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1631. On the Verge of Gaza Disengagement

Author:
David Makovsky, Dennis Ross, and Michael Herzog
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On August 4, 2005, Dennis Ross, Brig. Gen. Michael Herzog, and David Makovsky addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Ross, the Institute's counselor and Ziegler Distinguished Fellow and former U.S. Middle East peace envoy, has just returned from a month in the region. General Herzog of the Israel Defense Force is a visiting military fellow at The Washington Institute. Formerly the senior military aide to the minister of defense, he was also an Israeli peace negotiator. Mr. Makovsky, senior fellow and the director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at The Washington Institute, is author of the Institute monograph Engagement through Disengagement: Gaza and the Potential for Israeli-Palestinian Peacemaking. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Topic:
International Relations, Peace Studies, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, Washington, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

1632. The Future of the Jewish Settler Movement, Post-Disengagement

Author:
Aviezer Ravitsky
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On June 24, 2005, Aviezer Ravitsky, a professor at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and an expert on religious Zionism, addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks. The impending Israeli disengagement from the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank threatens the ideological foundations of many settlers. This is particularly true for religious settlers, most of whom view Israeli habitation of the West Bank as the fulfillment of a biblical mandate initiated by the Hebrew patriarchs. The fact that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a prime architect of the settlement movement during his tenure as housing minister in the late 1970s, unilaterally proposed the disengagement epitomizes what many settlers see as their abandonment by the political establishment. They fear that Israel will eventually withdraw from most, if not all, of the West Bank. That prospect threatens to undermine the cause of the national-religious camp in Israel, which has championed the settlement movement above all else since Israel assumed control over the territories in 1967.
Topic:
International Relations, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:
Washington, Middle East, Israel, and Gaza

1633. Constitution Writing and Conflict Resolution

Author:
Jennifer Widner
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Over 1975-2003 nearly 200 new constitutions were drawn up in countries at risk of conflict, as part of peace processes and the adoption of multiparty political systems. The process of writing constitutions is considered to be very important to the chances of sustaining peace, and The Commonwealth and the US Institute for Peace have developed good practice guidelines in this area. These emphasize consultation, openness to diverse points of view and representative ratification procedures. But assessing the impact of constitution-writing processes on violence is methodologically difficult, since there are many channels of influence in the relationship. This paper reports on preliminary findings from an ongoing research project into the effects of processes in constitution-writing. Regression analysis is used to control for important contextual features such as differences in income levels and ethnic diversity across countries. A key finding is that differences in the degree of participation in the drafting of constitutions has no major effect on post-ratification levels of violence in some parts of the world, such as Europe, but does make a difference in Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific together.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Peace Studies, and Politics
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, America, and Europe

1634. 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

1635. 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

1636. 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

1637. Charismatic Leadership and Political Institutionalization: the Case of the Democratic Revolutionary Party

Author:
Adriana Borjas Benavente
Publication Date:
06-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
Abstract:
Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas' participation in the 1988 presidential election gave rise to the creation of a charisma that allowed him to found the Democratic Revolutionary Party. This founding was based on charismatic authority. On the other hand, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the current governor of the Federal District, acceded to the national political scene with a spontaneous leadership supported, but not designated, by Cárdenas. This type of leadership, in addition to several tactics, has situated him in a privileged position in comparison with other political actors also running for president. It is the purpose of this text to analyze López Obrador's leadership and political strategies based on the theoretical contributions of Max Weber and Jay Haley. Furthermore, this paper aims to build on the research that is empirically developed in her book, Partido de la Revolución Democrática. Estructura, organización interna y desempeño público, 1989-2003, as well as ato contribute to ongoing theoretical debates in the social sciences.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Politics

1638. 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

1639. 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

1640. 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