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Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political ideologies > General
This volume offers a comparative analysis of the functioning of totalitarian and authoritarian discourses and their aftermath. Whereas other studies often focus on communist/post-communist examples and hence particularize totalitarian discourse, this book starts from a more encompassing theoretical perspective, transcending the limitation of totalitarian discourse to its communist constituent. The case studies presented in this volume thus provide a more differentiated analysis of discursive strategies in totalitarian and authoritarian regimes across the globe, including the former East Germany, former Yugoslavia, Romania, Lithuania, China, North Korea, the Philippines, Burma, Cuba and Tunisia. In addition to this geographical range, these studies also undertake new research into different eras, enabling comparison between past and present discourses. The findings are presented in three interconnected sections dealing with culture and education, media and official discourse, and power structures and politics. The extended scope of the case studies reveals the universal characteristics of totalitarian/authoritarian discourses over space and time.
Providing an ethnographic account of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and its Youth Wing (Dewan Pemuda PAS), this book analyses the genesis and role of Islamic movements in terms of their engagement in mainstream politics. It explores the party's changing approach towards popular culture and critically investigates whether the narrative of a post-Islamist turn can be applied to the PAS Youth. The book shows that in contrast to the assumption that Islamic marketization and post-Islamism are reinforcing each other, the PAS Youth has strategically appropriated and integrated Islamic consumerism to pursue a decidedly Islamist - or 'pop-Islamist' - political agenda. The media-savvy PAS Youth elites, which are at the forefront of implementing new outreach strategies for the party, categorically oppose tendencies of political moderation among the senior party. Instead, they are most passionately calling for the establishment of a Syariah-based Islamic oder for state and society, although these renewed calls are increasingly expressed through modern channels such as Facebook, YouTube, rock music, celebrity advertising, branded commodities and other market-driven forms of social movement mobilization. A timely and significant contribution to the literature on Islam and politics in Malaysia and beyond, this book sheds new light on widespread assumptions or even hopes of "post-Islamism". It is of interest to students and scholars of Political Religion and Southeast Asian Politics.
Post-crisis perspectives refer to scenarios after a crisis, possible options of dealing with them, and the importance for defining these scenarios. This anthology seeks to identify paths and perspectives that go beyond the contemporary economic crisis. In searching for a post-crisis perspective it is necessary to deduce how the world/society/economics/institutions could/should be set up/organized on the other side of the economic crisis. What are the viable lines of continuation and stability? Which functions are beneficial and which are not? How should we think about money, debt, institutions, politics, and the Common? The contributions which make up this anthology offer valuable concepts and frameworks for thinking about all these questions and post-crisis society.
Since the handover to the People's Republic of China in 1999 Macao has undergone a multi-faceted transformation marked by persistent bureaucratic reforms, changing patterns and modes of political participation, internationalization and modernization, and competition and coordination with MacaoaEURO (TM)s neighbouring cities. In this original and stimulating analysis of the status of political life in Macao, Sonny Lo examines the Portuguese legacy and the transition from the Portuguese administration to the legitimacy-building efforts of the new Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) government. This book also includes fascinating discussion of: the governing philosophy of the new Chief Executive Edmund Ho and the dynamic economic development resulting from this the changes in citizen participation the reforms directed at the bureaucracy the management of casino franchise and operations the changing political economy of regional rivalries and coordination, including relations with Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Shenzhen organized crime in Macao As a comprehensive study of this unique city, Political Change in Macao will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars interested in Chinese studies, Asian politics and the theoretical and practical dimensions of political change. Awarded the first class prize by the Macao Foundation in October 2009
Recent rise of the non-Western parts of the world makes the need for a genuine global dialogue more urgent than ever before. To take an effective part in it, the West needs to face a conceptual challenge. The Western understanding of the political world is based on such deeply ingrained concepts as power, politics, statecraft, cooperation, multilateralism, dependence, identity or human rights. The Westerners tend to wrongly assume that everyone else is bound to share these concepts. This book shows that the reality is different. Investigating African, Asian, Islamic and Latin American political thinking, the book introduces non-Western concepts of politics as well as non-Western readings of seemingly familiar Western concepts. By doing this, it points to the obstacles to the global dialogue as well as to opportunities which may be exploited.
The Taliban are yet another manifestation of the growth of radical
Islam worldwide. This book explores what they stand for and the
factors leading to their rapid rise to military and political
dominance over Afghanistan. It considers the many influences on
their ideology emanating from within the country, the Indian
sub-continent and the Middle East. It describes the war which
continues to afflict the Afghan people as well as the geo-political
context and the possible part played by certain powers in the
region, and by the United States, in the Taliban's dramatic
expansion. Peter Marsden examines the unique and complicated
character of an Islamic revivalist movement like the Taliban. He
confronts the issue of international responsibility in situations
of chronic conflict brought on by external interference, and
considers the dilemmas faced by humanitarian agencies in seeking to
reconcile the evident need for assistance with the often difficult
political and human rights context in which they are working. He
examines the cultural conflict between Western thinking and the
Taliban's interpretation of Islamic values, particularly in
relation to gender, and asks how the international community should
deal with this conflict.
This volume is the first systematic, comprehensive and cogent environmental political philosophy. It exposes the relationships between the ever-worsening environmental crises, the nature of prevailing economic structures and the role of the modern state and concludes that the combination of these factors is driving humanity towards destruction. Innovative, provocative and cutting-edge, A Radical Green Political Theory will be of enormous value to all those with an interest in the environment, political theory and moral and political philosophy.
In its political form, the existence of a public realm is the basis of a shared relationship between rulers and ruled which makes politics more than mere power or domination. How to construct and maintain a public realm in the political sphere is, however, a matter of especial dispute at the present day, due partly to the increasing difficulty of making the distinction between public and private spheres which has been the basis of Western liberal democracy; partly to the tendency of public concerns to be identified with economic interests, which transforms citizens into consumers; partly to pressure for the acknowledgement of diversity of every kind, which creates the danger of fragmenting the public realm; and partly to globalization processes which have undermined the traditional identification of the public realm with national political institutions. Globalization has, in addition, raised the question of whether there can be a supra-national public realm and, more generally, of what form it is likely to assume in non-Western cultures. These are amongst the fundamental contemporary issues addressed by contributors to the present volume. This book was published as a special issue of the Critical Review of International, Social and Political Philosophy.
The study explores an aspect of Finland in World War II that has received little attention. The research examines how Lutheran priests contributed rhetorically to the war effort against the Soviet Union in the Continuation War 1941-1944. The war was emplotted using six dramatic analogies: apocalypse, holy war & crusade, election & mission, jeremiad, the war within, obedience and mortification. Changes from an offensive phase in 1941 to an almost chaotic retreat in summer 1944 could be explained using rhetoric that was familiar to all Finns. The material consists of texts by bishops, chaplains and other priests. Priestly power is examined using the concept of metanoia, a radical transformation of mind. The textual analysis relies on Kenneth Burke's theory of symbolic action.
This second edition of an established textbook on political ideology provides a comprehensive, up-to-date introduction to the powerful and persuasive ideas which have motivated the actions of both political leaders and the electorate. Political ideology today begins with an explanation of the nature of ideology and the part it plays in political life, and then looks at each of the main ideologies in turn. The book takes a broadly historical approach to show how each ideology has evolved as a tradition with a variety of sometimes conflicting forms. Liberalism, socialism, conservatism, Marxism, anarchism and fascism are all discussed, together with more recent developments in religious and sexual politics, environmentalism and animal rights. All of these are discussed in the light of recent important events, including the Asian financial crisis, the Balkan wars and the election of the New Labour government. The book also takes into account the growing importance of post-Marxism, communitarianism, multiculturalism, and postmodernism. Adams shows that contemporary ideological thinking is thriving, despite the 'end of ideology' proclaimed after the capitalist West's triumph in the Cold War. He also discusses prospects for future ideological developments, including the growth of small scale and local ideologies. This book is suitable for A level and undergraduate students of contemporary politics and political theory.
In this essential exploration of the American heartland, Kayleigh McEnany presents an eye-opening collection of interviews and stories about the powerful grassroots populist movement of frustrated Americans left behind by the government that changed the landscape of political campaigns foreverKayleigh McEnany spent months traveling throughout the United States, conducting interviews with citizens whose powerful and moving stories were forgotten or intentionally ignored by our leaders. Through candid, one-on-one conversations, they discussed their deeply personal stories and the issues that are most important to them, such as illegal immigration, safety from terrorist attacks, and religious freedom. The New American Revolution chronicles both the losses of these grassroots voters, as well as their ultimate victory in November 2016. Kayleigh also includes interviews with key figures within President Trump's administration--including Ivanka Trump, Secretary Ben Carson, Jared Kushner, and many more--and their experiences on the road leading up to President Trump's historic win. Kayleigh's journey takes her from a family cabin in Ohio to the empty factories in Flint, Michigan, from sunny Florida to a Texas BBQ joint--and, of course, ends up at the White House. The collective grievance of the American electorate reveals a deep divide between leaders and citizens. During a time of stark political division, Kayleigh discovers a personal unity and common thread of humanity that binds us nevertheless. Through faith in God and unimaginable strength, these forgotten men and women have overcome, even when their leaders turned their heads. An insightful book about the triumph of this powerful movement, The New American Revolution is a potent testament to the importance of their message.
This volume examines international statebuilding in terms of language and meanings, rather than focusing narrowly on current policy practices. After two decades of evolution towards more 'integrated,' 'multi-faceted' or, simply stated, more intrusive statebuilding and peacebuilding operations, a critical literature has slowly emerged on the economic, social and political impacts of these interventions. Scholars have started to analyse the 'unintended consequences' of peacebuilding missions, analysing all aspects of interventions. Central to the book is the understanding that language is both the most important tool for building anything of social significance, and the primary repository of meanings in any social setting. Hence, this volume exemplifies how the multiple realities of state, state fragility and statebuilding are being conceptualised in mainstream literature, by highlighting the repercussions this conceptualisation has on 'good practices' for statebuilding. Drawing together leading scholars in the field, this project provides a meeting point between constructivism in international relations and the critical perspective on liberal peacebuilding, shedding new light on the commonly accepted meanings and concepts underlying the international (or world) order, as well as the semantics of contemporary statebuilding practices. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding and intervention, war and conflict studies, security studies and international relations.
'One of the most perceptive and thought-provoking books yet written about the multiple intersecting crises that are now upending our once-familiar world. . . Essential reading for these turbulent times.' Amitav Ghosh, author of The Great Derangement Dougald Hine, author and social thinker, has spent most of his life talking to people about climate change. And then one afternoon in the second year of the pandemic, he found he had nothing left to say. Why would someone who cares so deeply about ecological destruction want to stop talking about climate change now? At Work in the Ruins explores that question. 'Climate change asks us questions that climate science cannot answer,' Hine says. Questions like, how did we end up in this mess? Is it just a piece of bad luck with the atmospheric chemistry-or is it the result of a way of approaching the world that would always have brought us to such a pass? How we answer such questions has consequences. According to Hine, our answers shape our understanding and our thinking about what kind of problem we think we're dealing with and, therefore, what kind of responses we go looking for. "But when science is turned into an object of belief and a source of overriding authority," Hine continues, "it becomes hard even to talk about the questions that it cannot answer." In eloquent, deeply researched prose, Hine demonstrates how our over-reliance on the single lens of science has blinded us to the nature of the crises around and ahead of us, leading to 'solutions' that can only make things worse. At Work in the Ruins is his reckoning with the strange years we have been living through and our long history of asking too much of science. It's also about how we find our bearings and what kind of tasks are worth giving our lives to, given all we know or have good grounds to fear about the trouble the world is in. For anyone who has found themselves needing to make sense of the COVID time and how we talk about it, At Work in the Ruins offers guidance by standing firmly forward and facing the depth of the trouble we are in. Hine, ultimately, helps us find the work that is worth doing, even in the ruins. 'A book of rare originality and depth-profound, far-reaching, mind-altering stuff.' Helen Jukes, author of A Honeybee Heart has Five Openings
"The Anthropology of Power" presents case studies from a wide range of societies to examine the issues surrounding power and empowerment and to question whether power is actually being transferred to the powerless. This collection draws on ethnographic material from Europe, the Middle East, Australasia, Africa and the Americas exploring how traditionally disempowered groups gain influence in postcolonial and multicultural settings, from civil war to new communication technologies, from religious imperialism to transnational mining investments. It surveys the relationships between empowerment and economic development, gender and environmentalism. The contributors confront post-Foucauldian theoretical issues on the nature, distribution and balance of power, and ask whether the rhetoric of "empowerment" actually masks a lack of change in established power relations. This is a wide-ranging international collection featuring contributors from the UK, Portugal, Iceland, the Czech Republic, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Canada, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
"Babel is everywhere! Migrant readings from Africa, Europe and Asia" sets out to explore the intersection between religion, identity and migration. It does so by telling entangled histories between diaspora/s and homeland and by analysing biblical in-roads to issues and challenges of migration. It also explores hyphenated identities and takes a close look at the role of migrant religion specifically regarding issues of mission, of identity formation and of ecclesial and societal formation. This book challenges static notions of diaspora, stable identities and Western-centred notions of Christianity and offers kaleidoscopic insights from Pentecostal, migrant and intercultural perspectives.
This edited volume is a compilation of the analyses written by East Asian Institute experts on Hong Kong since the handover. It covers most, if not all the important events that have taken place in Hong Kong since 1997, including its economic integration and relations with China, its governance conundrums, the Hong Kong identity and nation-building, the implementation of the minimum wage, and the elections from 2011-2012. The book's panoramic view of Hong Kong makes it a useful resource for readers who seek a broad understanding of the city and how it has evolved after its return to China. It also offers some glimpses into the direction Hong Kong is heading in its socio-economic relations with China at both the state and society levels, as well as its domestic political developments and the prospects for democratization.
This biography of Govan Mbeki (1910-2001), activist and intellectual, goes beyond the narrative details of his long life. Drawing on lengthy interviews with 'Oom Gov', it analyses his thinking, expressed in his writings over 50 years. This helps establish what is distinctive about him: as African nationalist and as committed Marxist - more than any other leader of the liberation movement, he sought to link theory and practice, ideas and action. The biography also explores controversial aspects of Mbeki's personality and career: his reputation as a hardliner, the personal and psychological price paid for militancy, and his role in the tensions within the ANC leadership on Robben Island.
The emergence of Thatcherism around 1980, which ushered in a period of neo-liberalism in British politics that still resonates today, led musicians, like other artists, to respond to their context of production. This book uses the early work of one of these musicians, Elvis Costello, to explore the relationship between popular music and politics in one historical period. It is not a biography but an exploration of the interaction between a creative musician's works and their context of constraint and opportunity. Pilgrim and Ormrod unpack the political meaning of Thatcherism and deal with matters arising in that political context about Costello's life but which had resonance for many others at the time (and still do). These topics include the politics of race, class, gender and ageing, emphasising the recurring theme of nostalgia in modern and post-modern life. Throughout the book examples are provided of Costello's songs and how they work musically to illustrate or stimulate the contextual discussion. The book will be of significant interest to musicologists, sociologists and social psychologists.
Gazing in Useless Wonder focuses on utopias as self-referential texts that literally have to constitute themselves as imaginary or intentional entities before they can work as vehicles for socio-political ideas. Foregrounding the construction of utopian fictions defines both the perspective and the differentiation of the analytically significant elements, so that the traditionally dominant topics such as the nature and origins of the ideologies behind the construction of the ideal model are taken into account only insofar as they contribute to the aesthetic effect of the utopian construct as a whole. The organising principle of the early modern utopia involves two different modes of presentation: the narrative frame and the ekphrastic description of the ideal state, each possessing an aesthetic function realised according to different principles, with the ideal image constructed in accordance with the dominant aesthetic norms of the period pertaining to the visual arts, such as harmony, symmetry, alleged perfection, and timelessness. Despite variations, especially in the thematic-ideological domain, the dominant genre pattern that emerged as a result of the simplification of the complex semantics of Thomas More's Utopia in the early modern period is taken here as forming a single synchrony in the history of utopian fiction-making.
Julius Evola's writing covered a vast range of subjects, from a distinctive and categorical ideological outlook and has been extremely influential on a significant number of extreme right thinkers, activists and organisations. This book is the first full length study in English to present his political thought to a wider audience, beyond that of his followers and sympathisers, and to bring into the open the study of a neglected strand of contemporary Western thought, that of traditionalism. Evola deserves more attention because he is an influential writer. His following comes from an important if largely ignored political movement: activists and commentators whose political positions are, like his, avowedly traditionalist, authoritarian, anti-modern, anti-democratic and anti-liberal. With honourable exceptions, contemporary academic study tends to treat these groups as a minority within a minority, a sub-species of Fascism, from whom they are held to derive their ideas and their support. This work seeks to bring out more clearly the complexity of Evola's post-war strategy, so as to explain how he can be adopted both by the neo-fascist groups committed to violence, and by groups such as the European New Right whose approach is more aimed at influence from within liberal democracies. Furlong also recognises the relevance of Evola's ideas to anti-globalisation arguments, including a re-examination of his arguments for detachment and spontaneism (apolitia).
Since the late 1920s, social democracy has been preeminent in the politics of Sweden, Denmark and Norway, through dominant parties and ideological hegemony of the center-left. The Nordic Model of Social Democracy relates the concept of the Nordic model to the guiding role of social democratic ideology in developing and sustaining a particular way of society, extending from the mixed economy to social and gender equality and the universal welfare state. Moving beyond the historical account, the book also addresses a set of current and future challenges for social democrats, such as welfare state sustainability, the multicultural society, globalization and the decline of mass politics. The analysis breaks new ground by relating the recent international literature on social democracy to the distinct Scandinavian experience. It speaks out against the 'decline thesis' of the left, emphasizing instead the continuity and vitality of social democracy in the Nordic region
With this timely commitment, Jacques Bidet unites the theories of arguably the world's two greatest emancipatory political thinkers. In this far-reaching and decisive text, Bidet examines Marxian and Foucauldian criticisms of capitalist modernity. For Marx, the intersection between capital and the market is crucial, while for Foucault, the organizational aspects of capital are what really matter. According to Marx, the ruling class is identified with property; with Foucault, it is the managers who hold power and knowledge that rule. Bidet identifies these two sides of capitalist modernity as 'market' and 'organization', showing that each leads to specific forms of social conflict; against exploitation and austerity, over wages and pensions on the one hand, and against forms of 'medical' and work-based discipline, control of bodies and prisons on the other. Bidet's impetus and clarity however serve a greater purpose: uniting two souls of critical social theory, in order to overcome what has become an age-long separation between the 'old left' and the 'new social movements'.
Throughout the world, liberal-democracies are grappling with increasing claims made in the name of minority national, socio-cultural and ethno-cultural identities that seek greater recognition in the institutions of the nation-state. This work inserts itself into debates centred on diversity through a normative and empirical analytical assessment of the political sociology of multinational democracies. The main thread of the arguments put forward is that federalism, in both its institutional manifestations and its sociological properties, constitutes a promising avenue for the management of cohabitating political communities and for the affirmation of collective identities within states that are constituted by two or more nations. Author Alain-G Gagnon develops his argument by contending that the federal principle allows for the exercise of advanced democratic practices within nation-states, permitting internal nations to openly affirm the bases of adherence to a common political project. At the same time, he argues that federalism nourishes the development of distinct collective traditions that serve to benefit all parties to the association. It is concluded that only in such a scenario will the elusive pursuit of an authentic and shared loyalty underpin multination states and ensure their stability, in contrast to the instrumental sentiments of belonging engendered by procedural territorial federal models. Focusing primarily on the Canadian case, this book also draws inspiration from other federal states (Belgium, the United States), as well as federalizing states (Spain, the United Kingdom). It will be of keen interest to students and scholars of Politics, European Studies, along with Nationalism and Federalism Studies.
Islam is a burning topic in modern scholarship and contemporary world affairs. It is a subject poorly understood by Western observers, and in this book Professor Montgomery Watt takes a significant step towards its demystification. Montgomery Watt examines the crucial questions of traditional world-view and self-image which dominate the thinking of Muslims today. This traditional self-image causes them to perceive world events in a different perspective from Westerners - a fact not always appreciated by the foreign ministries of Western powers. Professor Watt presents a brilliant and critical analysis of the traditional Islamic self-image, showing how it distorts Western modernism and restricts Muslims to a peripheral role in world affairs. In a scholarly and incisive way, he traces this harmful image to its origins in the medieval period and then to the traumatic exposure of Muslims to the West in modern times. He argues that Muslim culture is suffering from a dangerous introspection, and in his closing chapters presents a constructive criticism of contemporary Islam, aimed at contributing to a truer, more realistic Islamic self-image for today. First published in 1988. |
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