scholarly journals Antinomies of „truth and reconciliation“: Post-Yugoslav cases

2012 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 3-22
Author(s):  
Slobodan Karamanic
Keyword(s):  
Short Circuit ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
National Memory ◽  
Cultural Domain ◽  
Concept Of Truth ◽  
Private Autonomy

The paper offers a critical evaluation of the theoretical propositions and practical uses of the concept of ?truth and reconciliation? (T&R), with special regard to the post-Yu?goslav case studies. Firstly, the paper indicates an antinomy situated between the liberal principle of individual autonomy and attempts to establish an ?organised memory.? Drawing from the concept of ?Serbian collective responsibility,? it is demonstrated how this conceptual framework undermines both the political and private autonomy of citizen, by translating the question of responsibility into the collective moral and cultural domain. Secondly, the ?organised memory,? which calls for identification with ?national crimes?, creates a short-circuit, resulting in re-nationalising rather than de-nationalising the figure of citizen. As a result, the forms of organized national memory induce structural limitations, producing the fragmentation of truth into separate ?national truths.? Thirdly, the concept is both abstract (prescriptive and trans-historical) and empirical (descriptive and enclosed within the framework of given subjectivities and categories). A paradoxical result is that T&Rtakes the consequences as its ends, whilst taking for granted the political identities constructed in the course of the conflict. In addition, the no?tion of truth in use here is reductive, aiming mostly at registering and measuring the ?forensic truth? of the conflict. Finally, the absolute structural limitation of T&Rrepresents the nation state itself. Since the alternative name of T&Ris ?official truth seeking? (Pricilla Hayner), this concept finds itself entrapped within the limits of the existing state?s institutional framework, depending on the ?good will? of political elites. At the same time, the given ?truths? are depoliticised and medicalised. The paper concludes that rather than opening new avenues for the emergence of genuinely new political subjectivities, the T&Rparadigm effectively blocks the process of disidentification and the creation of a new political subject liberated from a narrowly defined community bound to the common (national) substance and history.

Neurointerventions, Morality, and Children

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Clayton ◽  
Andres Moles
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Political Community ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Moral Conduct ◽  
Moral Behaviour ◽  
Moral Constraint ◽  
The Ideal ◽  
Moral Limits

Is the political community morally permitted to use neurointerventions to improve the moral conduct of children? Putting aside difficult questions concerning the institutionalization of moral enhancement, the authors address this question, first, by arguing that is not, in itself, always morally impermissible for the community to impose neurointerventions on adults. Although certain ideals, such as the ideal of individual autonomy, limit the permissible employment of neurointerventions, they do not generate a moral constraint that always forbids their use. Thereafter, they argue that because young children lack certain moral capacities that adults possess, the moral limits that pertain to the use of neurointerventions to improve their moral behaviour are, in principle, less restrictive than they are for adults.

scholarly journals A Pragma-Dialectical Approach to Political Discourse Analysis: A Case Study of the Former United State Trade Representative Ron Kirk’s Remarks on the Poultry Case

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Shi Wen
Keyword(s):  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Political Discourse ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Critical Discussion ◽  
Background Information ◽  
The Political ◽  
United State ◽  
Dialectical Approach ◽  
Political Discourse Analysis

<p align="LEFT">Under the research framework of Pragma-</p><p align="LEFT">Dialectics, this paper analyses and evaluates the</p><p align="LEFT">former United State trade representative Ron</p><p align="LEFT">Kirk’s remarks on the trade conflict of poultry.</p><p align="LEFT">Through this case study, I intend to develop a</p><p align="LEFT">pragma-dialectical approach to the political</p><p align="LEFT">discourse. Based on the argumentative</p><p align="LEFT">reconstruction, strategic maneuvering analysis</p><p align="LEFT">and critical evaluation of the remarks, this</p><p align="LEFT">paper finds that even if Ron Kirk’s remarks look</p><p align="LEFT">reasonable apparently, there are still some</p><p align="LEFT">fallacies hidden in them. In order to make the</p><p align="LEFT">US government benefit most from the trade</p><p align="LEFT">conflict, after considering comprehensively of</p><p align="LEFT">the potential topics, audience demands, and</p><p align="LEFT">presentational devices, Ron Kirk maneuvers</p><p align="LEFT">strategically by choosing beneficial starting</p><p>points and arranging argumentative schemes</p><p align="LEFT">technically. By doing so, he can transmit Anti-</p><p align="LEFT">China ideology to the international society</p><p align="LEFT">imperceptibly. In addition, by taking into</p><p align="LEFT">consideration the background information of</p><p align="LEFT">the poultry case and the Ten Commandments of</p><p align="LEFT">a critical discussion, this paper reveals that, the</p><p align="LEFT">accepted starting points and the argument</p><p align="LEFT">schemes are abused in Ron Kirk’s remarks.</p><p align="LEFT">Through the case study, this paper tries to study</p><p align="LEFT">political discourse from Pragma-Dialectical</p><p align="LEFT">approach and provide feasible analytical</p><p align="LEFT">methods and reasonable evaluative standards</p><p align="LEFT">for the political discourse analysis, so that a</p><p align="LEFT">new perspective will be offered for researches</p><p>on political discourse.</p>

scholarly journals Leadership, management and outcomes of wildlife reintroduction programs: Findings from the Sea Eagle Recovery Project

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra E. Sutton
Keyword(s):  
Public Relations ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Release Site ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
Biological Knowledge ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Leadership Management ◽  
Dedicated Team ◽  
Hierarchical Management

Wildlife reintroductions and translocations are statistically unlikely to succeed. Nevertheless, they remain a critical part of conservation because they are the only way to actively restore a species into a habitat from which it has been extirpated. Past efforts to improve these practices have attributed the low success rate to failures in the biological knowledge (e.g. ignorance of social behavior, poor release site selection), or to the inherent challenges of reinstating a species into an area where threats have already driven it to local extinction. Such research presumes that the only way to improve reintroduction outcomes is through improved biological knowledge. This emphasis on biological solutions may have caused researchers to overlook the potential influence of other factors on reintroduction outcomes. I employed a grounded theory approach to study the leadership and management of a successful reintroduction program (the Sea Eagle Recovery Project in Scotland, UK) and identify four critical managerial elements that I theorize may have contributed to the successful outcome of this 50-year reintroduction. These elements are: 1. Leadership & Management: Small, dedicated team of accessible experts who provide strong political and scientific advocacy ("champions") for the project. 2. Hierarchy & Autonomy: Hierarchical management structure that nevertheless permits high individual autonomy. 3. Goals & Evaluation: Formalized goal-setting and regular, critical evaluation of the project’s progress toward those goals. 4. Adaptive Public Relations: Adaptive outreach campaigns that are open, transparent, inclusive (esp. linguistically), and culturally relevant

scholarly journals The Application of the Constitutional Convention in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Nazri Muslim ◽  
Osman Md Rasip ◽  
Khairul Hamimah Mohammad Jodi ◽  
Abdullah Ibrahim ◽  
Otong Rosadi
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Ethics ◽  
Constitutional Convention ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Federal Constitution ◽  
The Social

In Malaysia, there is no one institution that can outdo the supremacy of the Federal Constitution. Even the three government bodies that refer to the power separation doctrine which is the legislative, judiciary and executive bodies even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong are under this Federal Constitution. The constitution can be divided into two, written and non-written constitution. The written constitution is the form of constitution that is gathered and arranged in one document. The non-written counterpart encompasses all of the constitutional principles not compiled in one document such as the law endorsed by the Parliament and the verdicts of the court such as in the United Kingdom. Other than the constitution, there are certain practices that are thought to be part of the principles of the constitution. This is known as the Constitutional Convention or the customary practice of the Constitution. Constitutional convention is a non-legislative practice and it is similar to the political ethics and not enforced in court. Although it seems trivial, it is important for this practice to be complied with, otherwise it is difficult for the constitution to work successfully as the constitutional convention cannot be brought to court and forced to be obeyed. Thus, the discussion of this article rests on the constitutional convention in terms of the social contract, the appointment of the Prime Minister, the appointment of the country&rsquo;s main positions and collective responsibility.

scholarly journals The Ethical, Political and Economic Challenges of Effective Altruism

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Mateusz Kucz ◽  
Piotr Rosół
Keyword(s):  
Positive Impact ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Consensus Building ◽  
Ethical Values ◽  
Political Consequences ◽  
Ethical Position ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Effective Altruism ◽  
Good Starting Point

This paper presents a critical evaluation of ethical and philosophical concerns about the effective altruism as an ethical position. Effective altruists claim that one of our important ethical obligations is to do the most good possible, with the biggest possible positive impact. This impact should be measured with rational tools and by evaluating the effectiveness of our actions. At first glance, this might seem as a consensus building position, a good starting point for building a community of people wanting to change the world for the better. In our paper, we present some difficulties which are connected with such a way of thinking about charity and an ethical obligation to donate. We discuss the problem of the commercialization of ethical values, understanding effectiveness, agreeing about goals, as well as the political consequences of effective altruism understood as an ethical position.

The Political-Geographic Bases of the Austrian Nationality Problem

1967 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
George W. Hoffman
Keyword(s):  
Political Geography ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Habsburg Empire ◽  
Habsburg Monarchy ◽  
Geographic Structure ◽  
External Forces ◽  
And Function ◽  
Different Characteristics

The breakup of the Habsburg monarchy was perhaps the most exceptional change made in the political geography of the European world of our times. It would be too much to say that the shot fired at Sarajevo destroyed the Austro-Hungarian empire. But it is hardly an exaggeration to suggest that the young assassin was a living embodiment of the principle of nationalism in the South Slavic lands and that the shot which he fired was a deliberate blow at the political-geographic structure of the Habsburg monarchy. Those competent to discuss the question are almost unanimous in their verdict: the dissolution of the empire was brought on by a combination of external forces and an internal disintegration. The internal disintegration actually impelled the state to expose itself to the external forces. The works of scholars from many countries and disciplines2who have carefullyanalyzed the structure and function of the Habsburg empire have been scrutinized with the view of studying the regions which formed this empire, their different characteristics and associations, and their connections with each other and to the state in order to ascertain to what extent the area of the empire constituted a state in the modern sense and to note any weaknesses in its morphology and physiology that helped to account for its collapse. The contribution of political geography to this critical evaluation of nationalism as a disintegrating force of the Habsburg empire lies in an analysis of the major problems of the internal situation of that empire.

Deification, Demonization and Dispossession

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 420-444 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allan A. Boesak
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation Commission ◽  
Reconciliation Commission ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Truth And Reconciliation ◽  
Nelson Mandela ◽  
Primary Obstacle ◽  
Reconciliation Project ◽  
Reconciliation Process

Many regard South Africa’s reconciliation process as a model for a search for peace in and among nations. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission played an admirable part in this. However, problems remain in continuing and completing this reconciliation project. For many the failure to secure social justice through reconciliation remains one challenge. At issue is also how South Africans deal with their fractured and painful past. This article revisits issues of culpability and responsibility by asking whether a primary obstacle towards reconciliation might be that South Africans, instead of taking personal and collective responsibility for reconciliation, have hidden behind two major and completely opposite South African figures: Nelson Mandela and Eugene De Kock. It is argued that the ‘deification’ of Mandela and the ‘demonization’ of De Kock pose an important obstacle for the acceptance of culpability and responsibility for addressing historic wrongs with a view to true reconciliation.

The translation strategies for Chinese diplomatic neologisms from the perspective of “Political Equivalence”

Babel ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 62 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingxing Yang ◽  
Da Yan
Keyword(s):  
Special Form ◽  
Language Translation ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
The Political ◽  
Translation Theory ◽  
Political Issues ◽  
Translation Strategies ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
Equivalence Theory ◽  
The City

With rich connotations and marked features, the translation theory of “Political Equivalence” has great significance in directing the standards, procedures and specific methods for diplomatic language translation. As a special form of discourse, diplomatic language is closely related to foreign policies and state interests, and has strong political inclination, thus inevitably concerning political issues. This paper, under the theoretical guidance of “Political Equivalence”, advances the strategies for translating the Chinese diplomatic neologism Buzheteng used by Chinese President Hu Jintao at the conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of the reform and opening policy. Its purpose is to analyze the literal meaning, political context and connotations of the localism Buzheteng, and to conduct an analytical contrast of different translations. It also aims to provide a critical evaluation of the “Zero Translation” theory proposed by Zhu Chunshen and Zhang Junfeng from the City University of Hong Kong. The translation of Buzheteng illustrates that the “Political Equivalence” theory is one of the major criteria and principles gauging the translation of diplomatic languages.

scholarly journals Medieval “liberation theology” in the works of Theodore the Studite

2021 ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Oleg Alekssevich Novikov ◽  
Igor' Olegovich Nadtochii ◽  
Sergei Vyacheslavovich Nikishin
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Individual Autonomy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Legal Literature ◽  
Theological Orientation ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Scientific Value

The subject of this article is the political-legal ideas of the Byzantine philosopher, public figure and theologian Theodore the Studite. His life and activity were closely related with the policy of Byzantine Iconoclasm conducted in the VIII &ndash; IX centuries. The emperors of the Romans, in their struggle against the political and economic power of the Orthodox Church, used discrepancies in interpretation of one of the doctrinal questions of Christianity, which historically manifested as a &ldquo;stumbling block&rdquo; among the adherents of this religion. Western province of the Byzantine Empire were against the policy of &ldquo;iconoclasm&rdquo; and its monasticism, the prominent representative of this intellectual tradition of which (in the medieval understanding of the latter) was Theodore the Studite. The political-legal ideas of Theodore the Studite, unlike his theological views, are poorly studied in the Russian science. However, they have certain scientific value due to the uniqueness of views of the philosopher comparing to the works of contemporaries and the Byzantine political;-legal literature overall. In his polemical works of theological orientation, Theodore the Studite discusses the problems of the liberty of conscience, individual autonomy, human rights (in their medieval interpretation), boundaries of intrusion of public authorities in social life, etc. The ideas of the Byzantine philosopher represent one of the first attempts of apologetics of &ldquo;democratic Christianity&rdquo;.

scholarly journals Modern Confucian Objection against Communism in China

Asian Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Téa SERNELJ
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Communist Party ◽  
Chinese Communist Party ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Social Situation ◽  
Modern China ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Democratic ◽  
Political Views ◽  
The Chinese Communist Party

The article investigates the political views of one of the most prominent representatives of the so-called second generation of Modern Confucianism, Xu Fuguan. It reveals his unique position within this intellectual movement. Even though all other adherents of Modern Confucianism were focused upon metaphysics and ontology rather than political theory, Xu believed that these lines of thought could not contribute enough to solving the various urgent social and political problems of modern China. In this regard, the present article focuses upon a critical analysis of Xu’s critique of the Chinese Communist Party. The author presents and evaluates his critique mainly with regard to his search for a resolution of the problematic and chaotic political and social situation of China during the first half of the 20th century. In conclusion, the author provides a critical evaluation of Xu’s social democratic thought and particularly of his attitude towards the Chinese Communist Party.

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