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5552. From the Editor
- Author:
- Craig Biddle
- Publication Date:
- 06-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Objective Standard
- Institution:
- The Objective Standard
- Abstract:
- Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of The Objective Standard. Welcome to the Summer 2012 issue of The Objective Standard. In the lead article, "Why Marxism? Evil Laid Bare," C. Bradley Thompson examines key ideas that have driven Marxists and socialists—from Asian and European dictators to American college professors—to enact or advocate an ideology that is historically and philosophically pure evil. In my article "How Would Government Be Funded in a Free Society?" I lay out evidence in support of the fact that, in a free society, people would voluntarily pay to support a properly limited, rights-protecting government; and I discuss the essential means by which they would do so. In "Atlas Shrugged and Ayn Rand's Morality of Egoism," which is a version of a speech I've given on college campuses over the years, I provide a myth-busting introduction to the Objectivist ethics. (Although it discusses Atlas Shrugged, the article does not contain spoilers.) In his extensive interview with Ari Armstrong, Steve Simpson, of the Institute for Justice, surveys the continuing threats to corporate freedom of speech and discusses the essential elements in the battle to defend it. Mr. Simpson sheds much light on the fundamentals of an otherwise nightmarishly complex political mess. I had the honor of interviewing one of my favorite artists, painter Bryan Larsen. If you love Larsen's work (one sample of which graces the cover of this issue ofTOS), you don't want to miss this interview. In addition to getting to know the fascinating man behind the masterful brush, you'll get to enjoy high-resolution images of ten of his breathtaking paintings. In the film reviews section, C.A. Wolski appraises The Avengers (directed by Joss Whedon), finding it a near-perfect superhero movie; and Andrew Bernstein reviews Act of Valor (directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh), explaining "why I have seen this movie eight times" and "why I will see it again." Under book reviews, Daniel Wahl's discussion of Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric, by Ward Farnsworth, will whet your appetite for more principles and examples of classical English rhetoric—an appetite you may not have known you have. (I now have my copy and will be enjoying it by the pool this summer.) Our newest contributor, Hannah Krening (welcome Hannah!) reviews The Godless Constitution: A Moral Defense of the Secular State, by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, finding it highly valuable for the history it provides, even if suboptimal philosophically speaking. In case you haven't yet noticed, TOS has become much more than a quarterly journal. Our daily blog (TOS Blog) is the source for daily commentary from an Objectivist perspective. Topics include economics and politics, science and technology, philosophy and ethics, education and the arts, human achievement and personal productivity. Keep up with our blogging by subscribing to our RSS feed or by visiting the site daily. We also have highly active Facebook and Twitter pages, where we link to notable news, opinion, and general-interest pieces around the Web. Join our conversation on Facebook by "Liking" our page, and join us on Twitter by "Following" us there. I hope to see you around the Web, and, in any event, I wish you a productive and enjoyable summer. —Craig Biddle
5553. Extraordinary Situations, Extraordinary Means: The Regenerative Projects of the Hungarian Radical Right
- Author:
- Aron Szele
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- This article provides an example in which the historical method is used as a tool to define and study the ideology of the radical right. It does this by using Hungary as a case-study and explores the questions of continuity, core ideas, and inner logic of radical right wing discourses. The vehicle is a diachronic comparison of regenerative planning in the interwar and contemporary period, concentrating on the main themes of ideological content. The article shows an interesting amount of commonalities between the thought patterns of the interwar and the contemporary radical right wing in Hungary.
5554. Reciprocal Perceptions Between Western Balkan Countries And The EU: News Coverage on the EU Accession Process In Daily Newspapers
- Author:
- Romy Wöhlert
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- Against the background of increasing EU enlargement fatigue amongst EU countries, and with the official negotiation process with the Western Balkan countries currently underway, a comparative analysis of current reciprocal perceptions between both sides is carried out to identify potential conflict lines, and to trace how the EU is currently perceived from inside and from. In an exploratory media study three EU countries (Austria, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and two Western Balkan countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina BiH and Serbia) are compared. This paper shows that the reciprocal perceptions are not only shaped by assumed distance and difference, but also by proximity and similarities. However, the communicated boundaries and obstacles between EU and non-EU also show some indicate barriers for Western Balkan countries in the accession steps lying ahead. Furthermore, the media study suggests a broadening of the analytical spectrum to include thematic areas that go beyond political discourse.
- Political Geography:
- Germany, Balkans, and Austria
5555. Escalation of Social Conflict During Popular Upheavals: Evidence From Bahrain
- Author:
- Magdalena Karolak
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- Bahrain experienced rapidly growing sectarian strife as a result of the "Day of Rage" uprising organized in February 2011. The aim of this article is to asses the sources of latent hostility as well as to explain why the social conflict manifested itself and why it took on a sectarian dimension. The appraisal is based on the elements of Hocker and Wilmot's conflict assessment model, which focuses on the adversaries' perceptions of the conflict. Through an in-deph examination of created stereotypes we evaluate miscommunication between adversaries and ultimately, rigidity of positions and polarization of society. We conclude that, following this pattern of development, the social conflict ultimately enters into a destructive phase, negatively impacting the prospects of conflict resolution. The social division engulfing Bahrain is representative of the power struggle and confessional tensions in the Gulf region.
- Political Geography:
- Bahrain
5556. The Fallacy of De Facto Independent Candidacy In TANZANIA : A Rejoinder
- Author:
- Alexander B. Makulilo
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- The Independent candidate question in Tanzania has, since 1992, remained a subject of debate among political parties, judiciary, parliament, executive, the attorney general's chamber, academics, civil societies, and election observers. The issue of this debate is whether or not independent candidates should be introduced in the electoral system. The ruling party and its government have been agains the independent candidates on the ground that it would jeopardize the entire electoral system. The purpose of this article is twofold. First is to present my rejoinder to the issues raised by Frank Mateng'e's article "Protesting the Independent Candidacy in Tanzania's Elections: A Bona Fide Cause?" concerning one of my earlier works about the independent candidate issue in Tanzania. Second, I engage the contribution of Mateng'e to the independent candidate debates. This entails also interrogating his concept of "de facto independent candidacy".
- Political Geography:
- Tanzania
5557. Richard Ned Lebow. Why Nations Fight: Past and Future Motives for War, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010)
- Author:
- Dylan Kissane
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- International relations, as a discipline, is concerned with the many and varied questions that arise through inter-state engagement. Some are trivial and fleeting, specific to a certain space and time and destined to only ever emerge as a sub- specialty, perhaps with a small group of committed yet marginalised scholars pursuing answers to questions that most in the field will only ever consider of secondary or tertiary appeal. Some questions, though, are central to what this social science is about, perhaps none more so than questions of war and peace in international politics. International politics, so said John Mearsheimer, is a ruthless and dangerous business and there is no sector of that business more ruthless or dangerous than war. As a result, understanding why states enter into wars that have, in the last century alone, led to the collapse of empires, the subjugation of great powers and the destruction of man and his environment is essential, if only to mitigate the ruthlessness and danger and not solve it. In this disciplinary and historical context, Richard Ned Lebow's Why Nations Fight: Past and Future Motives for War offers an argument that, if heeded, should teach theorists and practitioners of international affairs just how and why they continue to find themselves embroiled in conflict year after year.
- Topic:
- International Relations and War
5558. Joseph A. Camilleri and Jim Falk, World in Transition: Evolving Governance across a Stressed Planet (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2009)
- Author:
- Emilian Kavalski
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- The need to develop sustainable and resilient governance mechanisms has plagued scholars, policy-makers and publics for several decades. Traditionally, such frameworks for coordinated decision-making have been associated with the problem of war. Yet in recent years both the recognition of and the proliferation of complex challenges emerging from the interconnectedness between local and transnational realities, between markets, migration, trafficking, and social movements, and between pandemics, a looming energy crisis, and climate change have tested the ability to comprehend and address convincingly their turbulence. Such risks have disturbed not only the assumption of a predictable model of world politics, but equally importantly they have also unsettled the accepted ways in which international affairs have been explained and understood. In this respect, the study of global governance seems to have been undergoing an intense and oftentimes troubled reflection on the validity and relevance of its theories, methods, and propositions. At the same time, the proliferation of a diverse set of new (or previously overlooked) issues on the political stage has urged such reconsiderations of the study of politics to promptly produce explanatory frameworks that can offer germane responses to the emerging challenges.
- Topic:
- War and International Affairs
5559. Rajah Rasiah and Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidt (eds.), The New Political Economy of Southeast Asia. (Chaltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010)
- Author:
- Salvador Santino Regilme Jr.
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- Southeast Asia has recently been dubbed as one of the world's fastest rising economic hubs. Although it has some countries that offer exemplary stories fromthe East Asian economic miracle, the region also has its share of middle-income and low-income countries beset with grave problems in their respective political economies such as endemic poverty, environmental challenges and economic governance issues. Notwithstanding that the region is indeed a fascinating focal point for the analysis of emerging political economies, there appears to be a vacuum in Asian studies scholarship on a comprehensively-written volume examining political-economic change of the countries from a distinctive regionalist perspective which justifiably abandons the country-by-country analytic approach. More particularly, this means that it considers the entirety of Southeast Asia as a focal unit of analytic-scholarly endeavor, rather than examining each country in the region – with the latter task usually ending up in a mere stockpiling of case studies.
- Political Geography:
- East Asia and Southeast Asia
5560. Michael Urban, Cultures of Power in Post-Communist Russia. An analysis of Elite Political Discourse (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010)
- Author:
- Lina Klymenko
- Publication Date:
- 04-2012
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Central European University Political Science Journal
- Institution:
- Central European University
- Abstract:
- Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's transformation has been an object of study by scholars of transition studies. The challenges of political, economic, and nation-building processes occurring in post-Soviet Russia have sparked numerous scholarly debates, and with the comeback of Russia in international politics, the interest of scholars in the societal and political developments of that country became even more pronounced. Michael's Urban recent book contributes to the body of existing scholarly literature on Russia's post-Soviet transformation and, due to its alternative conceptual framework, the book presents an interesting and thought-provoking study of the Russian society and politics.
- Topic:
- Economics
- Political Geography:
- Russia