The Kurdish Question Then and Now

2016 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Samir Amin

The political chaos that has recently dominated the scene in the Middle East is expressed, among other ways, by the violent resurgence of the Kurdish question. How can we analyze, in these new conditions, the scope of the claims of the Kurds—autonomy, independence, unity? And can we deduce from analysis that this claim must be supported by all democratic and progressive forces, in the region and in the world?… Debates on the subject produce great confusion. This is because most contemporary actors and observers rally around a non-historical vision of this and related issues.… I will offer a counterpoint to this transhistorical vision of social issues and "rights," through which the social movements of the past and present express their demands. In particular, I will attribute paramount importance to the divide that separates the thriving of the modern capitalist world from past worlds.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Author(s):  
А.А. Обознов

Проанализирован вклад Д.Н. Завалишиной в изучение развития практического мышления субъекта труда. Отмечена социальная значимость психологических исследований развития и самореализации творческого потенциала субъекта труда в современном техногенном мире. Рассмотрены исследования Д.Н. Завалишиной, посвященные творческим аспектам практического мышления и их проявления в профессиональной деятельности. Показано, что автор рассматривает специалиста с позиций онтологического субъекта, что предполагает его соотнесение с основными отношениями к миру; с выбранными им способами существования в этих основных отношениях к миру; с событиями прошлого и будущего в его жизни. The contribution of D. N. Zavalishina to the study of the development of practical thinking of the subject of labor is analyzed. The social significance of psychological research on the development and self-realization of the creative potential of the subject of labor in the modern technogenic world is noted. D. N. Zavalishina's research on creative aspects of practical thinking and their manifestation in professional activity is considered. It is shown that the author considers the specialist from the position of an ontological subject, which implies its correlation with the main relations to the world; with the ways of existence chosen by him in these main relations to the world; with the events of the past and future in his life.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (16) ◽  
pp. 31-51
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Piwnicki

It is recognized that politics is a part of social life, that is why it is also a part of culture. In this the political culture became in the second half of the twentieth century the subject of analyzes of the political scientists in the world and in Poland. In connection with this, political culture was perceived as a component of culture in the literal sense through the prism of all material and non-material creations of the social life. It has become an incentive to expand the definition of the political culture with such components as the political institutions and the system of socialization and political education. The aim of this was to strengthen the democratic political system by shifting from individual to general social elements.


2020 ◽  
pp. 33-41
Author(s):  
Dmitrii Anatolevich Kachusov

The subject of this article is the city protection movement in Barnaul. On the background of strengthening of authoritarian trends in political life of the country, takes place reorientation of the vector of civil activity from solution of the political problems of federal scale towards the local social issues. Namely the local public movements become an important element in the society of separate cities that allow the interaction between civil activists, society, and municipal authorities. The advancement of Internet and social networks greatly contributed to broadening of the audience of city protection communities, growth of opportunities for their influence upon public consciousness and government authorities. Assessment of the size, publication activity and staff composition of the city mono-problem communities in social networks in the key method for studying the city public movements. The research determined the presents of a number of organizations in Barnaul oriented toward the general questions (preservation of historical center of the city, protection of park zones, etc.), as well as solution of particular problems. The author also underlines a large portion of youth (below 30 years of age) among the members of city protection communities. Despite the fact that currently the social database is restricted, members of the communities actively participate in city life, using the Internet as an environment for public self-presentation and channel for communication with population, government, and mass media.


2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-27
Author(s):  
Predrag Terzić

The process of creating a modern state and forming political institutions corresponds to the process of transforming the subjects of the past into a community constituted on the principle of citizenship. The citizen becomes the foundation of the political community and the subject, which in interaction with other citizens, forms the public sphere. However, this does not mean that all members of the community have the same rights and obligations contained in the status of a citizen. Excluding certain categories of residents from the principle of citizenship raises a number of issues that delegitimize the existing order by colliding with the ideas of justice, freedom and equality. The aim of this short research is to clarify the principle of citizenship, its main manifestations and excluded subjects, as well as the causes that are at the root of the concept of exclusive citizenship. A brief presentation of the idea of multiculturalism does not intend to fully analytically explain this concept, but only to present in outline one of the ways of overcoming the issue of exclusive citizenship. In order to determine the social significance of the topic, a part of the text is dedicated to the ideas that form the basis of an exclusive understanding of citizenship, the reasons for its application and the far-reaching consequences of social tensions and unrest, which cannot be ignored.


Author(s):  
Constance Classen

From the softest caress to the harshest blow, touch lies at the heart of our experience of the world. Now, for the first time, this deepest of senses is the subject of an extensive historical exploration. This book fleshes out our understanding of the past with explorations of lived experiences of embodiment from the Middle Ages to modernity. This approach to history makes it possible to foreground the tactile foundations of Western culture—the ways in which feelings shaped society. This book explores a variety of tactile realms; including the feel of the medieval city; the tactile appeal of relics; the social histories of pain, pleasure, and affection; the bonds of touch between humans and animals; the strenuous excitement of sports such as wrestling and jousting; and the sensuous attractions of consumer culture. The book delves into a range of vital issues, from the uses—and prohibitions—of touch in social interaction to the disciplining of the body by the modern state, from the changing feel of the urban landscape to the technologization of touch in modernity. Through poignant descriptions of the healing power of a medieval king's hand or the grueling conditions of a nineteenth-century prison, we find that history, far from being a dry and lifeless subject, touches us to the quick.


2000 ◽  
pp. 19-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Wilkin

There are good grounds for taking seriously Wallerstein's dictum that the world system has entered what he describes as an interregnum. By this he means two important things: First, that the world is moving between two forms of world system, from a capitalist world system to something new; Second, that in such an interregnum questions of structure become less signi? cant than those of agency. The world system is one that has been produced, reproduced and will ultimately be transformed by human actors. The direction that it takes will be the result of the political struggles that ensue in the interregnum. In this paper I examine some of these claims in the context of a series of events that have taken place over the past decade and in the run up to the protests that occurred in December 1999 at the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit in Seattle. In so doing I hope to put some empirical ?esh on the bones of the idea that Wallerstein has suggestively offered us.


2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 109-113
Author(s):  
Samad Alavi

For at least the past several decades, Persian literary scholarship has drawnits conceptual framework largely from the social sciences. Despite severalnoteworthy exceptions, a tendency to read Persian literature for its sociopoliticalcontent still guides the way scholars write about and teach the fieldtoday. Indeed, a brief survey of course syllabi with “Persian literature” in theirtitles would no doubt reveal that instructors (the present writer included) byand large introduce writers and their works based on non-literary socio-historicaldevelopments, either arranging texts chronologically by their years ofproduction or presenting them (still usually chronologically) as reflections ofthe historical events, social movements, and ideological currents that shapedthe societies from which those texts arose.Mehdi Khorrami’s Literary Subterfuge and Contemporary Persian Fiction:Who Writes Iran? challenges this trend, arguing that we do a great disserviceto both individual texts and literary studies as a discipline when weconsider non-literary factors as the primary criteria by which to analyze andschematize literary works. Instead, while acknowledging the importance ofsocial, historical, and ideological contexts, in other words the world outsidethe text, Khorrami’s study of contemporary Persian fiction contends that wemust scrutinize the world inside the texts – their aesthetic, linguistic, and formaldevices and concepts – to develop a comprehensive view of literature’shistorical evolution.The work under review argues that modernist Persian fiction evolves froma counter-discursive to a non-discursive position vis-à-vis official discoursesin Iran, primarily under the Islamic Republic. The author’s conception of discursivityrelates directly to his understanding of the term modernist. The single ...


The subject of this volume is intentional dental modification—changing the human appearance by removing teeth, or otherwise altering their shape, surface, or color. It has been practiced, in one form or another, on every occupied continent at some point over the past 16,000 years. The contributions in this volume encompass a diverse body of work on the subject over this timespan, from Africa, Europe, the Americas, Australia, Oceania, and Asia. As a highly visible practice, dental modification may be used to send complex messages concerning a variety of topics, including status, personal identity, and group membership. But beyond this, the difficulties in identifying purposefully modified teeth, the motivations for and biocultural consequences of the practice, and even the social context in which it still occurs today are presented. As a body of work, the aim is to capture a representative spectrum of dental modification around the world, and the variety of ways in which it can inform us about the humans occupying those regions, both past and present.


2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Stren ◽  
Abigail Friendly

With globalization, the largest cities in the world have been growing in economic importance. And their local powers have often been enhanced as a result of decentralization reforms over the past two decades. In this context, cities—and particularly their mayors—have been reaching out to other cities and jurisdictions to pursue a variety of goals. One term for this process is “paradiplomacy,” but most of the literature on the subject gives little attention to the local political dynamics behind these initiatives. In this article, we explore these local dynamics through a comparison of two major cities, Toronto, Canada, and São Paulo, Brazil. The cases show that external initiatives, both in scope and direction, vary according to the political strategies of the elected mayors. These strategies are strongly affected by the local context and by the political logic of mayoral leadership.


Author(s):  
Malik Daham Mata’ab

Oil has formed since its discovery so far one of the main causes of global conflict, has occupied this energy map a large area of conflict the world over the past century, and certainly this matter will continue for the next period in our century..


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