scholarly journals Symbols and world politics: Towards a long-term perspective on historical trends and contemporary challenges

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 931-954 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Linklater

The role of symbols in world politics remains on the margins of the study of international relations. There has been no systematic discussion of how to promote theoretically informed empirical analyses of their role in earlier epochs and in the current era. This article defends a long-term perspective on symbols that emphasises their relationship with the overall historical trend towards societies of greater magnitude and destructive power. It advances a preliminary classification of analytically distinguishable core symbols in order to support future inquiries into symbols in state-organised societies and symbols that have been central to attempts to create wider solidarities. A long-term perspective on symbolic realms is important in order to understand the relationship between ‘national’ and ‘cosmopolitan symbols’ in the current era. Current challenges in the symbolic sphere illustrate more general trends in human societies, namely, problems in constructing wider symbolic frameworks that permit closer cooperation between groups in the context of increasing levels of interconnectedness.

Author(s):  
S. P. Arteev

The article is in the genre of the review for textbook O. V. Plotnikova and O. Y. Dubrovina International relations of the regions States: characteristics and features (Moscow: Norma; INFRA-M, 2016. 192 p.). Textbook on international activities of sub-state/subnational actors in international relations. Under the sub-state/subnational actors refers to the regions of the States. The authors propose an along with interstate relations (first level) and supranational organizations (second level) to distinguish a third level of international relations - international relations of the regions in Federal and unitary States. The topic is very relevant due to the ongoing restructuring of the architecture of international relations and world politics. In addition, these processes lead to involvement in international relations new actors. The resulting configuration and the role of traditional players. In addition to long-term evolutionary processes, we should not forget about the position of Russia in the last few years. It is obvious that the current tensions around the Russian Federation may not be fully resolved with the old methods. At the same time, sub-state/ subnational actors as subjects of a combined nature, the role played by regions of the Russian Federation, able to combine harmoniously in its international activities as the techniques characteristic of the traditional actors - States and developments in the tools of non-traditional actors - international non-governmental and non-profit organizations etc. As a result of positive results can be achieved faster and at the interstate level. The review considers the subject and the relevance of the topic, presents the analysis of the content of the work. Marked strengths of the textbook, including those associated with the consideration of the diagonal ties and the political components in the international activities of the regions. In addition to the advantages, attention is paid to the analysis of controversial moments. Some authors benefits seem too rigid or insufficiently substantiated. Noted and some defects. The conclusion about the serious significance of this educational publication is not only for a student audience, but also for practitioners.


1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 81-106
Author(s):  
M. A. Muqtedar Khan

This paper seeks to understand the impact of current global politicaland socioeconomic conditions on the construction of identity. I advancean argument based on a two-step logic. First, I challenge the characterizationof current socioeconomic conditions as one of globalization bymarshaling arguments and evidence that strongly suggest that along withglobalization, there are simultaneous processes of localization proliferatingin the world today. I contend that current conditions are indicative ofthings far exceeding the scope of globalization and that they can bedescribed more accurately as ccglocalization.~H’2a ving established thisclaim, I show how the processes of glocalization affect the constructionof Muslim identity.Why do I explore the relationship between glocalization and identityconstruction? Because it is significant. Those conversant with current theoreticaldebates within the discipline of international relations’ are awarethat identity has emerged as a significant explanatory construct in internationalrelations theory in the post-Cold War era.4 In this article, I discussthe emergence of identity as an important concept in world politics.The contemporary field of international relations is defined by threephilosophically distinct research programs? rationalists: constructivists,’and interpretivists.’ The moot issue is essentially a search for the mostimportant variable that can help explain or understand the behavior ofinternational actors and subsequently explain the nature of world politicsin order to minimize war and maximize peace.Rationalists contend that actors are basically rational actors who seekthe maximization of their interests, interests being understood primarilyin material terms and often calculated by utility functions maximizinggiven preferences? Interpretivists include postmodernists, critical theorists,and feminists, all of whom argue that basically the extant worldpolitical praxis or discourses “constitute” international agents and therebydetermine their actions, even as they reproduce world politics by ...


Author(s):  
Maureen L. Whittal ◽  
Melisa Robichaud

The cornerstone of cognitive treatment (CT) for OCD is based upon the knowledge that unwanted intrusions are essentially a universal experience. As such, it is not the presence of the intrusion that is problematic but rather the associated meaning or interpretation. Treatment is flexible, depending upon the nature of the appraisals and beliefs, but can include strategies focused on inflated responsibility and overestimation of threat, importance and control of thoughts, and the need for perfectionism and certainty. The role of concealment and the relationship to personal values are important maintaining and etiological factors. The short-term and long-term treatment outcome is reviewed, along with predictors of treatment response and mechanisms of action, and the chapter concludes with future directions regarding CT for OCD.


Author(s):  
Victor L. Shabanov ◽  
Marianna Ya Vasilchenko ◽  
Elena A. Derunova ◽  
Andrey P. Potapov

The aim of the work is to find relevant indicators for assessing the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and agricultural exports using tools for modeling the impact of innovation and investment development on increasing production and export potential in the context of the formation of an export-oriented agricultural economy. The modeling methodology and the proposed estimating and forecasting tools for diagnosing and monitoring the state of sectoral and regional innovative agricultural systems are used to analyze the relationship between investments in fixed assets in agriculture, gross output of the industry, and agricultural exports based on the construction of the classification of Russian regions by factors that aggregate these features to diagnose incongruence problems and to improve institutional management in regional innovative export-oriented agrosystems. Based on the results of the factor analysis application, an underestimated role of indicators of investment in agriculture, the intensity and efficiency of agricultural production, were established. Based on the results of the cluster analysis, the established five groups of regions were identified, with significant differences in the level of investment in agriculture, the volume of production of the main types of agricultural products, and the export and exported food. The research results are of practical value for use in improving institutional management when planning reforms and transformations of regional innovative agrosystems.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1690
Author(s):  
Beniamino Callegari ◽  
Ranvir S. Rai

Organizational ambidexterity is widely recognized as necessary for the economic sustainability of firms operating in the financial sector. While the management literature has recognized several forms of ambidexterity, the relationship between them and their relative merits remain unclear. By studying a process of implementation of ambidextrous capabilities within a large Scandinavian financial firm, we explore the role of top-down reforms and bottom-up reactions in determining the development of sector-specific innovative capabilities. We find that blended ambidexterity follows naturally from the attempt to correct the tensions arising from harmonic ambidextrous blueprints. The resulting blended practice appears to be closely related to the reciprocal model of ambidexterity, which appears to be a necessity rather than a choice, for large firms attempting to develop innovative capabilities. Consequently, we suggest to re-interpret current taxonomies of ambidexterity not as alternative blueprints, but rather as stages in a long-term process of transition.


Author(s):  
Lovel Kukuljan ◽  
Franci Gabrovšek ◽  
Matthew D. Covington ◽  
Vanessa E. Johnston

AbstractUnderstanding the dynamics and distribution of CO2 in the subsurface atmosphere of carbonate karst massifs provides important insights into dissolution and precipitation processes, the role of karst systems in the global carbon cycle, and the use of speleothems for paleoclimate reconstructions. We discuss long-term microclimatic observations in a passage of Postojna Cave, Slovenia, focusing on high spatial and temporal variations of pCO2. We show (1) that the airflow through the massif is determined by the combined action of the chimney effect and external winds and (2) that the relationship between the direction of the airflow, the geometry of the airflow pathways, and the position of the observation point explains the observed variations of pCO2. Namely, in the terminal chamber of the passage, the pCO2 is low and uniform during updraft, when outside air flows to the site through a system of large open galleries. When the airflow reverses direction to downdraft, the chamber is fed by inlets with diverse flow rates and pCO2, which enter via small conduits and fractures embedded in a CO2-rich vadose zone. If the spatial distribution of inlets and outlets produces minimal mixing between low and high pCO2 inflows, high and persistent gradients in pCO2 are formed. Such is the case in the chamber, where vertical gradients of up to 1000 ppm/m are observed during downdraft. The results presented in this work provide new insights into the dynamics and composition of the subsurface atmosphere and demonstrate the importance of long-term and spatially distributed observations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-80
Author(s):  
Wolfgang S. Heinz

Abstract: This article approaches the matter of institutional reform of the United Nations Human Rights Council from an international relations perspective. A well-known tension exists between State representatives acting for their governments in international organisations, but whose decisions are presented as UN policies. The latter should be guided primarily by the UN Charter and public international law. However, in reality, different worldviews and foreign policy considerations play a more significant role. In a comprehensive stock-take, the article looks at four major dimensions of the Council, starting with structure and dynamics and major trends, followed by its country and thematic activities, and the role of key actors. Council reform proposals from both States and civil society are explored. Whilst the intergovernmental body remains the most important authority responsible for the protection of human rights in the international sphere, it has also been the subject of considerable criticism. Although it has made considerable progress towards enlarging its coverage and taking on more challenging human rights crises, among some of its major weaknesses are the election of human rights-unfriendly countries into its ranks, the failure to apply stronger sanctions on large, politically influential countries in the South and North, and lack of influence on human rights crises and chronic human rights problems in certain countries. Whilst various reform proposals have emerged from States and NGOs, other more far reaching propositions are under sometimes difficult negotiations. In the mid- to long-term, the UN human rights machinery can only have a stronger and more lasting impact if support from national/local actors and coalitions in politics and society can be strengthened.


Author(s):  
L. Fituni

The author presents his own original conception of the 2011 Arab upheavals. First, he tries to find parallels between the Arab Spring and the 19th century European Spring of Peoples. Second, he dwells on the idea of three types of transition in the Arab World: economic, demographic, and ideological. Third, he reflects on the issues of democracy and autocracy in the Arab countries emphasizing the role of youth. Fourth, he puts forward some new ideas as regards the relationship between Europe and the Arab World, offering such terms as “democratic internationalism” and “young democratic safety belt” in the Mediterranean region.


Author(s):  
D G Baitubayev ◽  
M D Baitubayeva

The work shows the role of the vegetative nervous system (VNS) in the functioning of long-term memory, identity mechanisms of long-term memory in the human evolutionary adaptation and substance dependence. It is shown that, depending on the substance of the body are states like pro- gressive adaptation, that the bodycondition, depending on the chemical and psychogenic psychoactive- factors state of the same circle. It proposed the creation of a branch of medicine that combines study of the dependence of the organism, both on the chemical and psychoactive psychogenic factors. Given the classification of psychoactive factors.Onomastics formulated definitions of terminology changes and additions to be used in a new branch of medicine. Proposed allocation of the International Classifica- tion of diseases separate chapter for the classification of states like progressive adaptation of the body depending on psychoactive factors.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heidi Makrinioti ◽  
Andrew Bush ◽  
James Gern ◽  
Sebastian Lennox Johnston ◽  
Nikolaos Papadopoulos ◽  
...  

Bronchiolitis is the most common cause of hospitalization in infancy and is associated with a higher risk for the development of childhood asthma. However, not all children hospitalized with bronchiolitis will develop asthma. The mechanisms underlying asthma development following bronchiolitis hospitalization are complex. Immune responses to respiratory viruses may underlie both bronchiolitis severity and long-term sequela (such as asthma). Interferons (IFNs) are important components of innate immune responses to respiratory viruses and could influence both asthma development and asthma exacerbations. However, the nature of the relationship between interferon production and wheezing illnesses is controversial. For example, low peripheral blood IFN responses at birth have been linked with recurrent wheeze and asthma development. In contrast, there is evidence that severe illnesses (e.g., hospitalization for bronchiolitis) are associated with increased IFN responses during acute infection (bronchiolitis hospitalization) and a higher risk for subsequent asthma diagnosis. Furthermore, mechanistic studies suggest that bronchial epithelial cells from asthmatic children have impaired IFN responses to respiratory viruses, which may enable increased viral replication followed by exaggerated secondary IFN responses. This review aims to discuss controversies around the role of IFNs as drivers of susceptibility to asthma development following bronchiolitis hospitalization. Past evidence from both mechanistic and cohort studies are discussed. We will highlight knowledge gaps that can inform future research study design.


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