From dissociated hegemony towards embedded hegemony: Multilateralism as a by-product of American security concerns

An earlier paper by the second author, entitled ‘Bella Americana: Some Consequences for the International Community’, dealt with the background and consequences of the American dissociation from the international legal and political order created after World War II. The current article examines this divergence in the light of United States foreign policy in general, pointing out that hegemony, unilateralism and pre-emptive strike together represent a certain ‘constant’ in American foreign policy. The article then examines the so called ‘war on terror’, trying to understand its flaws within the context of American strategic culture. Arguably, however, what has changed after 9/11 is not just the nature of security threats as such but also the global environment in which these manifest themselves. Taking supremacy of the world’s military, technological and financial-economic superpower as a basis for further analysis, the issue becomes how to get that hegemony embedded in a multilateral setting. Here the notion of ‘policy by-products’ appears to open new venues. Continuing unilateralism, the article argues, would constitute a serious threat to American security proper

TEOCRACIA, DEMOCRACIA Y SECULARIZACIÓN ¿HAY ESPACIO PARA EL ACUERDO?

In various countries with a deeply-rooted democratic tradition, there have been serious cases of anxiety about the Islamic theocratic menace. Two questions stand out: if today there is a real confrontation between democracy and theocracy; and if so, what room is there for agreement? This article tackles these two questions at the global, national and local levels, with two methods to regulate possible conflicts of public interest: supervision through vigilance and, where necessary, enforcement by judicial decisions; then, approval of measures directed towards consensus to increase receptivity of the norms and values on which democracy and the Rule of Law rest. Democracy consists of the founding principles of universality and human dignity and values such as liberty, equality, due process and the sanctity of human life. Those principles and values need the dynamic that nourishes and sustains them. Religion must not be considered only as a rival context that can cause theocratic threats, but also as a context that possibly has to be employed in the effort to ensure a sustainable democracy.En varios países de arraigada tradición democrática, se han producido casos serios de ansiedad frente a la amenaza teocrática de origen musulmán. Destacan dos cuestiones: Si hay hoy una confrontación real entre democracia y teocracia; y, si la hay, ¿hay espacio para el acuerdo? Abordaremos estas dos cuestiones tanto en el plano mundial como en el nacional y local, con dos métodos con los que regular posibles conflictos de interés público: La supervisión mediante la vigilancia y, donde sea necesario, aplicación de decisiones judiciales; después, la aprobación de medidas orientadas al consenso para incrementar la receptividad de las normas y los valores sobre los que descansan la democracia y el imperio de la ley. La democracia consiste en los principios fundacionales de la universalidad y de la dignidad humana y valores como la libertad, igualdad, el debido proceso y la sacralidad de la vida humana. Esos principios y valores necesitan de dinámicas que los nutran y los sostengan. La religión no debe ser estudiada solo como un contexto rival que pudiera provocar amenazas teocráticas, sino también como un contexto que posiblemente haya que habilitar en el esfuerzo para asegurar una democracia sostenible

Beyond the merchant and the clergyman: assessing moral claims about development cooperation

This article proposes to move beyond the categories of altruism and self-interest in the analyses of the motives for development cooperation. This opposition ignores the inherently moral nature of development policy. The article illustrates the shortcomings of such a perspective by tracing the metaphor of the merchant and the clergyman as archetypical figures shaping Dutch development policy. Through these images the suggestion of an opposition between moral and amoral motives in the history of development has gained a strong foothold within the interplay of scholars, policy makers and public opinion. We go on to assess claims about economy, security, solidarity, prestige and guilt, and ecology, which have been brought forward to legitimise Dutch foreign aid. This analysis calls for research on the dynamics of the transnational exchanges of ideas, interests and expectations, especially during episodes when the moral validity of policy has been explicitly contested

God and the Goods. : Global economy in a civilizational perspective.

Geneva100 p.; 22 cm

Religious Identity, Difference and Human Rights: the Crucial Role of Hermeneutics

غالباً دو پرسش اساسی درباره روایات تفسیرپذیر دینی و تفاسیر آنها مطرح است: نخست، خداوند چه تکالیفی را تعیین و چه حقوقی را اعطاء کرده است که در مورد همه انسان‌ها کاربرد دارند؟ و پرسش دوم اینکه آیا انسان‌ها صلاحیت کافی دارند که در کلام غیر واضح خدا، به خاطر منافع سیاسی، اجتماعی یا اقتصادینقص بر رحمت خداوند را ممکن بدانند؟ این مقاله با بررسی پاسخ‌های مطرح برای پرسش‌های پیش‌گفته به بحث پیرامون فرصت‌های بهره برداری نشده از تنوع باورهای انسانی و منافع بالقوه آن به منظور تضمین احترام به حقوق بشر، تقدس روح انسان و تنوع ابزارهایی می‌پردازد که فضای لازم را برای تصمیم‌گیری از منظر تفاوت انسان‌ها فراهم می‌سازند. �رفت که جز تبعیض ثمری نخواهد داشت؟ در این نوشتار پاسخ به این پرسش‌ها و نظایر آنها در پرتو مفهوم «شهروندی جهانی» هدفی است که پی گرفته می‌شود. کلیدواژه‌ه