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Parliaments and Democracy in Europe in the Era of the Euro

Richard S. Katz and Bernhard Wessels

in The European Parliament, National Parliaments, and European Integration

The idea of basing further progress towards European integration on a permissive consensus has been substantially challenged since the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, primarily because of its ... More

The idea of basing further progress towards European integration on a permissive consensus has been substantially challenged since the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, primarily because of its objective of establishing a single European currency. The Euro has strong implications for increasing the visibility of the lack of democratic accountability, and of the lack of a European demos. In the light of these developments, the chapter brings together a number of conclusions suggested throughout this volume.Less

Alternative Nuclear Futures

in Better Safe Than Sorry: The Ironies of Living with the Bomb

Alternative nuclear futures do not come along in a vacuum or by happenstance. Nor can the future be masterfully engineered by deliberate choice. The countervailing trends are reviewed here and the ... More

Alternative nuclear futures do not come along in a vacuum or by happenstance. Nor can the future be masterfully engineered by deliberate choice. The countervailing trends are reviewed here and the major events that could well arise are also described, the fulcrums on which the nuclear future may turn. States possessing the bomb could instruct contrary lessons from the first limited nuclear exchange in history. The protecting nuclear materials that can be employed in acts of nuclear terrorism are then discussed. Additionally, five alternative pathways to the nuclear future, and the keys to achieving or foreclosing these outcomes are assessed. These pathways include abolishing nuclear weapons, nuclear anarchy, stabilizing proliferation, arms control, and dominance. The alternative nuclear future of abolition is the worthiest end state for U.S. nuclear policy, but it remains a long-term vision, many steps away.Less

Epilogue

Sara L. Friedman

in Exceptional States: Chinese Immigrants and Taiwanese Sovereignty

The epilogue describes the tumultuous events of 2014 that revealed deep unease in Taiwan and Hong Kong about relations with China: the Sunflower Movement, the Umbrella Movement, and Taiwan’s local ... More

The epilogue describes the tumultuous events of 2014 that revealed deep unease in Taiwan and Hong Kong about relations with China: the Sunflower Movement, the Umbrella Movement, and Taiwan’s local elections. Rejecting the binary of reunification versus independence, the chapter asks what these conflicts teach us about the potential of shared intimacies to generate new paradigms for resolving old animosities and imagining alternative futures. It argues that the challenges of “as if” sovereignty and “not quite” belonging require new models of sovereignty and national inclusion.Less

A Temporary Closure

Jack Linchuan Qiu

in Goodbye iSlave: A Manifesto for Digital Abolition

This chapter concludes the volume with reflections on our past, present, and future. Three circular models are discussed as a way to summarize the structural similarities between iSlavery and the ... More

This chapter concludes the volume with reflections on our past, present, and future. Three circular models are discussed as a way to summarize the structural similarities between iSlavery and the seventeenth-century system of triangular trade, while proposing a tentative model of collective action toward an alternative future, a model in which gadgets serve people and promote global justice. Linking up continents, peoples, and technologies, these models are all about circuits of capital accumulation, structural domination, and endless struggle. They bring about cultural change, from far-flung communities to everyday practices and mundane social relations. Ultimately, the chapter considers our possible future, as we move on from iSlavery and the capitalist world system.Less

Population policy

Ian Lowe

in Australian public policy: Progressive ideas in the neo-liberal ascendency

Although it receives little explicit attention, population policy is extremely important. The size and age structure of the population critically influence policies for education, housing, transport, ... More

Although it receives little explicit attention, population policy is extremely important. The size and age structure of the population critically influence policies for education, housing, transport, health care, energy and water supply. Australia has a much higher rate of population growth than most affluent countries, promoted by decision-makers who believe it provides economic benefits. While an increasing population grows the economy overall, there is contention about the per capita benefit. One consequence of rapid growth is a serious problem of providing the expanding infrastructure needs of Australian cities, leading to social stresses and declining support for large-scale migration. The short-term economic appeal of rapid growth is producing serious social and environmental issues for the future.Less

Literary images of time

George Jaroszkiewicz

in Images of Time: Mind, Science, Reality

This chapter starts with a discussion of the merits and problems of science fiction, a literary genre that frequently posits time travel, faster than light speeds and other currently unobserved ... More

This chapter starts with a discussion of the merits and problems of science fiction, a literary genre that frequently posits time travel, faster than light speeds and other currently unobserved phenomena. The advantages and disadvantages of reading science fiction are pointed out. This is followed by commentary on the work of H. G. Wells, Isaac Asimov, and others, and how such authors explain away the unphysical aspects of their stories. The chapter ends with a critique of several popular plot devices, such as alternate universes, alternative futures, time machines, and hyperspace. These are plot devices used in science fiction to discuss the problems and paradoxes of time travel in an attempt to avoid the constraints of special relativity.Less

From Charisma to Routinization and Beyond: Speculations on the Future of the Study of Law and Literature

Austin Sarat

in New Directions in Law and Literature

This chapter argues that the charismatic period of law and literature scholarship and the days when some turned to literature as a template for legal thinking are long gone. It identifies three ... More

This chapter argues that the charismatic period of law and literature scholarship and the days when some turned to literature as a template for legal thinking are long gone. It identifies three possible futures for law and literature. One would see the field emphasizing its distinctiveness and resisting incorporation into broader interdisciplinary explorations of law. The second would see the field embedded in broader analysis of the relationship of law and cultural production. The third involves pushing the boundaries of law and literary study beyond the humanities and culture. This law as performance perspective brings literary and cultural analysis together with social studies of the way law performs in a variety of domains. The chapter concludes that the brightest future for the field is one in which the distinctiveness of law and literature scholarship fades so that its contribution to broader understandings of law can be enhanced.Less