectuals demand that social sciences be remade to address fundamentals of the human condition, from human rights to global environmental crises. Since these fields owe so much to American state sponsorship, is it easier to reimagine the human and the modern than to properly measure the pervasive American influence? Reconsidering American Power offers trenchant studies by renowned scholars who reassess the role of the social sciences in the construction and upkeep of the Pax Americana and the influence of Pax Americana on the social sciences. With the thematic image for this enterprise as the ‘fiery hunt’ for Ahab’s whale, the contributors pursue realities behind the theories, and reconsider the real origins and motives of their fields with an eye on what will deter or repurpose the ‘fiery hunts’ to come, by offering a critical insider’s view.


Author(s):  
Swayamdipta Bhaduri ◽  
Pankaj Sahu ◽  
Siddhartha Das ◽  
Aloke Kumar ◽  
Sushanta K. Mitra

The phenomenon of capillary imbibition through porous media is important both due to its applications in several disciplines as well as the involved fundamental flow physics in micro-nanoscales. In the present study, where a simple paper strip plays the role of a porous medium, we observe an extremely interesting and non-intuitive wicking or imbibition dynamics, through which we can separate water and dye particles by allowing the paper strip to come in contact with a dye solution. This result is extremely significant in the context of understanding paper-based microfluidics, and the manner in which the fundamental understanding of the capillary imbibition phenomenon in a porous medium can be used to devise a paper-based microfluidic separator.


2021 ◽  
pp. 096366252110206
Author(s):  
Lyn M. van Swol ◽  
Emma Frances Bloomfield ◽  
Chen-Ting Chang ◽  
Stephanie Willes

This study examined if creating intimacy in a group discussion is more effective toward reaching consensus about climate change than a focus on information. Participants were randomly assigned to either a group that spent the first part of an online discussion engaging in self-disclosure and focusing on shared values (intimacy condition) or discussing information from an article about climate change (information condition). Afterward, all groups were given the same instructions to try to come to group consensus on their opinions about climate change. Participants in the intimacy condition had higher ratings of social cohesion, group attraction, task interdependence, and collective engagement and lower ratings of ostracism than the information condition. Intimacy groups were more likely to reach consensus, with ostracism and the emotional tone of discussion mediating this effect. Participants were more likely to change their opinion to reflect that climate change is real in the intimacy than information condition.


Philosophies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 5
Author(s):  
S. J. Blodgett-Ford

The phenomenon and ethics of “voting” will be explored in the context of human enhancements. “Voting” will be examined for enhanced humans with moderate and extreme enhancements. Existing patterns of discrimination in voting around the globe could continue substantially “as is” for those with moderate enhancements. For extreme enhancements, voting rights could be challenged if the very humanity of the enhanced was in doubt. Humans who were not enhanced could also be disenfranchised if certain enhancements become prevalent. Voting will be examined using a theory of engagement articulated by Professor Sophie Loidolt that emphasizes the importance of legitimization and justification by “facing the appeal of the other” to determine what is “right” from a phenomenological first-person perspective. Seeking inspiration from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) of 1948, voting rights and responsibilities will be re-framed from a foundational working hypothesis that all enhanced and non-enhanced humans should have a right to vote directly. Representative voting will be considered as an admittedly imperfect alternative or additional option. The framework in which voting occurs, as well as the processes, temporal cadence, and role of voting, requires the participation from as diverse a group of humans as possible. Voting rights delivered by fiat to enhanced or non-enhanced humans who were excluded from participation in the design and ratification of the governance structure is not legitimate. Applying and extending Loidolt’s framework, we must recognize the urgency that demands the impossible, with openness to that universality in progress (or universality to come) that keeps being constituted from the outside.


Author(s):  
Francesco Piccialli ◽  
Vincenzo Schiano di Cola ◽  
Fabio Giampaolo ◽  
Salvatore Cuomo

AbstractThe first few months of 2020 have profoundly changed the way we live our lives and carry out our daily activities. Although the widespread use of futuristic robotaxis and self-driving commercial vehicles has not yet become a reality, the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically accelerated the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in different fields. We have witnessed the equivalent of two years of digital transformation compressed into just a few months. Whether it is in tracing epidemiological peaks or in transacting contactless payments, the impact of these developments has been almost immediate, and a window has opened up on what is to come. Here we analyze and discuss how AI can support us in facing the ongoing pandemic. Despite the numerous and undeniable contributions of AI, clinical trials and human skills are still required. Even if different strategies have been developed in different states worldwide, the fight against the pandemic seems to have found everywhere a valuable ally in AI, a global and open-source tool capable of providing assistance in this health emergency. A careful AI application would enable us to operate within this complex scenario involving healthcare, society and research.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 17
Author(s):  
Gajendra Sharma Rabin Shrestha

Imagine the University where everything runs smoothly, there is no need to worry about information that needs to be known where the University shares all information in your ear. Imagine that you know every location of your University and the schedules are relevant. This research focuses on the problem faced by Kathmandu University (KU) students while searching for their lecture room and managing their class schedule. This research is carried out for proposing knowledge portal for an intelligent class scheduling and location directing on the central campus of KU. The quest of the information world to make everyday easier has driven us to come up with the concept of such an app and this research consists of role of knowledge management for the development of an application by sharing and exchange of information between individuals and the administration. The university will be benefited in at least a small way through the paper.


2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 459-473
Author(s):  
Pierre Bentata ◽  
Michael Faure
Keyword(s):  

2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. E3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emun Abdu ◽  
Daniel F. Hanley ◽  
David W. Newell

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage is a serious public health problem and is fatal in 30%–50% of all occurrences. The role of open surgical management of supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage is still unresolved. A recent consensus conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health suggests that minimally invasive techniques to evacuate clots appear to be a promising area and warrant further investigation. In this paper the authors review past, current, and potential future methods of treating intraparenchymal hemorrhages with minimally invasive techniques and review new data regarding the role of stereotactically placed catheters and thrombolytics.


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