scholarly journals Democracy, expertise and loyalty: Spoils systems or experts’ oligarchy

2019 ◽  
pp. 551-561
Author(s):  
Dragan Stanar
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Optimal Conditions ◽  
Developing Democracies ◽  
The Core ◽  
Dynamic Relationship ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Entire Society ◽  
The Will ◽  
Democratic Systems

Virtue of loyalty represents one of the core virtues in democratic systems, as it enables the will of citizens to be implemented via decisions of elected government. Expertise represents a necessary attribute of every successful state apparatus, and it is an inevitable ingredient of all progress. This paper aims to explain the dynamic relationship between expertise and loyalty of non-elected personnel in democratic societies, with the focus on developing democracies, like the Serbian democracy. Neglection of loyalty to the legitimately elected government in favor of expertise undermines the core principles of democracy and drives a society into a sort of ?expert oligarchy?, in which there is no equality, and the will of the majority is ignored by the expert elite. On the other hand, neglection of expertise of appointed personnel in favor of their loyalty, as seen in the so-called spoils systems, is a recipe for a disaster and erosion of the entire society, as it places the state in the hands of ignorant laymen who can only offer unlimited loyalty. It is necessary to establish a minimum of expertise and loyalty of appointed, non-elected, personnel in democracies in order to create optimal conditions for progress. Inability to respect the principle of minimal expertise when appointing personnel in state apparatus suggests faulty policy and unfoundedness of policy of legitimately elected government.

Kunnen wij onze eigen dood onder ogen zien?

2019 ◽  
Vol 111 (4) ◽  
pp. 643-668
Author(s):  
Govert den Hartogh
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Personal Value ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Will

Abstract Can we face our own death?We all know, of course, that we will once die. But do we, can we, really face up to the fact, can we live in a way that really takes it into account? Many philosophers have doubted that we can. Some of them appeal to conceptual arguments, for example the Epicurean argument that we cannot attribute any personal value to the state of our non-existence, because it is not a state of us. Others appeal to phenomenological arguments. At all other times when a possibility that we treasure is not actualized, we are left to deplore the fact, but this particular loss is more encompassing than any other loss. I argue that the conceptual arguments are interesting but in the end unconvincing. The phenomenological arguments, on the other hand, fail to show that it is impossible to live in full consciousness of our mortality, but they explain why it is so difficult for us. Finally, I consider what this tells us about the will to die.

Salafism pushes Muslim communities to conservatism

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Discourse ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Core ◽  
Conservative Ideology ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
Muslim Communities

Subject Salafism impact on Muslim societies. Significance Salafism (‘ancestralism’) is an ultra-conservative ideology adopted by a variety of Muslim individuals and organisations. It claims to reveal the authentic Islam of the first three generations of ‘pious forefathers’ (Arabic: al-salaf al-salih) from the time of the Prophet Mohammed. Salafis seek to 'purify' and thereby change other Muslims’ behaviour. These aims can be pursued by ‘top-down’ methods of engaging the state via activist struggle (jihad), or by ‘bottom-up’ strategies of engaging society via quietist proselytisation (da‘wa): that is, with or without violence. Impacts The core salafi doctrine of (‘loyalty [to Muslims] and disavowal [of non-Muslims]’) encourages its followers’ isolation from wider society. Competition for authenticity will further divide Muslim communities by ‘condemning the other’. Salafi-inspired organisations will seek to dominate public discourse and definitions of Islam.

scholarly journals Vigilando al vigilante: el Tribunal Constitucional y sus circunstancias = Guarding the guardian: The constitutional court and its circumstances

2017 ◽  
pp. 135
Author(s):  
Miguel Ángel Alegre Martínez
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Constitutional Reform ◽  
The Other ◽  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Constituent Power ◽  
Spanish Constitution ◽  
The Will ◽  
Constitutional System ◽  
The One ◽  
The Guardian

<p>El escaso uso de los mecanismos de reforma constitucional ha hecho recaer sobre el Tribunal Constitucional, casi en exclusiva, la tarea de actualizar la Constitución española de 1978, a través de la interpretación evolutiva de la misma. En este trabajo, nos ocupamos, por una parte, de las dificultades a las que el Tribunal Constitucional ha tenido que enfrentarse en el desempeño de sus funciones; y, por otra, en el mayor o menor acierto en el ejercicio de las mismas. Reflexionamos sobre la delicada posición del Tribunal Constitucional, situado en el límite entre interpretar la voluntad del poder constituyente y sustituirla; así como en la frontera entre el activismo y la autocontención. Intentamos establecer la incidencia de algunas de sus decisiones sobre los problemas que afectan actualmente a nuestro sistema constitucional, en especial al Estado de las Autonomías.</p><p> </p><p>The limited use of the mechanisms of constitutional reform has made to rest on the Constitutional Court, almost exclusively, the task of updating the Spanish Constitution of 1978, through its evolutive interpretation. In this paper, we attend to, on the one hand, the difficulties to which the Constitutional Court has had to face in the development of its functions; and, on the other hand, the greater or lesser success in the exercise of the same. We reflect about the delicate position of the Constitutional Court, located on the border between interpreting the will of the constituent power or replace it; as well as on the border between activism or self-restraint. We are trying to establish the incidence of some of its decisions on the problems that currently affect our constitutional system, in particular to the State of Autonomies.</p>

Taking Co-constitution Seriously: Explaining an Ambiguous US Approach to Latin America

2020 ◽  
pp. 145-170
Author(s):  
Justin O. Delacour
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Latin America ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
The Core ◽  
Western Power ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The One ◽  
Practical Implications

The external behaviors of the preeminent Western power are much more ambiguous than mainstream IR theories predict because none of the mainstream camps have an accurate conception of the relations between Western states and their cultures. On the one hand, neorealists fail to explain how the culture of a Western power will tend to discourage the state from behaving in ways that are openly dissonant with the core symbols of its professed liberalism. On the other hand, it is fairly commonplace for Western media to facilitate their states’ casual deviations from a liberal foreign policy course by obfuscating the existence of such deviations. To solve the puzzle of a Western power’s ambiguous foreign policies, we must explore the practical implications of co-constitution, according to which state interests and cultural identities mutually shape each other and can never be fully autonomous from each other. This study conducts such an exploration in the context of U.S. policy to Latin America, particularly around the failed coup in Venezuela in 2002.

The Sovereign Person

Sovereignty ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 96-123
Author(s):  
Hermann Heller
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Present Theory ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
State Sovereignty ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Decision Making Unit ◽  
The Will ◽  
The One ◽  
Dominant Theory

This chapter attempts to secure a sovereign person to positivize the supreme legal principles, one who is capable of making consciously evaluative decisions. This person must, on the one hand, eventually become a real bearer of the will, while, on the other, must be an independent, law-creating authority. A person equipped with these characteristics is unknown to the present theory of the state. In Germany, the dominant theory since Hegel maintains that the sovereign person is the state; sovereignty is a characteristic of state power or, in a relationship that is not entirely clear, the state’s will or state personality. The state can only be considered the sovereign person, however, if it is seen, with objective necessity, as a unified reality of will or decision-making unit.

Merchants and Mariners

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars U. Scholl
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Maritime Trade ◽  
International Context ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
State Regulations ◽  
The Core

This book presents twelve essays by historian David M. Williams, in order to pay tribute to his career. The essays stretch from 1807 through to the end of the nineteenth century, and address both economic and social themes. Topics include maritime trade, deployment of merchant ships, the state regulations concerning shipping, shipwrecks and loss of life, passenger cargoes, slavery, cotton, timber and coffee trades, and the working conditions of seamen over the course of the century. The plight of the maritime labourer is at the core of this collection. The essays primarily focus on British shipping, and firmly places it within an international context. The book is introduced by Lars U. Scholl, followed by two tributes to Williams’ career, one by Peter N. Davies, the other by Lewis R. Fischer. Scholl concludes the volume with a thorough bibliography of Williams’ maritime writings: books, chapters, and articles.

Gendered War Mobilization, Culture, and Music in the Age of World Wars

2020 ◽  
pp. 409-431
Author(s):  
Annegret Fauser
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Gender Roles ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Musical Composition ◽  
World War ◽  
Media Technologies ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
And Performance ◽  
War Mobilization

In the age of world wars, with the increasing spread of media technologies, music and the other audiovisual arts served as tools for propaganda, as means of commemoration, and as escapist entertainment. This chapter explores how art was instrumentalized in propaganda efforts, how gender intersected with musical composition and performance in both wars, how music’s semantic slipperiness made it a fascinating tool for transnational reinterpretation as notions of gender shifted in the interwar years, and how music intersected with technologies such as radio and film to construct gender roles considered appropriate by governments in the 1930s and during World War II, especially in the hands of the state apparatus.

scholarly journals The Making of a Totalitarian Surveillance Machine: Surveillance in Turkey Under AKP Rule

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 535-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ozgun Topak
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
State Of Exception ◽  
State Of Emergency ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
Entire Society ◽  
Surveillance Mechanism ◽  
Mass Surveillance ◽  
Emergency Measures ◽  
Coup Attempt

This article examines surveillance initiatives under the AKP rule in Turkey (2002-present). The AKP had first tested and perfected surveillance methods, including wiretapping, internet surveillance and surveillance by collaborator-informant networks, over its key opponents and dissidents to capture the state apparatus and later applied similar methods to govern the entire society. In the aftermath of the 2013 Gezi protests, surveillance began to have a mass character, even though targeted surveillance practices continued. Fearful of another popular public revolt, the AKP established a mass surveillance mechanism and empowered it by new amendments to security and communication laws, to pre-empt and suppress public dissent. The recent state of emergency measures following the failed coup attempt in July 2016 represented a further drift towards totalitarian surveillance. The personal liberties were suspended and the state of exception became a permanent condition.

scholarly journals Kebijakan Luar Negeri Sebagai Manifestasi Eksistensi Negara

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-56
Author(s):  
Wibi Hambalie
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
International Relation ◽  
International System ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
The People ◽  
Geographical Position ◽  
The Will

International relation can not be separated from state as the main actor. It is common for state to gain interest as much as it needs. Foreign policy becomes a way to communicate with another state. The state can use their foreign policy not only to communicate but also to show their manifestation and existance in the international system. Before producing a foreign policy, a state might want to prepare themselves in order to create a suitable policy for their people. Several factors like geographical position and demography or military strengh might influence the foreign policy. A decent foreign policy should reflect the will of the people. Foreign policy in the other way as a proof of existence could use a tool to deal with others

scholarly journals Three Takes on De-Colonizing the State Apparatus in Bolivia

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 60-64
Author(s):  
Chuck Sturtevant
Keyword(s):  
Common Ground ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
The Other ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
State Apparatus ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Government

This response summarizes and compares three scholars’ approaches (Marcelo Bohrt, Robert Albro and Pamela Calla) to the Morales administration’s efforts to decolonize the government of Bolivia. Seeking   the common ground among them, I find that all three recognize the importance of symbolic and discursive changes, which have allowed  some previously-excluded individuals to access positions of authority within the state apparatus. On the other hand, these changes have been uneven, exposing rifts between indigenous communities, exacerbating existing inequities, and establishing new or renewed hierarchies of subordination.   

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