CIAO DATE: 02/2015
Volume: 9, Issue: 1-2
February-April 2015
Why is Politics not Essentially Contested? (PDF)
Bojan Vranic
This paper is an attempt to defend the thesis of essential contestedness against the criticism of its logical inconsistency. The author believes that such criticism results from a misconception of whether Gallie’s thesis of essential contestedness can be applied to terms such as politics, law, or history. On the example of politics, the author attempts to demonstrate that this term cannot be essentially contested for at least two reasons: firstly, politics is not a concept, but a general term; secondly, it is the appraisals of the concept that are essentially contested, not the concepts themselves. The author of the paper believes that these claims will dispel the doubts about the logical consistency of the idea of essential contestability.
The Notion of "Kazakhness" Behind the Symbolic Nation-Building of Kazakhstan (PDF)
Narek Mkrtchyan
The paper deals with the processes of overcoming Russian ‘colonial’ impediments to the creation of symbolic spaces for the emergence of a new national self - consciousness in Kazakhstan. The paper highlights the importance of Nazarbaev’s decision to transfer to and construct a new capital Astana in fostering the ideas of national identity and ethnic belonging. Therefore, an attempt has been made to observe the phenomena of urbanization and reformulation of state symbols in explaining both ethnic and civic mec hanisms of influences on people’s consciousness. Additionally, the works of various Kazakh intellectuals and cultural figures have been taken into consideration to examine the notion of Kazakhness and its’ contribution to the development of the Kazakh nati onal identity. Content analysis of architectural design of Astana and state symbols is essential to understand the vision of Kazakhstan’s imagined future.
Jelena Cupac
The article examines the impact of emerging international norms on the behavior of states, thus endeavoring to fill a gap within the constructivist IR scholarship which has mostly focused on the relationship betwee n fully - fledged, inter - subjective and internalized norms and the behavior these norms encourage. The main argument it advances is that emerging norms should not be considered as legitimate. Instead, they should be understood in terms of the (morally charge d) legitimacy claims that sustain them and have the ability to prompt states to consider compliance due to a fear of international shaming, exclusion or some other losses. Empirically, the article makes an inquiry into China’s approach to the “responsibili ty to protect” (R2P) principle by examining its recent voting strategies in the UN Security Council, namely its abstention on the Resolution tackling Libyan crisis and three subsequent vetoes in relation to Syrian uprising.
Oya Dursun-Ozkanca
Despite the fact that the public in Britain had predominantly negative attitudes towards the Easter n enlargement of the European Union (EU) in 2004, the British government endorsed this policy . Since the legitimacy of elite actions on EU affairs depends on the level of public support, it is important to study the formation of public opinion and the poli tical communication processes in the European context. Using Flash Eurobarometer survey data, this article first tests the determinants of public support for EU enlargement in Britain. It then examines the nature of the relationship between elites and publ ic opinion on the 2004 enlargement. It concludes that the public discussion about enlargement in Britain was fuelled by hysteria rather than facts, and that the British policymakers failed to both provide the worried public with clear facts on the possible effects of enlargement and take substantive policy decisions to alleviate popular concerns.
Why the CCM is Still in Power in Tanzania? A Reply (PDF)
Alexander B. Makulilo
In her article “Why the CCM won’t lose”, Melanie O’Gorman claims to have found a puzzling dominance of the CCM in Tanzania. Using a survey conducted in 2008 amongst subsistence farmers, she notes that respondents tend to support the ruling party despite the rural neglect. This article questions the methodology and contests the key findings. It argues that the CCM’s dominance is a function of the incomplete de - linking of the party from the state of the old authoritarian regime thereby suffocating political space not only for the opposition parties but also for the members of civil society in rural and urban areas. The electoral data from the 2005 and 2010 general elections indicate that the margin of votes across constitu encies for the CCM is in steady decline, thus challenging its dominance.
Emel Elif Tugdar
The term “indigenous”refers to the ethnic minorities within a statebut without a state. Generally, the indigenous groups are located across neighboring states. The Roma people in Europeare one of the significant examples of indigenous people that are locat ed across Central and Eastern European states without a state of their own. As the indigenous groups have unique social, cultural, economic and political characteristics, they are distinct from those of the society in which they live. Their language, knowl edge systems and beliefs differ from the society as well. Due to their cultural differences, the diverse indigenous peoples share common problems also related to the protection of their rights. They strive for recognition of their identities, their ways of life and their right to political representation and participation. As a result, a special set of political rights have been set to protect them by international organizations such as the United Nations. The United Nations have issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to guide state policies in order to protect the collective rights of indigenous peoples, such as their culture, identity, language, and access to employment, health, education and natural resources.
Dylan Kissane
If there is one issue in contemporary international relations that continues to provoke interest in academic and policy making circles alike it is how states, regions and the world should react t o a rising China. While the influence of the People’s Republic is being felt from Africa and the Global South through to the developed economies of North America and Europe, it is in East Asia where a re - emerging China has most focused the minds of diploma ts and strategists, leaders and scholars and, indeed, the military men and women who must navigate this increasingly precarious great power polity. Within this East Asian context this new volume by David Martin Jones, Nicholas Khoo and MLR Smith delivers t houghtful and attentive analysis to the problem of responding to China’s rise. The book is neither a historical account of the rise of China, though it does offer sufficient historical contextualisation for the reader, or another collection of prescriptive policy suggestions, though there are clear conclusions made about which regional and state strategies have best dealt with the rise of the Sinic superpower. Instead, this book is a theoretically informed, consistently argued and well written account of ho w states in a broadly defined East Asia have and continue to react to the changing security environment that confronts them in the first decades of the twenty - first century.
Gaelike Conring
The ideal of equality of opportunity looms large in American history. It is the core tenet of the American dream, promising advancement fo r everybody willing to work hard and abide by the rules. More generally, it is the benchmark against which the success or failure of the economy’s role in promoting the public good is evaluated. As long as a priori equality of opportunity for those partici pating or looking to participate in economic life is a given, unequal outcomes are justified and even necessary in keeping this virtuous cycle alive. Thus explains Americans’ skepticism towards overtly redistributive policies to rectify unequal economic ou tcomes. A fitting example is the Joe Wurzelbacher aka ‘Joe the Plumber’, incident involving then presidential hopeful Barack Obama. When prompted about his tax policy proposals, Barack Obama’s stated intention of ‘spreading the wealth around’ did not sit w ell with most Americans; not even with members of his own party. If public opinion indicates a rejection of government redistributive policies, does that amount to a public unfazed by rising levels of income inequality?
Christopher Huszar
The recent financial crisis devastated financial markets the world over. The events of the crisis caused many to question the policies of the pre - crisis era, which tended t owards minimizing regulation as well as many others amorphously placed under the term Washington Consensus. The text Globalisation, the Global Financial Crisis and the State , edited by John H. Farrar and David G. Mayes, professors of law and finance, respe ctively, focuses on the interactions between states, economic policies and laws against the backdrop of the global financial crisis. Utilizing perspectives in the fields of law, political science and economics, the twelve chapters delve into interdisciplin ary arguments over the changing regulatory structure of the world and the global forces that shape the state. The authors’ overarching argument is that the financial crisis marked a discursive departure from the models supported by pre -financial crisis pol icies typified by the Washington Consensus towards a more multilateral approach symbolized by the emergence of the G - 20 and more state - oriented control over commercial activities.
Maria Shagina
As the result of changes in European governance, the environment in which national parties operate has been unambiguously modified. The complexity of European structures has put additional pressure on national parties and forced them to adapt to new challenges. The emergence of sub - national level has created new arena for national parties to perform their customary functions such as candidate selection, formulation of party manifestos, government formation etc. Yet, the sub - national level stip ulated by other institutional structure differs significantly from the national one. The democratic deficit intrinsic to the EU institutions affects and changes the internal organization of national parties. Aylott, Blomgren, and Bergman aim to fill this r esearch gap by investigating the impact of European integration on democratic accountability within Nordic political parties. The authors seek to uncover “the black box of party organization” (p. 2) through the lens of modified delegation and accountabilit y procedures on both national and European levels.
Alvin Almendrala Camba
Nazrin Mehdiyeva’s work is elegantly argued and timely volume on small states and energy politics; however, in looking to contribute to both of these literatures, she opens up questionable p oints in her book. Her main aim was to understand the conditions that allowed Azerbaijan to pursue an autonomous foreign policy after the Cold War while focusing on energy’s role in the context of global energy insecurity. Mehdiyeva’s structure relies on a simple and clear deductive narrative. Chapters 2 and 3 focus on small state literature and its application in Azerbaijan’s institutional context; 4 focuses on Russia, the main ‘antagonist’ in the narrative, and 5 on the Caspian sea issue; while 6 and 7 de al with alternative allies in the form of Turkey and the United States. The last chapter concludes with the author’s projection of future foreign policy.
Leonce Bekemans (ed.), A Value-Driven European Future (Bern: Peter Lang, 2012) (PDF)
Ivana Tomovska Efremov
As an editor Bekemans presents to academic readers a rich collection of essays initially presented at the international workshop ‘Cultural and Value Roots for Intercultural Dialogue in a European Context’ held in October 2011 at the University of Padua und er the auspices of the Jean Monet Centre. The essays presented at the conference and published a year latter provide to the reader an excellent overview of the topic and capture the engaging academic discourse that took place at the conference. The book ai ms to define the set of values that in turn define European identity. It also poses very important questions, such as what is the common set of ‘core values’, how to maintain and enrich those values in the face of globalization, multiculturalism and econom ic crises and how to work across institutions to promote and preserve those values.
Ciprian Negoita
The Concept of the Political , translated from the 1933 study – La Notion du "politique" et la théorie des différends internationaux , represents a significant contribution for the European public specialized in the field of international relations. While this text may at the first sight seem different from other versions of realism and more r elated to international relations theory today, in fact, the core assumptions addressed in this study are connected to political realism. The translation of this book represents the first initiative to make Morgenthau’s European writings more accessible to students of international relations, particularly to English - speaking researchers. This endeavor both in French and English is relatively little known compared to his major and successful textbook Politics Among Nations , published in 1948 and considered o ne of the leading writings of the realist school. As the title indicates, this book is constructed around the complex and controversial “concept of the political”, a concept whose correct understanding Morgenthau, and many others before him, considered ess ential for any theory of political life. Thus, the purpose of this book is to provide an understanding of Morgenthau’s oeuvre and worldview and to emphasize the ontological and epistemological commitments of the author, which influenced his later works.
Theo van de Klundert Capitalism and Democracy: A Fragile Alliance (Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2013) (PDF)
Raphael D. Jackson
Theo van de Klundert is a Dutch economist and Professor Emeritus at Tilburg University in The Netherlands. Capitalism and Democracy: A Fragile Alliance, was originally written in Dutch and translated int o English in order to reach the larger Anglophone audience. This book is the result of Klundert’s sixty years of study in the field of economics. The focus of the book revolves around the central question of whether it is possible to combine capitalism and democracy. The book is divided into two parts. The first part emphasizes the importance of technological progress as a main engine for economic growth. The second part highlights what has been described as “the diffusion of capitalism across countries” . In this work, the author also sets out to ascertain whether or not such diffusion gives rise to regional varieties of capitalism.
Francesca Romana Bastianello
At a moment when the European Union is having an identity crisis, it is pertinent to remember the motivations, and the efforts of the men who dedicated their lives to it s creation and who established the means and the organizations necessary to involve the citizens in the bottom - up part of this process. This book focuses on the role played by local authorities, the first to use the establishment of twinni ng – the development of cultural, political and economical bonds between two cities or villages belonging to different nations – as a parameter of real international policy and to view it as an essential phase of the establishment of a united Europe.
Rolf Hosfeld, Karl Marx. An Intellectual Biography (New York: Berghahn Books, 2013) (PDF)
David Ragazzoni
The book by Rolf Hosfeld is a sophisticated exploration into the intellectual and historical context in which Karl Marx developed his thought and work. A scholar with a broad and highly interdisciplinary cultural background, the author effectively combines the histor y of political and philosophical ideas, political and intellectual history and the attention to the world of literary works to cast light upon the multiple sources and internal developments of Marx’s ideas. Unlike most of the literature that developed arou nd the Marxian world, he provides both a thorough analysis of philosophical issues and an enjoyable portrait of events and intellectuals; at the same time, he focuses on Marx ‘the philosopher’ as well as on Marx ‘the man’, underlying the intimate connectio n between the public and the private sphere in the way he shaped his own thought throughout his life.