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The macroscale function of multicomponent polymeric materials is dependent on their phase-morphology. Here, we investigate the morphological structure of a multiblock copolymer consisting of poly(L-lactide) and poly(e-caprolactone) segments (PLLA-PCL), physically cross-linked by stereocomplexation with a low molecular weight poly(D-lactide) oligomer (PDLA). The effects of blend composition and PLLA-PCL molecular structure on the morphology are elucidated by AFM, TEM and SAXS. We identify the formation of a lattice pattern, composed of PLA domains within a PCL matrix, with an average domain spacing d0 = 12 – 19 nm. The size of the PLA domains were found to be proportional to the block length of the PCL segment of the copolymer and inversely proportional to the PDLA content of the blend. Changing the PLLA-PCL / PDLA ratio caused a shift in the melt transition Tm attributed to the PLA stereocomplex crystallites, indicating partial amorphous phase dilution of the PLA and PCL components within the semicrystalline material. By elucidating the phase structure and thermal character of multifunctional PLLA-PCL / PDLA blends, we illustrate how composition affects the internal structure and thermal properties of multicomponent polymeric materials. This study should facilitate the more effective incorporation of a variety of polymeric structural units capable of stimuli responsive phase transitions, where an understanding the phase-morphology of each component will enable the production of multifunctional soft-actuators with enhanced performance.

The variation of the molecular architecture of multiblock copolymers has enabled the introduction of functional behaviour and the control of key mechanical properties. In the current study, we explore the synergistic relationship of two structural components in a shape-memory material formed of a multiblock copolymer with crystallizable poly(epsilon-caprolactone) and crystallizable polyfoligo(3S-iso-butylmorpholine-2,5-dione) segments (PCL-PIBMD). The thermal and structural properties of PCL-PIBMD films were compared with PCI.-PU and PMMD-PU investigated by means of DSC, SAXS and WARS measurements. The shape-memory properties were quantified by cyclic, thermomechanical tensile tests, where deformation strains up to 900% were applied for programming PCL-PIBMD films at 50 degrees C. Toluene vapor treatment experiments demonstrated that the temporary shape was fixed mainly by glassy PIBMD domains at strains lower than 600% with the PCL contribution to fixation increasing to 42 +/- 2% at programming strains of 900% This study into the shape-memory mechanism of PCL-PIBMD provides insight into the structure function relation in multiblock copolymers with both crystallizable and glassy switching segments.

Introduction Regionalism has come to the fore in recent economic and political developments and has been an important subject of attention in contemporary political science. Especially with the EU’s rise to prominence over the last decades (despite the various setbacks), theorists have taken notice of the new forms of regional coordination not only there but in other parts of the world (e.g., Latin America, Southeast Asia), where these have largly centered on economic cooperation, though in some cases have involved political organization as well. Considerably less attention has been paid to the normative implications of these developments, though some theorists – especially of international law – have pointed to the regional human rights agreements that are beginning to be taken seriously, while others (especially of international relations) have commented on the democratic deficit in the EU. Although theorists of democracy and human rights have analyzed the justifications and roles that these norms play in national contexts and increasingly even in global contexts, scant attention has been given to their potential for guiding and constraining regional political and economic development. Instead, cosmopolitan theorists of democracy and of justice often want to move the discussion directly from the level of the nation-state to that of the world as a whole, with little analysis of the emerging regionalism, increasingly recognized as important in practical affairs and public policy.

How can we confront the problems of diminished democracy, pervasive economic inequality, and persistent global poverty? Is it possible to fulfill the dual aims of deepening democratic participation and achieving economic justice, not only locally but also globally? Carol C. Gould proposes an integrative and interactive approach to the core values of democracy, justice, and human rights, looking beyond traditional politics to the social conditions that would enable us to realize these aims. Her innovative philosophical framework sheds new light on social movements across borders, the prospects for empathy and solidarity with distant others, and the problem of gender inequalities in diverse cultures, and also considers new ways in which democratic deliberation can be enhanced by online networking and extended to the institutions of global governance. Her book will be of great interest to scholars and upper-level students of political philosophy, global justice, social and political science, and gender studies.

Introduction In this chapter, I analyze the concept of positive freedom more fully, retrieving it from critics like Berlin and defending its importance. I indicate how it differs from liberal conceptions of choice and autonomy, and indeed goes beyond even feminist reconceptions of autonomy in more social terms as “relational autonomy.” I want to explicate the ways in which positive freedom is a more open and dynamic conception than traditional understandings of liberty or freedom, and suggest that it is better able to take into account the interdependence of persons. When viewed in an intercultural context, moreover, the proposed understanding of freedom has implications for how we understand universality, and requires a norm of concrete universality. The first part of this chapter takes off from Isaiah Berlin’s critique of positive liberty, which has resonated through decades of liberal theory. Building on criticisms already advanced by C. B. Macpherson, I first indicate how – contrary to Berlin’s allegations – positive freedom does not in fact entail the mastery of the state or of a collectivity over the individuals within it. I then move to further explicate the conception of positive freedom, understanding it as self-developing or self-transformative activity, in a sense that requires the availability of a set of conditions, material and social. The positive freedom conception also presupposes the important notion of negative liberty, but in an interpretation that includes freedom from oppression, domination, or exploitation, as well as the traditional liberties. Yet, the notion of positive freedom points to the importance of economic and social human rights, in addition to civil and political ones (along with the significance of institutional design for fulfilling these human rights). It also gives rise to rights of democratic participation in a range of joint activities and institutional contexts, as discussed in Chapter 4. I focus here on the comparison of positive freedom with the ideas of autonomy and relational autonomy, and consider the implications of these various interpretations of freedom for the possibility of universal or fully global norms.

Introduction We have described some positive normative directions that are enabled by globalization’s facilitation of communication across borders. But equally striking is its facilitation of transnational forms of violence. Over the past period, we have witnessed salient examples of transnational violent terrorist attacks, as on 9/11, as well as transnational responses to them via the introduction of a coordinated security apparatus and the extension of forms of militarization across borders. Numerous other globalized forms of violence also permeate contemporary politics, including the proliferation of private military firms, transnational criminal and sex trade networks, and new forms of war-making tied to global economic and political processes. In this chapter, I want to consider how our conceptions of power and democracy can be expanded in order to better counter these forms of transnational violence. The empirical democratic peace hypothesis – that democratic states tend not to go to war against each other – is often introduced as evidence to support democratization as a way to mitigate violence between nation-states. But it is not clear whether or how such a hypothesis could apply to more transnational forms of violence, carried out especially by nonstate actors. Moreover, the conceptual interrelations that underlie this peace hypothesis and especially the connections between power, democracy, and violence are not well understood.

In light of the previous analysis of embodied politics, I would like now to consider the role that the idea of the social construction of race can play in democratic theory as well as take up certain hard questions that bear on the persistence of racism within democratic societies. I begin with the conceptual connection between the requirement of democracy and the critique of racism. I then turn to the issue of whether racial identity can be interpreted in cultural terms, taking up Anthony Appiah's argument on this point. Concerning the norms of democracy, I want to argue for a reinterpretation that draws on a conception of what I have called in Chapter 2 concrete universality. In this connection, while appreciating Charles Mills's trenchant critique of the “racial contract,” I suggest that his appeal to an ideal social contract, with its set of natural and human rights, does not yet provide an adequate normative basis for a fully nonracist democracy. Instead, we need a conception of inclusive, intercultural democratic communities, on a certain interpretation. In terms of this approach to group differences, I then briefly consider the potential impact of economic democracy for reducing racial divisiveness. As background for taking up these difficult questions, however, it is helpful at the outset to briefly review the present situation regarding racism and theories of democracy. Racism and Existing Democratic Frameworks Why does racism, as well as the idea of race itself, play almost no role in most democratic theories?

In her 2004 book Carol Gould addresses the fundamental issue of democratizing globalization, that is to say of finding ways to open transnational institutions and communities to democratic participation by those widely affected by their decisions. The book develops a framework for expanding participation in crossborder decisions, arguing for a broader understanding of human rights and introducing a new role for the ideas of care and solidarity at a distance. Reinterpreting the idea of universality to accommodate a multiplicity of cultural perspectives, the author takes up a number of applied issues, including the persistence of racism, cultural rights, women's human rights, the democratic management of firms, the use of the Internet to enhance political participation, and the importance of empathy and genuine democracy in understanding terrorism and responding to it. Accessibly written with a minimum of technical jargon this is a major contribution to political philosophy.