State-Church Relations in Poland: An Examination of Power Configuration in a Noncompetitive Political System

1969 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 575-601 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislaw Staron

Until recently it has been taken more or less for granted by many students of the subject that totalitarian polities will not in the long run tolerate any form of pluralism in their power structure. Lucid and convincing arguments have been constructed to support this contention, in studies of the several historical manifestations of totalitarianism. Implicit in these speculations was the more general view that it is in the very nature of power, and especially political power, that it will not gladly suffer any rivals. In the West the very virtues of democracy have been defended precisely on the grounds that democracy tends through its procedural commitments to diffuse power, to counteract, as it were, the inherent tendency of power toward infinite selfaggrandizement.

Author(s):  
Ross McKibbin

This book is an examination of Britain as a democratic society; what it means to describe it as such; and how we can attempt such an examination. The book does this via a number of ‘case-studies’ which approach the subject in different ways: J.M. Keynes and his analysis of British social structures; the political career of Harold Nicolson and his understanding of democratic politics; the novels of A.J. Cronin, especially The Citadel, and what they tell us about the definition of democracy in the interwar years. The book also investigates the evolution of the British party political system until the present day and attempts to suggest why it has become so apparently unstable. There are also two chapters on sport as representative of the British social system as a whole as well as the ways in which the British influenced the sporting systems of other countries. The book has a marked comparative theme, including one chapter which compares British and Australian political cultures and which shows British democracy in a somewhat different light from the one usually shone on it. The concluding chapter brings together the overall argument.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
Frank G. Bosman

The story collection known in the West as The Arabian Nights or One Thousand and One Nights, is famous, among other things, for its erotic playfulness. This eroticism was (and is) one of the key reasons for its continuous popularity after Antoine Galland’s French translation in 1704. The Arabian Nights includes, besides traditional, heterosexual acts, play, and desires, examples of homoerotic playfulness—even though we must tread lightly when using such Western concepts with an oriental text body such as this one. The homoerotic playfulness of The Arabian Nights is the subject of this article. By making use of a text-immanent analysis of two of the Nights’ stories—of Qamar and Budûr and of Alî Shâr and Zumurrud—the author of this article focuses on the reversal of common gender roles, acts of cross-dressing, and, of course, homoerotic play. He will argue that these stories provide a narrative safe environment in which the reader is encouraged to “experiment” with non-normative sexual and gender orientations, leaving the dominant status quo effectively and ultimately unchallenged, thus preventing the (self-proclaimed) defenders of that status quo from feeling threatened enough to actively counter-act the experiment.


1968 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 261-269
Author(s):  
André Vachet

Division of power and social integrationExplanation of some of the recent challenges to western democracy may be found in a re-examination of Montesquieu's thought. Here we find the theory of the separation of power to be far more complex than is implied in the simple divisions of legislature, executive, and judiciary. For Montesquieu, the separation of power is more a social division than a political or juridical one. He contemplated returning the organs of political power to various social forces, e.g. monarchy, aristocracy, and bourgeoisie, and that then the self-assertion of forces would be restrained by the resistance of other social groups. The realization of its goals would require every important social group to integrate itself both to society and to the state and to seek its goals through realization of the general good.Since Montesquieu's time, political structures would seem to have been very little changed even though social structures have been greatly altered by the rise of economic powers. Political institutions have been losing touch with the vital forces of society and these have had to find other channels of expression. The personalization of power, the rise of the executive, violence, and increasing paternalism may be viewed as phenomena of compensation by which attempts are being made to bridge the gap between the structures of political power and those of a society which has been restructured.Revigoration of parliamentary democracy would seem to require that all vital social forces be reintegrated into the political system and be given meaningful channels of political expression. Failure to make such changes opens the way to identification of the political powers with technocracy and the increasing general use of violence in the resolution of social problems.


Author(s):  
Marie V. Lebour
Keyword(s):  
The West ◽  
Open Sea ◽  

Several Gobius species and also Aphya and Crystallogobius are common near Plymouth, from up the estuaries in the neighbourhood of Saltash to the west and Chelson Meadow to the east, as far as the open sea, well beyond Rame Head and the Eddystone Lighthouse. It has, however, always been difficult to determine the young of the various species as they usually differ very little from one another and it is hoped that the following notes may be a help in the elucidation of the subject.


Organization ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 330-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Zanoni ◽  
Annelies Thoelen ◽  
Sierk Ybema

Much literature on the cultural industries celebrates ethnicity as a source of creativity. Despite its positive connotation, this discourse reduces ethnic minority creatives to manifestations of a collective ethnic identity automatically leading to creativity, creating a paradox of creativity without a creative subject. Approaching creatives with an ethnic minority background as agents, this article investigates how they self-reflectively and purposely discursively construct ethnicity as a source of creativity in their identity work. Empirically, we analyze interviews with well-established creatives with an ethnic minority background active in Belgium. Most respondents construct their ethnic background as ‘hybrid’, ‘exotic’, or ‘liminal’ to craft an identity as creatives and claim creativity for their work. Only few refuse to discursively deploy ethnicity as a source of creativity, crafting more individualized identities as creatives. Our study contributes to the literature on power and ethnicity in the creative industries by documenting ethnic minority creatives’ discursive micro-struggle over what is creative work and who qualifies as a creative. Specifically, we show their counterpolitics of representation of ethnicity in the creative industries through the re-signification of the relation between the ‘west’ and the ‘other’ in less disadvantageous terms. Despite such re-signification, the continued relevance of the discourse of ethnicity as a key marker of difference suggests that ethnicity remains a principle of unequal organization of the creative industries.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 55-70
Author(s):  
Sean Foley

For decades, many scholars have contended that Saudi Arabia is a fixed political system, where a conservative monarchy uses advanced technology, oil revenues, and religion to dominate the people. Such a system is often portrayed as inherently unstable, a seemingly never-ending series of collisions between an unchanging traditional political structure seeking to hold on to power at any cost and a dynamic modernity—a view encapsulated in a phrase expressed at virtually every public discussion of the Kingdom in the West: ‘you must admit that Saudi Arabia must change’. Ironically this phrase confirms what this article argues is a secret to the success of Saudi Arabia in the contemporary era: the ability to legitimize transformation without calling it change. No society is static, including Saudi Arabia. Throughout the Kingdom’s history, the defining social institutions have repeatedly utilized Tajdīd (Revival) and Iṣlāḥ (Reform) to respond to new technologies and the changing expectations of a diverse society. While Muslim scholars are most often entrusted to arbitrate this process, ordinary Saudis use this process to guide their actions in the various social spaces they encounter both at home and abroad. Critically, this process reflects the response of King Abdulaziz and the founders of the third Saudi state in the early twentieth century to the factors that had brought down previous Saudi states in the nineteenth century.


1886 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
pp. 481-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. H. Teall

If we take a general view of the present position of geological science, we are struck by the fact that, although there is substantial agreement amongst geologists on matters relating to the origin of the rocks usually designated as aqueous and igneous, the greatest diversity of opinion prevails with regard to the circumstances under which the so-called metamorphic rocks have been produced. Every fragment of evidence calculated to throw light on the origin of these rocks, therefore, deserves the most careful consideration. Of recent years special attention has been directed to the effects of mechanical energy in modifying the mineralogical and structural characters of rocks originally formed by aqueous and igneous agencies; and a suspicion has been aroused that it is in this direction that we must look for a solution of many of the problems connected with the origin of the crystalline schists. A visit to the Lizard Peninsula of Cornwall during the present summer has convinced me of the immense importance of this view so far as that district is concerned. That portion of the peninsula which lies south of a line drawn from Porthalla on the east to Polurrian Cove on the west is formed.partly of igneous rocks—such as gabbro, greenstone, serpentine, and granite—and partly of crystalline schists. The igneous rocks, in certain places, become foliated and sohistose and sometimes show a definite banding due to a variation in the relative proportions of the different constituents. In other words they present characters which are usually regarded as distinctive of the crystalline schists. There is, moreover, evidence to show that these characters are mainly the result of a yielding to earth-pressure subsequent to the consolidation of the original rock. At the present moment, having just returned from the district, I am unable to treat the subject from a general point of view with any prospect of success; but it has occurred to me that some details with regard to one of the rocks may not be without interest to members of the Association.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (21) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Merve KURT KIRAL ◽  
Emel AKIN

Spaces are conditioned by social conditions; on the other hand, social structure is affected by spaces. Arcades, the subject of this article, first appeared in Europe in the 18th century as a result of an increase in trading activities. The arcades in Ankara, which were started to be built in the 1950s together with increasing trading activities, contributed to the urban economy with intense activities of shopping, re-determined social and urban relations as essential places of everyday life and became distinctive urban buildings with their original building typologies and the function of maintaining public continuity in the area of private ownership. Aim: This study aims to study the process in which passages emerged and to analyze their spatial features and, in particular, to examine the spatial formation of the distinctive passages in Ankara on the basis of their causation. Method: In the article, spatial features of the passages in the West were mentioned, and the conditions of the period in which the passages in Ankara were built were briefly explained. Spatial analysis of the passages found in the research area were conducted, and the formation of these passages were analyzed together with their reasons. Results: Of the 31 arcades in Ankara, 27 were built between 1950 and 1980 on and around the Atatürk Boulevard in Yenişehir/Kizilay. As of the mid-1950s, new planning decisions which were made one after the other in the built-up area re-shaped the Boulevard and its surrounding as the existing buildings were demolished, allowing to construct new buildings with arcades or stores in their entrances. Their interior designs and connections to the streets are different from the arcades in the West. Conclusion: The present subdivision system and new planning decisions applied in property order shaped the passages which were peculiar to Ankara.


Author(s):  
CÉLINE LÉVESQUE

Abstract The practice of arbitrators and counsel in investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) cases simultaneously playing both roles — known as “double-hatting” — has been the subject of much controversy in recent debates on ISDS reform, notably, at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law’s (UNCITRAL) Working Group III where a Draft Code of Conduct for Adjudicators in International Investment Disputes is under discussion. While Canada has been less than consistent in its approaches to ISDS in recent international investment agreements (IIAs), its position against double-hatting has been rather constant. This article explores whether this stance reveals a commitment on the part of Canada towards increased judicialization of ISDS or reflects a “flavour of the month” reform likely to change with differing IIAs and negotiating partners. Analysis of Canada’s recent IIA practices, including its model Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, released in May 2021, and the positions it has taken at UNCITRAL’s Working Group III, lead the author to conclude that Canada appears committed to increased judicialization of ISDS in the long run.


Author(s):  
Sushmita .

The discovery of oil in West Asia has contributed to its integration into the international capitalist system. The mono-commodity, oil, has brought tremendous wealth to West Asia. But a rising population and an ever growing demonstration effect, has caused imports to grow exorbitantly, with oil prices expected to fall, depicted explicitly by recent oil price drop, also over time as interest in climate change increases after RIO-20, and more options of renewable energy sources coming on line like Gas, Solar Energy, wind power and nuclear energy etc. the rentier mode of development followed by west Asian economies is clearly unsustainable. Further the oil producing nations are so over-specialized that they do not possess the necessary flexibility to shift their resources from one sector to another, or to develop substitution if and when the need arises. Moreover, the ability of oil producing countries to respond to deliberate or accidental economic measures taken abroad is limited. This paper theoretically analyses the standing of the West Asian mono product economies, their specific traits, benefits and disbenefit of current condition and looks into the case for diversification of West Asian Region. As diversification is a sine qua non in long Run for the sustainability of the West Asian economies.


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