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giovedì 22 luglio 2010

Nuovo arrivo

A World Made New: Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Mary Ann Glendon








In 1947, in a world recently ripped apart by the Holocaust, a devastating war and mass displacement, the very idea of a Universal Declaration of Human Rights seemed both impossible and supremely necessary. As the specter of the Cold War loomed, a U.N. delegation, chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, began writing what would become the world's first standard statement of human rights. Glendon, a professor of law at Harvard University, has written a compelling, at times thrilling account of how Roosevelt and her cohorts argued and cajoled one another through a series of intellectual, political and moral positions, finally hammering out a statement that was acceptable across national, religious and philosophical lines. While Glendon successfully traces the evolution of the documentAwhich was ratified on December 10, 1948, after six drafts and much debate by the U.N. General AssemblyAshe also presents a richly textured portrait of a woman driven to public service while simultaneously grieving for her late husband. Roosevelt's politics were also at issue: at one point, she resigned from the U.N. over the U.S. government's initial disapproval of the creation of Israel. Glendon concludes with a legal analysis of the declaration and a lengthy discussion of its applicability today, when many non-Western nations (such as China) claim that the concept of "universal" human rights precepts precludes an acceptance of cultural differences. Glendon's work is a welcome addition to the realm of international law and to the growing body of literature on Eleanor Roosevelt's role in modern politics. Agents, Lynn Chu and Glen Hartley, Writer's Representatives.

lunedì 19 luglio 2010

mercoledì 14 luglio 2010

Nuovo arrivo

Reclaiming Patriotism:
Nation-Building for Australian Progressives
Tim Soutphommasane

Anteprima del libro


Affronted by the xenophobic nationalists who stalked the land during the Howard years, many progressive Australians have rejected a love of country, forgetting that there is a patriotism of the liberal left that at different times has advanced liberty, egalitarianism, and democratic citizenship. Tim Soutphommasane, a first-generation Australian and political philosopher who has journeyed from Sydney's western suburbs to Oxford University, re-imagines patriotism as a generous sentiment of democratic renewal and national belonging. In accessible prose, he explains why our political leaders will need to draw upon the better angels of patriotism if they hope to inspire citizens for nation-building, and indeed persuade them to make sacrifices in the hard times ahead. As we debate the twenty-first century challenges of reconciliation and a republic, citizenship and climate change, Reclaiming Patriotism proposes a narrative we have to have.
Contents
Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. The dog whistle excuse; 2. Liberal patriotism and an Australian tradition; 3. Citizenship and multiculturalism; 4. Australian progressives and nation-building; 5. Republican renewal; 6. Reclaiming patriotism; Notes; Index.

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Rethinking asylum: history, purpose, and limits
Matthew E. Price

Anteprima del libro



Each year, hundreds of thousands of people apply for asylum in Europe, North America, and Australia. Some fear political persecution and genocide; some are escaping civil war or environmental catastrophe; others flee poverty, crime, or domestic violence. Who should qualify for asylum? Traditionally, asylum has been reserved for the targets of government persecution, but many believe that its scope should be widened to protect others exposed to serious harm. Matthew Price argues for retaining asylum's focus on persecution - even as other types of refugee aid are expanded - and offers a framework for deciding what constitutes persecution. Asylum, he argues, not only protects refugees but also expresses political values by condemning states for mistreating those refugees. Price's argument explains not only why asylum remains politically relevant and valuable, but also why states should dismantle many of the barriers they have erected against asylum seekers over the last fifteen years.
• A provocative answer to the question of who should be eligible for asylum • Argues that asylum's value lies in expressing condemnation for serious human rights violations, and allows states to show their condemnation of other states • Will appeal to a diverse readership including political scientists, political philosophers and legal academics as well as lawyers practising in immigration/refugee law, human rights professionals and lay readers interested in refugees, immigration and human rights.

Nuovo arrivo

The Morality of Freedom
Raz Joseph




This book explores, within a liberal framework, the nature, significance, and justification of political freedom or liberty. Against recent liberal positions, it is argued that political morality is neither rights-based, nor equality-based. What underlies rights, and the value of freedom, is a concern with autonomy. Autonomy requires, among other things, that individuals have an array of valuable options to choose from. The realm of values is marked by pluralism, incommensurability, and a dependence on social forms. Individualism is rejected and the importance of collective goods is given due emphasis. Though it is often assumed that liberal states must be committed to neutrality about valuable options, it is contended here that a concern with autonomy is perfectly consistent with perfectionism. The book also contains an extensive discussion of the connection between freedom and political authority.

Nuovo arrivo

Overcoming Historical Injustices: Land Reconciliation in South Africa
James L. Gibson

Anteprima del lilbro


Overcoming Historical Injustices is the last entry in Gibson's 'overcoming trilogy' on South Africa's transformation from apartheid to democracy. Focusing on the issue of historical land dispossessions - the taking of African land under colonialism and apartheid - this book investigates the judgements South Africans make about the fairness of their country's past. Should, for instance, land seized under apartheid be returned today to its rightful owner? Gibson's research zeroes in on group identities and attachments as the thread that connects people to the past. Even when individuals have experienced no direct harm in the past, they care about the fairness of the treatment of their group to the extent that they identify with that group. Gibson's analysis shows that land issues in contemporary South Africa are salient, volatile, and enshrouded in symbols and, most important, that interracial differences in understandings of the past and preferences for the future are profound.
• Based on interview data from a large, nationally representative sample of South Africans conducted in seven South African languages • Applies sophisticated theories of group attachments and identities to the politics of land, considering the political implications of land ownership • Employs experiments embedded within a nationally representative survey, allowing causal inferences
Contents
1. Land reconciliation and theories of justice, past and present; 2. Naming, blaming, and claiming on historical land injustices: the views of the South African people; 3. Group identities and land policy preferences; 4. Applied justice judgments: the problem of squatting; 5. Judging the past: historical versus contemporary claims to land; 6. Land reconciliation and theories of justice; References; Appendix A. A note on race in South Africa; Appendix B. The survey methodology; Appendix C. The questionnaire.



Nuovo arrivo

The Politics of Citizenship in Europe
Marc Morjé Howard
Georgetown University, Washington DC

Anteprima del libro



In this book, Marc Morjé Howard addresses immigrant integration, one of the most critical challenges facing European countries today, the resolution of which will in large part depend on how foreigners can become citizens. Howard’s research shows that despite remarkable convergence in their economic, judicial, and social policies, the countries of the European Union still maintain very different definitions of citizenship. Based on an innovative measure of national citizenship policies, the book accounts for both historical variation and contemporary change. Howard’s historical explanation highlights the legacies of colonialism and early democratization, which unintentionally created relatively inclusive citizenship regimes. The contemporary analysis explores why some of the more restrictive countries have liberalized in recent decades, whereas others have not. Howard’s argument focuses on the politics of citizenship, showing in particular how anti-immigrant public opinion – when activated politically, usually by far right movements or public referenda – can block the liberalizing tendencies of political elites. Overall, the book shows the far-reaching implications of this growing and volatile issue.

Nuovo arrivo

International Refugee Law And Socio-Economic Rights: Refuge From Deprivation synopsis
Michelle Foster



A range of emerging refugee claims is beginning to challenge the boundaries of the Refugee Convention regime and question traditional distinctions between 'economic migrants' and 'political refugees'. This book identifies the conceptual and analytical challenges presented by claims based on socio-economic deprivation, and undertakes an assessment of the extent to which these challenges may be overcome by a creative interpretation of the Refugee Convention, consistent with correct principles of international treaty interpretation. The central argument is that, notwithstanding the dichotomy between 'economic migrants' and 'political refugees', the Refugee Convention is capable of accommodating a more complex analysis which recognizes that many claims based on socio-economic deprivation are indeed properly considered within the purview of the Refugee Convention. This, the first book to consider these issues, will be of great interest to refugee law scholars, advocates, decision-makers and non-governmental organizations

Nuovo arrivo

The Cosmopolitan Imagination
The Renewal of Critical Social Theory
Gerard Delanty

University of Sussex


Anteprima del libro





Gerard Delanty provides a comprehensive assessment of the idea of cosmopolitanism in social and political thought which links cosmopolitan theory with critical social theory. He argues that cosmopolitanism has a critical dimension which offers a solution to one of the weaknesses in the critical theory tradition: failure to respond to the challenges of globalization and intercultural communication. Critical cosmopolitanism, he proposes, is an approach that is not only relevant to social scientific analysis but also normatively grounded in a critical attitude. Delanty's argument for a critical, sociologically oriented cosmopolitanism aims to avoid, on the one hand, purely normative conceptions of cosmopolitanism and, on the other, approaches that reduce cosmopolitanism to the empirical expression of diversity. He attempts to take cosmopolitan theory beyond the largely Western context with which it has generally been associated, claiming that cosmopolitan analysis must now take into account non-Western expressions of cosmopolitanism.

Nuovo arrivo

Measuring Justice
Primary Goods and Capabilities
Harry Brighouse
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Ingrid Robeyns
Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

Anteprima del libro



This book brings together a team of leading theorists to address the question 'What is the right measure of justice?' Some contributors, following Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, argue that we should focus on capabilities, or what people are able to do and to be. Others, following John Rawls, argue for focussing on social primary goods, the goods which society produces and which people can use. Still others see both views as incomplete and complementary to one another. Their essays evaluate the two approaches in the light of particular issues of social justice – education, health policy, disability, children, gender justice – and the volume concludes with an essay by Amartya Sen, who originated the capabilities approach.
• Introduces theoretical discussions which are accessible for non-specialists by incorporating debates about particular sectors of justice • Includes a contribution from Thomas Pogge which has previously been difficult for scholars to obtain • Introduction sets the terms of debate in historical context, providing a background for the reader.

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Contention and Corporate Social Responsibility
Sarah A. Soule
Stanford University, California

Anteprima del libro



This book examines anti-corporate activism in the United States, including analysis of anti-corporate challenges associated with social movements as diverse as the Civil Rights Movement and the Dolphin-safe Tuna Movement. Using a unique dataset of protest events in the United States, the book shows that anti-corporate activism is primarily about corporate policies, products, and negligence. Although activists have always been distrustful of corporations and sought to change them, until the 1970s and 1980s, this was primarily accomplished via seeking government regulation of corporations or via organized labor. Sarah A. Soule traces the shift brought about by deregulation and the decline in organized labor, which prompted activists to target corporations directly, often in combination with targeting the state. Using the literatures on contentious and private politics, which are both essential for understanding anti-corporate activism, the book provides a nuanced understanding of the changing focal points of activism directed at corporations.
• Historic view of anti-corporate activism that sheds light on contemporary trends • Bridging political science, sociology, and organizational studies with integrative literature reviews and synthetic theoretical treatment • Empirical analyses of the effect of activism on corporate financial performance and corporate social performance (e.g. policies)

Nuovo arrivo

Civilising Globalisation
Human Rights and the Global Economy
David Kinley
University of Sydney


Anteprima del libro




Economic globalisation and universal human rights both have the aspiration and power to improve and enrich individuals and communities. However, their respective institutions, methods, practices and goals differ, leading to both detrimental clashes and beneficial synergies. David Kinley analyses how human rights intersect with the trade, aid and commercial dimensions of global economic relations, taking the view that, while the global economy is a vitally important civilising instrument, it itself requires civilising according to human rights standards. Combining meticulous research with highly informed views and experiences, he outlines the intellectual, policy and practical frameworks for ensuring that the global economy advances the ends of human rights, argues for better exploitation of the global economy's capacity to distribute as well as create wealth, and proposes mechanisms by which to minimise and manage the socially debilitating effects of its market failures and financial meltdowns.
• Blends the disciplines of economics, human rights, law and politics to produce a coherent thesis of what needs to be done to make sure that the global economy serves the interests of the many and not just the few • Provides readers with the philosophical tools, the facts and the figures to explain how economic aid can better protect the human rights of the poor • Explores the responsibilities of global economic actors to respect people's human rights, building a persuasive case for why and how these duties ought to be reconfigured and enforced • Draws on a wide range of illuminating cases, materials and arguments to demonstrate how, in the wake of a global financial crisis, human rights responsibilities can be met while simultaneously promoting global economic growth

Nuovo arrivo

Indivisible Territory and the Politics of Legitimacy
Jerusalem and Northern Ireland
Stacie E. Goddard




In Jerusalem and Northern Ireland, territorial disputes have often seemed indivisible, unable to be solved through negotiation, and prone to violence and war. This book challenges the conventional wisdom that these conflicts were the inevitable result of clashing identities, religions, and attachments to the land. On the contrary, it was radical political rhetoric, and not ancient hatreds, that rendered these territories indivisible.
Stacie Goddard traces the roots of territorial indivisibility to politicians’ strategies for legitimating their claims to territory. When bargaining over territory, politicians utilize rhetoric to appeal to their domestic audiences and undercut the claims of their opponents. However, this strategy has unintended consequences; by resonating with some coalitions and appearing unacceptable to others, politicians’ rhetoric can lock them into positions in which they are unable to recognize the legitimacy of their opponent’s demands. As a result, politicians come to negotiations with incompatible claims, constructing territory as indivisible.

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Terrorism and Torture
An Interdisciplinary Perspective
Edited by:

Werner G. K. Stritzke
University of Western Australia, Perth
Stephan Lewandowsky
University of Western Australia, Perth
David Denemark
University of Western Australia, Perth
Joseph Clare
University of Western Australia, Perth
Frank Morgan
University of Western Australia, Perth




Terrorism and torture are twin evils that have dominated news headlines - particularly since the horrifying events of 9/11. In this thought-provoking volume, scholars from a diverse range of disciplines examine the complex motivational and situational factors contributing to terrorist acts and state-sponsored torture, and the potential linkage between those two heinous human behaviors. They also consider the strategies that might reduce the threat of future terrorist acts, and the perceived necessity to engage in morally reprehensible - and often illegal - torture practices. With its integrated synthesis of contemporary theories and research on the complex dynamics of the terrorism-torture link, this is an authoritative source for scholars and students of psychology, criminal justice, law, media, communication studies, and political science. It will also appeal to students of other disciplines with an interest in the study of terrorism and torture.
• Analyses the complex relations between terrorism and torture from different perspectives • Provides an overview of the links between key factors influencing terrorism and torture • An international collaboration between experts from the fields of criminal justice, law, crime prevention, psychology, media studies, and political science.

Nuovo arrivo

Constituting Equality
Gender Equality and Comparative Constitutional Law
Edited by
Susan H. Williams

Anteprima del libro

Constituting Equality addresses the question, how would you write a constitution if you really cared about gender equality? The book takes a design-oriented approach to the broad range of issues that arise in constitutional drafting concerning gender equality. Each section of the book examines a particular set of constitutional issues or doctrines across a range of different countries to explore what works, where, and why. Topics include (1) governmental structure (particularly electoral gender quotas); (2) rights provisions; (3) constitutional recognition for cultural or religious practices that discriminate against women; (4) domestic incorporation of international law; and (5) the role of women in the process of constitution-making. Interdisciplinary in orientation and global in scope, the book provides a menu for constitutional designers and others interested in how the fundamental legal order might more effectively promote gender equality.
• Design-oriented - addressed to the question of how to draft or revise a constitution to promote gender equality • Interdisciplinary - includes chapters by political scientists and public activists as well as law professors • Global - includes contributors from every continent except Antarctica

Nuovo arrivo

NGOs and Corporations
Conflict and Collaboration
Michael Yaziji
IMD, Lausanne
Jonathan Doh
Villanova University, Pennsylvania

Anteprima del libro




We live in a period marked by the ascendency of corporations. At the same time, the number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – such as Amnesty International, CARE, Greenpeace, Oxfam, Save the Children, and the WWF – has rapidly increased in the last twenty years. As a result, these two very different types of organization are playing an increasingly important role in shaping our society, yet they often have very different agendas. This book focuses on the dynamic interactions, both conflictual and collaborative, that exist between corporations and NGOs. It includes rigorous models, frameworks, and case studies to document the various ways that NGOs target corporations through boycotts, proxy campaigns, and other advocacy initiatives. It also explains the emerging pattern of cross-sectoral alliances and partnerships between corporations and NGOs. This book can help managers, activists, scholars, and students to better understand the nature, scope, and evolution of these complex interactions.
• Provides a nuanced view of the relationship between NGOs and corporations by discussing both conflict and collaboration • Includes numerous case studies of NGO-corporate interactions allowing readers to see how NGOs and corporations interact in practice • Gives readers a broad introduction to NGOs with an extensive literature review.

Nuovo arrivo

Child Soldiers
Sierra Leone's Revolutionary United Front
Myriam Denov
McGill University, Montréal

Anteprima del libro




Tragically, violence and armed conflict have become commonplace in the lives of many children around the world. Not only have millions of children been forced to witness war and its atrocities, but many are drawn into conflict as active participants. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Sierra Leone during its 11-year civil war. Drawing upon in-depth interviews and focus groups with former child soldiers of Sierra Leone's rebel Revolutionary United Front, Myriam Denov compassionately examines how child soldiers are initiated into the complex world of violence and armed conflict. She also explores the ways in which the children leave this world of violence and the challenges they face when trying to renegotiate their lives and self-concepts in the aftermath of war. The narratives of the Sierra Leonean youth demonstrate that their life histories defy the narrow and limiting portrayals presented by the media and popular discourse.
• The civil war in Sierra Leone was one of the most startling cases of the use of child soldiers with an estimated 48,000 children as combatants, 80% of whom were between the ages of 7 and 14 • Goes beyond mere description to provide a theoretical and conceptual framework for understanding the lives and realities of child soldiers in Sierra Leone • Pays particular attention to the experiences and perspectives of girls and their post-conflict needs and realities, challenging the invisibility of gender in most academic and policy literature on armed conflict

Nuovo arrivo

Is Democracy Exportable?
Edited by

Zoltan Barany
University of Texas, Austin
Robert G. Moser
University of Texas, Austin





Can democratic states transplant the seeds of democracy into developing countries? What have political thinkers going back to the Greek city-states thought about their capacity to promote democracy? How can democracy be established in divided societies? In this timely volume a distinguished group of political scientists seeks answers to these and other fundamental questions behind the concept known as “democracy promotion.” Following an illuminating concise discussion of what political philosophers from Plato to Montesquieu thought about the issue, the authors explore the structural preconditions (culture, divided societies, civil society) as well as the institutions and processes of democracy building (constitutions, elections, security sector reform, conflict, and trade). Along the way they share insights about what policies have worked, which ones need to be improved or discarded, and, more generally, what advanced democracies can do to further the cause of democratization in a globalizing world. In other words, they seek answers to the question, Is democracy exportable?

Nuovo arrivo

Cosmopolitan Regard
Political Membership and Global Justice
Richard Vernon


Anteprima del libro



Cosmopolitan theory suggests that we should shift our moral attention from the local to the global. Richard Vernon argues, however, that if we adopt cosmopolitan beliefs about justice we must re-examine our beliefs about political obligation. Far from undermining the demands of citizenship, cosmopolitanism implies more demanding political obligations than theories of the state have traditionally recognized. Using examples including humanitarian intervention, international criminal law, and international political economy, Vernon suggests we have a responsibility not to enhance risks facing other societies and to assist them when their own risk-taking has failed. The central arguments in Cosmopolitan Regard are that what we owe to other societies rests on the same basis as what we owe to our own, and that a theory of cosmopolitanism must connect the responsibilities of citizens beyond their own borders with their obligations to one another.
• Seeks to redefine 'cosmopolitanism' as something that arises from citizenship, rather than competing with it • Explains what we owe to other societies as requirements of our own political obligations • Discusses critically some of the major current approaches to global justice.

Nuovo arrivo

Human Security and Non-Citizens
Law, Policy and International Affairs
Edited by

The past decades have seen enormous changes in our perceptions of 'security', the causes of insecurity and the measures adopted to address them. Threats of terrorism and the impacts of globalisation and mass migration have shaped our identities, politics and world views. This volume of essays analyses these shifts in thinking and, in particular, critically engages with the concept of 'human security' from legal, international relations and human rights perspectives. Contributors consider the special circumstances of non-citizens, such as refugees, migrants, and displaced and stateless persons, and assess whether, conceptually and practically, 'human security' helps to address the multiple challenges they face.
• Provides a critical review of the emerging concept of human security within the specific context of displacement, migration and counter-terrorism • Interdisciplinary approach to theories of security will appeal to lawyers, international relations scholars and policy makers who wish to understand modern security debates in context • Analyses the different contexts of displacement and migration, helping the reader understand the causes and consequences of displacement and migration.

Nuovo arrivo

The Conduct of Hostilities Under the Law of International Armed Conflict
Yoram Dinstein




This is the seminal textbook on the law of international armed conflict, written by a leading commentator on the subject. The new edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, taking into account new developments in combat, numerous recent judicial cases (especially decisions rendered by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia), as well as topical studies and instruments. The text clarifies complex issues, offering solutions to practical combat dilemmas that have emerged in present-day battlefield situations. Several current (and controversial) subjects are examined in depth, including direct participation in hostilities, human shields, and air and missile warfare. Useful definitions and explanations have been added, making intricate problems easier to comprehend. The book is designed not only for students of international law, but also as a tool for the instruction of military officers.
• The definitive text on the conduct of hostilities by foremost commentator • Topical exploration, focusing on recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan • Successfully balances academic rigour and clear explanation.

Nuovo arrivo

Legitimacy, Justice and Public International Law
Edited by
Lukas H. Meyer

Do states or individuals stand under duties of international justice to people who live elsewhere and to other states? How are we to assess the legitimacy of international institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Security Council? Should we support reforms of international institutions and how should we go about assessing alternative proposals of such reforms? The book brings together leading scholars of public international law, jurisprudence and international relations, political philosophers and political theorists to explore the central notions of international legitimacy and global justice. The essays examine how these notions are related and how understanding the relationships will help us comparatively assess the validity of proposals for the reform of international institutions and public international law.
• Interdisciplinary perspective includes contributions by scholars of public international law, jurisprudence and international relations, political philosophers and political theorists • International backgrounds of contributors allow reader to learn about influential approaches and schools, and how they differ and complement one another • Contributions on central notions and their practical validity allow reader to learn about different levels of abstraction, modes of normative analysis and their relevance for policy-making.

Nuovo arrivo

The Ethos of Europe
Values, Law and Justice in the EU
Andrew Williams
University of Warwick

Can the EU become a 'just' institution? Andrew Williams considers this highly charged political and moral question by examining the role of five salient values said to be influential in the governance and law of the Union: peace, the rule of law, respect for human rights, democracy, and liberty. He assesses each of these as elements of an apparent 'institutional ethos' and philosophy of EU law and finds that justice as a governing ideal has failed to be taken seriously in the EU. To remedy this condition, he proposes a new set of principles upon which justice might be brought more to the fore in the Union's governance. By focusing on the realisation of human rights as a core institutional value, Williams argues that the EU can better define its moral limits so as to evolve as a more just project.
• Explores the history of key values in the EU, helping readers interpret the nature and influence of values on the law and actions of the EU • Provides a framework for analysis of the ethical dimensions of the EU and a means by which the history and current practices of the EU institutions can be better understood • Proposes a philosophical framework for redesigning the law and practice of the EU, which allows readers to contemplate new directions for the EU to follow

Nuovo arrivo

Reason, Religion, and Democracy
Dennis C. Mueller


Anteprima del libro


This book also emphasizes the difference between religion and science as means for understanding causal relationships, but it focuses much more heavily on the challenge religious extremism poses for liberal democratic institutions. The treatment contains a discussion of human psychology, describes the salient characteristics of all religions, and contrasts religion and science as systems of thought. Historical sketches are used to establish a link between modernity and the use of the human capacity for reasoning to advance human welfare. The book describes the conditions under which democratic institutions can advance human welfare, and the nature of constitutional rights as protectors of individual freedoms. Extremist religions are shown to pose a threat to liberal democracy, a threat that has implications for immigration and education policies and the definition of citizenship.
• Describes the threat that religious extremism poses for democracy • Gives a clear justification for majoritarian democracy • Describes the nature of constitutional rights and contrasts them with other notions such as natural rights.

Nuovo arrivo

Intersectionality and Beyond
Law, Power and the Politics of Location
Edited by:

Emily Grabham
Davina Cooper
Jane Krishnadas
Didi Herman


Anteprima del libro



This collection addresses the present and the future of the concept of intersectionality within socio-legal studies. Intersectionality provides a metaphorical schema for understanding the interaction of different forms of disadvantage, including race, sexuality, and gender. But it also goes further to provide a particular model of how these aspects of social identity and location converge – whether at the level of subjectivity, everyday life, in culture or in the institutional practices of state and other bodies. Including contributions from a range of international scholars, this book interrogates what has become a key organizing concept across a range of disciplines, most particularly law, political theory, and cultural studies.

Nuovo arrivo

Accommodating Cultural Diversity
by
Stephen Tierney




This book explores recent developments in the theory and practice of accommodating cultural diversity within democratic constitutional orders. It brings together philosophers and legal scholars to explore the inter-play between the normative precepts advanced by the former for the accommodation of cultural pluralism and the reality of that accommodation as it plays itself out in political and legal practice, as explained by the latter. The aim of the book is to provide a holistic picture of the constitutional management of cultural diversity through the prisms of different disciplines and experiences: theoretical and practical. Contributions come from Canada, Scotland and England and concentrate on two main case studies: a substantive study of the accommodation of indigenous peoples within different constitutional orders and, secondly, the role of the courts as their approach to cultural diversity evolves in complex pluralist democracies such as Australia, Canada and the UK.

Nuovo arrivo

Rights, Race, and Recognition
Derrick Darby
University of Kansas

What is the source of rights? Rights have been grounded in divine agency, human nature, and morally justified claims, and have been used to assess the moral status of legal and customary social practices. The orthodoxy is that some of our rights are a species of unrecognized or natural rights. For example, black slaves in antebellum America were said to have such rights, and this was taken to provide a basis for establishing the immorality of slavery. Derrick Darby exposes the main shortcomings of the orthodox conception of the source of rights and proposes a radical alternative. He draws on the legacy of race and racism in the USA to argue that all rights are products of social recognition. This bold, lucid and meticulously argued book will inspire readers to rethink the central role assigned to rights in moral, political, and legal theory as well as in everyday evaluative discourse.
• Challenges the standard, widely accepted views of moral and human rights • Lucidly written with the needs of students and non-specialists in mind • Contains a comprehensive bibliography that will aid further research

Nuovo arrivo

The Cultural Politics of Human Rights
Comparing the US and UK
Kate Nash
Goldsmiths College, University of London


Anteprima del libro





How does culture make a difference to the realisation of human rights in Western states? It is only through cultural politics that human rights may become more than abstract moral ideals, protecting human beings from state violence and advancing protection from starvation and the social destruction of poverty. Using an innovative methodology, this book maps the emergent 'intermestic' human rights field within the US and UK in order to investigate detailed case studies of the cultural politics of human rights. Kate Nash researches how the authority to define human rights is being created within states as a result of international human rights commitments. Through comparative case studies, she explores how cultural politics is affecting state transformation today.
• Develops novel concepts and an innovative methodology to study a new phenomenon of 'intermestic' rights • Analyses the human rights movement in the context of state transformation from within states in order to assess the varieties of nationalism which are now emerging • Features case studies - some of which have been highly controversial - in the media as well as for activists and professionals

Nuovo arrivo

Reasonable disagreement: a theory of political morality
Christopher McMahon



(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– Christopher McMahon, a professor of philosophy at UC Santa Barbara, has a new take on disagreements –– particularly those that are political in nature. His most recent scholarly work could lead to a greater acceptance of differing points of view, or, at the very least, offer an explanation about why even the most well- reasoned arguments generally fail to bring everyone into agreement.
In his new book, "Reasonable Disagreement: A Theory of Political Morality" (Cambridge University Press, 2009), McMahon examines the ways in which reasonable people can disagree about the requirements of political morality. He argues that a "zone of reasonable disagreement" –– a range of possible positions that can be taken –– surrounds most questions of political morality, and that the zone evolves over time, so what might have been reasonable hundreds of years ago is not so today.
"There is an idea in political philosophy today that under ideal conditions people deliberating in good faith will reach a consensus about political policies that should be adopted," McMahon explained. "Central to that idea is the notion that when people argue opposite sides of an issue, someone is making a mistake, and through deliberation those mistakes can be identified and corrected. And if everyone's reasoning is correct, then consensus can be reached.
"My suggestion is that even after deliberation, and all mistakes in reasoning have been eliminated, people are still going to disagree," McMahon continued. "Deliberation makes people competent reasoners, but competent reasoning doesn't produce agreement." The fact that every political issue has a range of reasonable positions makes consensus virtually impossible. This does not mean that the people are reasonable all the time. "If you listen to political opinion in the United States, not everything you hear is an example of reasonable disagreement. A lot of it is, in fact, unreasonable," McMahon added.
McMahon's book also puts reasonable disagreement in historical perspective. Positions that could be reasonably held in the past, such as the endorsement of political hierarchy, can become unreasonable. "But when an issue –– such as the merits of capitalism versus socialism –– have been openly debated over an extended period of time with no resolution, there's good reason to believe that the people taking each position are reasoning competently," he said
Although a disagreement can be reasonable, it can also be marked by controversy because, according to McMahon, participants do not recognize arguments contrary to their own as reasonable, no matter how well-framed they may be. "People can agree to disagree in the sense that they realize they are not going to come to an agreement, but that doesn't mean either one thinks the other is reasoning well," he said. "I think we can understand more of what goes on in politics as reasonable disagreement if we realize that opposing positions aren't necessarily recognized as reasonable."
Given that political cooperation requires agreement, but that complete consensus is virtually impossible, some mechanism is necessary to determine which courses of action will be taken. "From that standpoint, democracy seems like a reasonable way of resolving political disagreements," McMahon said. "It's a fair way of deciding which policies are going to be enacted. It's not the only way, but it's a reasonable one."

Nuovo arrivo

Rethinking Governance
The Centrality of the State in Modern Society
Stephen Bell
Andrew Hindmoor

Several problems plague contemporary thinking about governance. From the multiple definitions that are often vague and confusing, to the assumption that governance strategies, networks and markets represent attempts by weakening states to maintain control. Rethinking Governance questions this view and seeks to clarify how we understand governance. Arguing that it is best understood as 'the strategies used by governments to help govern', the authors counter the view that governments have been decentred. They show that far from receding, states are in fact enhancing their capacity to govern by developing closer ties with non-government sectors. Identifying five 'modes' of government (governance through hierarchy, persuasion, markets and contracts, community engagement, and network associations), Stephen Bell and Andrew Hindmoor use practical examples to explore the strengths and limitations of each. In so doing, they demonstrate how modern states are using a mixture of governance modes to address specific policy problems. This book demonstrates why the argument that states are being 'hollowed out' is overblown. Rethinking Governance refocuses our attention on the central role played by governments in devising governance strategies.
• Helps clarify and simplify often confusing approaches to governance • Unpacks a range of modes of governance and illustrates how these work via examples and cases • Brings insights from major political science debates to help develop our understanding of governance processes



venerdì 2 luglio 2010

Evento


5 Luglio 2010
ore 18,30

Cortile Steri di Palazzo Chiaramonte

Primo appuntamento della rassegna

SENZA ULTERIORI DIFFICOLTA'

Un interessante dibattito sulle problematiche del sud

interverranno:

Antonio Calabrò

Francesco Delzio

Vincenzo Scotti

Francesco Verderami