Why a Hedgehog Cannot Have Political Obligations

Ratio Juris ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 317-328
Author(s):  
Andrea Faggion
Keyword(s):  
Political Obligations

Political Obligation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Dagger
Keyword(s):  
A Priori ◽  
Political Obligation ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
Philosophical Anarchism

Although it is an ancient and much-discussed problem, political obligation continues to pose challenges to political and legal philosophers. Some of these challenges are conceptual, for they require explanations of what a political obligation is and how it differs from other obligations, duties, or responsibilities. Other challenges concern the practical matters of whether and to what extent political obligations are truly binding on us. In this respect, the foremost challenge is that of anarchism, including the “philosophical anarchism” that has become increasingly influential in recent decades. This chapter aims to meet these challenges by setting out a coherent account of political obligation and providing reason to believe that neither political nor philosophical anarchists have made a satisfactory a priori case against the possibility of a compelling theory of political obligation.

Accession of the Russian Federation to the World Trade Organization: A New Player Joins the Trade Game

2015 ◽  
Vol 40 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 321-365
Author(s):  
Kim Van der Borght
Keyword(s):  
World Trade Organization ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
World Trade ◽  
Dual Process ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
The World ◽  
Border Dispute ◽  
Accession Process ◽  
The Russian Federation

To date, no country has taken longer to join the World Trade Organization than the Russian Federation despite the fact that the ussr (of which the Russian Federation is the legal successor) participated in the drafting conference of the Charter to the International Trade Organization, i.e., the original source of the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and the later wto. While the ussr never joined the ito, Russia finally joined the wto in 2012, eighteen years after its first application had been made. The reasons for the lengthy accession process were partially economic, as the wto was established to remove trade impediments; however, the context also was highly politicized. The economic aspects of the wto accession process are the concessions made to existing members. These entail removing the cover offered to domestic producers by opening up to international competition. This process also has political aspects, as domestic lobbies representing economic sectors likely to suffer from an increasingly competitive international environment seek compensation. The politicization is facilitated by a custom contra legem in wto decision-making procedures that gives a de facto veto to existing members. Georgia used this to reassert its position on South Osetiia and Abkhaziia. China brought a border dispute into the process, and the us entangled the process in a broad-ranging debate linked to human rights. In joining the wto, a dual process of domestic and international negotiations results in the final package of commitments to which an acceding member needs to agree as it joins the wto. Part of our focus in this article will be on key economic and political obligations that the Russian Federation took upon itself by becoming a member of the wto.

Reformist Consent and Political Obligation

1991 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 676-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Klosko
Keyword(s):  
Political Institutions ◽  
Political Obligation ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
Plausible Model ◽  
Voluntary Character ◽  
Voluntary Choice ◽  
Consent Theory

It is commonly held that theories of political obligation based on consent, whether express or tacit, cannot account for most people's obligations; that political obligations generally stem from being born into specific societies rather than from voluntary choice. In recent years, consent theorists have turned to ‘reformist’ consent, arguing that consent theory could be rescued if political institutions were reformed to allow the possibility of widespread consent. Various possible reforms are examined and shown to be inadequate. The most obvious mechanism, ‘consent-or-leave’, is disqualified because it is coercive. Other mechanisms would be unable to induce widespread consent while preserving consent's essential voluntary character. I refer to the most plausible model as ‘Hobbes's choice’, though because it must unacceptably limit non-consentors' ability to defend themselves, it too is unsatisfactory.

Introduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Niall Allsopp
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Thomas Hobbes ◽  
Literary Imagination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Critical Dialogue ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
Political Ideas ◽  
Political Debates

This Introduction highlights the poets’ links with each other and with Hobbes, and their flexible allegiances. It maps out the background to their mutually-informing ideas of sovereignty. Although these ideas were shaped by traditional absolutism, they took an unusual and comparatively secular view of sovereignty as an artificial construct. This view was shaped by traditions of Tacitism, neostoicism, and scepticism, and was sharpened immediately following the civil wars by the political debates of the Cavendish circle in Paris and the Engagement controversy in England. In all these respects, the poets’ views evolved through the influence of, but also a critical dialogue with, Thomas Hobbes. Their artificial view of sovereignty relied on the literary imagination to forge and declare political obligations. The Introduction concludes by reflecting on the methods involved in studying the fashioning of political ideas in poetry.

Philosophers and Public Policy

Worldview ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 14-16
Author(s):  
Bernard Murchland
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Public Forum ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
Professional Philosopher ◽  
Political Implications ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Scene

When I first began to study philosophy, there was not much concern with its political implications. One thought of philosophers as being a few removes from the public forum, concerned with loftier matters, operating far from the untidiness of the social scene in a cool oasis where the imagination could play and consciousness unfold at its own pace. It was a pure world, to be sure, and the purist view is by no means an obsolete one. Just the other day I heard a well-known philosopher in heated argument with a campus activist say that the responsibilities of a professional philosopher end with his profession, that his political obligations qua philosopher were nil.

scholarly journals Political Consent, Promissory Fidelity and Rights Transfers in Grotius

Grotiana ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-145
Author(s):  
Laetitia Ramelet
Keyword(s):  
Early Modern ◽  
Political Authority ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
Salient Characteristic ◽  
Solid Foundation ◽  
The Right

Grotius (1583–1645) is now widely acknowledged as an important figure in early modern contractual and consensual theories of political authority and legitimacy. However, as his thoughts on these debates are disseminated throughout his works rather than systematically ordained, it remains difficult to assess what, if anything, constitutes his distinctive mark. In the present paper, I will argue that his works contain a combination of two conceptual elements that have come to constitute a salient characteristic of early modern contract and consent theories: first, a strong obligation to keep one’s promises, and second, an account of perfect promises as transferrals of rights. In the political sphere, this means that citizens who have promised their obedience to the authorities are obligated to keep faith, which provides a solid foundation for political obligations. In addition, their promise implies that authorities receive the right to rule over them, which accounts for the legitimacy of these authorities’ power.

scholarly journals Contesting Accusations of ‘Foreign Interference’: New Agendas for Australian Civil Society

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-84
Author(s):  
James Goodman
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
The Public ◽  
Political Obligations ◽  
New Rhetoric ◽  
International Trends ◽  
Global Trend ◽  
Legislative Proposals ◽  
Democratic Rights

In 2017 the Australian Government announced a raft of measures designed to combat ‘foreign interference’ in the Australian political system. The measures propose new constraints on civil society advocacy and threaten to seriously curtail democratic rights. They form part of global trend towards the increased regulation of International Non-Government Organisations (INGOs), driven by fears of ‘foreign’ political influence. In response to the shrinking ‘civic space’, NGOs are defining new agendas. Recently in Australia and elsewhere NGO advocates have gained some traction in extending the legitimacy and scope for political advocacy. The new rhetoric of countering ‘foreign interference’ threatens NGO advocacy, but also creates new political possibilities. This article surveys the international trends and Australian contexts; it analyses recent legislative proposals in Australia to combat ‘foreign interference’, and outlines the public debate. The double standard for INGOs and multinational corporations is highlighted as a key theme, and the article ends with a concluding discussion about emerging possibilities for new political obligations for corporations in Australia

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