The French Directory: Mirage of the Moderates

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. R. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Constitutional Regime ◽  
Opposite Extreme

This chapter details events following the end of the Terror and the political and emotional crisis of the Year II. The question that a great many Frenchmen put to themselves both in France and in the emigration, and a question to which observers throughout Europe and America awaited the answer, was whether some kind of moderate or constitutional regime would be durably established. The next four years showed that constitutional quietude was still far away. The difficulty was that not everyone agreed on what either moderation or justice should consist in. Justice, for some, required the punishment of all revolutionaries and their sympathizers. For others, it meant a continuing battle against kings, priests, aristocrats, and the comfortable middle classes. Both groups saw in “moderation” a mere tactic of the opposition, and moderates as the dupes of the opposite extreme. Compromise for them meant the surrender of principle. It meant truckling with an enemy that could never be trusted, and had no real intention of compromise.

Palestinian Diaspora Communities in Latin America and Palestinian Statehood

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-120
Author(s):  
Yousef M. Aljamal ◽  
Philipp O. Amour
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
South America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The Political ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Latin Americans ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The Right

There are some 700,000 Latin Americans of Palestinian origin, living in fourteen countries of South America. In particular, Palestinian diaspora communities have a considerable presence in Chile, Honduras, and El Salvador. Many members of these communities belong to the professional middle classes, a situation which enables them to play a prominent role in the political and economic life of their countries. The article explores the evolving attitudes of Latin American Palestinians towards the issue of Palestinian statehood. It shows the growing involvement of these communities in Palestinian affairs and their contribution in recent years towards the wide recognition of Palestinian rights — including the right to self-determination and statehood — in Latin America. But the political views of members of these communities also differ considerably about the form and substance of a Palestinian statehood and on the issue of a two-states versus one-state solution.

A Constitution for a Nonstate

2014 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-58
Author(s):  
Emilio Dabed
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Constitutional Order ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Basic Law ◽  
History Of ◽  
The One ◽  
Constitutional Regime ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Law Making

This article sheds new light on the political history of legal-constitutional developments in Palestine in the fourteen years following the Oslo Accord. It examines the relationship between the unfolding social, political, and economic context in which they arose, on the one hand, and PA law-making and legal praxis, on the other. Focusing on the evolution of the Palestinian Basic Law and constitutional regime, the author argues that the “Palestinian constitutional process” was a major “battlefield” for the actors of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Thus, changes in the actors' political strategies at various junctures were mirrored in legal-constitutional forms, specifically in the political structure of the PA. In that sense, the constitutional order can be understood as a sort of “metaphoric representation” of Palestinian politics, reflecting, among other things, the colonial nature of the Palestinian context that the Oslo process only rearticulated. This perspective is also essential for understanding the evolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict after Oslo.

Is Democracy Possible in Thailand?

2015 ◽  
pp. 101-110
Author(s):  
N. Rogozhina
Keyword(s):  
Political Development ◽  
Representative Democracy ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Political Crisis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Main Question ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Class Differences ◽  
Traditional Elite ◽  
The Military

The political development of Thailand in XXIth century is characterized by a deep split of the society into opponents and supporters of democratization. The latter are consolidated around the figure of Taksin Sinavatra, the former prime minister. He was overthrown by the military in 2006, but still enjoys the support of the popular majority he gained due to his economic policy aimed at improving the life conditions of the poor in periphery regions. The triumph of his parties in elections since 2001 caused the new power balance in politics traditionally viewed as a focal area of the political establishment – the representatives of the Bangkok upper and middle classes only. The marginalization of their position in the political system and the impossibility of coming to power through elections determined their integration into the anti-government movement, for the purpose of cancelling the representative democracy system that doesn’t meet the interests of the traditional political elite finding itself in a “minority” and unwilling to be under the reign of a “majority”. The deepening of the political crisis provoked the military into undertaking the coup d’état in May 2014 and establishing an authoritarian regime, which ensured the accrescency of power for the traditional elite. Nevertheless, as the author concludes, the future political development of Thailand seems unclear. The power of military in cooperation with their civilian followers is unlikely to reconcile the society, split by class differences and political aspirations. The contemporary political development of Thailand reflects the situation when the “populace” doesn’t want just to remain under control any longer, and the “upper strata” refuses to be under the rule of the electoral majority. The main question raised today is not of the Taksin's destiny, but of an alternative for the Thailand's future political development – restricted democracy directed by upper classes, or representative democracy.

scholarly journals New Middle Classes Reshape the Developing World

2019 ◽  
Vol 118 (804) ◽  
pp. 16-21
Author(s):  
Frank-Borge Wietzke
Keyword(s):  
Developing World ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Income Groups

Political conflicts can flare up when new, increasingly vocal lower-middle-income groups enter the political arena and when this threatens the advantaged positions of established middle classes.

Problems of Social Stratification and the Demarcation of National and Local Elites in British Ceylon

1974 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Social Stratification ◽  
Middle Level ◽  
The Political ◽  
Late Nineteenth Century ◽  
Social Category ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
Lower Middle Class ◽  
Local Elites ◽  
Local Elite

Political developments in Ceylon during the 1950's drew attention to the forward thrust of a social formation in the Sinhala districts which has been described variously as “the rural middle classes,” “the lower middle-class traditionalists,” a “new village leadership” and so on. The political antecedents of this “group” were not traced beyond the 1930's, though several writers recognized that it was part of a social category which existed in British times. In recent articles it has been argued that the political activities of individuals drawn from this social category date back to the late nineteenth century. Be that as it may, it is obviously of value to clarify the lines of differentiation between this middle-level social category and the indigenous elite placed hierarchically above them. The former can be described as a “sub-elite,” a “subordinate elite,” an “intermediate elite,” or a “local elite.” The latter can be described as a “macro-elite,” a “central elite” or a “national elite.” Though convenience dictates the choice of one of these combinations, a reference to the alternatives is necessary because each captures a facet which the other labels do not convey.

Political Socialization in the South American Middle Class

1968 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 506-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur Stinchcombe
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Political Socialization ◽  
The Political ◽  
South American ◽  
Social Causation ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
The Third ◽  
Political Events ◽  
And Migration

Political socialization may be thought of as having three aspects: the degree to which people interpret the conditions of their milieu in terms of distant political processes, the ideas of social causation with which they interpret such distant processes, and the interpretation of specific political events and structures of their country. This paper attempts to show that the first is determined mainly by men's educational and migration biography, the second mainly by men's occupational experience, and the third mainly by the history and structure of the political system men live under. The data come from a study of the contrasts between industrial bureaucrats and the traditional middle classes in steel cities in three South American countries, Chile, Argentina, and Venezuela.

Modern Polities in Thailand

1962 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-182
Author(s):  
Frank C. Darling
Keyword(s):  
Political System ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Political Life ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
Constitutional Democracy ◽  
Military Leader ◽  
Present Trend ◽  
The Government ◽  
Constitutional Regime

The seizure of the government by Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat in September, 1957, was more than the assumption of political power by another military leader in Thailand, and the overthrow of the former regime headed by Field Marshal Phibun Songkhram marked a definite turning point in the evolution of the Thai political system. After experimenting with constitutional democracy for almost twenty-five years, Thailand turned to a new form of political rule. The purpose of this article is to survey briefly the development of the Thai political system since the beginning of the constitutional regime in June, 1932, and to assess the present trend of the Sarit government in a country where military officers have long played a pre-eminent role in the political life of the nation.

scholarly journals Echoes of Past Revolutions: Architecture, Memory, and Spectral Politics in the Historic Districts of Port-au-Prince

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Joos
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
The Political ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Historic Districts ◽  
Entire Life ◽  
Political Landscape ◽  
Four Books ◽  
Small House ◽  
History Of ◽  
Federal Prosecutor

Abstract This article explores the life history of Ulrick Rosarion, a Haitian federal prosecutor who built his career during the Duvalier dictatorship. Rosarion lived his entire life in a small house of downtown Port-au-Prince, in a neighborhood formerly inhabited by the Black middle-classes that gained prominence in the political and administrative sphere during the dictatorship (1957-1986). Rosarion was also a writer who produced four books of nationalist poetry. Based on interviews and readings of his literary production, and beyond, through an exploration of architectural forms and material remnants echoing the dictatorship, this paper explores how an idealized version of the dictatorship today haunts the political landscape of Haiti. Moreover, this article argues that the state takes on a sensual form that allows for the diffusion and/or rupture of past ideologies.

scholarly journals OTREDADES AL PODER: ‘CHILENIZACIÓN’ DE ÁRABES Y JUDÍOS POLÍTICOS Y SUS SUBJETIVIDADES DE CLASE (1930-1970)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Stern
Keyword(s):  
Oral History ◽  
Political Agency ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Careers ◽  
Middle Classes ◽  
Political Sphere ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Local Politicians ◽  
Jewish Immigrants

Este artículo se enfoca en la ‘chilenización’ de inmigrantes árabes y judíos a través de su incorporación en la esfera política nacional. Por medio del análisis de discurso desprendido de prensa nacional en complemento con testimonios de historia oral y fuentes literarias, el enfoque en las carreras políticas de Rafael Tarud y Ángel Faivovich servirán de referentes para responder las siguientes inquietudes ¿Qué relevancia desempeñaron las subjetividades de clases medias en la elección de la ciudadanía como agencia política de los árabes-chilenos y judíos-chilenos? ¿Cuál fue el alcance de la ‘chilenización’ en la agencia política de los árabes-chilenos y judíos-chilenos? ¿Cómo eran percibidos estos políticos entre sus pares –los políticos locales– y la sociedad en general? ABSTRACT This article focuses on the ‘Chileanization’ of Arab and Jewish immigrants through their incorporation into the national political sphere, through the analysis of discourse derived from the national press and complemented by oral history testimonies and literary sources, the focus on the political careers of Rafael Tarud and Ángel Faivovich will serve as referents to answer the following questions: What relevance did the subjectivities of the middle classes play in the choice of citizenship as the political agency of the Arabs-Chileans and Jewish-Chileans? What was the scope of the ‘Chileanization’ in the political agency of the Arabs-Chileans and Jews-Chileans? How were these politicians perceived among their peers –the local politicians– and society in general?

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