Jack Hayward (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280354
- eISBN:
- 9780191599422
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280351.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Are European elites losing touch with their peoples? The populist challenge to representative democracy is as old as democracy itself but its impact has differed between European countries. Should ...
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Are European elites losing touch with their peoples? The populist challenge to representative democracy is as old as democracy itself but its impact has differed between European countries. Should elected representatives respond to people's demands or to their needs? Is the press a reliable source of public information and a critical check on governments and powerful interests? Are political parties effectively mediating between leaders and mass publics or do they face a legitimacy crisis? Are parliaments able to enforce government accountability? Can the European Union and national governments persuade their peoples to accept the necessity of economic constraints upon their demands? The challenge to political leaders in liberal democracies is to deal realistically with problems without provoking public alienation from the political process, a challenge that they are finding increasingly difficult to face successfully.Less
Are European elites losing touch with their peoples? The populist challenge to representative democracy is as old as democracy itself but its impact has differed between European countries. Should elected representatives respond to people's demands or to their needs? Is the press a reliable source of public information and a critical check on governments and powerful interests? Are political parties effectively mediating between leaders and mass publics or do they face a legitimacy crisis? Are parliaments able to enforce government accountability? Can the European Union and national governments persuade their peoples to accept the necessity of economic constraints upon their demands? The challenge to political leaders in liberal democracies is to deal realistically with problems without provoking public alienation from the political process, a challenge that they are finding increasingly difficult to face successfully.
Ian Carter
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294535
- eISBN:
- 9780191598951
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294530.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
When liberal political philosophers talk of equalizing, increasing or maximizing freedom (or liberty), they implicitly assume freedom to be a measurable attribute. Freedom is one of the currencies of ...
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When liberal political philosophers talk of equalizing, increasing or maximizing freedom (or liberty), they implicitly assume freedom to be a measurable attribute. Freedom is one of the currencies of a liberal theory of distributive justice, and is therefore assumed to be something that individuals can possess in varying degrees. Yet it is rarely clear what is meant by claims about degrees of freedom. To make sense of such claims, we need to clarify the concept of overall freedom and ask whether its measurement is theoretically possible. This concept is important because freedom has, for liberals, non-specific (or content-independent) value–i.e. value that is independent of the value of being free to do specific things. Liberals prescribe not only that individuals have certain specific freedom-types but also that they have a measure of (overall) freedom. Attempts to make sense of the concept of overall freedom by weighting particular options in terms of their values are erroneous, as these do not account for freedom’s non-specific value. On the other hand, a closer examination of the problems of the individuation of actions and of the various types of constraints on freedom shows overall freedom to be measurable in a way that reflects its non-specific value. To this end, actions need to be individuated in spatio-temporal terms and constraints on freedom need to be characterized in terms of the physical compossibility of actions. The comparative judgements about freedom implied by this analysis (with reference both to individuals and to groups) are more coherent with our intuitive judgements than might at first be expected.Less
When liberal political philosophers talk of equalizing, increasing or maximizing freedom (or liberty), they implicitly assume freedom to be a measurable attribute. Freedom is one of the currencies of a liberal theory of distributive justice, and is therefore assumed to be something that individuals can possess in varying degrees. Yet it is rarely clear what is meant by claims about degrees of freedom. To make sense of such claims, we need to clarify the concept of overall freedom and ask whether its measurement is theoretically possible. This concept is important because freedom has, for liberals, non-specific (or content-independent) value–i.e. value that is independent of the value of being free to do specific things. Liberals prescribe not only that individuals have certain specific freedom-types but also that they have a measure of (overall) freedom. Attempts to make sense of the concept of overall freedom by weighting particular options in terms of their values are erroneous, as these do not account for freedom’s non-specific value. On the other hand, a closer examination of the problems of the individuation of actions and of the various types of constraints on freedom shows overall freedom to be measurable in a way that reflects its non-specific value. To this end, actions need to be individuated in spatio-temporal terms and constraints on freedom need to be characterized in terms of the physical compossibility of actions. The comparative judgements about freedom implied by this analysis (with reference both to individuals and to groups) are more coherent with our intuitive judgements than might at first be expected.
Rein Taagepera
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534661
- eISBN:
- 9780191715921
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534661.003.0018
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, Political Economy
Society needs more from social sciences than they have delivered, and this book offers openings. To the society at large, quantitative social scientists presently seem no better at prediction than ...
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Society needs more from social sciences than they have delivered, and this book offers openings. To the society at large, quantitative social scientists presently seem no better at prediction than qualitative historians, philosophers, and journalists — they just look more boring. computers could be a boon to social sciences, but they have turned out a curse in disguise, by enabling people with insufficient understanding of scientific process to use canned computer programs and grind out reams of numbers parading as “results,” to be printed — and hardly ever used again. One may discard this book on the basis of errors of detail, but the problems it points out will still be there. Unless corrected, they will lead to a Ptolemaic dead end.Less
Society needs more from social sciences than they have delivered, and this book offers openings. To the society at large, quantitative social scientists presently seem no better at prediction than qualitative historians, philosophers, and journalists — they just look more boring. computers could be a boon to social sciences, but they have turned out a curse in disguise, by enabling people with insufficient understanding of scientific process to use canned computer programs and grind out reams of numbers parading as “results,” to be printed — and hardly ever used again. One may discard this book on the basis of errors of detail, but the problems it points out will still be there. Unless corrected, they will lead to a Ptolemaic dead end.
C. Stephen Evans
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199217168
- eISBN:
- 9780191712401
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199217168.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology, Philosophy of Religion
This book introduces the concept of theistic natural signs. It argues that these signs, the concept of which comes from a modified and expanded account of Reidian natural signs, provide sufficient ...
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This book introduces the concept of theistic natural signs. It argues that these signs, the concept of which comes from a modified and expanded account of Reidian natural signs, provide sufficient evidence to support belief in God for at least some people. The book first explains the Reidian account of natural signs and adapts that account to provide the framework for theistic natural signs. The book then argues that theistic natural signs provide the intuitions that undergird many of the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments for God's existence. Cosmic wonder, beneficial order, perception of the self as a responsible and accountable moral agent, and perception of the value of the human person are four natural signs that the book considers at length. It is argued that theistic natural signs should be consistent with the Pascalian constraints formalized in the Wide Accessibility and Easy Resistibility principles, and that each of the four signs mentioned does meet those standards. While it is not argued that theistic natural signs provide a conclusive proof for God, it is maintained that they do provide significant evidence for anyone whose epistemic stance is sufficient to avoid general skepticism. Even though these natural signs, taken alone, may lead only to a thin theism and do not provide what is necessary for a meaningful faith in God, they do provide important overall support for theism.Less
This book introduces the concept of theistic natural signs. It argues that these signs, the concept of which comes from a modified and expanded account of Reidian natural signs, provide sufficient evidence to support belief in God for at least some people. The book first explains the Reidian account of natural signs and adapts that account to provide the framework for theistic natural signs. The book then argues that theistic natural signs provide the intuitions that undergird many of the cosmological, teleological, and moral arguments for God's existence. Cosmic wonder, beneficial order, perception of the self as a responsible and accountable moral agent, and perception of the value of the human person are four natural signs that the book considers at length. It is argued that theistic natural signs should be consistent with the Pascalian constraints formalized in the Wide Accessibility and Easy Resistibility principles, and that each of the four signs mentioned does meet those standards. While it is not argued that theistic natural signs provide a conclusive proof for God, it is maintained that they do provide significant evidence for anyone whose epistemic stance is sufficient to avoid general skepticism. Even though these natural signs, taken alone, may lead only to a thin theism and do not provide what is necessary for a meaningful faith in God, they do provide important overall support for theism.
Pavol Hell and Jaroslav Nesetril
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780198528173
- eISBN:
- 9780191713644
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198528173.001.0001
- Subject:
- Mathematics, Combinatorics / Graph Theory / Discrete Mathematics
Graph theory is now an established discipline but the study of graph homomorphisms has only recently begun to gain wide acceptance and interest. This text is devoted entirely to the subject, bringing ...
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Graph theory is now an established discipline but the study of graph homomorphisms has only recently begun to gain wide acceptance and interest. This text is devoted entirely to the subject, bringing together the highlights of the theory and its many applications. It looks at areas such as graph reconstruction, products, fractional and circular colourings, and constraint satisfaction problems, and has applications in complexity theory, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and statistical physics. It has a wide focus on algebraic, combinatorial, and algorithmic aspects of graph homomorphisms. A reference list and historical summaries extend the material explicitly discussed. The book contains exercises of varying difficulty. Hints or references are provided for the more difficult exercises.Less
Graph theory is now an established discipline but the study of graph homomorphisms has only recently begun to gain wide acceptance and interest. This text is devoted entirely to the subject, bringing together the highlights of the theory and its many applications. It looks at areas such as graph reconstruction, products, fractional and circular colourings, and constraint satisfaction problems, and has applications in complexity theory, artificial intelligence, telecommunications, and statistical physics. It has a wide focus on algebraic, combinatorial, and algorithmic aspects of graph homomorphisms. A reference list and historical summaries extend the material explicitly discussed. The book contains exercises of varying difficulty. Hints or references are provided for the more difficult exercises.
Debra L. Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198296744
- eISBN:
- 9780191603709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296746.003.0012
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter deconstructs gender differences to explore the contested issues surrounding gender difference, when the politics of presence converged with partisan politics in the struggle over health ...
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This chapter deconstructs gender differences to explore the contested issues surrounding gender difference, when the politics of presence converged with partisan politics in the struggle over health care reform during the Democratic-controlled 103rd Congress. The impact of the institutional environment on women’s agenda and actions, along with differences in environmental pressures across parties and committees, are explored. The analysis attempts to move beyond the simple question of whether women make a difference to an understanding of how political environments, structured by partisanship and steeped in masculinist values, affect and can be affected by the feminale. The case study suggests that one cannot truly understand gender differences in an institutional vacuum, even as it forces us to confront the relationship between gender difference and substantive representation of women, and to consider the value of the concept of feminist protest in understanding partisan differences in gender difference and women’s impact.Less
This chapter deconstructs gender differences to explore the contested issues surrounding gender difference, when the politics of presence converged with partisan politics in the struggle over health care reform during the Democratic-controlled 103rd Congress. The impact of the institutional environment on women’s agenda and actions, along with differences in environmental pressures across parties and committees, are explored. The analysis attempts to move beyond the simple question of whether women make a difference to an understanding of how political environments, structured by partisanship and steeped in masculinist values, affect and can be affected by the feminale. The case study suggests that one cannot truly understand gender differences in an institutional vacuum, even as it forces us to confront the relationship between gender difference and substantive representation of women, and to consider the value of the concept of feminist protest in understanding partisan differences in gender difference and women’s impact.
Debra L. Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198296744
- eISBN:
- 9780191603709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296746.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
This chapter uses four legislative battles (the Freedom of Choice Act, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances bill, Medicaid funding of abortion, and abortion provisions in the Federal Employees’ ...
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This chapter uses four legislative battles (the Freedom of Choice Act, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances bill, Medicaid funding of abortion, and abortion provisions in the Federal Employees’ Health Benefit Act) as case studies for understanding the contested issues and complexity belying gender difference and women’s impact. While women members were seen as united around reproductive rights, institutional dynamics in this partisan environment and extra-institutional pressures encouraged the increasingly diverse group of women to give voice to diversity, defined (and re-defined) women’s priorities and their understandings of their roles and responsibilities as representatives of women, and influenced their prospects for political success within an institution whose agenda they did not control. While the case studies suggest the need to bring more women into office, they remind us that the potential of presence is limited without positional power, and that mobilized women voters who pose a gender gap threat can provide legitimacy for difference within institutions steeped in masculine values.Less
This chapter uses four legislative battles (the Freedom of Choice Act, Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances bill, Medicaid funding of abortion, and abortion provisions in the Federal Employees’ Health Benefit Act) as case studies for understanding the contested issues and complexity belying gender difference and women’s impact. While women members were seen as united around reproductive rights, institutional dynamics in this partisan environment and extra-institutional pressures encouraged the increasingly diverse group of women to give voice to diversity, defined (and re-defined) women’s priorities and their understandings of their roles and responsibilities as representatives of women, and influenced their prospects for political success within an institution whose agenda they did not control. While the case studies suggest the need to bring more women into office, they remind us that the potential of presence is limited without positional power, and that mobilized women voters who pose a gender gap threat can provide legitimacy for difference within institutions steeped in masculine values.
Debra L. Dodson
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780198296744
- eISBN:
- 9780191603709
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198296746.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
When the 1994 elections gave control of Congress to a conservative, Christian Coalition-dominated, Republican majority, what some had over-optimistically touted as a critical mass of women became a ...
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When the 1994 elections gave control of Congress to a conservative, Christian Coalition-dominated, Republican majority, what some had over-optimistically touted as a critical mass of women became a token group, notwithstanding a slight increase in numbers. Nowhere was that more evident than in the ability of that new Republican majority to re-define the agenda, raising new issues (Partial Birth Abortion Ban) and challenging seemingly non-controversial, bipartisan, well-established programs (funding for the Title X Family Planning program and international family planning programs). The continued evidence of the gender gap in prochoice support, along with the critical role played by the shrinking cohort of prochoice Republican women in challenging their leadership’s anti-reproductive rights agenda, reinforce the importance of increasing descriptive representation. Nevertheless, the gendered roles assumed by a growing vocal cohort of female Republican reproductive rights opponents, reluctance by some ostensibly prochoice Republican women to challenge their leadership, a shrinking gender gap in prochoice support within Congress, and the frustrations of those who attempted to fight these often futile battles, all highlight the critical role that institutional environments, increased ideological diversity among women, and extra-institutional forces play in shaping the probabilistic relationship between descriptive and substantive representation, in strengthening or weakening perceptions of legitimacy surrounding gender difference, and in defining and redefining the meaning of substantive representation of women and realizing the potential for difference. These case studies explore gender differences in perspectives of reproductive rights opponents, provide insight into the value of bipartisan support for reproductive rights policy agendas (despite Republicans being less prochoice than Democrats), and point to the important role of women voters in maintaining bipartisan support and political resolve.Less
When the 1994 elections gave control of Congress to a conservative, Christian Coalition-dominated, Republican majority, what some had over-optimistically touted as a critical mass of women became a token group, notwithstanding a slight increase in numbers. Nowhere was that more evident than in the ability of that new Republican majority to re-define the agenda, raising new issues (Partial Birth Abortion Ban) and challenging seemingly non-controversial, bipartisan, well-established programs (funding for the Title X Family Planning program and international family planning programs). The continued evidence of the gender gap in prochoice support, along with the critical role played by the shrinking cohort of prochoice Republican women in challenging their leadership’s anti-reproductive rights agenda, reinforce the importance of increasing descriptive representation. Nevertheless, the gendered roles assumed by a growing vocal cohort of female Republican reproductive rights opponents, reluctance by some ostensibly prochoice Republican women to challenge their leadership, a shrinking gender gap in prochoice support within Congress, and the frustrations of those who attempted to fight these often futile battles, all highlight the critical role that institutional environments, increased ideological diversity among women, and extra-institutional forces play in shaping the probabilistic relationship between descriptive and substantive representation, in strengthening or weakening perceptions of legitimacy surrounding gender difference, and in defining and redefining the meaning of substantive representation of women and realizing the potential for difference. These case studies explore gender differences in perspectives of reproductive rights opponents, provide insight into the value of bipartisan support for reproductive rights policy agendas (despite Republicans being less prochoice than Democrats), and point to the important role of women voters in maintaining bipartisan support and political resolve.
EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.12
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main argument of the book.
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main argument of the book.
Terence Cuneo
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199218837
- eISBN:
- 9780191711749
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199218837.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
Antirealist views about morality claim that moral facts do not exist. An interesting question to raise about these views is whether they imply that other types of normative facts, such as epistemic ...
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Antirealist views about morality claim that moral facts do not exist. An interesting question to raise about these views is whether they imply that other types of normative facts, such as epistemic facts, do not exist. This book develops the argument that they do. That is, it contends that moral and epistemic facts are sufficiently similar that, if moral facts do not exist, then epistemic facts also do not exist. But epistemic facts (facts that concern reasons for belief), it is argued, do exist. So, moral facts also exist. And if moral facts exist, then moral realism is true. This argument provides not simply a defence of a robustly realist view of ethics, but a positive argument for this position. In so doing, it engages with sophisticated sceptical positions in epistemology, such as error theories, expressivist views, and reductionist views of epistemic reasons. These positions, it is claimed, come at a high theoretical cost. It follows that realism about both epistemic and moral facts is a position that we should find highly attractive.Less
Antirealist views about morality claim that moral facts do not exist. An interesting question to raise about these views is whether they imply that other types of normative facts, such as epistemic facts, do not exist. This book develops the argument that they do. That is, it contends that moral and epistemic facts are sufficiently similar that, if moral facts do not exist, then epistemic facts also do not exist. But epistemic facts (facts that concern reasons for belief), it is argued, do exist. So, moral facts also exist. And if moral facts exist, then moral realism is true. This argument provides not simply a defence of a robustly realist view of ethics, but a positive argument for this position. In so doing, it engages with sophisticated sceptical positions in epistemology, such as error theories, expressivist views, and reductionist views of epistemic reasons. These positions, it is claimed, come at a high theoretical cost. It follows that realism about both epistemic and moral facts is a position that we should find highly attractive.
Douglas Husak
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195328714
- eISBN:
- 9780199869947
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328714.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
The United States suffers from too much criminal law and too much punishment. These two trends conspire to produce massive injustice. To rectify this injustice, we need to defend and implement a ...
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The United States suffers from too much criminal law and too much punishment. These two trends conspire to produce massive injustice. To rectify this injustice, we need to defend and implement a theory of criminalization: a set of constraints that limit the authority of states to enact and enforce penal offenses. Although the topic of criminalization is of enormous theoretical and practical significance, no Anglo–American theorist has yet developed such a theory. The central objective of this book is to defend a theory of criminalization, and to situate it within contemporary scholarship by legal philosophers. Many of the resources to reduce the size and scope of the criminal law can be derived from within the criminal law itself—even though these resources have not been used explicitly for this purpose. Several additional constraints emerge from a political view about the conditions under which important rights—such as the rights implicated by punishment—may be infringed. When conjoined, these constraints generate a minimalist theory of criminal liability. These constraints are applied to a handful of examples—most notably but not exclusively to drug proscriptions, which are the most significant cause of the growth in the criminal justice system. This book concludes by showing that the minimalist theory defended here is vastly superior to any of the competitive accounts of criminalization that legal philosophers have produced.Less
The United States suffers from too much criminal law and too much punishment. These two trends conspire to produce massive injustice. To rectify this injustice, we need to defend and implement a theory of criminalization: a set of constraints that limit the authority of states to enact and enforce penal offenses. Although the topic of criminalization is of enormous theoretical and practical significance, no Anglo–American theorist has yet developed such a theory. The central objective of this book is to defend a theory of criminalization, and to situate it within contemporary scholarship by legal philosophers. Many of the resources to reduce the size and scope of the criminal law can be derived from within the criminal law itself—even though these resources have not been used explicitly for this purpose. Several additional constraints emerge from a political view about the conditions under which important rights—such as the rights implicated by punishment—may be infringed. When conjoined, these constraints generate a minimalist theory of criminal liability. These constraints are applied to a handful of examples—most notably but not exclusively to drug proscriptions, which are the most significant cause of the growth in the criminal justice system. This book concludes by showing that the minimalist theory defended here is vastly superior to any of the competitive accounts of criminalization that legal philosophers have produced.
Peter White
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195388510
- eISBN:
- 9780199866717
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195388510.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Literary Studies: Classical, Early, and Medieval
This book is a guide to the first large letter collection that survives from the Greco‐Roman world. The correspondence of Cicero consists of nearly 950 letters and embraces almost every major ...
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This book is a guide to the first large letter collection that survives from the Greco‐Roman world. The correspondence of Cicero consists of nearly 950 letters and embraces almost every major political figure of the Late Republic. Chapters 1 through 3 of this study describe external constraints affecting the letters that have come down to us. Some were the result of Roman conventions regarding social interaction, while others reflect logistical difficulties of long‐distance communication. Another series of constraints on the way letters were written arose from generic expectations about epistolary form. In addition, an editor helped to shape the published collection by imposing criteria of selection and arrangement that favored certain categories of subject matter and correspondent over others. Chapters 4 through 6 turn from the context of the letters to their content, and discuss three of Cicero's most characteristic epistolary preoccupations. It shows how, in a time of deepening crisis, he and his correspondents drew on a common literary background, on the habit of exchanging advice, and on a rhetoric of leadership in an effort to improve cooperation and to maintain the political culture which they shared.Less
This book is a guide to the first large letter collection that survives from the Greco‐Roman world. The correspondence of Cicero consists of nearly 950 letters and embraces almost every major political figure of the Late Republic. Chapters 1 through 3 of this study describe external constraints affecting the letters that have come down to us. Some were the result of Roman conventions regarding social interaction, while others reflect logistical difficulties of long‐distance communication. Another series of constraints on the way letters were written arose from generic expectations about epistolary form. In addition, an editor helped to shape the published collection by imposing criteria of selection and arrangement that favored certain categories of subject matter and correspondent over others. Chapters 4 through 6 turn from the context of the letters to their content, and discuss three of Cicero's most characteristic epistolary preoccupations. It shows how, in a time of deepening crisis, he and his correspondents drew on a common literary background, on the habit of exchanging advice, and on a rhetoric of leadership in an effort to improve cooperation and to maintain the political culture which they shared.
Luiz Carlos Bresser-Pereira
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199261185
- eISBN:
- 9780191601507
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261180.003.0023
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Because public management reform involves more autonomy and more accountability, it maybe successful only in democracies. On the other hand, there is not a trade-off between efficiency and democracy. ...
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Because public management reform involves more autonomy and more accountability, it maybe successful only in democracies. On the other hand, there is not a trade-off between efficiency and democracy. Instrumental rationality and the consequent economic criterion are obviously important in capitalist societies, but, in democracies, there is a prior and more important criterion: the democratic constraint. Economists often use the word ‘constraint’ to mean the limitations that policy-makers face. They speak of an efficiency constraint. Another as important, if not more important, constraint faced by policy-makers is the democratic constraint: they cannot and should not ignore the voters’ will. And we should not forget the morality constraint. In political life, this is a central constraint.Less
Because public management reform involves more autonomy and more accountability, it maybe successful only in democracies. On the other hand, there is not a trade-off between efficiency and democracy. Instrumental rationality and the consequent economic criterion are obviously important in capitalist societies, but, in democracies, there is a prior and more important criterion: the democratic constraint. Economists often use the word ‘constraint’ to mean the limitations that policy-makers face. They speak of an efficiency constraint. Another as important, if not more important, constraint faced by policy-makers is the democratic constraint: they cannot and should not ignore the voters’ will. And we should not forget the morality constraint. In political life, this is a central constraint.
Om Prakash Mishra
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198075950
- eISBN:
- 9780199080892
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198075950.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Urban and Rural Studies
Set against the backdrop of the capital’s history, culture, and socio-political scenario, this is a full-length study of the connection between rapid urbanization, rising crime, and law enforcement ...
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Set against the backdrop of the capital’s history, culture, and socio-political scenario, this is a full-length study of the connection between rapid urbanization, rising crime, and law enforcement in Delhi. Providing an insider’s account of the evolution of policing in Delhi since the mid-19th century, the book closely looks at the patterns of policing in the ‘seven cities of Delhi’. From infrastructure constraints and related crime, crime against women and juveniles, terrorism to technology, the typology of criminals, and its trends in the process of the growth of the metropolis—the analyses demonstrates Delhi’s uniqueness as a metropolis and the attendant challenges. Aside from presenting different methods the Delhi police adopt to prevent crime, this book attempts to evaluate the successes and failures of these methods. While the rich historical records, statistical data, maps, and empirical surveys and observations brought together for the first time provide a wealth of additional information, the bibliography offers suggestions for the interested reader. Focusing on the challenges posed by over-urbanization and the changes in policing to counter them, the book draws out valuable lessons applicable in various degrees in other Indian cities.Less
Set against the backdrop of the capital’s history, culture, and socio-political scenario, this is a full-length study of the connection between rapid urbanization, rising crime, and law enforcement in Delhi. Providing an insider’s account of the evolution of policing in Delhi since the mid-19th century, the book closely looks at the patterns of policing in the ‘seven cities of Delhi’. From infrastructure constraints and related crime, crime against women and juveniles, terrorism to technology, the typology of criminals, and its trends in the process of the growth of the metropolis—the analyses demonstrates Delhi’s uniqueness as a metropolis and the attendant challenges. Aside from presenting different methods the Delhi police adopt to prevent crime, this book attempts to evaluate the successes and failures of these methods. While the rich historical records, statistical data, maps, and empirical surveys and observations brought together for the first time provide a wealth of additional information, the bibliography offers suggestions for the interested reader. Focusing on the challenges posed by over-urbanization and the changes in policing to counter them, the book draws out valuable lessons applicable in various degrees in other Indian cities.
Barry Taylor
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199286690
- eISBN:
- 9780191604065
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199286698.003.0003
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This chapter sets out the relevant core of Putnam’s case. Section 3.1 extracts three arguments from Putnam’s writings: the Arguments from Cardinality, Completeness, and Permutation. Of these, section ...
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This chapter sets out the relevant core of Putnam’s case. Section 3.1 extracts three arguments from Putnam’s writings: the Arguments from Cardinality, Completeness, and Permutation. Of these, section 3.2 argues that only the second is of direct relevance. Section 3.3 examines attempts to frame constraints based on causal and psycho-behavioural reductions of reference. Section 3.4 investigates the Translational Reference Constraint (TRC), a constraint on reference which does not rely on a reduction of reference but makes essential use of translation (from object language to metalanguage) to sort out the models which get reference right. The claims made in this section, however, require foundation in a theory of translation, sufficient to sustain the assumptions it makes about that controversial and opaque notion. This foundation is supplied in section 3.5, whose general tenor is Davidsonian, its key notion being that of a ‘hermeneutic theory’, i.e., a Davidsonian theory of interpretation cast into model-theoretic terms. With Translational Truth Constraint (TTC) now identified as the most fundamental constraint on intendedness, it remains to see if it will suffice to rule out as unintended all the models of ideal theory whose existence the Completeness Theorem guarantees. The issue is examined in section 3.6.Less
This chapter sets out the relevant core of Putnam’s case. Section 3.1 extracts three arguments from Putnam’s writings: the Arguments from Cardinality, Completeness, and Permutation. Of these, section 3.2 argues that only the second is of direct relevance. Section 3.3 examines attempts to frame constraints based on causal and psycho-behavioural reductions of reference. Section 3.4 investigates the Translational Reference Constraint (TRC), a constraint on reference which does not rely on a reduction of reference but makes essential use of translation (from object language to metalanguage) to sort out the models which get reference right. The claims made in this section, however, require foundation in a theory of translation, sufficient to sustain the assumptions it makes about that controversial and opaque notion. This foundation is supplied in section 3.5, whose general tenor is Davidsonian, its key notion being that of a ‘hermeneutic theory’, i.e., a Davidsonian theory of interpretation cast into model-theoretic terms. With Translational Truth Constraint (TTC) now identified as the most fundamental constraint on intendedness, it remains to see if it will suffice to rule out as unintended all the models of ideal theory whose existence the Completeness Theorem guarantees. The issue is examined in section 3.6.
Jeffrey S. Lantis
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199535019
- eISBN:
- 9780191715952
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199535019.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, International Relations and Politics
This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five ...
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This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five case studies are presented. Struggles over the Kyoto agreement in Australia and the United States may represent classic cases of domestic constraints on international commitments. In early 2001 both governments announced their decision not to ratify the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol also touched off an intense debate over international environmental policy and sovereignty in Canada. At the same time, France and Germany were leading players in international diplomacy that helped to develop the Kyoto Protocol, and they were instrumental in pushing for ratification by all EU member states.Less
This chapter examines the history of global environmental policies as foundation for a focused examination of ratification struggles over the Kyoto Protocol to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Five case studies are presented. Struggles over the Kyoto agreement in Australia and the United States may represent classic cases of domestic constraints on international commitments. In early 2001 both governments announced their decision not to ratify the treaty. The Kyoto Protocol also touched off an intense debate over international environmental policy and sovereignty in Canada. At the same time, France and Germany were leading players in international diplomacy that helped to develop the Kyoto Protocol, and they were instrumental in pushing for ratification by all EU member states.
Donald Davidson
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- August 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780198237549
- eISBN:
- 9780191601378
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198237545.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Applies Davidson's Unified Theory of thought, meaning, and action to three families of problems involving various aspects of rationality, some degree of which Davidson's theory of radical ...
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Applies Davidson's Unified Theory of thought, meaning, and action to three families of problems involving various aspects of rationality, some degree of which Davidson's theory of radical interpretation attributes to any creature, which can be said to have a mind. These problems are the nature and our understanding of value judgements, the adequacy conditions for attributing mental states to a being, and the problem of irrationality.The first four chapters apply Davidson's thesis that our interpretations of another person's mental states are a source of objectivity to value judgements: such judgements, Davidson argues in this section, are as objective as any judgement about the mind can be. Chs 5 to 10 develop Davidson's Unified Theory for interpreting thought, meaning, and action, the primary concern of this section being the specification of the minimal conditions for attributing mental states to an object or creature. Chs 11 to 14 deal primarily with the problems raised by those cognitive states and actions that seem to violate, in a fundamental way, the constraints of rationality. Since Davidson regards the constraints of rationality to be amongst the necessary conditions for both mind and interpretation, irrational thoughts, and actions pose a particular problem for his Unified Theory. The final four chapters attempt to remove the apparent contradiction.Less
Applies Davidson's Unified Theory of thought, meaning, and action to three families of problems involving various aspects of rationality, some degree of which Davidson's theory of radical interpretation attributes to any creature, which can be said to have a mind. These problems are the nature and our understanding of value judgements, the adequacy conditions for attributing mental states to a being, and the problem of irrationality.
The first four chapters apply Davidson's thesis that our interpretations of another person's mental states are a source of objectivity to value judgements: such judgements, Davidson argues in this section, are as objective as any judgement about the mind can be. Chs 5 to 10 develop Davidson's Unified Theory for interpreting thought, meaning, and action, the primary concern of this section being the specification of the minimal conditions for attributing mental states to an object or creature. Chs 11 to 14 deal primarily with the problems raised by those cognitive states and actions that seem to violate, in a fundamental way, the constraints of rationality. Since Davidson regards the constraints of rationality to be amongst the necessary conditions for both mind and interpretation, irrational thoughts, and actions pose a particular problem for his Unified Theory. The final four chapters attempt to remove the apparent contradiction.
Kaare Strøm, Wolfgang C. Müller, Torbjörn Bergman, and Benjamin Nyblade
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198297840
- eISBN:
- 9780191602016
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019829784X.003.0022
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Representative democracy means delegation, and delegation implies the risk of agency problems. Parliamentary democracy is a particular delegation regime, a way to structure the democratic policy ...
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Representative democracy means delegation, and delegation implies the risk of agency problems. Parliamentary democracy is a particular delegation regime, a way to structure the democratic policy process, and an attempt to solve agency problems. This chapter finds that there are persistent and essential cross-national differences between European parliamentary democracies along two dimensions of citizen control: partisan influence and external constraints. This chapter’s investigation leads us to conclude that there has been a decline in the strength and cohesion of political parties and an enhancement of international, sub-national, judicial, and direct democratic external constraints. In most respects, these changes strengthen ex post controls and weaken ex ante screening devices.Less
Representative democracy means delegation, and delegation implies the risk of agency problems. Parliamentary democracy is a particular delegation regime, a way to structure the democratic policy process, and an attempt to solve agency problems. This chapter finds that there are persistent and essential cross-national differences between European parliamentary democracies along two dimensions of citizen control: partisan influence and external constraints. This chapter’s investigation leads us to conclude that there has been a decline in the strength and cohesion of political parties and an enhancement of international, sub-national, judicial, and direct democratic external constraints. In most respects, these changes strengthen ex post controls and weaken ex ante screening devices.
Masahiko Aoki
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199218530
- eISBN:
- 9780191711510
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199218530.003.0004
- Subject:
- Business and Management, Corporate Governance and Accountability, Strategy
Based on the recent development of epistemic game theory, this chapter attempts to resolve longstanding contested issues across social science disciplines about the nature and origin of institutions. ...
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Based on the recent development of epistemic game theory, this chapter attempts to resolve longstanding contested issues across social science disciplines about the nature and origin of institutions. These issues include: institutions as a pre-play design vs. spontaneous order, deontic constraints vs. rational choice, regularity of actions vs. shared meanings, endogenous and exogenous views, and so on. It argues that for a societal order to evolve through the recursive play of societal games, some social cognitive categories such as formal laws, norms, rules, and ritual, and organizations need to mediate between physical actions and the behavioral beliefs of individual players. Thus, pure methodological individualism must be laid to rest in institutional analysis. From such perspectives this chapter describes how institutions evolve and what the roles of business corporations can be in that process.Less
Based on the recent development of epistemic game theory, this chapter attempts to resolve longstanding contested issues across social science disciplines about the nature and origin of institutions. These issues include: institutions as a pre-play design vs. spontaneous order, deontic constraints vs. rational choice, regularity of actions vs. shared meanings, endogenous and exogenous views, and so on. It argues that for a societal order to evolve through the recursive play of societal games, some social cognitive categories such as formal laws, norms, rules, and ritual, and organizations need to mediate between physical actions and the behavioral beliefs of individual players. Thus, pure methodological individualism must be laid to rest in institutional analysis. From such perspectives this chapter describes how institutions evolve and what the roles of business corporations can be in that process.
Rebecca Surender
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199266722
- eISBN:
- 9780191601941
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199266727.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
There has been considerable rethinking on the part of governments when it comes to social policy, in particular, about the relationships between the labour market, the family, and the state, and ...
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There has been considerable rethinking on the part of governments when it comes to social policy, in particular, about the relationships between the labour market, the family, and the state, and about the role of the state and the nature of governance. Very little of the post-war welfare settlement remains unquestioned, whether the nature of the risk addressed; the nature of entitlements and the form of conditionality to be applied; or the best means of making provision. This chapter outlines these welfare state changes and discusses possible explanations for them including political pragmatism, rapid structural change and the role of political ideas. It argues that whether referred to as ‘Third Way’ or not, many similarities in the welfare reforms adopted by industrialized welfare states can be identified. The chapter offers an examination of the US, the UK, and Australian cases to argue that in order to understand why an explicit discourse of policy reconfiguration and reform was actively embraced in some countries but avoided in others, an analysis of the impact of both the political history and constraints of institutional structures is necessary.Less
There has been considerable rethinking on the part of governments when it comes to social policy, in particular, about the relationships between the labour market, the family, and the state, and about the role of the state and the nature of governance. Very little of the post-war welfare settlement remains unquestioned, whether the nature of the risk addressed; the nature of entitlements and the form of conditionality to be applied; or the best means of making provision. This chapter outlines these welfare state changes and discusses possible explanations for them including political pragmatism, rapid structural change and the role of political ideas. It argues that whether referred to as ‘Third Way’ or not, many similarities in the welfare reforms adopted by industrialized welfare states can be identified. The chapter offers an examination of the US, the UK, and Australian cases to argue that in order to understand why an explicit discourse of policy reconfiguration and reform was actively embraced in some countries but avoided in others, an analysis of the impact of both the political history and constraints of institutional structures is necessary.
