‘There is no alternative’: How Italian and Spanish leaders’ discourse obscured the political nature of austerity

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Borriello
Keyword(s):  
Economic Policies ◽  
Hegemonic Discourse ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Economic Decisions ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Common ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Heads Of Government ◽  
Shed Light

The Eurozone crisis and the remarkable convergence of national governments towards austerity policies draw scholars’ attention to the discursive strategies that they have used in order to legitimate their economic decisions. This article studies the common features of austerity discourse beyond national and partisan boundaries. It relies on an in-depth analysis combining lexicography and the study of metaphors in speeches of the Italian and Spanish heads of government between 2011 and 2013. While drawing on recent work addressing the legitimation of economic policies, this research takes a step back in order to shed light on the broader discourse on which austerity policies rely and in order to explain the common patterns in various political actors’ discourse. Rooted in a post-foundational approach, it identifies several discursive strategies for depoliticising economic issues (e.g. the construction of an economic common sense, the appeal to external constraints and the metaphorical naturalisation of economics), thus unveiling their political nature. The ‘restructuring’ and ‘rescaling’ of social practices are identified as the main mechanisms pertaining to the articulation of such a broader hegemonic discourse.

15. EU External Relations

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Smith
Keyword(s):  
Customs Union ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
External Relations ◽  
International Monetary Policy ◽  
Treaty Of Rome ◽  
The Common ◽  
National Governments ◽  
The Eu

This chapter examines the external economic relations of the European Union. It begins with a discussion of institutions and policy-making in external economic relations, focusing in particular on the Common Commercial Policy (CCP). Established by the Treaty of Rome and fully implemented in the late 1960s, the CCP is the means by which the EU manages the complex range of partnerships, negotiations, agreements, and disputes that emerge through the operation of the customs union and the single market. The chapter proceeds by exploring two areas of mixed competence, in which policy responsibility is shared between the EU institutions and national governments: development assistance policy and international monetary policy. It concludes with an analysis of tensions and contradictions in EU external economic policies.

scholarly journals Bushidō as a Hybrid: Hybridity and Transculturation in the Bushido Discourse

Asian Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 51-70
Author(s):  
Masaki SHIRAISHI
Keyword(s):  
Western Culture ◽  
Cultural Tradition ◽  
The West ◽  
Cultural Traditions ◽  
Nationalist Discourse ◽  
Discursive Strategies ◽  
Famous Book ◽  
The Common ◽  
Different Cultures ◽  
Shed Light

This paper examines the discourse on bushido in the late Meiji period. My aim is to shed light on bushido’s hybridity by using the concept of transculturation. Transculturation conceptualizes encounters between different cultures as a process of mutual construction. The bushido theorists that are discussed in this paper are in some sense transculturators, struggling between Japan and the West, the particular and the universal, and tradition and modernity. One of the common theoretical strategies for solving this problem attempted to valorize bushido and was mostly dependent on establishing equivalence with similar traditions in Western culture, such as chivalry or gentlemanship. Nitobe’s famous book on bushido went beyond this type of strategy. He not only accounted for things in Japanese cultural tradition by using Western logic, but also reinterpreted Western concepts in light of Japanese cultural traditions. This makes Nitobe a more perfect example of a transculturator than others. The ultra-nationalist discourse on bushido by Inoue Tetsujiro shows another curious aspect of bushido’s hybridity. Bushido became at once purified and hybridized through the distinction he made between superficial formality and the essential spirit. Thus, the discursive strategies of bushido theorists are closely related to bushido’s hybridity.

Rational Expectations and Inflation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Sargent
Keyword(s):  
World War I ◽  
French Revolution ◽  
Rational Expectations ◽  
Ronald Reagan ◽  
Fiscal Policies ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
Budget Deficits ◽  
Nobel Lecture ◽  
Economic Decisions ◽  
The French Revolution

This collection of essays uses the lens of rational expectations theory to examine how governments anticipate and plan for inflation, and provides insight into the pioneering research for which the author was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in economics. Rational expectations theory is based on the simple premise that people will use all the information available to them in making economic decisions, yet applying the theory to macroeconomics and econometrics is technically demanding. This book engages with practical problems in economics in a less formal, noneconometric way, demonstrating how rational expectations can satisfactorily interpret a range of historical and contemporary events. It focuses on periods of actual or threatened depreciation in the value of a nation's currency. Drawing on historical attempts to counter inflation, from the French Revolution and the aftermath of World War I to the economic policies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, the book finds that there is no purely monetary cure for inflation; rather, monetary and fiscal policies must be coordinated. This fully expanded edition includes the author's 2011 Nobel lecture, “United States Then, Europe Now.” It also features new articles on the macroeconomics of the French Revolution and government budget deficits.

scholarly journals The ‘3CE2CE’ Framework—Change Management Towards a Circular Economy: Opportunities for Agribusiness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan-Hua Nadja Yang ◽  
Ana Carolina Bertassini ◽  
Jéssica Alves Justo Mendes ◽  
Mateus Cecílio Gerolamo
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Change Management ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Agricultural Sector ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Managerial Practices ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Common ◽  
Transformation Processes

AbstractFor the transition towards a circular economy (CE), organisations have to be prepared to adapt to major changes. Thus, the concept and implementation of change management (CM) will be essential to an organisation’s success during this transformative period. Studies have shown that organisational CE barriers were more significant than individual CE barriers. To overcome such obstacles, the most appropriate set of managerial practices should be carefully considered. These barriers also have the potential to influence the agricultural sector, which seeks to adopt more sustainable ways of production. The goal of this paper is to propose a solution framework based on CM strategies to overcome organisational challenges posed by a CE, especially for agribusinesses. To accomplish this objectively, a systematic literature review and a content analysis were conducted. The common errors in CM within the implementation process and the main CE barriers were identified and classified. An in-depth analysis of the issue’s roots led to a solid understanding of how to tackle such CM problems. This paper presents an overview of organisational CE barriers verified in the agricultural context, the common errors in CM, and the correlation between these findings. The two areas were then combined in a matrix that shows the connection between common errors in CM errors and CE barriers. Based on this result, a solution framework called 3CE2CE was developed that provides a step-by-step guide on how organisations can successfully undergo transformation processes towards a CE with the principles of CM.

基层档案揭示的农业合化作运动：以江苏省宝应县为例 1953–1957

Rural China ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 288-305
Keyword(s):  
Rural China ◽  
Jiangsu Province ◽  
Archival Data ◽  
Ordinary Sense ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Political Struggles ◽  
Resistance Forces ◽  
Shed Light

Agricultural collectivization was a movement in the early 1950s that profoundly changed the traditional methods of production and lifestyle in rural China. Drawing on original archives from Baoying county of Jiangsu province, this article delves into the actual implementation of, and resistance by different stratum of the peasantry to, this movement. The wealth of archival data and details included in this study shed light on the multifaceted realities of the movement that have been obscured in past studies, in particular, the complexity of the mentality of the peasants and their various forms of resistance, as well as the efforts by government officials to divide and put down the resistance forces and carry out the state’s policies. These data further enable an in-depth analysis of the basic issues about agricultural collectivization. It is shown that this movement was more than a transformation of economic institutions in the ordinary sense; it involved intense political struggles. 上世纪五十年代初开始的农业合作化运动深深改变了中国农民传统的生产生活方式。本文以江苏省宝应县的原始档案为依据，试图从底层的角度探究这一运动的具体实施过程，以及各阶层农民对这一运动的真实反应。本文以大量数据和细节揭示了农业合作化运动的多重面相，特别是以往研究中被忽视的部分，如农民对这一运动的复杂心态和种种抗争，以及当政者如何分化瓦解各种反对力量、步步推进其政策的过程。基于这些事实，本文就农业合作化运动中存在的基本问题进行了讨论，并提出这场运动已经超越了一般经济制度的改革，其实质是一场严峻的政治斗争。 (This article is in Chinese.)

The G7 Summit and the Reform of Global Institutions

1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 492-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas Bayne
Keyword(s):  
International Economic ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Global Institutions ◽  
Economic Decisions ◽  
International Economic Relations ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
National Governments

IN MY GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION/LEONARD SCHAPIRO lecture in 1993 I attempted an incomplete analysis of international economic relations after the end of the cold war, in particular the unexpected tensions and difficulties. The end of superpower confrontation had not only removed one incentive for Western countries to settle their economic disputes. It had also lowered the priority given to security issues, where national governments were in control, and had exposed their dwindling ability to take economic decisions, because of the extent of the interdependence which was the price paid for their prosperity. I could not think of a single area of domestic policy immune from international influence. Professor Susan Strange has developed a more trenchant analysis of this trend in her Government and Opposition/Leonard Schapiro lecture this year.

Corporate Politics in the Public Sphere: Corporate Citizenspeak in a Mass Media Policy Contest

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (4) ◽  
pp. 579-611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Nyberg ◽  
John Murray
Keyword(s):  
Public Sphere ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Political Activity ◽  
Corporate Political Activity ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Public Sphere

This article connects the previously isolated literatures on corporate citizenship and corporate political activity to explain how firms construct political influence in the public sphere. The public engagement of firms as political actors is explored empirically through a discursive analysis of a public debate between the mining industry and the Australian government over a proposed tax. The findings show how the mining industry acted as a corporate citizen concerned about the common good. This, in turn, legitimized corporate political activity, which undermined deliberation about the common good. The findings explain how the public sphere is refeudalized through corporate manipulation of deliberative processes via what we term corporate citizenspeak—simultaneously speaking as corporate citizens and for individual citizens. Corporate citizenspeak illustrates the duplicitous engagement of firms as political actors, claiming political legitimacy while subverting deliberative norms. This contributes to the theoretical development of corporations as political actors by explaining how corporate interests are aggregated to represent the common good and how corporate political activity is employed to dominate the public sphere. This has important implications for understanding how corporations undermine democratic principles.

El Concepto De La lingüística Cognitiva En La Poesía Traducida Análisis Semántico Según La Teoría del Esquema Básico De La Referencia

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Hameed Abdulmajeed Abeer Hussein Abid
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Linguistics ◽  
Semantic Analysis ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Speech Community ◽  
Search For Meaning ◽  
Basic Scheme ◽  
Scheme Theory ◽  
The Common ◽  
Symmetry Relations ◽  
Shed Light

This research work is part of a project to get an M.A. degree. Some of the linguistic sciences specialized in the search for meaning in the text, such as semantics, pragmatics, cognitive linguistics and etc. will be clarified. Besides, we shed light on the elements of semantic analysis with examples according to the basic scheme theory of reference, which indicates that the language is of a fictional nature. As it is a variety of similarity and symmetry relations between the form of the word and its meaning, whether it is phonetic or written or related to metaphor, metonymy or analogy, and it is not a random relationship. In all these genres, a very important role is played by imaginative comprehension, which subsequently acquires a traditional character and spreads due to the common collective understanding of the word among speakers of the speech community.

The Oxford Handbook of the South African Economy

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Economic History ◽  
Economic Policies ◽  
The South ◽  
Economic Sectors ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Strategic Issues ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Depth Analysis

While South Africa shares some characteristics with other middle-income countries, it has a unique economic history with distinctive characteristics. South Africa is an economic powerhouse with a significant role not only at the southern African regional and continental levels, but also as a member of BRICS. However, the country faces profound developmental challenges, including the ‘triple challenges’ of poverty, inequality and unemployment. There has been a lack of structural transformation and weak economic growth. Ongoing debates around economic policies to address these challenges need to be based on rigorous and robust empirical evidence and in-depth analysis of South African economic issues. This necessitates wide-ranging research, such as that brought together in this handbook. This volume intends to provide original, comprehensive, detailed, state-of-the-art analytical perspectives, that contribute to knowledge while also contributing to well-informed and productive discourse on the South African economy. While concentrating on the more recent economic challenges facing the country, the handbook also provides historical and political context, an in-depth examination of strategic issues in the various critical economic sectors, and assembles diverse analytical perspectives and arguments that have implications for policymaking.

scholarly journals Integrated foucault: Another look at discourse and power

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 533-544
Author(s):  
Marija Velinov
Keyword(s):  
Discursive Practices ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Common ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Distinct Field ◽  
Three Phases

This paper argues that there is continuity in Foucault?s thought, as opposed to the common division of his work into three phases, each marking a distinct field of research - discourse, power, subject. The idea is that there are no radical turns in his work that justify this division; rather, there is a shift of focus: all crucial concepts are present (more or less [in]explicitly) in all periods of his thought and in all of his undoubtedly differently-toned and oriented works. This is shown through examining the characteristics of archaeology and genealogy, their relation, as well as the relation of discursive practices and strategies of power to knowledge. The retrospective and (re)interpretation intend to shed light on the constant interplay between concepts that demonstrate continuity in Foucault?s thought. The viewpoint, based in the integrity of Foucault?s work, offers a better starting point for understanding certain aspects of his theories.

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