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In its juxtaposition of liberal government and terrorist violence, metropole and colony, Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent explores the imbrication of modes of biopolitical and necropolitical sovereignty. Taking as its starting point Achille Mbembe's concept of necropolitics, which has not yet been widely discussed in relation to Conrad's work, this essay argues that Conrad analyses a shift from biopolitical liberal democracy to necropolitical terror. Necropolitics, however, also forms the basis on which radically democratic communities of the biopolitically outcast can form communities of resistance to sovereign power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Authoritarian nationalism is on the rise in many countries around the world, threatening liberal democracies. Many on the left rightly fear that any and all celebrations of national identities risk heightening these dangers. It is questionable, however, whether illiberal nationalism can be defeated politically without some reliance on progressive stories of national identity that advance themes of equality, freedom, and inclusion in ways that resonate with many of the traditions in which those whom progressives seek to mobilize have been raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After a decade as the stand-out democracy of the Middle East, Tunisia took an anti-democratic turn in July 2021 with President Kaïs Saïed's self-coup. Using a survey fielded in the weeks after these reforms, this article documents the substantial support for liberal institutions and civil rights in Tunisia. Democracy itself, on the other hand, is not so strongly supported. The study thus identifies potential for democratic backsliding in Tunisia through the strategic implementation liberal but anti-democratic actions. Other would-be authoritarians could follow Saïed's model of strategic regression to autocratize their regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of African Journal of Reproductive Health is the property of Women's Health & Action Research Centre and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

How might an understanding of neoliberalism and its relationship to music education be important for music educators and their work? To answer this question, my editorial recounts the emergence of modern liberalism in the writings of philosophers during the European industrial revolution of the 18th century, then describes the 20th century beginnings of neoliberalism in Chile, Britain, and the United States and its subsequent disastrous effects worldwide. Neoliberalism's delegitimization of liberal democracy has been especially destructive. Contributors to the present issue of Action, Criticism, and Theory for Music Education describe neoliberalism's weakening effects on music education in Texas, U.S.A., in Aotearoa, New Zealand, and in Chile, also explaining how school music education advances neoliberal rationalities and how music entrepreneurship programs support students' indoctrination into neoliberal thinking. My argument ultimately points to ways music educators in liberal democratic nations can resist neoliberalism by helping to prepare students as critically astute citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The location and building of big hazardous infrastructures is a typical feature of the modernization process, in all countries and epochs. Since they are usually useful for a large region but their impact is very localized, the people living around the places where these facilities are active, or where their building is planned, very often organize and perform protest activities against them. Starting from the presentation of recent data about these issues in Italy, considered as a good example of a liberal democracy country, the article is set to discuss their social and political consequences, focusing in particular on the so-called “NIMBY syndrome”, its development and the strategies elaborated by public and private actors to cope with it.

In this paper we describe democracy and evidence of its erosion globally and in the US. Specific concerns about the erosion of democratic values are discussed, and how this erosion manifests in group behaviors. We call on group work to consider how the global expansion of repressive policies and practices that empower privileged and the elite impact group member participation, especially members of targeted minority groups. Through examples we demonstrate ways group work practice can champion the protection of all member voices, and preserve a structure and mechanisms that model such protections for all its participants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This introduction presents the articles contained in this special issue of Philosophy and Social Criticism on the topic of populism. It does so by placing them in the field of discussions that the standard conception of populism as 'illliberal democracy' has stimulated in many areas of the populism-research that was produced in response to the recent increase in populist governments in established constitutional democracies world-wide. Following the methodological canon of studies in the field, it presents the individual contributions roughly in three segments according to leading questions they focus on. In each segment, the introduction attempts to indicate the degree to which the articles depart and provide reasons for departing from the initial standard conception and thereby point to new relevant directions for further work. The first segment (articles 1. -4.) consists of essays that take on the definitional and empirical question of what and where populism is, and which varieties of it there are. The second segment (articles 5. -8.) presents new work focusing on the diagnostic question of what conditions and institutional conditions enable contemporary populism in established liberal constitutional representative democracies. They thus also aim at explaining or at least providing insight into the structures on the supply side (party politics) that make populism popular as an 'outsider option'. The third and largest segment (essays 9. -15.) comprises essays that present various approaches to answering the therapeutic question what democratic political systems and societies can do to confront, absorb or internalize the lessons from populist challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pursuit of the African Union Commission Agenda 2063's Africa of good governance, democracy and the rule of law, there is need to develop and strengthen democratic institutions of accountability, but there are questions about the suitability of liberal democracy for African countries. This study is informed by the qualitative methods employing secondary data analysis of democratic governance in Africa in a bid to establish why there appears to be a perennial democratic deficit. Findings reveal that, the solution may not lie in transplanting institutions of Western democracy to Africa. African states have made declarations purporting to promote democratic values to no avail. The study recommends the establishment of vibrant democratic institutions as necessary but not sufficient for democracy to thrive. Africa could come up with its own conception(s) of democracy through a model in this study which responds to its culture, economic and social needs to enable good governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the ways in which British socialism may have supported and strengthened liberal ideas held by postcolonial leaders who were educated in Britain. It attempts to do so by examining the role of liberalism in Harold Laski’s teaching at the London School of Economics and Political Science (1920-50), with particular attention to his Indian students. Laski, a self-declared Marxist, promoted socialism in his voluminous writings, frequent speeches, and in his lectures, which were attended by many future post-colonial leaders. Although often rigid in its adhesion to socialist dogma, Laski’s thought nevertheless reflected the malleability of political ideologies, incorporating liberal and pluralist elements in its makeup, which were in turn conveyed to students. This article focuses on how two former pupils, G.L. Mehta and Renuka Ray, responded to Laski’s thinking in the context of early Nehruvian India. Drawing on students’ lecture notes, political writings and assessments of their former professor, I suggest that Laski, and British socialism more generally, served to both radicalise students’ desire for economic planning while moderating their understanding of how to generate political change by reinforcing liberal norms, including a belief in constitutionalism and representative government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the challenges facing the Dutch Reformed Churches in the SouthAfrican liberal democracy. It is premised on the fact that the Dutch Reformed Churches areconfronted with a new context that places the church in a position to continue its work ofbearing witness in the new dispensation. Part of this reflection involved seeking out theBiblical principles and guidelines that Christians would have to take into account in associationwith the new political order.

The desirability of diversity is often mentioned, especially in liberal political philosophy. Diversity across a range of areas such as ethnicity and religion is regarded as adding to the flavour of democracy and enriching the nature of society. Opposed to this, however, is the desire of many in the state to restrict membership to those who are close to the majority population, and there are often rules to establish this sort of homogeneity. Sometimes the arguments for these restrictions on diversity are economic, sometimes they are based on security, and these arguments are clearly reasonable and have to be responded to by anyone in favour of increasing diversity. Here the discussion will be centred around not these pragmatic considerations but the idea that there is something to be said for preserving a degree of uniformity in the population of a country or region. تنوع درمجموعه‌‌ای از عرصه‌ها، همچون عرصة قومیت و دین، چاشنی دموکراسی و مایة غنای ماهیت جامعه تلقی می‌شود. اما بسیاری از دولتمردان تمایل دارند که اعضای دولت را به کسانی محدود سازند که به اکثریت نزدیک‌اند؛ و غالباً قوانینی هم برای تثبیت این‌ همگونی وجود دارد. دلایل این‌گونه محدودیت‌ها در باب تنوع، گاه اقتصادی، و گاه مبتنی بر امنیت‌اند. این دلایل به طور آشکار منطقی‌‌اند و طرفدار افزایش تنوع باید نسبت به آنها پاسخ‌گو باشد. درمقالة حاضر، نه بر ملاحظات عملی، بلکه بر این ایده متمرکز خواهم شد که برای حفظ میزانی از هم‌شکلی در جمعیت یک کشور یا منطقه، لازم است چیزی برای مطرح کردن وجود داشته باشد. در اینجا می‌توان مطلب را با نظریة عصبیت ابن‌خلدون که بیانگر اهمیت میزانی از انسجام میان اعضای جامعه است، و نیز با این تصور آغاز کنیم که یقیناً او این ضرورت را ابراز می‌دارد تا انسجام مطلوب بر پایة چیزی حاصل آید که شهروندان در آن احساس مشارکت عمومی داشته باشند. پس می‌توان گفت که اگر تنوع به ضعف عصبیت منجر شود، نامطلوب است.

Copyright of Beytulhikme: An International Journal of Philosophy is the property of Beytulhikme: An International Journal of Philosophy and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Classical republicanism and classical liberalism divide on the understanding of freedom, the one taking it as non-domination, the other as non-interference. And essentially the same division survives today, with serious policy implications, between neo-republicanism and neo-liberalism. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The paper argues that the integration of faith-based schools into New Zealand's secular democratic society is compromised by the localisation of the country's national curriculum. The argument is illustrated by a small study undertaken at a Muslim girls' secondary school. Significant dilemmas were encountered by the school as it sought to align its curriculum to the liberal principles and values in the national curriculum. New Zealand, as a modern, pluralist society built on liberal principles and values, has a long tradition of integrating diverse groups in order to create a cohesive society with the education system serving as the main site for integration. The post-1990s' shift to the localisation of that system changed the nature of the integration process leading to the possibility of permanent segregation for some groups. We identify the localised character of New Zealand education through its community-responsive curriculum, rather than the existence of diverse groups themselves, as a contributor to segregation with negative consequences for the country's social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Commentary on Judith Shklar's skepticism has ranged from the claim that it was not the central characteristic of her thought to the argument that it seriously hobbled her thinking about justice. In fact Shklar's uniqueness as a thinker resides precisely in the fact that she combined a sweeping skepticism with a strong commitment to liberal justice. Skepticism interacted with her liberal moral commitments to inspire her account of injustice, without which her views about justice are impossible to grasp. Shklar's skepticism produced her laser-like focus on sources of injustice and oppression for the individual, whom she perceived to be potentially threatened no less by tribe, nation, family, or a democratic citizens' community than by the state itself. It produced not only her highly original insights into the inadequacy of all existing models of justice, but also her subtle yet concerted effort to render democracy safe for liberalism in political theory while at the same make liberalism more egalitarian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevailing social model among the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) in South Korea is to maintain somewhat sexually free but separate social enclaves. This strategy avoids significant public backlash and government oppression. However, the situation leaves them without legal protection, social acceptance or significant public space for expressing their sexual identity. Supporters of greater integration pursue a politically activist model, which advocates government recognition and protection of the LGBT as an oppressed minority. This strategy faces determined opposition from some Christian groups and a mostly indifferent public. We highlight a complementary "bridging-dialogue" model in which individual LGBT persons nurture communicative social ties with members of the larger society in ostensibly non-political settings. Although emerging and limited, the bridging strategy attracts many more participants than does identity politics and generates genuine dialogue and other social exchange among different groups, including conservative Christians and foreign-origin LGBTs. Bridging dialogue also appeals to a younger generation of Koreans, who are more tolerant of and curious about ethnic and sexual diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deliberative democracy is an account of legitimacy and participation whose purposes are to produce justifiable political outcomes and to involve the citizens in productive conversations with each other. This article argues for a greater reliance on the efforts of local conversational participants in the institutional construction process. Because of their epistemic advantages, local participants are usually the agents who are most optimally positioned to construct the deliberative institutions. As such, institutionalized deliberation ought not to be seen as an orderly event that is capable of being planned out beforehand by philosophers, but rather as a complex process that flourishes when the conversation is developing--as much as is practicable--on its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I examine criticism of Hauerwas's critique of American democracy and liberalism, and of American violence and war, as sectarian and politically irrelevant. This twin account has the merit of engaging his critics from left and right. I show that his critique of American Christians, and their support of America's ways of promoting justice and freedom at home and in the world, has analogies with Foucault's genealogical project in France, and represents a more powerful critique of American imperialism and militarism, and of a compliant church, than efforts to sustain the purchase of rights talk or liberal justice in contemporary theological ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent centuries liberal democracies have amassed a remarkable record of performative excellence. But contemporary statistical evidence points to an ongoing and startling decline in the civic involvement of their citizens. In this article I use the problem of civic nonparticipation to unpack the interaction of institutions and the dispositions of citizens in liberal democracies. Currently the approach that political philosophers take to the civic nonparticipation problem is dominated by an institutional priority view. I develop a mutual reinforcement alternative to the institutional priority view. By mutual reinforcement I mean the idea that the successful operation of institutions and the dispositions of citizens in liberal democracies tend naturally to reinforce each other's orientation toward liberal-democratic ends. I conclude the article by noting that mutual reinforcement provides us with a more productive way of thinking about issues of civic participation than institutional priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to open a new line of debate about religion in public schools by focusing on religious ideals. The article begins with an elucidation of the concept ‘religious ideals’ and an explanation of the notion of reasonable pluralism, in order to be able to explore the dangers and positive contributions of religious ideals and their pursuit on a liberal democratic society. We draw our examples of religious ideals from Christianity and Islam, because these religions have most adherents in Western liberal democracies that are the focus of this article. The fifth and most important section “Reasonable pluralism and the inclusion of religious ideals in public secondary schools” provides three arguments for our claim that public schools should include religious ideals, namely that they are important to religious people, that they are conducive for the development of pupils into citizens of a liberal democracy, and that the flourishing of pupils as adults is advanced by encountering religious ideals. We also offer a more practical reason: religious ideals can more easily be included within public education than religious dogmas and rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study identifies the leadership styles and characteristics most used by the Honorable Deputies of Chile in their relations with immediate collaborators, such as advisors and secretaries. Analysis is based on the theory of "three leadership styles" and "transformational leadership." A sample was taken of sixty-four (64) Deputies and sixty-four (64) advisors and secretaries. Results indicated that perceptions in both segments are very close. In general, when faced with direct questions, the predominant leadership style is "democratic"; nevertheless, when confronted with indirect questions, the outstanding tendency is toward the "authoritarian" style. Likewise, when analyzing the diverse behaviors often practiced by the parliamentarians, characterization approaches "transformational leadership." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the wake of the first ever Al Qaeda-inspired bombings in Britain in July 2005, there has been much discussion about the appropriate form(s) of counter-terrorism response. This article focuses on one aspect of the “war on terror” usually afforded less prominence than other counter-terrorist measures; namely a range of existing and proposed constraints on media freedom and the constitutional/human rights issues provoked. The United Kingdom is the focus because terrorism laws intended for the ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland have been replaced by legislation in 2000 and 2001 claimed to reflect the changed nature of terrorism and that arguably has serious implications for freedom of expression. Measures that would impact adversely on speech are being debated in Parliament presently, measures that go considerably further than the previous bans on the direct broadcasting of Sinn Féin representatives and their sympathisers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]