Donatella della Porta and Manuela Caiani
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199557783
- eISBN:
- 9780191721304
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199557783.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics, European Union
Are social movement organizations euro-skeptical, euro-pragmatic or euro-opportunist? Or do they accept the EU as a new level of governance to place pressure on? Do they provide a critical capital, ...
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Are social movement organizations euro-skeptical, euro-pragmatic or euro-opportunist? Or do they accept the EU as a new level of governance to place pressure on? Do they provide a critical capital, necessary for the political structuring of the EU, or do they disrupt the process of EU integration? These questions are addressed on the basis different sources and methods, with a comparison among different countries as well as an analysis of the historical evolution of the Europeanization of social movements in the last twenty years. The empirical basis includes surveys of activists at international protest events targeting the European Union (for a total of about 5,000 interviews); a discourse analysis of documents and transcripts of debates on European politics and policies conducted during the four European social forums hold between 2002 and 2006 and involving hundreds of social movement organizations and ten thousands of activists from all European countries; about 320 interviews with representatives of civil society organizations in six EU countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy); and one non-EU-member state (Switzerland), as well as at EU level; and a systematic claims analysis of the daily press in selected years between 1990 and 2003. The empirical research allows for the observation of different paths of Europeanizations by social movements and civil society organizations. Moreover, it confirms that issues related to the degree and forms of participation of social movement organizations in European politics (and their support toward Europe) emerge as particularly central in the process of creation, together with a European polity, of a democratic polis. Less
Are social movement organizations euro-skeptical, euro-pragmatic or euro-opportunist? Or do they accept the EU as a new level of governance to place pressure on? Do they provide a critical capital, necessary for the political structuring of the EU, or do they disrupt the process of EU integration? These questions are addressed on the basis different sources and methods, with a comparison among different countries as well as an analysis of the historical evolution of the Europeanization of social movements in the last twenty years. The empirical basis includes surveys of activists at international protest events targeting the European Union (for a total of about 5,000 interviews); a discourse analysis of documents and transcripts of debates on European politics and policies conducted during the four European social forums hold between 2002 and 2006 and involving hundreds of social movement organizations and ten thousands of activists from all European countries; about 320 interviews with representatives of civil society organizations in six EU countries (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy); and one non-EU-member state (Switzerland), as well as at EU level; and a systematic claims analysis of the daily press in selected years between 1990 and 2003. The empirical research allows for the observation of different paths of Europeanizations by social movements and civil society organizations. Moreover, it confirms that issues related to the degree and forms of participation of social movement organizations in European politics (and their support toward Europe) emerge as particularly central in the process of creation, together with a European polity, of a democratic polis.
Jeffrey C. Alexander
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195162509
- eISBN:
- 9780199943364
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195162509.003.0037
- Subject:
- Sociology, Culture
This chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and presents some concluding thoughts. This book presented a new theory of society by defining a new sphere, its cultural structures, its ...
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This chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and presents some concluding thoughts. This book presented a new theory of society by defining a new sphere, its cultural structures, its institutions, and its boundary relations with discourses and institutions outside it. It suggests that in a world of increasingly dangerous weapons and political tactics, a globalized civil sphere may be the only way to proceed. Without a global range, the promises even of civil society in its national form may die. Only the civil sphere can regulate force and eliminate arbitrary violence. It does so through persuasion and civil power and, if necessary, by dispensing force to defend democratic solidarity and to keep the aspirations of civil society alive. As violence becomes global, so must the civil sphere.Less
This chapter summarizes the preceding discussions and presents some concluding thoughts. This book presented a new theory of society by defining a new sphere, its cultural structures, its institutions, and its boundary relations with discourses and institutions outside it. It suggests that in a world of increasingly dangerous weapons and political tactics, a globalized civil sphere may be the only way to proceed. Without a global range, the promises even of civil society in its national form may die. Only the civil sphere can regulate force and eliminate arbitrary violence. It does so through persuasion and civil power and, if necessary, by dispensing force to defend democratic solidarity and to keep the aspirations of civil society alive. As violence becomes global, so must the civil sphere.
Yoon Sun Lee
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195162356
- eISBN:
- 9780199787852
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195162356.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
In the late 18th and 19th centuries, non-English conservatives such as Burke, Scott, and Carlyle, among others, influentially shaped Britain's political attitudes and literary genres because they ...
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In the late 18th and 19th centuries, non-English conservatives such as Burke, Scott, and Carlyle, among others, influentially shaped Britain's political attitudes and literary genres because they stressed the conventional, theatrical, and even fetishistic character of civic emotions such as patriotism — and they illuminated the crucial role that irony could play in the construction of nationalism. They represent a public sphere shaped less by natural sentiment or rationality than by equivocal, even ironic deference and a highly conventional suspension of disbelief in the face of political fictions. Burke's counter-revolutionary works present British politics as a theater in which sublime ideas and abstractions are not always convincingly personified. Scott's activities as historical novelist and as antiquarian only thinly reconcile the disparities between the realities of British commercial empire and the sentimental, archaicizing self-image of a nation at war. Carlyle expands the insights of Romantic irony through the trope and eventual doctrine of fetishism: labor that forgets the role it has played in creating the forces that appear to command it.Less
In the late 18th and 19th centuries, non-English conservatives such as Burke, Scott, and Carlyle, among others, influentially shaped Britain's political attitudes and literary genres because they stressed the conventional, theatrical, and even fetishistic character of civic emotions such as patriotism — and they illuminated the crucial role that irony could play in the construction of nationalism. They represent a public sphere shaped less by natural sentiment or rationality than by equivocal, even ironic deference and a highly conventional suspension of disbelief in the face of political fictions. Burke's counter-revolutionary works present British politics as a theater in which sublime ideas and abstractions are not always convincingly personified. Scott's activities as historical novelist and as antiquarian only thinly reconcile the disparities between the realities of British commercial empire and the sentimental, archaicizing self-image of a nation at war. Carlyle expands the insights of Romantic irony through the trope and eventual doctrine of fetishism: labor that forgets the role it has played in creating the forces that appear to command it.
James Treadwell
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199262977
- eISBN:
- 9780191718724
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199262977.001.0001
- Subject:
- Literature, 19th-century Literature and Romanticism
The book describes and analyses the condition of autobiographical writing in Britain during the Romantic period. As well as chapter-length studies of major autobiographical works by Coleridge, Byron, ...
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The book describes and analyses the condition of autobiographical writing in Britain during the Romantic period. As well as chapter-length studies of major autobiographical works by Coleridge, Byron, and Lamb, it provides a wide-ranging account of the rapidly expanding field of published self-writing during the period. The book also demonstrates that the category of ‘autobiography’ emerged in the literary public sphere during these years, and that instances of autobiographical writing need to be read in relation to the conditions under which they were circulated and read. Part I deals with the emergence of a sense of genre: the idea of autobiography, as it made its way into the literary environment. Part II examines how the anxieties and restrictions attendant upon the idea of self-writing are reflected in published texts, which present themselves as autobiographies. Part III focuses on readings of autobiographical works, exploring some examples of their representations of the situation of self-writing, and considering what sort of readings are involved when we interpret a given text as an autobiography. Overall, the book emphasizes the uncertain and contested transactions between Romantic autobiographical writing and the literary public sphere.Less
The book describes and analyses the condition of autobiographical writing in Britain during the Romantic period. As well as chapter-length studies of major autobiographical works by Coleridge, Byron, and Lamb, it provides a wide-ranging account of the rapidly expanding field of published self-writing during the period. The book also demonstrates that the category of ‘autobiography’ emerged in the literary public sphere during these years, and that instances of autobiographical writing need to be read in relation to the conditions under which they were circulated and read. Part I deals with the emergence of a sense of genre: the idea of autobiography, as it made its way into the literary environment. Part II examines how the anxieties and restrictions attendant upon the idea of self-writing are reflected in published texts, which present themselves as autobiographies. Part III focuses on readings of autobiographical works, exploring some examples of their representations of the situation of self-writing, and considering what sort of readings are involved when we interpret a given text as an autobiography. Overall, the book emphasizes the uncertain and contested transactions between Romantic autobiographical writing and the literary public sphere.
John H. Evans
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199860852
- eISBN:
- 9780199932474
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199860852.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
Seemingly every day society faces a new ethical challenge raised by a scientific innovation. Human genetic engineering, stem cell research, face transplantation, synthetic biology – all were science ...
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Seemingly every day society faces a new ethical challenge raised by a scientific innovation. Human genetic engineering, stem cell research, face transplantation, synthetic biology – all were science fiction only a few decades ago, but are now all are reality. How do we as a society decide whether these technologies are ethical? For decades professional bioethicists have served as a mediator between a busy public and decision-makers, helping people understand their own ethical concerns, framing arguments, discrediting illogical claims and lifting up promising ones. These bioethicists operate in multiple venues such as hospital decision-making, institutions that conduct research on humans, and recommending ethical policy to the government. While functioning quite well for many years, the bioethics profession is in crisis. Policy-makers are less inclined to take the advice of bioethics professionals, with many observers saying that bioethics debates have simply become partisan politics with dueling democratic and republican bioethicists. While this crisis is contained to the task of recommending ethical policy to the government, there is risk that it will spread to the other tasks conducted by bioethicists. To understand how this situation came into being, and the solution to this problem, this book closely examines the history of the bioethics profession. Bioethics debates were originally dominated by theologians, but came to be dominated by the emerging profession of bioethics due to the subtle and slow involvement of the government as the primary consumer of bioethical arguments. However, after the 1980s the views of the government changed, making bioethical arguments not quite so legitimate. With this knowledge of the sociological processes that lead to this evolution, the book proposes a radical solution to the crisis, which is for the bioethics profession to give up on some of the work that it currently does so that it can focus upon its strengths, and change the way the profession makes ethical arguments.Less
Seemingly every day society faces a new ethical challenge raised by a scientific innovation. Human genetic engineering, stem cell research, face transplantation, synthetic biology – all were science fiction only a few decades ago, but are now all are reality. How do we as a society decide whether these technologies are ethical? For decades professional bioethicists have served as a mediator between a busy public and decision-makers, helping people understand their own ethical concerns, framing arguments, discrediting illogical claims and lifting up promising ones. These bioethicists operate in multiple venues such as hospital decision-making, institutions that conduct research on humans, and recommending ethical policy to the government. While functioning quite well for many years, the bioethics profession is in crisis. Policy-makers are less inclined to take the advice of bioethics professionals, with many observers saying that bioethics debates have simply become partisan politics with dueling democratic and republican bioethicists. While this crisis is contained to the task of recommending ethical policy to the government, there is risk that it will spread to the other tasks conducted by bioethicists. To understand how this situation came into being, and the solution to this problem, this book closely examines the history of the bioethics profession. Bioethics debates were originally dominated by theologians, but came to be dominated by the emerging profession of bioethics due to the subtle and slow involvement of the government as the primary consumer of bioethical arguments. However, after the 1980s the views of the government changed, making bioethical arguments not quite so legitimate. With this knowledge of the sociological processes that lead to this evolution, the book proposes a radical solution to the crisis, which is for the bioethics profession to give up on some of the work that it currently does so that it can focus upon its strengths, and change the way the profession makes ethical arguments.
David Ulansey
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195067880
- eISBN:
- 9780199853328
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195067880.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion in the Ancient World
This book argues that the Roman cult of Mithras did not originate in Persia, as previously thought. Instead, the author suggests that the cult was triggered by the reaction of a group of Tarsian ...
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This book argues that the Roman cult of Mithras did not originate in Persia, as previously thought. Instead, the author suggests that the cult was triggered by the reaction of a group of Tarsian intellectuals to the discovery in 128 BCE of the Precession of the Spheres. To these fatalistic Stoics the only possible explanation for this phenomenon was the existence of a divinity powerful enough to shift the heavens, and this was to become the revelation at the heart of the Mithraic mysteries. This information was then married to the astrology of the zodiac and to the symbolism of popular Tarsian myths surrounding Perseus to create the fabric of the religion. This study is a carefully researched description of an ancient cult, which has long fascinated scholars by virtue of the lack of written evidence concerning it and the paradoxical wealth of artefacts and iconography uncovered by archaeologists.Less
This book argues that the Roman cult of Mithras did not originate in Persia, as previously thought. Instead, the author suggests that the cult was triggered by the reaction of a group of Tarsian intellectuals to the discovery in 128 BCE of the Precession of the Spheres. To these fatalistic Stoics the only possible explanation for this phenomenon was the existence of a divinity powerful enough to shift the heavens, and this was to become the revelation at the heart of the Mithraic mysteries. This information was then married to the astrology of the zodiac and to the symbolism of popular Tarsian myths surrounding Perseus to create the fabric of the religion. This study is a carefully researched description of an ancient cult, which has long fascinated scholars by virtue of the lack of written evidence concerning it and the paradoxical wealth of artefacts and iconography uncovered by archaeologists.
Amy Gutmann
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198280088
- eISBN:
- 9780191599927
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198280084.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Amy Gutmann argues that a just society could not, pace Michael Walzer, distribute social goods in accordance with the standards of complex equality. To support this view, Gutmann points to conflicts ...
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Amy Gutmann argues that a just society could not, pace Michael Walzer, distribute social goods in accordance with the standards of complex equality. To support this view, Gutmann points to conflicts between multiple meanings of goods, which require adjudication in accordance with moral considerations that cut across distributive spheres. Drawing on the several meanings of productive employment and medical care in contemporary USA, she concludes that justice is complex, but not specific to distinct spheres.Less
Amy Gutmann argues that a just society could not, pace Michael Walzer, distribute social goods in accordance with the standards of complex equality. To support this view, Gutmann points to conflicts between multiple meanings of goods, which require adjudication in accordance with moral considerations that cut across distributive spheres. Drawing on the several meanings of productive employment and medical care in contemporary USA, she concludes that justice is complex, but not specific to distinct spheres.
Brian Harrison (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 1994
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198229742
- eISBN:
- 9780191678912
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198229742.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This is the first study of how one of the world's major universities has responded to the formidable challenges offered by the 20th century. It is a generously illustrated and scholarly book which ...
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This is the first study of how one of the world's major universities has responded to the formidable challenges offered by the 20th century. It is a generously illustrated and scholarly book which contributes significantly to the history of ideas and culture in 20th-century Britain. It presents a rich cornucopia of insight into many aspects of British life and a valuable assessment of Oxford's influence in the world sphere.Less
This is the first study of how one of the world's major universities has responded to the formidable challenges offered by the 20th century. It is a generously illustrated and scholarly book which contributes significantly to the history of ideas and culture in 20th-century Britain. It presents a rich cornucopia of insight into many aspects of British life and a valuable assessment of Oxford's influence in the world sphere.
Roger Trigg
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199543670
- eISBN:
- 9780191701313
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543670.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Society
How far can religion play a part in the public sphere, or should it be only a private matter? In this book, the author examines this question in the context of today's pluralist societies, where many ...
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How far can religion play a part in the public sphere, or should it be only a private matter? In this book, the author examines this question in the context of today's pluralist societies, where many different beliefs clamour for attention. Should we celebrate diversity, or are matters of truth at stake? In particular, can we maintain our love of freedom, while cutting it off from religious roots? In societies in which there are many conflicting beliefs, the place of religion is a growing political issue. Should all religions be equally welcomed in the public square? Favouring one religion over others may appear to be a failure to treat all citizens equally, yet for citizens in many countries Christian heritage is woven into their way of life. Whether it is the issue of same-sex marriages, the right of French schoolgirls to wear Islamic headscarves, or just the public display of Christmas trees, all societies have to work out a consistent approach to the public influence of religion.Less
How far can religion play a part in the public sphere, or should it be only a private matter? In this book, the author examines this question in the context of today's pluralist societies, where many different beliefs clamour for attention. Should we celebrate diversity, or are matters of truth at stake? In particular, can we maintain our love of freedom, while cutting it off from religious roots? In societies in which there are many conflicting beliefs, the place of religion is a growing political issue. Should all religions be equally welcomed in the public square? Favouring one religion over others may appear to be a failure to treat all citizens equally, yet for citizens in many countries Christian heritage is woven into their way of life. Whether it is the issue of same-sex marriages, the right of French schoolgirls to wear Islamic headscarves, or just the public display of Christmas trees, all societies have to work out a consistent approach to the public influence of religion.
John S. Dryzek, David Downes, Christian Hunold, David Schlosberg, and Hans-Kristian Hernes
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199249022
- eISBN:
- 9780191599095
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199249024.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
Social movements take shape in relation to the kind of state they face, while, over time, states are transformed by the movements they both incorporate and resist. Social movements are central to ...
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Social movements take shape in relation to the kind of state they face, while, over time, states are transformed by the movements they both incorporate and resist. Social movements are central to democracy and democratization. This book examines the interaction between states and environmentalism, emblematic of contemporary social movements. The analysis covers the entire sweep of the modern environmental era that begins in the 1970s, emphasizing the comparative history of four countries: the US, UK, Germany, and Norway, each of which captures a particular kind of interest representation. Interest groups, parties, mass mobilizations, protest businesses, and oppositional public spheres vary in their weight and significance across the four countries. The book explains why the US was an environmental pioneer around 1970, why it was then eclipsed by Norway, why Germany now shows the way, and why the UK has been a laggard throughout. Ecological modernization and the growing salience of environmental risks mean that environmental conservation can now emerge as a basic priority of government, growing out of entrenched economic and legitimation imperatives. The end in view is a green state, on a par with earlier transformations that produced first the liberal capitalist state and then the welfare state. Any such transformation can be envisaged only to the extent environmentalism maintains its focus as a critical social movement that confronts as well as engages the state.Less
Social movements take shape in relation to the kind of state they face, while, over time, states are transformed by the movements they both incorporate and resist. Social movements are central to democracy and democratization. This book examines the interaction between states and environmentalism, emblematic of contemporary social movements. The analysis covers the entire sweep of the modern environmental era that begins in the 1970s, emphasizing the comparative history of four countries: the US, UK, Germany, and Norway, each of which captures a particular kind of interest representation. Interest groups, parties, mass mobilizations, protest businesses, and oppositional public spheres vary in their weight and significance across the four countries. The book explains why the US was an environmental pioneer around 1970, why it was then eclipsed by Norway, why Germany now shows the way, and why the UK has been a laggard throughout. Ecological modernization and the growing salience of environmental risks mean that environmental conservation can now emerge as a basic priority of government, growing out of entrenched economic and legitimation imperatives. The end in view is a green state, on a par with earlier transformations that produced first the liberal capitalist state and then the welfare state. Any such transformation can be envisaged only to the extent environmentalism maintains its focus as a critical social movement that confronts as well as engages the state.
Joanne Punzo Waghorne
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195156638
- eISBN:
- 9780199785292
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195156638.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Hinduism
Encircled by ever-expanding suburbs of Chennai, many old village “seats” of feminine divine power (shakti pitha) are attracting ardent new middle-class devotees. Called Amman (mother) in Tamil, these ...
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Encircled by ever-expanding suburbs of Chennai, many old village “seats” of feminine divine power (shakti pitha) are attracting ardent new middle-class devotees. Called Amman (mother) in Tamil, these Goddesses (Mariyamman, Mundakakkanni Amman, Kolavizhi Amman) reign alone, usually without a male consort. Middle-class neighborhood groups, often led by women, are taming the powers of such “village” goddesses long associated with blood sacrifices and wild ecstasy by giving these Goddesses inviting faces and literally “domesticating” their sites into proper new temples. This process of gentrification or “bourgeoisification” of the Goddess reveals evolving middle-class religious sensibilities. Goddess temples become the sites for a new bourgeois public sphere (Habermas), where the middle classes enact and construct a common identity. This gentrification reaches out into the surrounding streets as well, where new groups lobby for public cleanliness. A sign on the wall of an old temple reads “Please help us keep the street clean”.Less
Encircled by ever-expanding suburbs of Chennai, many old village “seats” of feminine divine power (shakti pitha) are attracting ardent new middle-class devotees. Called Amman (mother) in Tamil, these Goddesses (Mariyamman, Mundakakkanni Amman, Kolavizhi Amman) reign alone, usually without a male consort. Middle-class neighborhood groups, often led by women, are taming the powers of such “village” goddesses long associated with blood sacrifices and wild ecstasy by giving these Goddesses inviting faces and literally “domesticating” their sites into proper new temples. This process of gentrification or “bourgeoisification” of the Goddess reveals evolving middle-class religious sensibilities. Goddess temples become the sites for a new bourgeois public sphere (Habermas), where the middle classes enact and construct a common identity. This gentrification reaches out into the surrounding streets as well, where new groups lobby for public cleanliness. A sign on the wall of an old temple reads “Please help us keep the street clean”.
Erik O. Eriksen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199572519
- eISBN:
- 9780191722400
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572519.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, European Union, Democratization
The development of post‐national democracy in Europe depends not merely on rights but also on the emergence of an overarching communicative space that functions as a public sphere. But is this ...
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The development of post‐national democracy in Europe depends not merely on rights but also on the emergence of an overarching communicative space that functions as a public sphere. But is this possible when there is no collective identity? Although the EU is not a state, nor a nation, its development as a new kind of polity is closely connected to the formation of a common communicative space. Cooperation and problem‐solving create public spaces but have not produced a single, non‐exclusive, general European public sphere. Rather, we find a layered public sphere containing several transnational, segmented publics evolving around policy networks, as well as legally institutionalized discourses—strong publics, such as the EP, Comitology, the ECJ, and conventions. The lack of a truly European public sphere can be seen as the consequence of the democratic deficit, the deeper causes of which may result from a weak European civic solidarity.Less
The development of post‐national democracy in Europe depends not merely on rights but also on the emergence of an overarching communicative space that functions as a public sphere. But is this possible when there is no collective identity? Although the EU is not a state, nor a nation, its development as a new kind of polity is closely connected to the formation of a common communicative space. Cooperation and problem‐solving create public spaces but have not produced a single, non‐exclusive, general European public sphere. Rather, we find a layered public sphere containing several transnational, segmented publics evolving around policy networks, as well as legally institutionalized discourses—strong publics, such as the EP, Comitology, the ECJ, and conventions. The lack of a truly European public sphere can be seen as the consequence of the democratic deficit, the deeper causes of which may result from a weak European civic solidarity.
Andrew Vincent
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199271252
- eISBN:
- 9780191601101
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199271259.003.0009
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Examines the intellectual context of the works of Jürgen Habermas and Hans‐Georg Gadamer. Both thinkers successfully utilize language and dialogue to develop a viable perspective on political theory, ...
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Examines the intellectual context of the works of Jürgen Habermas and Hans‐Georg Gadamer. Both thinkers successfully utilize language and dialogue to develop a viable perspective on political theory, which does not succumb to postmodern or conventionalist critique. The linking element underpinning all these discussions is the focus on language and dialogue as the central facets of political theory. This chapter examines the inception of critical theory and then provides a detailed review of the contribution of Habermas to contemporary political theory.Less
Examines the intellectual context of the works of Jürgen Habermas and Hans‐Georg Gadamer. Both thinkers successfully utilize language and dialogue to develop a viable perspective on political theory, which does not succumb to postmodern or conventionalist critique. The linking element underpinning all these discussions is the focus on language and dialogue as the central facets of political theory. This chapter examines the inception of critical theory and then provides a detailed review of the contribution of Habermas to contemporary political theory.
K. D. Reynolds
- Published in print:
- 1998
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207276
- eISBN:
- 9780191677601
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207276.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
By examining the lives of aristocratic women during the first forty years of Victoria's reign, this book proposes a reading of aristocratic political society which does not rest on a notion of ...
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By examining the lives of aristocratic women during the first forty years of Victoria's reign, this book proposes a reading of aristocratic political society which does not rest on a notion of ‘separate spheres’, and in which women played an active part. It tries to show that aristocratic women were actively engaged in the pursuits of their families — whether on their estates, in local institutions, in national politics, or at the court. Politics, whether national or local, was the motivating force of aristocratic society. Unlike other Victorian institutions, a working aristocracy required women as well as men to function fully, and not simply in the hereditary dimension. This chapter suggests that it is more constructive to regard aristocratic women as an integral part of an aristocratic culture in which they had important roles which were the consequence of their membership of the aristocracy.Less
By examining the lives of aristocratic women during the first forty years of Victoria's reign, this book proposes a reading of aristocratic political society which does not rest on a notion of ‘separate spheres’, and in which women played an active part. It tries to show that aristocratic women were actively engaged in the pursuits of their families — whether on their estates, in local institutions, in national politics, or at the court. Politics, whether national or local, was the motivating force of aristocratic society. Unlike other Victorian institutions, a working aristocracy required women as well as men to function fully, and not simply in the hereditary dimension. This chapter suggests that it is more constructive to regard aristocratic women as an integral part of an aristocratic culture in which they had important roles which were the consequence of their membership of the aristocracy.
Barry M McCoy
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- February 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199556632
- eISBN:
- 9780191723278
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199556632.001.0001
- Subject:
- Physics, Theoretical, Computational, and Statistical Physics
This book begins where elementary books and courses leave off and covers the advances made in statistical mechanics in the past fifty years. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is on ...
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This book begins where elementary books and courses leave off and covers the advances made in statistical mechanics in the past fifty years. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is on general theory which includes a summary of the basic principles of statistical mechanics; a presentation of the physical phenomena covered and the models used to discuss them; theorems on the existence and uniqueness of partition functions; theorems on order; and critical phenomena and scaling theory. The second part is on series and numerical methods which includes derivations of the Mayer and Ree–Hoover expansions of the low density virial equation of state; Groeneveld's theorems; the application to hard spheres and discs; a summary of numerical studies of systems at high density; and the use of high temperature series expansions to estimate critical exponents for magnets. The third part covers exactly solvable models which includes a detailed presentation of the Pfaffian methods of computing the Ising partition function, magnetization, correlation functions, and susceptibility; the star-triangle (Yang–Baxter equation); functional equations and the free energy for the eight-vertex model; and the hard hexagon and chiral Potts models. All needed mathematics is developed in detail and many open questions are discussed. The goal is to guide the reader to the current forefront of research.Less
This book begins where elementary books and courses leave off and covers the advances made in statistical mechanics in the past fifty years. The book is divided into three parts. The first part is on general theory which includes a summary of the basic principles of statistical mechanics; a presentation of the physical phenomena covered and the models used to discuss them; theorems on the existence and uniqueness of partition functions; theorems on order; and critical phenomena and scaling theory. The second part is on series and numerical methods which includes derivations of the Mayer and Ree–Hoover expansions of the low density virial equation of state; Groeneveld's theorems; the application to hard spheres and discs; a summary of numerical studies of systems at high density; and the use of high temperature series expansions to estimate critical exponents for magnets. The third part covers exactly solvable models which includes a detailed presentation of the Pfaffian methods of computing the Ising partition function, magnetization, correlation functions, and susceptibility; the star-triangle (Yang–Baxter equation); functional equations and the free energy for the eight-vertex model; and the hard hexagon and chiral Potts models. All needed mathematics is developed in detail and many open questions are discussed. The goal is to guide the reader to the current forefront of research.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
How is it possible for individuals to exercise any control over a political order, i.e. supranational and multilayered? This is the key question in reconciling cosmopolitan justice with democracy. ...
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How is it possible for individuals to exercise any control over a political order, i.e. supranational and multilayered? This is the key question in reconciling cosmopolitan justice with democracy. The most popular answer is that of Jurgen Habermas and other deliberative democrats. This chapter argues that deliberative democracy fails to take seriously both the problems and opportunities of large-scale societies, and so cannot provide adequate foundations for a deepening democracy. The participation requirements of Habermas’s normative theory can be met only by making assumptions about human cognitive capacities and institutional capabilities that are not remotely plausible in any large-scale society–faced with limitations of numbers, time, information, and understanding. Deliberative theorists turn to five conceptions of representation that are supposed to ‘mirror’ deliberation and thereby rescue the theory; but all of them fail. A stronger theory of representation is needed.Less
How is it possible for individuals to exercise any control over a political order, i.e. supranational and multilayered? This is the key question in reconciling cosmopolitan justice with democracy. The most popular answer is that of Jurgen Habermas and other deliberative democrats. This chapter argues that deliberative democracy fails to take seriously both the problems and opportunities of large-scale societies, and so cannot provide adequate foundations for a deepening democracy. The participation requirements of Habermas’s normative theory can be met only by making assumptions about human cognitive capacities and institutional capabilities that are not remotely plausible in any large-scale society–faced with limitations of numbers, time, information, and understanding. Deliberative theorists turn to five conceptions of representation that are supposed to ‘mirror’ deliberation and thereby rescue the theory; but all of them fail. A stronger theory of representation is needed.
Andrew Kuper
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- November 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199274901
- eISBN:
- 9780191601552
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199274908.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
The conclusion compares the theories of global justice and democracy developed by Rawls, Habermas, and Kuper. It does so along ten dimensions: (1) Sources of Normativity, (2) Moral Scope, (3) ...
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The conclusion compares the theories of global justice and democracy developed by Rawls, Habermas, and Kuper. It does so along ten dimensions: (1) Sources of Normativity, (2) Moral Scope, (3) Political Scope, (4) Spheres of Governance, (5) Political Interests, (6) Constraints on Governance, (7) Political Judgement, (8) Political Discretion, (9) Political Participation, and (10) Sites of Governance. The chapter argues that Kuper’s theory of Responsive Democracy has advantages along all these axes. These advantages are due to, above all, deep differences in the three theorists’ assumptions about power, knowledge, and the role of ideals in politics.Less
The conclusion compares the theories of global justice and democracy developed by Rawls, Habermas, and Kuper. It does so along ten dimensions: (1) Sources of Normativity, (2) Moral Scope, (3) Political Scope, (4) Spheres of Governance, (5) Political Interests, (6) Constraints on Governance, (7) Political Judgement, (8) Political Discretion, (9) Political Participation, and (10) Sites of Governance. The chapter argues that Kuper’s theory of Responsive Democracy has advantages along all these axes. These advantages are due to, above all, deep differences in the three theorists’ assumptions about power, knowledge, and the role of ideals in politics.
Roger Trigg
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199543670
- eISBN:
- 9780191701313
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199543670.003.0013
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter is divided into the following sections: the illusion of neutrality, is the state self-sufficient?, and a common rationality. Democracy has resulted in the contemporary stress on human ...
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This chapter is divided into the following sections: the illusion of neutrality, is the state self-sufficient?, and a common rationality. Democracy has resulted in the contemporary stress on human rights, which provide protection against the tyranny of the majority. Religious liberty has always been seen as one of the most prominent among those rights, going to the heart of what it is to be a human being, and being able to choose what kind of life to live. The first section argues that advocating neutrality restricts the scope of religion. The second section discusses that separation of religion and religious forms of reasoning, from any relevance to the public is far from neutral in its effects. The last section recommends that religious voices should be heard in a public debate about the proper basis for society.Less
This chapter is divided into the following sections: the illusion of neutrality, is the state self-sufficient?, and a common rationality. Democracy has resulted in the contemporary stress on human rights, which provide protection against the tyranny of the majority. Religious liberty has always been seen as one of the most prominent among those rights, going to the heart of what it is to be a human being, and being able to choose what kind of life to live. The first section argues that advocating neutrality restricts the scope of religion. The second section discusses that separation of religion and religious forms of reasoning, from any relevance to the public is far from neutral in its effects. The last section recommends that religious voices should be heard in a public debate about the proper basis for society.
JAMES N. ROSENAU
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199259250
- eISBN:
- 9780191600968
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199259259.003.0003
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
James Rosenau considers whether multi‐level governance can serve as a ‘prime mechanism’ to steer the tensions of ‘fragmegration’ in constructive directions. Fragmegration, a contraction of the terms ...
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James Rosenau considers whether multi‐level governance can serve as a ‘prime mechanism’ to steer the tensions of ‘fragmegration’ in constructive directions. Fragmegration, a contraction of the terms ‘fragmentation’ and ‘integration’, refers to the ‘diverse and contradictory forces that can be summarized in the clash between globalization, centralization, and integration on the one hand and localization, decentralization and fragmentation on the other’. The process of fragmegration stimulates the need for new and relevant forms of governance. Rosenau suggests that the concept of multi‐level governance, while having many virtues, can be both ‘misleading and imprisoning’ and ‘does not allow for a full analysis of the complexity of the emergent political world. As such, Rosenau makes the case for the alterative conceptualization of ‘Spheres of Authority’.Less
James Rosenau considers whether multi‐level governance can serve as a ‘prime mechanism’ to steer the tensions of ‘fragmegration’ in constructive directions. Fragmegration, a contraction of the terms ‘fragmentation’ and ‘integration’, refers to the ‘diverse and contradictory forces that can be summarized in the clash between globalization, centralization, and integration on the one hand and localization, decentralization and fragmentation on the other’. The process of fragmegration stimulates the need for new and relevant forms of governance. Rosenau suggests that the concept of multi‐level governance, while having many virtues, can be both ‘misleading and imprisoning’ and ‘does not allow for a full analysis of the complexity of the emergent political world. As such, Rosenau makes the case for the alterative conceptualization of ‘Spheres of Authority’.
John S. Dryzek, David Downes, Christian Hunold, David Schlosberg, and Hans‐Kristian Hernes
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199249022
- eISBN:
- 9780191599095
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199249024.003.0002
- Subject:
- Political Science, Environmental Politics
The experience of environmentalism in the US, UK, Germany, and Norway is introduced in detail, with special reference to the relationship between the state and the movement. The history of each ...
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The experience of environmentalism in the US, UK, Germany, and Norway is introduced in detail, with special reference to the relationship between the state and the movement. The history of each country in the modern environmental era is sketched. The movement took a very different form in each country. The oppositional public sphere confronting the state in Germany looks very different from the well‐behaved set of interest groups in the US or the Norwegian organizations that are tightly integrated into government. The shape and fortunes of environmentalism are heavily influenced by the state's orientation to societal interests, which can feature inclusion or exclusion, and be passive or active.Less
The experience of environmentalism in the US, UK, Germany, and Norway is introduced in detail, with special reference to the relationship between the state and the movement. The history of each country in the modern environmental era is sketched. The movement took a very different form in each country. The oppositional public sphere confronting the state in Germany looks very different from the well‐behaved set of interest groups in the US or the Norwegian organizations that are tightly integrated into government. The shape and fortunes of environmentalism are heavily influenced by the state's orientation to societal interests, which can feature inclusion or exclusion, and be passive or active.
