Speaking And Rhetoric In The Community: The Implications Of Aristotle's Understanding Of Being,
2014
Claremont McKenna College
Speaking And Rhetoric In The Community: The Implications Of Aristotle's Understanding Of Being, Logan C. Vescio
CMC Senior Theses
This thesis analyzes Martin Heidegger's early interpretation of Aristotelian concepts. The goal is to acquire an increased understanding of the ideas underlying Aristotle's political philosophy, as well as those underlying Heidegger's own later philosophy. The investigation begins with a critique of Kantian logic and the assumptions which underlie it, which are ultimately traced back to Aristotle. The passages that pertain to Kant's interpretation are assessed by Heidegger, who concludes that it is speaking, not explicit definition, that grounds possibility for life in a human sense. To demonstrate Heidegger's argument, the thesis transitions into an assessment of the Greek view of …
Structural Limits Of Liberal Neutrality: Understanding Problems For Sustainabiity,
2014
Scripps
Structural Limits Of Liberal Neutrality: Understanding Problems For Sustainabiity, Madison R. Williams
Scripps Senior Theses
Liberalism is a political philosophy that is “committed in the strongest possible way to individual rights, and, almost as a deduction from this, to a rigorously neutral state” (Walzer 99). It takes its “constitutive morality” to be a “theory of equality that requires official neutrality amongst theories of what is valuable in life” (Dworkin 203). For this reason, some theorists say Liberalism and the idea of environmental sustainability are not in conflict with one another. According to Mike Mills, because the commitment to neutrality means there is “no given set of policies associated” with Liberalism, any outcome is plausible (168). …
From Heresy To Policy: My Prescription For China's Population Policy 25 Years Ago,
2014
Old Dominion University
From Heresy To Policy: My Prescription For China's Population Policy 25 Years Ago, Shaomin Li
Management Faculty Publications
Recently scholars have been calling for the loosening up of China's one-child policy, and even the Chinese government has begun to show some willingness to do so. The call is not new. In my doctoral dissertation 25 years ago I first showed that China should allow couples to have two children and could still achieve the same population control goal as the one-child policy. I am glad to see that what I proposed 25 years ago is repeated by many scholars and even acceptable to the Chinese government.
The Inevitable And Difficult Transition From Relation-Based To Rule-Based Governance In China,
2014
Old Dominion University
The Inevitable And Difficult Transition From Relation-Based To Rule-Based Governance In China, Shaomin Li
Management Faculty Publications
China has benefited tremendously from replying on the relation-based way of doing business and governance, as evidenced in its rapid economic growth up to now. However, further relying on the relation-based governance may eventually hinder China's economic growth and exacerbate inequality, resulting in political instability. On the other hand, given China's cultural heritage and powerful vested interest groups, can China shed its relation-based way? This article argues from logical, theoretical, and empirical perspectives the inevitability and difficulty of China's transition from relations to rules, and discuss the implications of the transition or the lack of it for China.
Goodbye To Europe And Hello To Asia: The New Imperialism Of “Chindia” In Africa,
2014
Sacred Heart University
Goodbye To Europe And Hello To Asia: The New Imperialism Of “Chindia” In Africa, Sybil Gelin (Class Of 2014)
Writing Across the Curriculum
In 2006, the Chinese government released its first ever Africa policy paper. In the document, the government of China announced its plans to forge a strong and enduring relationship with Africa on the basis of four ideals: mutual tolerance despite differing ideologies, cooperation in international politics, economic intercourse predicated upon fairness, and observance of Africa’s right to choose its own path to economic development.[1] This document, along with the third Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (or FOCAC) (at which more than forty-five African leaders gathered to discuss the future of China-Africa relations), served as a springboard for future Chinese engagement …
Cooperative Security: The American Strategy For A Rising China,
2014
Claremont McKenna College
Cooperative Security: The American Strategy For A Rising China, Ethan Landau
CMC Senior Theses
This paper analyzes the theoretical underpinnings and strategic goals of US security strategy with respect to China. It argues that the language used in statements and publications of US strategy demonstrate the development of a strategy of cooperative security. This strategy is dependent on the security environment the United States cultivates with allies and partners in the region. The paper uses evidence from the two largest PACOM military operations--RIMPAC and Cobra Gold-to demonstrate this developing strategy.
An Intersectional Approach To Environmental Political Theory: A Case Study On Modern Andean Bolivian Indigenous Forms Of Resistance And Communal Democracy In Relation To Water Rights,
2014
Scripps College
An Intersectional Approach To Environmental Political Theory: A Case Study On Modern Andean Bolivian Indigenous Forms Of Resistance And Communal Democracy In Relation To Water Rights, Julia E. Seward
Scripps Senior Theses
Considers Bolivian Andean indigenous forms of democracy and resistance to neoliberal water privatization in Cochabamba. Incorporates environmental identity into the intersectional theoretical framework with principles rooted in Indigenous grass roots theory, Marxist critiques on capitalism, Latin American Neomarxist scholars, and Environmental Justice. Focuses on intersections of ethnicity, gender and class identities with environmental identity to understand the extent to which environmental injustices cannot be addressed in isolation from other sources of inequality.
Veblen’S Vested Interest And Power,
2014
Portland State University
Veblen’S Vested Interest And Power, Bryan Gordon
Anthós
With this inquiry I shall seek to establish that Thorstein Veblen advanced theories which related the vested interests with power. To accomplish this I shall first dissect the meanings behind Veblen’s definitions of "the vested interest", "intangible assets" and "free income." I then, using the previous analysis relate the state to vested interests and solidify their collective unity. After this connection I proceed onto analyzing the implications of the vested interest and how it relates to the common man. Power, normally analyzed within the context of political science is rarely spoken of within economics, this analysis strives to bring the …
Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign,
2014
Central Washington University
Sustainability Policy’S Inherent Dilemmas – Exemplified Via Critical Examination Of The Las Vegas Metropolitan Sustainability Campaign, Kathryn A. Zimmerman
All Master's Theses
In response to a dual problem of critical water scarcity and rapid population growth, leaders of metropolitan Las Vegas implemented a region-wide, internationally marketed sustainability campaign. Preliminary studies found that, while sustainability policy attains its rhetorical goals, solutions initiated not only perpetuate but also purposefully expand the original dual problem to justify continuous water resource acquisitions. To examine this sustainability conundrum constructed by leadership—problem-perpetuation rather than problem-resolution—a critical examination in resource management asked two basic questions: what is being sustained and by what means? Via this inquiry, specific processes by which leaders perpetuate problems can be identified; and, so-informed, new …
Nuclear Security Complexes: An Alternative Approach To Nuclear Nonproliferation,
2014
Old Dominion University
Nuclear Security Complexes: An Alternative Approach To Nuclear Nonproliferation, Beyza Unal
Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations
Existing literature examines nuclear proliferation from a regional or a national perspective but nuclear issues are inherently transnational. The literature also often focuses on single-state policies for deterrence purposes. Following tailored (single-state) policies, however, is too narrow because these policies are bilateral and based on national interest; they do not include global concerns. In response to the literature, this dissertation proposes to examine states grouped according to their state characteristics in terms of threat existence, democracy level in the nuclear field, and membership in nuclear organizations and compliance with major nuclear treaties. The focus here is to ask: "Does regional …
The Labor Theory Of Justice,
2014
Singapore Management University
The Labor Theory Of Justice, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
Justice is the first virtue of social institutions as truth is of systems ofthought. So John Rawls famously proclaimed in the beginning of hismasterwork, A Theory of Justice. A theory however elegant and economical must be rejected or revised if untrue. Laws and institutions no matterhow efficient and well arranged must be reformed or abolished if unjust.Justice, perhaps unlike some other values, was not something we mightreadily trade a little of in exchange for other benefits.1In his critique ofRawls, Rescuing Justice and Equality, G. A. Cohen proposes to take justicemore seriously while at the same time conceding that justice might …
A Definition Of The State,
2014
Singapore Management University
A Definition Of The State, Chandran Kukathas
Research Collection School of Social Sciences
A state is a form of political association, and political association is itself onlyone form of human association. Other associations range from clubs to businessenterprises to churches. Human beings relate to one another, however, not only inassociations but also in other collective arrangements, such as families, neighborhoods,cities, religions, cultures, societies, and nations. The state is not the only form ofpolitical association. Other examples of political associations include townships,counties, provinces, condominiums, territories, confederations, internationalorganisations (such as the UN) and supranational organisations (such as the EU). Todefine the state is to account for the kind of political association it is, and to …
Partisan Federalism,
2014
Columbia Law School
Partisan Federalism, Jessica Bulman-Pozen
Faculty Scholarship
Among the questions that vex the federalism literature are why states check the federal government and whether Americans identify with the states as well as the nation. This Article argues that partisanship supplies the core of an answer to both questions. Competition between today’s ideologically coherent, polarized parties leads state actors to make demands for autonomy, to enact laws rejected by the federal government, and to fight federal programs from within. States thus check the federal government by channeling partisan conflict through federalism’s institutional framework. Partisanship also recasts the longstanding debate about whether Americans identify with the states. Democratic and …
Theorizing More Inclusive Cities: A Relational Model Of Boundary Transformation And Urban Research Agenda,
2014
CUNY Graduate Center
Theorizing More Inclusive Cities: A Relational Model Of Boundary Transformation And Urban Research Agenda, Leigh Graham
Publications and Research
To generate more inclusive environments for marginalized urban communities of color demands a strategy that privileges symbolic boundary change and uses it as the inroad towards spatial changes. This paper theorizes a three step relational process of a) communicative democratic activism, b) "multicultural" capital brokers providing access to the policy making process, and c) practices of community building that reflect the role of cities as key sites for sociospatial boundary transformation. An emphasis on discursive and ideational change, relying on communicative democratic processes steeped in historical, comparative analysis opens up our minds towards different classification schemes for stigmatized groups. Participating …
Comparative Direct Democracy: A Study Of Institutions And Individuals,
2013
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Comparative Direct Democracy: A Study Of Institutions And Individuals, Donald D. Mirjanian
UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones
Do institutions matter? This dissertation examines the role of institutions in the context of comparative direct democracy. Through an institutionalist framework, this study considers how the context in which the mechanism of direct democracy is first introduced has an impact on later usage, and how individuals operate when constrained by those very institutions. In particular, I examine the cases of Italy, France, Uruguay, and Venezuela and find that the inclusion of direct democracy mechanisms (most commonly, the referendum device) is more likely to occur when previously excluded "out-groups" participate in constitutional formation. In addition, I find that institutional design is …
The Morality Of Human Rights,
2013
University of San Diego
The Morality Of Human Rights, Michael J. Perry
San Diego Law Review
My discussion of the morality of human rights in this Article presupposes that the reader is familiar with the internationalization of human rights: the growing international recognition and protection, in the period since the end of the Second World War, of certain rights as human rights. The Appendix to this Article is for readers not familiar with the internationalization of human rights. I begin, in the first Part of the Article, by explaining what the term human right means in the context of the internationalization of human rights. I also explain both the sense in which some human rights are, …
Does The Existing Human Rights Regime Have Political Authority?,
2013
University of San Diego
Does The Existing Human Rights Regime Have Political Authority?, Christopher Heath Wellman
San Diego Law Review
In this Article I consider whether the existing international legal human rights regime enjoys political authority over sovereign states. In particular, I explore whether, just as states can cite their role as the primary institutions that protect human rights in order to justify their claim to authority over their citizens, perhaps the current human rights regime might plausibly cite its secondary role in securing human rights in order to ground its authority over these states.
Building Women’S Solidarity To Advance Women’S Rights In Bolivia,
2013
The University of San Francisco
Building Women’S Solidarity To Advance Women’S Rights In Bolivia, Luzdary Hammad
Master's Theses
This paper takes a historical look at the deep-seated ethnic and class divisions between women in Bolivia. It also examines the cultural challenges that help explain the status of women in Bolivia and the obstacles women face to become politically active. It provides the theories of decolonization and depatriachalization as practical ways Bolivia can move past their colonial and patriarchal history. It also looks into what feminism means overall in Latin America and what strategies Latin American women have used to make change for women. It then provides a political history of Bolivia from 1994 to the present giving the …
The Evolving Executive: Provisional Decrees And Their Impact On Brazil's Executive-Legislative Relationship,
2013
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
The Evolving Executive: Provisional Decrees And Their Impact On Brazil's Executive-Legislative Relationship, Lance L. Arberry
Honors College Theses
Comparatively, the lawmaking process in presidential systems is often comprised of negotiations between a legislative body, tasked with authoring and legislating laws, and an executive, who must authorize and administer the enactment of the law. While executives are often empowered with certain constitutional powers to help influence the lawmaking process, these powers are typically constrained and supervisory in nature. Presidents are rarely given broad-and-discretionary legislative powers, since lawmaking is ultimately the responsibility of the legislative body; however, this does not hold true for the case of Brazil. Following the adoption of Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, Presidents were empowered with the power …
South-South Relations And The English School Of International Relations: Chinese And Brazilian Ideas And Involvement In Sub-Saharan Africa,
2013
Webster University
South-South Relations And The English School Of International Relations: Chinese And Brazilian Ideas And Involvement In Sub-Saharan Africa, Joseph Marques, Anthony Spanakos
Department of Political Science and Law Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works
The rise of large developing countries has led to considerable discussions of re-balancing global relations and giving greater priority to understanding South-South relations. This paper, in exploring the central ideas of Chinese and Brazilian foreign policy and the behavior of these two rising Southern countries toward Sub-Saharan Africa, argues that the English School of International Relations is well suited to understanding the intentions and actions that characterize South-South relations.
