56 research outputs found
Spin-Glass Theory for Pedestrians
In these notes the main theoretical concepts and techniques in the field of
mean-field spin-glasses are reviewed in a compact and pedagogical way, for the
benefit of the graduate and undergraduate student. One particular spin-glass
model is analyzed (the p-spin spherical model) by using three different
approaches. Thermodynamics, covering pure states, overlaps, overlap
distribution, replica symmetry breaking, and the static transition. Dynamics,
covering the generating functional method, generalized Langevin equation,
equations for the correlation and the response, the Mode Coupling
approximation, and the dynamical transition. And finally complexity, covering
the mean-field (TAP) free energy, metastable states, entropy crisis, threshold
energy, and saddles. Particular attention has been paid on the mutual
consistency of the results obtained from the different methods.Comment: Lecture notes of the school: "Unifying Concepts in Glassy Physics
III", Bangalore, June 200
Leadership and style in the French Fifth Republic:Nicolas Sarkozyâs presidency in historical and cultural perspective
This article contributes to the body of the developing theoretical research in leadership and presidential studies by adding analysis of what I have termed âcomportmental styleâ as a factor in leader/follower relations. Within institutionalism and the wider structure/agency debate in political science, one of the challenges as regards the study of leadership is to identify factors that offer scope to or else militate against leadersâ performance. The comportmental style of Nicolas Sarkozy (President of the French Republic 2007â2012), deployed in the context of the â changing â institution of the presidency, was a major factor in his extreme unpopularity, and contributed to his defeat in 2012. What this tells us about the nature of the changing French presidency and the role of style will be discussed in the conclusion
Political leadership and the politics of performance:France, Syria and the chemical weapons crisis of 2013
This article draws upon developments in UK research on political rhetoric and political performance in order to examine the incident in 2013 when French President François Hollande committed French forces to a US-led punitive strike against Syria, after the use of chemical weapons in a Damascus suburb on 21 August. The US-led retaliation did not take place. This article analyses Hollande's declaration on 27 July and his TV appearance on 15 September. His rhetoric and style are best understood as generic to the nature of the presidential office of the Fifth Republic. The article concludes by appraising how analysis of the French case contributes to the developing literature on rhetoric, celebrity and performance
European economic constitution and the transformation of democracy : on class and the state of law
In the context of contemporary analyses of the Europe Union as a post-democratic form of economic governance, this article explores the (ordo)liberal character of monetary union as a regime of imposed liberty. The argument holds that rather than forcing the member states into retreat, the economic constitution of Europe strengthens their liberal foundation, securing their utility as the organised force of a mode of social reproduction founded on free labour. It develops the character of the liberal state as the political form of a free market economy with reference to Adam Smithâs classical political economy and the German ordoliberal tradition, which calls for a rule-based system of federated forms of economic governance to secure a free labour economy in conditions of mass democratic aspirations for a freedom from want. It explores the rationale of the ordoliberal distinction between the liberal character and the democratic character of the state and, in this context, assesses the meaning of liberal democracy in a post-democratic Eurozone
ReflexÔes sobre a forma de recrutamento das Forças Armadas Brasileiras e suas implicaçÔes para a defesa nacional
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