Sailing a Ship through Stormy Waters Requires a Compass

2017 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 471-498
Author(s):  
Christian Olaf Christiansen
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Comparative Study ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Financial Derivatives ◽  
The Political ◽  
Seminal Work ◽  
Financial Deregulation ◽  
Political Justification ◽  
Public Debates

Whereas many scholars have concluded that neoliberalism as well as deregulation was among the key causes of the financial crisis of 2008, much less work has been done on particular reforms and the specific political rhetoric which justified them. This is a comparative study of the political justification of financial deregulation, examining two spectacular cases: the repeal of Glass-Steagall in 1999 and the passing of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000. There was a widespread, outspoken uncertainty about the consequences of financial deregulation in the 1990s public debates. Building upon Mark Blyth’s seminal work on economic ideas, this article traces the free market ideas and rhetoric that were invoked to reduce this uncertainty about financial derivatives and deregulation, thereby serving as an enabling factor for deregulation.

scholarly journals Nello specchio del Rinascimento

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Rossi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Debate ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Historical Figure ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship

Today, historians, philosophers, and scholars of cultural heritage discuss about the relationship between the periodizing labels of historiography and their symbolic employment within the current political rhetoric. To understand the relevance of this issue in Italy, it can be helpful to look at the academic and public debates around the category of “Renaissance”. On the one hand, this article aims to map some notable political uses of this historical figure as a symbol; on the other hand, it reconstructs a tradition of thought focused on the epistemic autonomy of the same category. With these intentions, I look at a group of Italian critics of Johan Huizinga’s aesthetic view of history – like Delio Cantimori, Eugenio Garin, and their heirs within the academic milieu of the “Scuola Normale” of Pisa. Finally, I evaluate whether there is any correspondence between “Renaissance” as a symbol within the political debate and its historiographical employment as a periodizing label.

On the Will of the People: Notes on the Political “Theory” of Populism

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claus Offe
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Political Theory ◽  
Conflicts Of Interest ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
The Political ◽  
The People ◽  
National People ◽  
The Will

The “will of the (national) people” is the ubiquitously invoked reference unit of populist politics. The essay tries to demystify the notion that such will can be conceived of as a unique and unified substance deriving from collective ethnic identity. Arguably, all political theory is concerned with arguing for ways by which citizens can make e pluribus unum—for example, by coming to agree on procedures and institutions by which conflicts of interest and ideas can be settled according to standards of fairness. It is argued that populists in their political rhetoric and practice typically try to circumvent the burden of such argument and proof. Instead, they appeal to the notion of some preexisting existential unity of the people’s will, which they can redeem only through practices of repression and exclusion.

Tribunes and Patricians: Fringe Parties in the 21st Century

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Nedelcu
Keyword(s):  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Spectrum ◽  
Structural Shifts

The mid and late 2000s witnessed a proliferation of political parties in European party systems. Marxist, Libertarian, Pirate, and Animal parties, as well as radical-right and populist parties, have become part of an increasingly heterogeneous political spectrum generally dominated by the mainstream centre-left and centre-right. The question this article explores is what led to the surge of these parties during the first decade of the 21st century. While it is tempting to look at structural arguments or the recent late-2000s financial crisis to explain this proliferation, the emergence of these parties predates the debt-crisis and can not be described by structural shifts alone . This paper argues that the proliferation of new radical parties came about not only as a result of changes in the political space, but rather due to the very perceived presence and even strengthening of what Katz and Mair (1995) famously dubbed the "cartelization" of mainstream political parties.   Full text available at: https://doi.org/10.22215/rera.v7i1.210

Indian Muslim(s) After Liberalization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maidul Islam
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Political Leadership ◽  
Economic Reforms ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
The Political ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Multiple Forms ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Economic Changes

Close to the turn of the century and almost 45 years after Independence, India opened its doors to free-market liberalization. Although meant as the promise to a better economic tomorrow, three decades later, many feel betrayed by the economic changes ushered in by this new financial era. Here is a book that probes whether India’s economic reforms have aided the development of Indian Muslims who have historically been denied the fruits of economic development. Maidul Islam points out that in current political discourse, the ‘Muslim question’ in India is not articulated in terms of demands for equity. Instead, the political leadership camouflages real issues of backwardness, prejudice, and social exclusion with the rhetoric of identity and security. Historically informed, empirically grounded, and with robust analytical rigour, the book tries to explore connections between multiple forms of Muslim marginalization, the socio-economic realities facing the community, and the formation of modern Muslim identity in the country. At a time when post-liberalization economic policies have created economic inequality and joblessness for significant sections of the population including Muslims, the book proposes working towards a radical democratic deepening in India.

Working Less, Not More in a Workfare Programme: Group Solidarity, Informal Norms and Alternative Value Systems Amongst Activated Participants

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
LASSE SCHMIDT HANSEN ◽  
MATHIAS HERUP NIELSEN
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Political Rhetoric ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Value Systems ◽  
The Political ◽  
Modus Operandi ◽  
Apparent Paradox ◽  
Group Solidarity ◽  
Manual Labour ◽  
Informal Regulation

Abstract This article uses extensive ethnographic methods to explore the lived reality of a Danish workfare programme. The programme requires social assistance recipients to perform manual labour for their benefits at municipal work sites. The contrast between the political rhetoric that justifies the workfare programme and the lived reality of it is striking. While the programme is justified as a means to put the passive unemployed to work, there is a norm of working less, not more at the site. The participants spend most of their time waiting or conducting seemingly meaningless work assignments. However, over time, the majority of the participants begin to embrace this modus operandi at the site. This article answers this apparent paradox by turning to concepts from the anthropology of industrial work. Such concepts allow us to analyse how camaraderie exists amongst participants as well as work supervisors at the site. Particularly, the camaraderie is based on group solidarity, an informal regulation of work efficiency and an alternative system of value. Hereby, the article adds to previous findings on the ‘lived experiences’ of welfare recipients.

nr="55",,Antiextremismus“ oder Demokratie? : Über Herkunft und Probleme der Extremismustheorie im Bildungskontext

2021 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66
Author(s):  
Dominik Feldmann
Keyword(s):  
Educational Policy ◽  
Political Education ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Basic Assumptions ◽  
Domestic Security ◽  
Public Debates ◽  
Innere Sicherheit ◽  
Political Spectrum

Zusammenfassung: Der Antiextremismus geht davon aus, dass die Gefahren der Demokratie an den Rändern des politischen Spektrums zu finden sind, und hat damit große Wirkmächtigkeit. Dies betrifft die innere Sicherheit ebenso wie Bildungsdebatten. Allerdings ernten der Antiextremismus in öffentlichen Debatten und die Extremismustheorie in der Wissenschaft immer wieder Kritik: Dient der Extremismusansatz tatsächlich dem Demokratieschutz oder schützt er bestehende Macht- und Herrschaftsverhältnisse, indem er Politikangebote, die von der politischen Mitte abweichen, diskreditiert? Für ein Verständnis des Antiextremismus fragt der Beitrag nach seinen Ursprüngen, Grundannahmen und Defiziten. Außerdem werden seine Einflüsse auf bildungspolitische Entscheidungen und Inhalte politischer Bildung betrachtet. Schließlich wird diskutiert, inwiefern der Antiextremismus sinnvoller Bestandteil von Bildung in einer und für eine Demokratie sein kann.Abstract: The anti-extremism discourse assumes that the dangers posed to democracy are to be found only at the edges of the political spectrum, and has thus become very influential both in relation to domestic security issues and to debates concerning education. However, this dicourse is repeatedly criticized in academia and public debates: Does its approach to “extremism” indeed serve to protect democracy, or does it, rather, protect existing power relationships by discrediting policies that deviate from the political centre? In order to understand the anti-extremism discourse, this article investigates its origins, basic assumptions and deficits. It also examines its influences on educational policy decisions and the content of political education. Finally, it discusses to what extent engagement with this discourse can contribute towards sound political education in a democratic context.

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