Bringing politics back in: examining the link between globalization and democratization

This article considers current explanations of the link between globalization and democratization in light of an empirical case study: that of a 1998-99 campaign led by Egyptian NGOs against government restrictions on the freedom of association. The article calls attention to the need to 'bring politics back in' to theories of the link between globalization and democratization, by studying the political strategies of actors, the longer-term local, historical context against which these strategies are formed and their impact upon existing relations of power. The first part of this article reviews some of the major arguments regarding the link between globalization and democratization in order to highlight their focus on structural changes in explaining democratization. The second part proposes an alternative explanatory framework, based on the Gramscian concepts of hegemony and counter-hegemony. The third and fourth parts operationalize this framework through presenting the context for the actions of NGOs in Egypt and the case study of NGO efforts for greater democratization. Finally, the conclusion brings together the conceptual and empirical discussions

O strukturnih univerzalijah

This article is about ontology. It was stated that properties (relation) are fundamental constituents of reality. There are at least three different theories about the nature of properties: properties as perfect particulars - Bergmann, properties as abstract particulars — trope theory, and properties as universals. The universal theory was defended against different objections. The results of this procedure was used in the case of structural universals against theses: (a) they are just a mereological composition of theirs constituent universals (parts); (b) they are simple (unstructured) properties of individuals — magic as an alternative. Relational theory of structural universals with three metaphysical levels (material individuals; properties and relations of these individuals; properties and relations which hold between properties or relations of individuals - with internal relations of proportion holding between properties and relations of universals) was proposed as the solution of the neither magic nor mereology problem.Članek se ukvarja z ontologijo. Trdi se, da so lastnosti (relacije) osnovni gradniki realnosti. Poznane so vsaj tri različne teorije o naravi lastnosti: lastnosti kot popolne partikulari-je - Bergmann; lastnosti kot abstraktne partikularije - teorija tropov; lastnosti kot uni-verzalije. Avtor brani teoriji univerzalij pred različnimi ugovori. Rezultati te obrambe se uporabljajo v primeru strukturnih univerzalij proti dvema trditvama: (a) strukturne uni-verzalije so le mereološka vsota posameznih sestavljajočih univerzalij; (b) strukturne univerzalije so enostavne (nestrukturirane) lastnosti posameznih stvari - magija kot alternativa. Kot rešitev problema 'niti magija niti mereologija' je predlagana relacijska teorija strukturnih univerzalij, ki vključuje tri metafizične nivoje (materialne posamezne stvari; lastnosti in relacije teh stvari; lastnosti in relacije drugega reda - z notranjimi relacijami razmerja (proportion), ki so med lastnostmi in relacijami univerzalij)

The growing Chinese presence in Latin America and its (Geo)political manifestations in Bolivia

In recent years, the growing Chinese presence in Latin America has triggered heated academic and policy debates, as well as social and political conflict across countries in the region. Against this background, the present paper explores the specific characteristics taken on by this dynamic in the Bolivian case, by adopting a novel research strategy in which we tested these debates with a combined process-tracing analysis of the evolution of the structural geo-economic relationship between Bolivia and China, and a survey of the state of negative and positive perceptions of the Bolivian population about the growing presence of China in Bolivia. The objective was to attain a complete overview of the political implications of the structural changes in the sources of geopolitical power in the bi-lateral relationship. Empirically, there is room to conclude that the region and Bolivia are geo-economically turning more dependent on China and that relations are not benefiting broad-based development; however, there is less room to talk about a deterministic relationship between the above and a direct geopolitical influence in the region. Bolivian public opinion is divided in a way that mirrors the regional debate on the issue, and the divide has reached high levels of politicization, as it overlaps with an internally polarized political system. The Bolivian case is important because this dynamic could replicate in the region and define the orientation of the region’s foreign policy towards China in the future

A critical review on the vulnerability assessment of natural gas pipelines subjected to seismic wave propagation. Part 1:Fragility relations and implemented seismic intensity measures

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd Natural gas (NG) pipeline networks constitute a critical means of energy transportation, playing a vital role in the economic development of modern societies. The associated socio-economic and environmental impact, in case of seismically-induced severe damage, highlights the importance of a rational assessment of the structural integrity of this infrastructure against seismic hazards. Up to date, this assessment is mainly performed by implementing empirical fragility relations, which associate the repair rate, i.e. the number of repairs/damages per unit length of the pipeline, with a seismic intensity measure. A limited number of analytical fragility curves that compute probabilities of failure for various levels of predefined damage states have also been proposed, recently. In the first part of this paper, a thorough critical review of available fragility relations for the vulnerability assessment of buried NG pipelines is presented. The paper focuses on the assessment against seismically-induced transient ground deformations, which, under certain circumstances, may induce non-negligible deformations and strains on buried NG pipelines, especially in cases of pipelines crossing heterogeneous soil sites. Particular emphasis is placed on the efficiency of implemented seismic intensity measures to be evaluated or measured in the field and, more importantly, to correlate with observed structural damage on buried NG pipelines. In the second part of this paper, alternative methods for the analytical evaluation of the fragility of steel NG pipelines under seismically-induced transient ground deformations are presented. Through the discussion, recent advancements in the field are highlighted, whilst acknowledged gaps are identified, providing recommendations for future research

“Structuration” by intellectual organization: the configuration of knowledge in relations among structural components in networks of science

Using aggregated journal–journal citation networks, the measurement of the knowledge base in empirical systems is factor-analyzed in two cases of interdisciplinary developments during the period 1995–2005: (i) the development of nanotechnology in the natural sciences and (ii) the development of communication studies as an interdiscipline between social psychology and political science. The results are compared with a case of stable development: the citation networks of core journals in chemistry. These citation networks are intellectually organized by networks of expectations in the knowledge base at the specialty (that is, above-journal) level. The “structuration” of structural components (over time) can be measured as configurational information. The latter is compared with the Shannon-type information generated in the interactions among structural components: the difference between these two measures provides us with a measure for the redundancy generated by the specification of a model in the knowledge base of the system. This knowledge base incurs (against the entropy law) to variable extents on the knowledge infrastructures provided by the observable networks of relations

Moving from interpretivism to critical realism in IS research: An exploration and supporting IT outsourcing example

The major contribution of the thesis is to highlight the Importance of philosophical awareness in progressing research. It argues against the use of a priori theory in research and proposes that an understanding of the philosophical underpinnings of particular research approaches can provide the opportunity to be ones own guide and to work out critically one\u27s own conception of the world. It suggests that the adoption of critical realism as the underlying philosophical base can support research in a useful and practical manner. The thesis introduces the philosophy of critical realism and uses its underlabouring role to provide new Insights into the Information systems arena in general and the case example In particular. The thesis specifically concentrates on a comparison between interpretlivism and critical realism, highlighting the differing approaches both have to research. The thesis provides an Illustrative case example examining the development of an organisation\u27s first Information Business Plan and the subsequent outsourcing of the IS Department. The study was originally targeted at describing the Implementation of the organisation\u27s first Information business plan but this changed as the information business plan Implementation was overtaken by events. It is argued that political directives from above were the major reason behind the organizational move to outsource all non-core activities, Including IS. The thesis documents a dissatisfaction with the original interpretivist approach on which the case Investigation was based and uses the case example to highlight the thesis arguments. Critical realism provides a promising analytical and explanatory framework for examining the Interplay between structure and agency within organizations. It Involves both Interpretive and explanatory understanding unified In the analysis of structural relations, and the ways In which these affect, and are affected by, the subjective meanings of human beings (Keat and Urry, 1982, p. 174). This thesis will reflect these understandings and emphases

When the victim becomes the offender? - A discourse analysis of victim blaming regarding rape

In 2014, a man was accused of raping a woman but was acquitted despite the fact that the woman said “no” and “stop”. He claimed to have thought that it was part of dominant sex games and by that, assumed she liked it. That the man was acquitted, even though the court ruling concluded that the woman had been forced to sexual intercourse, can be a result of a process of victim blaming; a process where the victim’s behavior, prior to the rape become a factor of significance. In this thesis I have conducted a discourse analysis of this specific case, where I have looked for patterns of victim blaming and analyzed the findings from a post-structural feminist perspective as well as Foucault’s ideas of power. To understand the process, concepts and theories of the patriarchy, rape myths and the idea of the woman and the man, are presented. I find that patterns of victim blaming can be identified in case nr: B5865-13 and that the process of victim blaming should be understood with the historic discourse of the woman and the man in mind, as this has created ideal gendered behavior. Furthermore, I find that the victim blaming process makes for unequal power relations between women and men, and by extension enables men’s sexual violence against women today

DIPL 6422 Trans-Atlantic Relations and World Politics

The transatlantic relationship between Europe and North America has been one of the most peaceful and durable partnership among states in history. It has also been and remains the bedrock of international relations since the end of World War II. Transatlantic relations initially grew of the fears prompted by the old War and focused on security concerns as evidenced by the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which was designed to keep the Russians out, the Germans down, and the Americans in. They have all along been shaped (and reshaped) by an ever widening range of security as well as non-security concerns prompted by changes in the tectonics of international relations, an evolving balance of power between the United States and Europe and changing global issues of common but increasingly differentiated interest. Conflict and cooperation have in any case been one of the perennial characteristics of transatlantic relations, the latter appearing increasingly to give way to the former, especially since the end of the Cold War. But as shall be seen, there is considerable disagreement among scholars and practitioners as to whether the divide is deep and structural or is simply attributable to the vagaries of partisan politics and dashing personalities in each camp. Against this broad stroked background and drawing from lectures, class discussions and intensive readings, the purpose of this course is to provide tentative answers to three interrelated questions about transatlantic relations: one, what is the nature and character of the Atlantic political order? Is it a pluralistic security community? A cooperative security alliance? A reflection and manifestation of United States hegemony?. A political community? An economic region? ... Second: how has that political order functioned and operated over time in dealing with such security economic and human rights challenges as the Cold War, nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the Palestinian question Iraq, globalization, trade and investment, climate change, international criminal justice in the context of broader structural change within the global arena? Three: what are the prospect for the future of the Atlantic order?. Are US-European relations likely to become more divisive and conflict ridden to the point of that they might undo the great \u27historical bargains\u27 they were built upon? Or will they simply lead to systemic change and adaptation? The course will accordingly be structured into three parts. The first portion f the course will seek to elucidate the historical and theoretical foundations f the Atlantic political order with particular attention to the Atlantic Charter of 1941, the Bretton Woods Agreements of 1944, the United Nations Charter of 1945, the Marshall Plan of 1947, the Atlantic Pact of 1949 and the parallel process of unification and integration of Europe . The second part of the course will assess the determinants of the transformations of the Atlantic political order through an in depth examination of selected case studies. The final part of the course, blending theory and case study lessons will take stock of the transformations of the Atlantic political order and endeavor to ascertain how it might evolve in the years ahead

Murder and Machismo: Behind the Motivations of Salvadoran Women Asylum Seekers

This thesis aims to draw connections between a culture of machismo, an ideological gender belief distinct to Latin America with heavy traces of patriarchy and misogyny, and the motivations of Salvadoran women seeking asylum in the United States. I develop these connections by first reviewing the literature on structural violence, the form of violence wherein the structure or social institution prevents certain demographics of people from meeting their basic needs and living their optimal lives (Galtung, 1969). I repeatedly use structural violence and its functions to parallel the operations of patriarchy and machismo to suggest that violence against women (VAW) in El Salvador originates from a deep-seeded belief system that defines and dictates gender relations in the country. I further support my arguments that machismo is a manifestation of structural violence with a comprehensive case study on El Salvador and the phenomena of widespread VAW. With extensive collected data and testimony pulled from news, government, and non-government reports, I argue that machismo, in all of its forms and applications (including disregard for women’s human rights), has very real and negative effects on Salvadoran women. I aim to suggest that machismo plays a significant role in the escalation of extreme gender-based violence. Because widespread violence rooted in machismo has become so dangerous for women, ultimately I argue that Salvadoran women seeking asylum on the basis of gender should not be ignored, dismissed, or quite frankly denied asylum solely because their claims are gender based

Social integration processes in Estonia and Slovakia

Studies of interethnic integration in Central Eastern Europe have sought to account for the impact that institutional settings, structural conditions and elite-level interaction have on the accommodation of and conflict resolution between ethnic groups. Much existing literature has placed particular emphasis on the importance of institutional factors, both domestically and as a result of international pressure. Simultaneously, scholarship on the issue has left out of focus the contributions of non-dominant minority actors to the dynamics of interethnic relations. Where minorities are taken into account, this happens largely in terms of their failure to recognise structural opportunities for their inclusion into majority society. This study analyses interethnic integration in the Central Eastern European context from the perspective of structuration theory. Structuration theory provides a sound theoretical foundation in order to study non-dominant agency and its impact on the structures of integration, owing to its ability to reconcile dichotomies. The thesis comprises a comparative case study of interethnic interaction in Estonia and Slovakia, focusing on the Russian-speaking and the Hungarian minority respectively. A structuration approach is applied to the empirical findings in order to problematise practices of integration and their constraints that lie in the institutional and interaction context of Estonian and Slovak post-Communist society. I argue that although Russian-speakers in Estonia and Hungarians in Slovakia are constrained by institutional environs and majority-dominated structures, minority members actively participate in and shape institution-building and group formation in their interaction with majorities. Minority integration is analysed in terms of the minorities’ co-operation within, counteraction against and formulation of alternatives to the status quo structures of interethnic relations