Preface of the Special Issue: “Peritoneal Surface Malignancies (PSM): The SICO (Italian Society of Surgical Oncology) PSM—Oncoteam Experience, Result Analysis, and Studies’ Purpose”

Over the past 40 years, strategies to treat neoplastic spread into the peritoneal space have benefitted from a gradually evolving approach, thanks mainly to studies conducted by the charismatic leader in this medical field Professor Paul Sugarbaker, Washington DC[...]

Between Max Weber and Gilles Deleuze: Leadership Democracy within a Society of Control

<p><b>Gilles Deleuze argued that modern western societies are undergoing or have undergone a shift away from a purely disciplinary formation as articulated by Michel Foucault towards new structures of control. Whereas disciplinary societies were defined by the specifics of certain kinds of confinement, what Deleuze terms societies of control emerge from the dissolution of the separation between these forms of confinement and the wider society. Because of this, social control has begun to pervade the individual lives of persons within a society, where persons are treated as subjects from which data and information can be extracted. However, at the same time many modern western societies are also considered or can be classified as what Weber described as leadership democracies, that is, democracies where charismatic leaders are elected and command large followings. Thus, a theoretical question emerges as to how these two theoretical approaches would interact. A society of control by its nature makes the imposition of control over subjects more encompassing while the charismatic leader at the helm of a political apparatus is theoretically able to overcome the various obstacles that impose themselves over most members of a society. The question is how this would include the overcoming of the imposition of the society of control.</b></p> <p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore how a leadership democracy under the guidance of a charismatic leader, or leaders, is able to overcome the impositions of a society of control. It shall be argued in due course, despite the presence and impositions of a society of control, that such impositions do not impinge upon the nature of the charismatic leader, or leaders, in such a way or to the extent required to prevent the charismatic leader, or leaders, from operating as this kind of leader, or leaders, by definition. In so doing, this thesis explores the manner in which the charismatic leader, or leaders, can overcome the mechanisms of a society of control and maintain the integrity of a leadership democracy in relation to the manner in which societal control is exerted over a population. Given that this thesis deals with a question of pure theory, the nature of this thesis shall be largely formal and shall rely largely on formal argumentation derived from primary and secondary literature as opposed to empirical research, however, where necessary empirical examples and research shall be drawn on for illustration purposes.</p>

Between Max Weber and Gilles Deleuze: Leadership Democracy within a Society of Control

<p><b>Gilles Deleuze argued that modern western societies are undergoing or have undergone a shift away from a purely disciplinary formation as articulated by Michel Foucault towards new structures of control. Whereas disciplinary societies were defined by the specifics of certain kinds of confinement, what Deleuze terms societies of control emerge from the dissolution of the separation between these forms of confinement and the wider society. Because of this, social control has begun to pervade the individual lives of persons within a society, where persons are treated as subjects from which data and information can be extracted. However, at the same time many modern western societies are also considered or can be classified as what Weber described as leadership democracies, that is, democracies where charismatic leaders are elected and command large followings. Thus, a theoretical question emerges as to how these two theoretical approaches would interact. A society of control by its nature makes the imposition of control over subjects more encompassing while the charismatic leader at the helm of a political apparatus is theoretically able to overcome the various obstacles that impose themselves over most members of a society. The question is how this would include the overcoming of the imposition of the society of control.</b></p> <p>The purpose of this thesis is to explore how a leadership democracy under the guidance of a charismatic leader, or leaders, is able to overcome the impositions of a society of control. It shall be argued in due course, despite the presence and impositions of a society of control, that such impositions do not impinge upon the nature of the charismatic leader, or leaders, in such a way or to the extent required to prevent the charismatic leader, or leaders, from operating as this kind of leader, or leaders, by definition. In so doing, this thesis explores the manner in which the charismatic leader, or leaders, can overcome the mechanisms of a society of control and maintain the integrity of a leadership democracy in relation to the manner in which societal control is exerted over a population. Given that this thesis deals with a question of pure theory, the nature of this thesis shall be largely formal and shall rely largely on formal argumentation derived from primary and secondary literature as opposed to empirical research, however, where necessary empirical examples and research shall be drawn on for illustration purposes.</p>

From Academic Anthropology to Esoteric Religion

Carlos Castaneda has been studied mostly as a fraud anthropologist, novelist/philosopher and a contributor to the emerging phenomenon of neo-shamanism. Instead, this article focuses on Castaneda’s individual philosophy and religious system as developed in his written works. A threefold classification is proposed—early, transitional, and late works, complete with chief characteristics of each. The analysis shows how Castaneda slowly drifted from the scholarly style through stress on the narrative to full-fledged religious texts. These changes also reflect on Castaneda’s personal life; from academic ambition through public scandal ‘debunking’ his counterfeit works to the formation of a little new religious movement, of which Castaneda was a charismatic leader. Unlike most scholarly analyses of Castaneda that focus mainly on the early writings, this article takes into serious consideration his late works and shows that it was here that the author fully developed as a religious thinker and guru.

„The Sword Stretched between Two Worlds”: the Image of the Charismatic Leader in Legionary Ideology

"Inspired by recent historiographical contributions concerning the complex implications of the notion of charisma for the various expressions of fascism, this article attempts to explore some of the main characteristics and functions of charismatic leadership in the case of the Legion of the “Archangel Michael”. Drawing upon the classical ideal-typical model developed by Max Weber and building on the conclusions of some of its most significant refinements within the field of fascist studies, the present analysis will provide a brief outlook on the manner in which charismatic authority was theoretically developed in the case of Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, the founder and ruler of the Legionary Movement. Keywords: fascism, charismatic authority, the Legionary Movement, Corneliu Zelea Codreanu "

New Taiwan opposition leader could ease China tension

Significance He is Beijing's preferred candidate and appears to have a cordial relationship with President Xi Jinping. He takes the helm at a moment when relations with China are the tensest they have been in more than a decade. Impacts Chu will stick to the '1992 Consensus' that there is only one China. Chu will take a more cautious approach to cross-Strait cooperation than Taiwan's last Kuomintang president, Ma Ying-jeou (2008-16). The task of making the Kuomintang a ruling party again will probably require a more charismatic leader than Chu.

KASHMIR POLITICAL LANDSCAPE AND CHANGE IN PAKISTAN’S POLICY

Kashmir was a princely state, outside the orbit of the united India two major political parties; All India Muslim League and All India National Congress. The level of political mobilisation was considerably lower than in the India’s mainland. However this political isolation was eventually broken by a youth group, the Young Men’s Muslim Association, spearheaded by a school teacher and charismatic leader Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah, graduated from the celebrated institution, the Aligarh Muslim University, created All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference (MC) in October 1932. It major objective was to liberate Jammu and Kashmir from the tyranny of the Maharaja Hari Sing. Later on, the politics of united India extended to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. National Conference with its socialist leaning was inclined toward the Indian National Congress due to its ideological affinity and personal relationship (Sheikh Abdullah and Nehru were friends). Whereas

Buddhist Ritual as “Connectionwork”: Aesthetics and Technologies of Mediating Religious Belonging

In September 2016, the Himalayan Buddhist festival Naropa 2016 took place in the Northwest Himalayan region of Ladakh, India. This article analyzes the spectacular aesthetics of the Naro Gyen Druk ritual, the focus of Naropa 2016. Drawing on ethnographic documentation of this ritual, I consider the role of ritual aesthetics in provoking affective, emotional, and bodily experiences among participants and their felt connections to the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, the charismatic leader of the Drukpa Kagyü organization. I introduce the term “connectionwork” to emphasize how Buddhist conceptualizations of connections, drelwa (‘brel ba), bring to light how ritual and performances of charisma either work or fail to work in establishing religious belonging among Himalayan and international participants. Connectionwork helps to emphasize not only the work to organize and orchestrate religious rituals with the intention to institute religious belonging, but also the agential role that participants play in charismatic ritual performances.

Pluralism, Populism, and the Impossibility of Grand Strategy

The impediments to designing a coherent grand strategy and pursuing it consistently have always been considerable. But developments in recent decades—the rise of multiculturalism from the 1970s, and the populist backlash that reached its apparent apex 40 years later—have conspired to make those obstacles all but insurmountable. Multiculturalism and populism have both made formulating and executing a consistent and durable grand strategy much more difficult, if not impossible. The essay reaches this conclusion through the lens of narrative and legitimation. Multiculturalism does not impede the articulation of grand strategy, but it does—by undercutting a shared national narrative—complicate the mobilization of societal resources, render the implementation of a consistent strategy, across policy domains, more difficult, and make grand strategy less sustainable over time. Populist politics has similar effects, accentuating and hardening lines of internal division and concentrating authority in the charismatic leader. After chronicling grand strategy’s demise, the essay concludes with a call for burying it, not grieving its passing.