Constructivism and Rationalism as Analytical Lenses: The Case of the European Neighbourhood Policy

The paper proposes a novel way in which social constructivism and rationalism might be combined in the study of the EU´s external relations. It proceeds in four steps: First, a basic model for the study of EU external policies is introduced, with its four basic elements being based on different combinations of constructivism and rationalism. Second, existing theories are categorised in accordance with the model. Third, a case study exploring the relations of three countries in the EU´s Eastern neighbourhood (Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia) with the Union is introduced, through which the practical applicability of the model is demonstrated. Fourth, the paper concludes with some theoretical remarks

The Brazil – Retreaded Tyres Case

The objective of the present paper is to investigate, in an exploratory fashion, how the current legal framework governing global relations was managed in the Brazil – Retread Tyres case in an attempt to perpetuate the unequal distribution of environmental risks and costs related to waste tyre disposal both from a statist and a globalist perspective. After introducing the issue, the context of tyre production and waste tyre disposal is presented. Then, the strategy related to discourse and forum choice will be outlined. Finally, some remarks on possible future developments will conclude the paper

Extensions and degenerations of spectral triples

For a unital C*-algebra A, which is equipped with a spectral triple and an extension T of A by the compacts, we construct a family of spectral triples associated to T and depending on the two positive parameters (s,t). Using Rieffel's notation of quantum Gromov-Hausdorff distance between compact quantum metric spaces it is possible to define a metric on this family of spectral triples, and we show that the distance between a pair of spectral triples varies continuously with respect to the parameters. It turns out that a spectral triple associated to the unitarization of the algebra of compact operators is obtained under the limit - in this metric - for (s,1) -> (0, 1), while the basic spectral triple, associated to A, is obtained from this family under a sort of a dual limiting process for (1, t) -> (1, 0). We show that our constructions will provide families of spectral triples for the unitarized compacts and for the Podles sphere. In the case of the compacts we investigate to which extent our proposed spectral triple satisfies Connes' 7 axioms for noncommutative geometry.Comment: 40 pages. Addedd in ver. 2: Examples for the compacts and the Podle`s sphere plus comments on the relations to matricial quantum metrics. In ver.3 the word "deformations" in the original title has changed to "degenerations" and some illustrative remarks on this aspect are adde

Carducci e il mondo tedesco. Bilanci e prospettive: [Carducci and the German world. Assessments and perspectives]

The essay takes a systematic look at some perspectives on the study of Giosue Carducci’s relations with German culture, offering a review of the research until today, examples of case studies, and a reflection on possible future research perspectives. Among the various areas addressed is that of the study of Carducci’s translations from German, with remarks on Carducci’s role in the transfer processes between Italy and Germany. Among other things, emphasis is given to the relevance of investigations into translations not yet published in the National Edition of Carducci’s Works. The last paragraph of the essay gives an account of a first census of Carducci’s autographs that have become part of German, Austrian and Swiss collections. In particular, prominence is given to autographs now preserved at the Fondation Martin Bodmer (Cologny, Genève): a manuscript of the ode Su Monte Mario (whose traces had been completely lost) and a still-unknown autograph of the poem Per la proclamazione del regno d’Italia

Coalitions, Power and Institutional Change in Global Patent Politics. IES WORKING PAPER 2/2013

With the 1995 Agreement on Trade - related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), a centralised rule - system for the international governance of patents was put in place under the general framework of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Since then, the number of patent – related institutions has increased monotonically on the multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral levels. I will explain this case of institutional change by focusing on the norm – setting activities of both industrialised and developing countries, arguing that both groups constitute internally highly cohesive coalitions in global patent politics, while institutional change occurs when both coalitions engage in those negotiating settings in which they enjoy a comparative advantage over the other coalition. Specifically, I make the point that industrialised countries’ norm – setting activities take place on the plurilateral and bilateral level, where economic factors can be effectively translated into political outcomes while simultaneously avoiding unacceptably high legitimacy costs; whereas developing countries, on the other hand, use various multilateral United Nations (UN) forums where their claims possess a high degree of legitimacy, but cannot translate into effective political outcomes. The paper concludes with some remarks on how this case yields new insights into ongoing debates in institutionalist International Relations (IR), as pertaining to present discussions on “regime complexity”

Colours, Corners And Complexity

"There is a philosophical question as to what one really sees". Wittgenstein's remark raises all sorts of questions: Does one see tables and chairs, people jumping up and down, their jumps, their sadness ? Does one see colours and forms, coloured forms, dynamic and static, that are above or to the left of other coloured forms ? If the latter, are these things one sees private entities or public entities as are, presumably, tables and chairs ? If both answers are legitimate (sometimes, or whenever we see ?) what are the relations between the people we see and the coloured forms that we also see ? In other words, is what is presented to me in my visual field private, public or partly private and partly public

Remarks on quantization of Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators

This work is concerned with a quantization of the Pais-Uhlenbeck oscillators from the point of view of their multi-Hamiltonian structures. It is shown that the 2n-th order oscillator with a simple spectrum is equivalent to the usual anisotropic n - dimensional oscillator

Some remarks on Hall algebra of bound quiver

In this paper we describe the twisted Hall algebra of bound quiver with small homological dimension. The description is given in the terms of the quadratic form associated with the corresponding bound quiver

The logic of forbidden colours

The purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to clarify Ludwig Wittgenstein’s thesis that colours possess logical structures, focusing on his ‘puzzle proposition’ that “there can be a bluish green but not a reddish green”, (2) to compare modeltheoretical and gametheoretical approaches to the colour exclusion problem. What is gained, then, is a new gametheoretical framework for the logic of ‘forbidden’ (e.g., reddish green and bluish yellow) colours. My larger aim is to discuss phenomenological principles of the demarcation of the bounds of logic as formal ontology of abstract objects