A cultural studies approach to semantic instability: The case of news translation

This article explores news translation and the semantic instability of politi-cally charged words and their translations. Such pairs are linked in a pa-radoxical relationship of dependence (one is a translation of the other) and independence (they have evolved and continue to evolve within different conceptual horizons). This paper describes a methodology for addressing this phenomenon by considering such pairs as examples of ‘essentially contested concepts’ (Gallie 1956). This methodology derives from a circuit model of culture, and it provides translation studies scholars with tools to describe the dynamic, historically conditioned relationships linking politi-cally charged words, their translations, and their contested, frequently contradictory meanings.

Asking the fox to guard the chicken coop: In defense of minimalism in the ethics of war and peace

Dominant normative theories of armed conflict orientate themselves around the ultimate goal of peace. Yet the deployment of these theories in the international sphere appears to have failed in advancing toward this goal. In this paper, we argue that one major reason for this failure is these theories’ use of essentially contested concepts—that is, concepts whose internally complex character results in no principled way of adjudicating between rival interpretations of them. This renders the theories susceptible to manipulation by international actors who are able to pursue bellicose policies under the cover of nominally pacific frameworks, and we show how this happened historically in a case study of the Korean War of 1950–1953. In order to better serve the goals of peace, we suggest, the rules of war should be reframed to simpler, but more restrictive, normative principles.

Essentially contested concepts as a tool in political studies: definition and criteria

A notion of "essentially contested concepts", introduced by a prominent British philosopher W. B. Gallie in 1956, still remains practically unknown or at least not sufficiently well researched in the Ukrainian political science. In order for this notion to be applied as a tool in empirical studies either using data on political processes in Ukraine or studying external processes from a Ukrainian perspective, it has to be defined and discussed. This article provides an original definition of essentially contested concepts as it was introduced by Gallie, and his seven original criteria for defining a given concept an essentially contested are presented and commented. As a great master of his mother tongue – the English language – W. B. Gallie used a plethora of opportunities provided to him by the richness of his language to put forward and advocate for his idea of essential contestability of some concepts. Consequently, a number of criteria for defining essentially contested concepts possess some unique qualities that may be lost once translated into another language – which is also the case with Ukrainian translation. This article points to a number of such instances, of which Ukrainian scholars should be aware, namely: the original component "contested" provided for a whole stream of discussion regarding the "contestedness" of some concepts as a genuine quality of phenomena that will inevitably become objects of constant disputes and contestations. Secondly, the criteria of "appraisiveness" and "diverse describability" are not easily translated and need to be taken care of when applying them as practical characteristics of concepts under study. This article lists the original criteria for the essentially contested concepts: appraisive character of such concepts, their internal complexity, diverse describability, openness, recognition of their contested essence by the contending parties, existence of an exemplar that anchors conceptual meaning of such a concept, and progressive contestation by means of which a better coherence of concept’s usage can be achieved. Moreover this article also pays attention to a number of additional nuances articulated by Gallie that are of great importance when dealing with essentially contested concepts: the lack of any quantitative scheme or general rule for deciding on the best concept in any contestation regarding the correct use of such a concept and the fact that the uses of essentially contested concepts are discussed and debated "aggressively and defensively" by the contesting parties. Despite the fact that Gallie didn’t pay any attention to the linguistic side of concept’s studies, this article shows that a search for an original meaning of any concept can be misleading – or even illusory. Using two examples of contested concepts – "populism" in the works of two German scholars J.W. Müller and B. Stegemann and the “virus of dictatorship” by the Dutch social psychologist F. Schaper, this article demonstrates that the essence of such concepts can be contested based on the ideological stances taken by the contesting parties, as well as because of the choice of terms and methodologies embodied into the discussion of the correct uses of such concepts. Finally, this article calls for further enquiries into the studies of the nature of modern discourses in which different concepts are debated and contested.

Stakeholder performance, corporate social performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to find out what added value does the stakeholder performance concept bring with respect to that of corporate social performance. To better understand the developments of these concepts, the authors resort to Gallie’s theory (1956) of essentially contested concepts, the life-cycle model of Hirsch and Levin’s (1999) umbrella concepts. Reconciling these two theoretical frameworks allows us to introduce the competing category notion consisting of a dominant and a dominated-type concepts. Through a historical and synchronic literature examination, CSP is shown to have characteristics of the dominant type, thanks to its more diffuse character. On the other hand, the stakeholder performance would relate to the dominated type, though it provides better operationalization possibilities. Design/methodology/approach To better understand the developments of these concepts, Gallie’s theory (1956) of essentially contested concepts, the life cycle model of Hirsch and Levin’s (1999) umbrella concepts are used. Findings CSP has characteristics of the dominant type, thanks to its more diffuse character. On the other hand, the stakeholder performance relates to the dominated type, though it provides better operationalization. Originality/value CSP as a dominant type and stakeholder performance is a dominated type.

Morphological analysis of legal ideology: locating interpretive divergence

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a “manifesto” exploring a methodological approach to legal analysis, relying upon a morphological understanding of ideology. Design/methodology/approach The authors explore ideology within law and legal culture. They examine one such ideology – rule of law – and consider how this can shape judicial decision-making. They suggest techniques by which such influences can be identified. Findings The authors make four findings. First, following Freeden, ideology can be understood as a ubiquitous form of political thinking which seeks to fix the meanings of essentially contested concepts. Second, ideology in this sense forms an important part, but is distinguishable from the wider notion of legal culture. Considering ideology in law as a sub-system of legal culture can therefore be fruitful in providing a rich understanding of interpretive disagreements among the judiciary. Third, rule of law as an ideal is itself ideological, as it comprises contested concepts such as certainty, equality, stability and legality. It can be considered to constitute an internal ideology of law and it can be analysed how the concepts are de-contested in individual decisions. Finally, understanding this can help in the analysis of judgments in areas with high levels of administrative discretion and political contestation, such as planning and environmental law, as it helps us to understand how any particular judge sees the role of the court in its wider political context. Originality/value The originality of the authors’ approach lies in the drawing together of methodological techniques and understandings of ideology in, and in relation to, law.

Connections

In this chapter, connections to a number of other central debates in the literature are explored. Among questions brought up are ones relating to normative indeterminacy and vagueness (there are similarities between issues brought up here and issues brought up in connection with normative indeterminacy), quietism (how do the present concerns affect the quietism recently defended by e.g. T.M. Scanlon?), whether the problems discussed in the book raise worries for other theorists besides realists (the answer is yes), non-naturalism (can appeal to Alternative-unfriendliness help ward off objections to this view?), creeping minimalism (does the present framework help ward off this kind of worry?), and essentially contested concepts (can the present framework help make sense of this notion?).

Social Justice as an Essentially Contested Concept

In the current hyper-partisan environment, it is tempting to treat those who disagree on social, political, and even legal issues with disdain—as willfully ignorant or irrational or profoundly mistaken or even evil. This is surely true with respect to debates on issues regarding access to justice. Besides courtesy, there is an important philosophical reason for avoiding this attitude and treating opponents in our arguments about access to justice with respect: W.B. Gallie’s idea of “essentially contested concepts,” which, as Gallie describes it, includes social justice. My goal in this essay is to illustrate how understanding social justice as an essentially contested concept helps us see more clearly what is at stake when we debate issues pertaining to access to justice.