scholarly journals “They Had, They Thought, Their Champion of Freedom”: Social Constructivism and Greek Politics, 217-199.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Martel

<p><b>International Relations theories colour modern approaches to political history and, hence, to classical studies. Since the Second World War, Realism and Neorealism have been amongst the most pervasive, portraying the international process as something inherently anarchical and self-interested, animated by acontextual variables of power and security. But such approaches leave little room for social, cultural, and ideational variables in the international process; and we know that Greek culture, like others, exerted a powerful influence in the social, political, and economic spheres. </b></p><p>This thesis accordingly uses a more recent IR paradigm, Social Constructivism, to challenge Realism, by accounting for things like rational choice and the role of ideas. It specifically appraises the period of Greek history marked by its early engagements with Rome (217-199), in order to explore the roles of Greek ideas, identities, and agents in animating interstate behaviour. Through this lens, it can be argued that the Greeks’ conceptions of interest, whether we deem them to have been upright or cynical, were shaped as much by human variables as by structural ones. Ideas like Panhellenism, barbarism, and the freedom of the Greeks galvanised interstate action; and they militated Greek poleis, federal states, Hellenistic kings, and, later, Roman commanders towards acting (or wishing to be seen as acting) in accordance with popular conceptions of the ‘Hellenic’ interest. </p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Martel

<p><b>International Relations theories colour modern approaches to political history and, hence, to classical studies. Since the Second World War, Realism and Neorealism have been amongst the most pervasive, portraying the international process as something inherently anarchical and self-interested, animated by acontextual variables of power and security. But such approaches leave little room for social, cultural, and ideational variables in the international process; and we know that Greek culture, like others, exerted a powerful influence in the social, political, and economic spheres. </b></p><p>This thesis accordingly uses a more recent IR paradigm, Social Constructivism, to challenge Realism, by accounting for things like rational choice and the role of ideas. It specifically appraises the period of Greek history marked by its early engagements with Rome (217-199), in order to explore the roles of Greek ideas, identities, and agents in animating interstate behaviour. Through this lens, it can be argued that the Greeks’ conceptions of interest, whether we deem them to have been upright or cynical, were shaped as much by human variables as by structural ones. Ideas like Panhellenism, barbarism, and the freedom of the Greeks galvanised interstate action; and they militated Greek poleis, federal states, Hellenistic kings, and, later, Roman commanders towards acting (or wishing to be seen as acting) in accordance with popular conceptions of the ‘Hellenic’ interest. </p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 73-93
Author(s):  
Loughlin J. Sweeney

The Royal Asiatic Society (RAS), a British learned society for the antiquarian study of Asian civilizations, established a number of branches in East Asia between 1865 and 1900 and quickly became a central location for the socialization of elite westerners within these states. This paper examines the social function of three RAS branches by analyzing their membership characteristics between 1865 and 1934, and draws out the role of Western associational culture in pre-war interactions between Western states and Northeast Asia. The activities of the RAS presented an opportunity for prominent personalities to demonstrate social distinction and reinforce their status as leading members of their communities, and to make claims to local expertise through the study and discussion of East Asian societies. RAS branches attracted a diverse mixture of diplomats, customs officials, military officers, missionaries, educators, merchants and medical professionals. Through a comparative analysis of the membership characteristics of RAS branches in Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai (the branches covering Korea, Japan, and North China respectively), the different social structures of the Western communities in these three states can be discerned. These reflect particular aspects of international relations between Northeast Asia and the West before the Second World War.


2019 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 53-71
Author(s):  
Stanisław Jankowiak

Zmiana systemu po II wojnie światowej związana była z pojawieniem się nowej filozofii kształcenia. Dla komunistycznej władzy najważniejszym celem było dostarczenie krajowi nowych, socjalistycznych i świadomych swej roli w przebudowie kadr. Kryteria polityczne były więc ważniejsze od merytorycznych. Założeniem politycznym było stworzenie nowej, robotniczo- -chłopskiej inteligencji, która rozumiałaby swą rolę w walce o socjalizm. By tego dokonać, należało zrewolucjonizować zasady naboru do szkół średnich i wyższych. O przyjęciu na studia nie miała więc decydować wiedza, ale zaangażowanie polityczne i społeczne. Należało też, i to akurat nie budziło wątpliwości, pozwolić młodzieży nadrobić zaległości wynikające z wojny. Konstruowane polityczne założenia nie we wszystkich przypadkach przełożyły się na praktykę działania. Mimo jednoznacznych wytycznych i kluczowej roli urzędów bezpieczeństwa w opiniowaniu kandydatów, skład socjalny studentów nie uległ radykalnej zmianie. Nie oznacza to, że polityka komunistów nie wyrządziła szkody części zdolnej młodzieży, której ze względów klasowych zamknięto możliwość zdobywania wyższego wykształcenia. College enrollment in the period of Stalinism as exemplified by the Poznań voivodeship Systemic transformation following the Second World War brought a new philosophy of education. For the communist authorities, the most important goal was to provide the country with new, socialist workers, who were aware of their role in the process of reconstruction. Therefore, political criteria took precedence over any others. The political objective was to create a new “intelligentsia” comprising workers and peasants who would understand their role in the fight for socialism. In order to achieve that objective, rules of high school and college enrollment had to be revolutionized. Political and social engagement were to be the decisive factors in college admissions — not knowledge. Young people were also meant to be allowed to make up for the time lost because of the war — however, this particular demand does not raise any questions. Political objectives did not translate into practice in all cases. Despite clear guidelines and the key role of security offices when reviewing the candidates, the social composition of students did not change radically. This does not mean that the communist policy did not do any harm to some talented young people who were precluded from gaining college education for class reasons.


Author(s):  
Abdul Ghafoor Karim Ali ◽  
Younis Talaat Al-Dabbagh

The international system which was established after the end of second world war and the rise of two great states (USA) and (PCCC) (entice), America which represent the liberties states and capitalisms economic, and PCCC which represent the commend systems and social economic. Since the security and diplomatic efforts do the best efforts of reforms. Each relationship between states in the international systems of them has his role historically All states put majority of their efforts against  war and the relationships is going to establish a new international order depending on plurality system in the world.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Tomislav Topolovčan ◽  
Snježana Dubovicki

Using a theoretical-critical and historical approach, this paper analyses the implications of the Cold War in national curricula and educational reforms of the second half of the 20th century with emphasis on the 21st century. The context of the time after the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War is shown, as well as the social and political changes that are significant for education and were prompted by the wars. The emergence of the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (whose focus is not educational but economic) and the role of behavioural psychology were also analysed, which explained their significance in later educational reforms. The role of the Cold War in reducing socio-humanistic teaching contents and the implementation of natural sciences and mathematics has also been explained. The synthesis of the analysed aspects suggests that the Cold War military and technological race resulted in the implementation of the STEM area, thus the measurability of learning outcomes, which influenced the psychologisation, standardisation, economisation, and globalisation of education. Most of the current (un)successful national educational and curricular reforms were initiated in that direction without respect for the social, cultural, and historical features of individual countries. These changes have left a mark in pedagogy, in which the humanistic approach appears to counteract other approaches. Some educational systems demonstrate a shift from such trends, from the technical-scientific curriculum towards the didactic tradition of Bildung and the philosophy of education. The reasons can be found in the above-average results on international standardised evaluations of those countries that have national curricula, in contrast to what is recommended by the globalisation and standardisation of education as some of the elements of the Cold War heritage.


Author(s):  
Igor Lyubchyk

The research issue peculiarities of wide Russian propaganda among the most Western ethnographic group – Lemkies is revealed in the article. The character and orientation of Russian and Soviet agitation through the social, religious and social movements aimed at supporting Russian identity in the region are traced. Tragic pages during the First World War were Thalrogian prisons for Lemkas, which actually swept Lemkivshchyna through Muscovophilian influences. Agitation for Russian Orthodoxy has provoked frequent cases of sharp conflicts between Lemkas. In general, attempts by moskvophile agitators to impose russian identity on the Orthodox rite were failed. Taking advantage of the complex socio-economic situation of Lemkos, Russian campaigners began to promote moving to the USSR. Another stage of Russian propaganda among Lemkos began with the onset of the Second World War. Throughout the territory of the Galician Lemkivshchyna, Soviet propaganda for resettlement to the USSR began rather quickly. During the dramatic events of the Second World War and the post-war period, despite the outbreaks of the liberation movement, among the Lemkoswere manifestations of political sympathies oriented toward the USSR. Keywords: borderlands, Lemkivshchyna, Lemky, Lemkivsky schism, Moskvophile, Orthodoxy, agitation, ethnopolitics


Author(s):  
David Hardiman

Much of the recent surge in writing about the practice of nonviolent forms of resistance has focused on movements that occurred after the end of the Second World War, many of which have been extremely successful. Although the fact that such a method of civil resistance was developed in its modern form by Indians is acknowledged in this writing, there has not until now been an authoritative history of the role of Indians in the evolution of the phenomenon.The book argues that while nonviolence is associated above all with the towering figure of Mahatma Gandhi, 'passive resistance' was already being practiced as a form of civil protest by nationalists in British-ruled India, though there was no principled commitment to nonviolence as such. The emphasis was on efficacy, rather than the ethics of such protest. It was Gandhi, first in South Africa and then in India, who evolved a technique that he called 'satyagraha'. He envisaged this as primarily a moral stance, though it had a highly practical impact. From 1915 onwards, he sought to root his practice in terms of the concept of ahimsa, a Sanskrit term that he translated as ‘nonviolence’. His endeavors saw 'nonviolence' forged as both a new word in the English language, and as a new political concept. This book conveys in vivid detail exactly what such nonviolence entailed, and the formidable difficulties that the pioneers of such resistance encountered in the years 1905-19.


Author(s):  
Mark Edele

This chapter turns to the present and explains the implications of the current study for the ongoing debate about the Soviet Union in the Second World War and in particular about the role of loyalty and disloyalty in the Soviet war effort. It argues that this study strengthens those who argue for a middle position: the majority of Soviet citizens were neither unquestioningly loyal to the Stalinist regime nor convinced resisters. The majority, instead, saw their interests as distinct from both the German and the Soviet regime. Nevertheless, ideology remains important if we want to understand why in the Soviet Union more resisted or collaborated than elsewhere in Europe and Asia.


2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 1065-1082 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mila Dragojević

This article examines the role of the intergenerational memory of the Second World War (WWII) in identity formation and political mobilization. An existing explanation in the ethnic-conflict literature is that strategic political leaders play a crucial role in constructing and mobilizing ethnic identities. However, based on 114 open-ended interviews with individuals born in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia, conducted in Serbia during 2008–2011, nearly a third of the respondents make spontaneous references to WWII in their statements, usually drawing parallels between the cycle of violence in the 1990s and that in the 1940s. The question this article asks, then, is why some respondents make references to WWII spontaneously while others do not. It is argued that intergenerational narratives of past cycles of violence also constitute a process of identity formation, in addition to, or apart from, other processes of identity formation. The respondents mention WWII violence in the context of the 1990s events because they “recognize” elements, such as symbols, discourse or patterns of violence, similar to those in the intergenerational narratives and interpret them as warning signs. Hence, individuals who had previously been exposed to intergenerational narratives may be subsequently more susceptible to political mobilization efforts.


Sociology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 898-914 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Frisk

The article challenges the thesis that western societies have moved towards a post-heroic mood in which military casualties are interpreted as nothing but a waste of life. Using content analysis and qualitative textual analysis of obituaries produced by the Royal Danish Army in memory of soldiers killed during the Second World War (1940–1945) and the military campaign in Afghanistan (2002–2014), the article shows that a ‘good’ military death is no longer conceived of as a patriotic sacrifice, but is instead legitimised by an appeal to the unique moral worth, humanitarian goals and high professionalism of the fallen. The article concludes that fatalities in international military engagement have invoked a sense of post-patriotic heroism instead of a post-heroic crisis, and argues that the social order of modern society has underpinned, rather than undermined, ideals of military self-sacrifice and heroism, contrary to the predominant assumption of the literature on post-heroic warfare.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document