The Big Picture: Imagining the Constitution

2021 ◽  
pp. 0067205X2199315
Author(s):  
Desmond Manderson
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Exceptional Case ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Social Fabric ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Big Picture ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Cultural Functions

In Australia, a technocratic minimalist approach to constitutional interpretation leaves little space for what has recently been described as a ‘democratic’ or ‘social’ ‘constitutional imaginary’. The ‘big picture’ of what a constitution is, and why it matters, is systematically reduced to a ‘strict and complete legalism’ that shows little interest in the social and cultural functions of a constitution in the modern world. The ‘dual citizenship’ cases (2017–18), concerning s 44 of the Australian Constitution, provide an exceptional case study. The High Court of Australia’s narrow positivism shielded it from criticism, but at a high cost to Australia’s democratic and social fabric. This article argues that, at a time when the rule of law and the public sphere is under threat as never before, we can and should expect more of our peak legal institutions. A constitutional court without a broader commitment to constitutionalism imperils the legitimacy of the whole constitutional order and of the public sphere.

LEGAL ESSENCE OF ANCIENT PROVERBS AND SAYS AND THEIR SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Dranishnikova ◽  
Ivan Semenov
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
The Public ◽  
Moral Standards ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Status Position

The national legal system is determined by traditional elements characterizing the culture and customs that exist in the social environment in the form of moral standards and the law. However, the attitude of the population to the letter of the law, as a rule, initially contains negative properties in order to preserve personal freedom, status, position. Therefore, to solve pressing problems of rooting in the minds of society of the elementary foundations of the initial order, and then the rule of law in the public sphere, proverbs and sayings were developed that in essence contained legal educational criteria.

scholarly journals The Public Sphere in the Field of Power

2010 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Calhoun
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Life ◽  
Early Nineteenth Century ◽  
Public Spheres ◽  
Social Foundations ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
The Public Sphere

In this article I ask (1) whether the ways in which the early bourgeois public sphere was structured—precisely by exclusion—are instructive for considering its later development, (2) how a consideration of the social foundations of public life calls into question abstract formulations of it as an escape from social determination into a realm of discursive reason, (3) to what extent “counterpublics” may offer useful accommodations to failures of larger public spheres without necessarily becoming completely attractive alternatives, and (4) to what extent considering the organization of the public sphere as a field might prove helpful in analyzing differentiated publics, rather than thinking of them simply as parallel but each based on discrete conditions. These considerations are informed by an account of the way that the public sphere developed as a concrete ideal and an object of struggle in late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century Britain.

Challenging Valuations: How Rankings Navigate Contestation

2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 289-305
Author(s):  
Leopold Ringel
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Rhetorical Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Constant Attention ◽  
The Public ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Public Sphere

Abstract Accounts of why rankings are pervasive features of the modern world focus mostly on their properties as valuation devices that, upon entering the public sphere, exert pressure on the ranked. In doing so, however, research tends to overlook the important role played by the different types of organizations that produce rankings. To remedy this, the article draws from a qualitative study consisting of semi-structured interviews with members of these organizations to show that they put a great deal of effort into addressing and responding to different kinds of criticism. Working towards building and maintaining the credibility of rankings is thus revealed to require constant attention by their producers, who devise multiple procedures and rhetorical strategies to this end.

Conclusions: Reclaiming the Public in Policing

2019 ◽  
pp. 146-172
Author(s):  
Paul Mutsaers
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Law Enforcement Agencies ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Anthropology ◽  
Public Character ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Conceptual Work

This concluding chapter synergizes the previous chapters and adds something new. Both functions are captured by the title, Reclaiming the Public in Policing. First, it argues that the empirical and conceptual work in this book points at the corrosion of the public character of policing, which results in law enforcement agencies that find it increasingly difficult to exclude politics, particularism, and populism from their operations. This part of the chapter concludes that it is imperative that we ‘unthink’ bureaucracy as the social evil of our time and revalue the public contours of policing. A second way to reclaim the ‘public’ in policing, now defined not as a quality of the police but an engaged citizenry that is involved in public debates on the police, concerns the role of police scholars in the public sphere. The chapter advocates a public anthropology of police and reflects on the author's efforts to ‘go public’.

Habermas, Virtue Epistemology, and Religious Justifications in the Public Sphere

Hypatia ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 422-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Epstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Virtue Epistemology ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Epistemic Communities ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Rich ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Miranda Fricker ◽  
Epistemological Basis

Jürgen Habermas's recent challenge to secular citizens calling for greater inclusivity of religious justifications in the public sphere opens new epistemological debates that could benefit from the rich insights of feminist epistemologists. Despite certain theoretical tensions, there is some common ground between Habermas and recent work in feminist epistemology. Specifically, this article explores the shared interests between Habermas and one feminist theorist in particular, Miranda Fricker. I choose Fricker because her formulation of the epistemological and ethical hybrid virtues of testimonial justice and hermeneutical justice provide efficacious theoretical and practical tools capable of deepening the epistemological basis of Habermas's challenge to secular citizens. After a detailed analysis of Habermas's and Fricker's respective epistemological positions, I argue that Fricker's analysis provides a rich framework for thinking through questions of power, identity, and credibility with respect to religious justifications in the public sphere. In conclusion, this article emphasizes the importance of fostering more robust and just epistemic communities capable of countering the social, political, and ethical injustices of epistemic disauthorization and marginalization.

Everyday Editorial Practices and the Public Sphere: Analysing the Letters to the Editor Page of a Regional Newspaper

2004 ◽  
Vol 112 (1) ◽  
pp. 186-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke Gregory ◽  
Brett Hutchins
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Editorial Staff ◽  
Daily Newspaper ◽  
Letters To The Editor ◽  
Daily News ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Editorial Practices

This paper investigates the social construction of a site of public discourse: the letters to the editor page of an Australian regional daily newspaper, The Daily News.1 Of key concern are the processes through which public discourse is constructed and mediated by those who select and edit letters for publication. Drawing on a content analysis of the letters page and in-depth interviews with the editorial staff, it is demonstrated how routine practices and the social knowledge of media workers play a specific and discernible role in shaping public dialogue. In light of the findings presented, the concluding section discusses the relationship between editorial practices and the public sphere.

Friedman at 50: Is It Still the Social Responsibility of Business to Increase Profits?

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 28-41
Author(s):  
Karthik Ramanna
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
The Public ◽  
Track Record ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Civic Institutions ◽  
Public Politics ◽  
Rules Of The Game

Fifty years ago Milton Friedman famously argued that the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits, which today are at record highs. And, as public institutions falter, business is now offering to step into the void. We must resist this (further) intrusion of business into the public sphere, as it will further depreciate civic institutions. The business of business is business, and so it should be. Business’ track record in public politics has been to engineer the rules of the game to its own advantage.

Learning together to be ourselves: a collaborative portrait of affect in relation

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-136
Author(s):  
Râna Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Collaborative Research ◽  
Social Care ◽  
Affect Theory ◽  
Care Practice ◽  
Collaborative Culture ◽  
Subject Formation ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Public Sphere

Þjóðmyndir was a collaborative photography project carried out by individuals frequenting two social service organisations that work in close partnership in Ísafjörður, Iceland, under the guidance of the author. It offered participants an opportunity to express themselves creatively in the public sphere and aimed to engage them in participative processes of learning, creating and reflecting to this end. The project struggled with the participatory and collaborative research traditions that informed it, yet it defined its own, unique collaborative culture around the social learning that emerged from the participants’ entering into relation with and emotionally affecting one another. Consequently, it succeeded at creating a space for the processes of subject formation inherent to discussions of both collaborative research and social-relational affect. This paper examines instances of affect and collaboration particular to the project through the lens of disability studies in order to advance an understanding of the intersectional relevance of affect theory and collaborative methodologies to social care practice.

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