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2971. Foreword: Franco-Brazilian Dialogue on Violence and Democracy

Publication Date:
09-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Cultures & Conflits
Institution:
Cultures & Conflits
Abstract:
In France as in Brazil, violence and its modes of usage are thesubject of vivid and intense debates. The acts of violence inquestion have, however, little in common. The authors of this newissue of Cultures Conflits propose to examine the terms of thesedebates that feature and combine in complex shapes myths of nationaldemocracies, media representations, and the (in)abilities of thestate to effectively regulate the social sphere. These Franco-Brazilian dialogues on violence and democracy are part of a largercultural exchange linking since long Latin America and Europe - as Glauber Rocha and Roberto Rossellini remind us. An asymetricexchange, if any, marked by the feeling of being perpetually trappedin an unfinished development. This has, however, never prevented themto show significant inventive capacities, .Confllictual dialogue, useful when the (re)discovery of self isdeveloped through the mirror of the other.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
Europe and Brazil

2972. Organizational blindness: a methodological approximation of the functioning of organizations

Author:
Delphine Mercier
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
This article analyzes organizational phenomena using the perspective of sociological theory, and in particular interactionist sociology. I demonstrate that traditional analysis in terms of power, professional culture, or autonomy regulation does not reveal the complexity of the dynamic of the interactions of an organizational structure. I construct an interpretative and methodological framework towards understanding the causes of organizational blindness and some possible resolutions. This argument is illustrated through the analysis of a case study that departs from the definition created by the organization's actors.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Politics

2973. Radical conclusion and conflict in the formation of the people's populism

Author:
Sebastián Barros
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
This article reviews the concept of populism as presented by Ernesto Laclau. I argue that Laclau's definition needs to clarify the reference to “the excluded” in order to isolate the specificity of populism. By bringing into the discussion an argument about the conflictive nature of politics, I contend that populism can be defined as the moment of the eruption of the excluded. In other words, the idea of radical inclusion means that populist discourse provokes the transformation of the institutional order.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Government, and Politics

2974. Elections in Mexico: restrictions, fraud, and conflicts

Author:
José María Infante
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
The development of electoral processes in modern democracies has a long history of reconstructions that slowly lifted restrictive conditions. This development has not been without conflicts and many obstacles have had to be overcome to establish citizens' confidence in voting. In the case of Mexico, electoral transformation experienced many difficulties, and combined with the strong presence of the state machinery elections were unreliable until the end of the 20th century. Therefore, despite advances, there are still many problems with the electoral process. This article provides a summary of the principal electoral issues in the past decade in an attempt to unravel the causes.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
Mexico

2975. Chilean Foreign Policy: Exceptionality or Continuity? A review of "profound forces" and tendencies

Author:
María Elena Lorenzini and Myriam Colacrai
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to explore how identity and profound forces shape the foreign policy of states. The author discusses how traditional Chilean foreign policy actions reveal its identity while also taking into account new external policy trends that seemingly operate within the construction of a new identity. With respect to profound forces, the article examines the following: institutional stability and democratic processes ( Pinochet's dictatorship is an exception here), presidentialism, territorial factors and regional balance, and the civic-pragmatic style of its diplomacy.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
South America

2976. (In)accessibility of the knowledge society: a critical reading of the production of modern sociology

Author:
Daniel Muriel
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
The purpose of this article is to develop an approximation of the concept of a society of knowledge while trying to avoid the risks that this implies when using a modernist perspective of sociology. The author reviews the different major phases of change described by modern sociologists since the second half of the 20th century. The article provides a critical review of modern sociological thought in relation to a plausible formulation of a knowledgable society as a conceptual tool that helps us to understand certain contemporary problems.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, Development, and Education

2977. Communitarianism as the Official Politics of "Middle Earth"

Author:
Rafael Cuesta
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
In this article, I analyze some political and philosophical references taken from the movie, The Lord of the Rings. This production was immensely popular at the end of the twentieth century (from a literary perspective as well as from a cinematography viewpoint) however it maintains many characteristics of epic poems and ancient legends such as the expressions of Beowulf. The article aims to establish the terms of a central debate in contemporary political theory by examining the representation of communitarianism and liberalism portrayed in J.R. Tolkien ́s work.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, Education, and Politics

2978. Political Science or How to Engage in Politics by Other Means

Author:
Iaki Martnez de Albeniz
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
This article is concerned with the scientific production of politics from a critical viewpoint. Using a constructivist perspective, it analyzes the so-called black box of political science, namely the essence of politics itself. Although protected from critique, because in principle a discipline cannot question the object of its analysis, it is precisely the definition of politics that is the most controversial and thus requires further analysis. Therefore, the central theme of political science is the definition of politics. I contend that once politics is defined, not as a certainty but as a scientific construction, it raises many questions: Why does the issue of the meaning of politics emerge? How does political science construct politics? What are the discursive effects of this construction in the political sphere? What does it mean to “do politics” and how do we define political action? It is these questions that I seek to address in this article.
Topic:
Development, Politics, and Science and Technology

2979. Ethics and Politics in the Democratic Society

Author:
María de los Ángeles Yannuzzi
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
In this article I argue that the relationship between ethics and politics in modern democracy is tense and dangerous. In particular, it is dangerous because ethics introduces a strong moral relativism. Moreover, in complex societies this connection cannot be sustained in the field of politics. That is, when power enters the ethical dimension it distorts it because the discourse of ethics becomes a way of justifying power. It is this interweaving that causes constant tension between ethics and politics such that there is never a satisfactory resolution. Therefore, I purport that only the implementation of an argumentative logic that starts with the recognition of the precariousness and ambivalence of the relation between ethics and politics can serve as a protection against those distortions. Without this approach there is risk that the spaces of liberty will be limited by the power of the state in the name of ethics.
Topic:
Development, Government, Human Rights, and Politics

2980. Politicians of Global Governance

Author:
Philip Sebastian Mller
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
Global governance offers an alternative perspective from which to imagine world order and is becoming a serious contender for explaining how we see the world and it is guiding us in legitimizing our actions in the world. Who are the politicians of global governance? What can we expect from them? What is their agenda? In order to address these questions, two things are necessary: We need to look at the structural and generative logic of global governance, identify its politics, and question the real people that are the politicians of global governance that have real-world impacts in a world order conceptualized as global governance.
Topic:
Development, Government, International Organization, and Politics