PHILOSOPHICAL-AESTHETIC COMPREHENDING OF LABOR IN OSSETIAN LITERATURE AS A FACTOR OF PERSON DEVELOPMENT

В статье на основе анализа осетинской литературы выделены и проанализированы этапы становления личности человека как субъекта труда в философско-эстетическом осмыслении художественным сознанием осетин. Показано, что осетинское художественное сознание рассматривало труд как мощный фактор формирования сущности человека, с одной стороны, и как комплексное общественное явление, органично связанное с законами развития общества, – с другой. На это обстоятельство обратили внимание еще осетинские просветители, и они же впервые задумались о диалектике необходимости и свободы общественного труда. Просветители также отмечали сословно-политическую обусловленность труда в классовом обществе. Осмысление процесса становления человека как субъекта труда фольклорным сознанием осетин, отражающим отношения личной зависимости в первобытную и феодальную эпоху, можно условно отнести к первому этапу. Затем осетинская литература критического реализма отразила специфику становления субъекта труда в капиталистическом обществе, где реализуются частнособственнические отношения и происходит становление человека с богатыми социальными и духовными свойствами, потребностями, связями как целостного и универсального продукта общества (К. Маркс). Это – второй этап становления человека как творца, субъекта труда, в понимании художественного сознания осетин. При этом человек в мире товарно-денежных отношений приобретает способность к напряженному труду, значительно развивая отношения личной зависимости, что и отразилось в творчестве просветителей, писателей (К. Хетагурова, И. Канукова, С. Гадиева, Е. Бритаева, А. Кубалова и др.). Третий этап, отраженный в литературе социалистического реализма и реализованный в советском обществе, характеризуется развитием свободной индивидуальности в результате изменения форм собственности, ориентации субъекта, При этом существенно возросли требования к человеку как к субъекту общественного производства. Это понимание своей социальной и моральной ответственности, повышение уровня профессионализма. Осетинская литература отразила и то обстоятельство, что человек в мире тоталитарно-плановой экономики сталкивается с весьма существенным противоречием между партийными, политико-идеологическими установками и реальностью, в результате творчество, труд и образованность в некотором смысле девальвируют в условиях административно-хозяйственного диктата, а отношения личной независимости заменяются экономико-административной зависимостью. The article based on the analysis of Ossetian literature identifies and analyzes the stages of the formation of an individual’s personality as a subject of labor in the philosophical-aesthetic comprehension by the artistic consciousness of the Ossetians. It is shown that, on the one hand, the Ossetian artistic consciousness considered labor as a powerful factor in the formation of the essence of a person, and as a complex social phenomenon, organically connected with the laws of the development of society, on the other hand. It was the Ossetian enlighteners, who paid attention to this circumstance, and for the first time thought about the dialectics of the necessity and freedom of social labor. The enlighteners also noted the estate-political conditionality of labor in a class society. Comprehension of the process of formation of a person as a subject of labor by the folklore consciousness of Ossetians, reflecting the relationship of personal dependence in the primitive and feudal eras, can be conditionally attributed to the first stage. Then the Ossetian literature of critical realism reflected the specifics of the formation of the subject of labor in a capitalist society, where private property relations are realized and a person is formed with rich social and spiritual properties, needs, connections as an integral and universal product of society (K. Marx). This is the second stage in the formation of a person as a creator, a subject of labor, in the understanding of the artistic consciousness of the Ossetians. At the same time, a person in the world of commodity-money relations acquires the ability to work hard, significantly developing relations of personal dependence, which is reflected in the work of educators, writers (K. Khetagurov, I. Kanukov, S. Gadiev, E. Britaev, A. Kubalov and etc.). The third stage, reflected in the literature of socialist realism and implemented in Soviet society, is characterized by the development of free individuality as a result of changes in the forms of ownership, the orientation of the subject, while the requirements for a person as a subject of social production have significantly increased. This is an understanding of one’s social and moral responsibility, an increase in the level of professionalism. Ossetian literature also reflected the fact that a person in the world of a totalitarian-planned economy is faced with a very significant contradiction between party, political and ideological attitudes and reality, as a result, creativity, work and education in a sense devalue under the conditions of administrative and economic dictate, and relations personal independence is replaced by economic and administrative dependence.

Negotiating the Preference (1967–1970)

Chapter 5 deals with the negotiations between the EEC and Spain from September 1967 to June 1970. Madrid, the weaker party, achieved its requests: first, that Spain’s main export commodities were not discriminated, particularly due to the Common Agricultural Policy; second, that once Spanish industry could export, Spain would have generous access to the Common Market; third, that there should be no reciprocal requirement that Spain open its domestic market to the Six; and finally, that there would be no political conditionality attached. The 1970 Agreement guaranteed lucrative trade preferences for the Spanish economy on the Common Market and also implicitly committed the Six to maintain political stability in Spain. Spaniards persuaded the Six that economic development would make the Spanish political regime evolve towards governance comparable to the rest of Western Europe.

The European Rescue of the Franco Regime, 1950-1975

This book explores how the governments of the founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community, acting collectively via the European Communities, assisted in the consolidation of the Franco regime. The Six (the Nine after 1973) provided the Spanish economy with a stable supply of raw materials and capital goods and with outlet markets for Spain’s main export commodities. Through both mechanisms, the European Communities assisted Spain’s development and supported the stabilization of its non-democratic régime. From 1950 to the mid-1960s, the Six avoided every sign of discrimination against Spain. By the mid-1960s, they became conscious of the need to promote Spanish exports in order to expand their own exports on the Spanish market. By 1970, Madrid obtained an arrangement with the EEC that, free of any political conditionality, provided ample access to the Common Market while keeping the Spanish market essentially closed. After 1972, the Nine negotiated Franco Spain’s integration into a pan-European industrial free-trade area, in exchange for access to the Spanish market. It was the Spanish cabinet, at the last minute, for protection reasons, who decided to derail the offer. The Franco regime was never threatened by European integration and the Six/Nine managed to isolate negotiations with Spain from mounting political disturbance. In sum, without unremitting material assistance from Western Europe, it would have been considerably more challenging for the Franco regime to attain the stability that enabled the dictator to maintain his rule until dying peacefully at 82 years old.

Human Rights Violations, Political Conditionality and Public Attitudes to Foreign Aid: Evidence from Survey Experiments

There has been much criticism of donor governments who give aid to states that violate human rights. This has fuelled concerns about how such coverage affects public support for foreign aid. In response, donors increasingly use aid suspensions to signal to domestic audiences that a regime has been sanctioned and aid is not misspent. This article examines how reports of rights violations affect attitudes to aid and what, if any, impact donor responses have on public perceptions. We conduct survey experiments using nationally representative samples of the British public. Our findings demonstrate that reports of rights abuses reduce public support for aid. However, contrary to conventional wisdom, any response from donors, whether it be to justify continuing aid or to cut aid, prevents a decline in support. In policy terms, the findings demonstrate the importance of government responsiveness in maintaining public support for a frequently contested aspect of foreign policy.

The Belt and Road Initiative and Its Effects on International Support for Human Rights

This paper analyzes United Nations voting records of countries that have received substantial aid from China as a part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Chinese investments have raised concerns, especially in the United States and European Union, because of their size but also because of their lack of political conditionality. Unlike Western aid, which is usually accompanied with demands for democratization, transparency and the rule of law, Chinese investments make no such demands on the host governments. Given China’s lack of respect for human rights, at least in the eyes of the West, there are also concerns that development aid from the BRI might be detrimental for human rights in recipient countries. This study analyzes the voting record of human rights resolutions in the UN from 2001-2013 for states that have received substantial BRI loans. The data shows that recipient countries are likely to align their UN votes with China, but not necessarily to the detriment of human rights. Close analysis of the resolutions passed by BRI partner countries show that most of their votes affirm human rights, which does not support the expectation that Chinese aid has a negative impact on the existing global human rights regime.

12. Human Rights in the EU

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses EU human rights law, and the way in which the ECJ developed fundamental rights as part of the Community legal order. The analysis includes the drafting of the EU Charter of Rights, and its application in the post-Lisbon world in which it is legally binding on the EU and on Member States when they act in the scope of EU law. The EU has gradually integrated human rights concerns into a range of its policies. The EU actively promotes its ‘human rights and democratization’ policy in many countries around the world, and uses human rights clauses in its international trade and development policies. It has imposed a human rights-based ‘political conditionality’ on candidate Member States, and claims to integrate human rights concerns throughout its common foreign and security policy. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of EU conceptions of fundamental rights in relation to the UK post-Brexit.

12. Human Rights in the EU

All books in this flagship series contain carefully selected substantial extracts from key cases, legislation, and academic debate, providing students with a stand-alone resource. This chapter discusses EU human rights law, and the way in which the ECJ developed fundamental rights as part of the Community legal order. The analysis includes the drafting of the EU Charter of Rights, and its application in the post-Lisbon world in which it is legally binding on the EU and on Member States when they act in the scope of EU law. The EU has gradually integrated human rights concerns into a range of its policies. The EU actively promotes its ‘human rights and democratization’ policy in many countries around the world, and uses human rights clauses in its international trade and development policies. It has imposed a human rights-based ‘political conditionality’ on candidate Member States, and claims to integrate human rights concerns throughout its common foreign and security policy. The UK version contains a further section analysing the relevance of EU conceptions of fundamental rights in relation to the UK post-Brexit.

Enlargement by Stealth?

This article argues that the EU’s enlargement negotiations with Eastern European applicants have become possible to a large extent by the introduction of objective assessment by the Commission, which allowed integration to proceed despite the threat of deadlock. The process of negotiations and preparation, however, should be better seen as a constant switching between the technical parts of the acquis and their (potential) political consequences. These arguments are developed in an analysis of Bulgaria’s path to accession. The analysis shows that in the domestic arena, the same tensions between the seemingly technical character of the negotiations and their political implications and consequences can be observed. The article will argue that while the emphasis on objective criteria and technical issues obscured the potential political consequences and effects on various sectors of the economy and society, stalled reforms in public administration or the judiciary belonged to the realm of its unintended consequences. Rule of law did not reform significantly despite the introduction of a special tool of political conditionality, the EU’s Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (cvm). The politicization of issues changed over time, with some measures affecting political cleavages more than a decade after Bulgaria’s accession.

South-South cooperation and foreign policy: Challenges and dilemmas in the perception of Brazilian diplomats

Brazil’s government has historically engaged with other developing countries to promote technical cooperation. Since the 1988 federal Constitution, different presidents have paid attention to this foreign policy agenda. However, it was particularly under the Workers’ Party’s administrations (2003–2016) that South-South cooperation (SSC) gained political ground, rooted in official principles of South-South solidarity, horizontality, non-interference in domestic affairs, and the defence of a multipolar world-vision. In this article, based on the argument that international development cooperation (IDC) is a key instrument of a country’s economic diplomacy, we analyse the perceptions of Brazilian diplomats about SSC in order to understand Brazil’s interests and motivations in this field. Methodologically, the article discusses the main results of a survey conducted between 25 August and 23 September 2016 among 349 Brazilian individuals, who correspond to approximately 22 per cent of Brazil’s active diplomats. The survey results showed that Brazilian diplomats generally have a favourable perception on Brazil’s SSC programmes, and that a great majority of them has already acted in SSC activities. Still, the issue of political conditionality brings in cleavages, indicating that there is a large group of Brazilian diplomats who openly support SSC as an instrument of national interests and not because of the official narratives related to a ‘solidarity with the South’ or ‘the promotion of human rights’. As a consequence, with the exception of perceptions on political conditionalities and economic criteria, the majority of diplomats share commonalities that also correspond to the government’s official rhetoric between 2003 and 2016. This article is structured around the following three sections: (1) South-South cooperation as a foreign policy agenda, (2) Diplomats as agents of Brazil’s South-South cooperation and (3) Presenting and discussing the perceptions of Brazilian diplomats.

25. From Supporting Democracy to Supporting Autocracy

This chapter examines the controversies surrounding democracy support and its significance for comparative politics. It first compares definitions of democracy support and provides an overview of the basic vocabulary of democracy support, focusing on concepts such as democracy assistance and political conditionality. It then considers whether democracy support is now fit for purpose in a world where China and Russia continue to expand their international presence. It also discusses democracy support strategies and challenges facing democracy support, before concluding with a comparison and assessment of the rise of autocracy support. It suggests that democracy support has yet to devise adequate strategies to counter international autocracy support.