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Information has been omnipresent and all-powerful for almost two centuries, and now possesses sophisticated and invasive means of imposing itself and creating opinion. It was crucial in the Enlightenment and in the preparation of the French Revolution by the intellectual and bourgeois elites. Its characteristic is to be the opposite of intangible truths, to be moving, malleable and adaptable. It is the new replacing the old. It is bracketed by history, because it ignores tradition and no longer needs the past. The creation of opinion in the 18th century introduced a concept of freedom that in fact conceals totalitarianism. People are told what to think. Information is a weapon against all forms of personal reflection and inner life. It imposes itself and imposes, making it impossible to distance oneself. It even kills the democracy it boasts about.

This article presents one way of changing the participatory culture of training teachers – the Critical Integrative Teacher Education (CITE) programme now being implemented at Jyväskylä University. For the last ten years the Finnish school system has been the centre of considerable international attention because of its success in PISA. The Finnish school, however, has two faces. In the shadow of those good learning outcomes there lurks a democratic deficit in school and a lack of school wellbeing amongst children. This article examines the nature of the Finnish school and teacher education from the perspective of democracy. If participatory culture in Finnish schools is restricted, then the same also applies to teacher education. The long tradition of education as well as the radical school democracy experiment in the early 1970s resulted in the neutralization of teacher education and the removal of politics and politicality. This led to a teacher education with the emphasis on didactics and psychology but with a social viewpoint conspicuous by its absence. Even though the system offers opportunities to implement even radically different training methods, there is little that is done differently.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the papers presented in this volume cover a very wide, even extensive range of topics. This is of course logical, given the multi-disciplinary nature of this scientifical project. Nevertheless, it is a pleasure to present no less than eight papers devoted to new results and ideas in fields as diverse as psychology, philosophy, political science and law, dealing with matters such as electoral behavior, globalization, the concept of democracy, the role of experts or the relevance of thinkers such as Plato and Hobbes for the current discussion on the EU constitution. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1837316

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2023 8(2), 809-851 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. – II. Democracy as a value of EU Law. – II.1. The development of the value of democracy in the European Union – II.2. The value of democracy in art. 2 TEU and the Copenhagen criteria – III. The value of democracy beyond art. 2 TEU. – III.1. Right to vote and to stand as a candidate – III.2. Art. 10 TEU – III.3. Art. 21 TEU – III.4. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU – IV. Enforcing Democracy Beyond Art. 7 TEU. – IV.1. Problematising art. 7 – IV.2. Centralised enforcement – IV.3. Decentralised enforcement – V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) This Article analyses several ways in which democracy as a core value of the European Union can be enforced against member States violating democratic principles. Following the crisis of democratic backsliding in several Member States, no legal action has been taken on the basis of a breach of democracy or democratic principles. A possible explanation is that violations of art. 2 TEU are subject to a specific enforcement procedure (laid down in art. 7 TEU), which is notoriously hard to trigger. Furthermore, since art. 2 TEU refers to abstract values, it is frequently asserted that values such as “democracy” cannot be legally enforced. This Article, however, claims that the value of democracy has a sufficiently clear core legal meaning in EU law to be legally enforceable. Secondly, this Article claims that EU law includes numerous other centralized (at EU level) and decentralized (at Member State level) enforcement mechanisms beyond art. 7 TEU that can be used to enforce democratic principles. The current absence of enforcement action against such Member States, therefore, is largely a political choice instead of a legal requirement.

Donald Moon argues that neither rights nor equality can serve as adequate moral or political basis for a welfare state in addressing the Hegel's dilemma. The Hegel's dilemma is that organisation of economic life through the market in a democratic state produces great wealth as well as great poverty and individuals in such state fall in either category. The wide gulf in wealth among individuals in a market economy is a problem which a democratic welfare state seeks to address but, for Moon, rights or equality is not adequate moral and political basis of the welfare state for solving the problem. He proposes the principles of economic management, provision of services and social insurance as alternative and adequate bases for a welfare state in addressing the problem. This paper queries Moon's proposal. The paper argues that Moon's proposed institutional principles are inadequate in addressing the problem without a fundamental moral and/or political basis upon which these principles can be justifiably founded. The paper posits that rights provide a plausible and adequate foundational moral and political basis for the principles in order to adequately address the problem created by the market economy without jeopardising the idea of human self-respect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The technical rationale that dominates education is contrary to educational ends. Schools are driven by a technological ideology focused on the power of tools, acquisition of methodological skills, and procedural representation of intelligence. The future of education depends on the type of person and type of world we want to create. The goals of an education for autonomy are discussed. (Author/SV)

In 1997, the Quebec Department of Education, as part of its reform of elementary and secondary curriculum, assigned the responsibility for citizenship education to history teachers. To explain this pairing, three questions are examined: Why must citizens be educated? What contributions do historians bring to our social heritage? How can the teaching of history help educate citizens? (Author/TD)

The connection between women representation in parliament and the extent of substantive representation of women’s interest remains ambiguous. Objective: this paper aims to understand if women representation in African parliament catalyses growth in women business ownership in Africa. Prior work: the paper inclines on the normative theory of democracy and the theory of politics of presence through the lens of descriptive or substantive representation. Approach: The paper’s method is both theoretical and quantitative. It uses a cross-sectional secondary data for women in parliament and women ownership of businesses for a sample of 26 African countries, through the application of simple regression analysis. Result: The regression result, which emerges at P>0.05 indicates that within the confines of the 26 African countries used as the sample, women's representations in these African parliaments have not catalysed a significant effect on women’s business ownership in Africa. Implications: The paper provides policy and academic implication as an academic study material in university administration and development classes and for women political manifesto guide. It also provides an agenda for further research. Value: The paper contributes to the political theory of presence by ushering a different result linked to women’s business interests based on an African sample. The paper also contributes a framework and suggests a new concept of inquiry for additional gender equality advocacy, namely the inclusion of women-in-women advocacy for political participation and women’s interest.

Artificial Intelligence constitutes one of the most fundamental pillars for the implantation of the EU Digital Agenda. Its impact both in private and public life is omnipresent. AI has become an inherent part of the political life since politicians use it for several reasons, such as to promote their strategy as well as to achieve better and closer communication with people. All this is based on the existing set of legal rules. However, there are significant issues, both ethical and legal, which pose a wide range of concerns: from the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms to the safeguard of the principle of rule of law. The core question is the following: does AI strengthen democracy or lead to its deterioration? This paper aims at demonstrating the implementation of AI in politics. Firstly, there will be pursued, via a juridical methodology, a description of the regulatory framework governing AI, in connection with justice and democracy. Following a critical approach, there will be an analysis of principal ethical and legal concerns regarding the necessity and/or efficiency of use of AI in political life. Finally, the ultimate goal of the paper is to stimulate critical thinking and suggest fruitful proposals for the safeguard of the democracy and the establishment of a trustful and powerful digital environment.

This article seeks to explore the relevance of compromise in Raymond Aron’s essays. The concept of compromise has never been subjected to critical scrutiny in his works. The paper offers a new interpretation of R. Aron’s democratic theory by arguing that “the sense of compromise”, mainly set out in Democracy and Totalitarianism, is a foundational and pivotal concept to highlight the specifics of his liberal thought and his understanding of democratic pluralism. It aims to provide a critical analysis, presenting a focused exploration of three types of compromise, broken down into three areas (the political-pluralist compromise; the economic compromise; the foreign policy compromise). In each of these cases, key qualities and limitations of compromise solutions for deadlocked controversies are outlined. The article argues that, for R. Aron, economic compromise is the easiest to achieve. The paper further discusses possible criteria that can help to discriminate moral from immoral compromises. It concludes that “the sense of compromise” is inseparable from any serious attempt to think afresh R. Aron’s democratic theory.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2021 6(3), 1307-1324 | European Forum Insight of 1 February 2022 | (Table of Contents) I. Climate litigation: a tool to overcome majoritarian paralysis? - I.1. One shared conclusion: politics is failing. - I.2. Different ways leading to a similar conclusion: human rights, tort, policy objectives, national legal obligations, and always international agreements and science. - II. Separation of powers at stake: what role for counter-majoritarian forces? - II.1. Different contexts lead to different separation of powers concerns. - II.2 We cannot exclude (failing) politics despite overwhelming climate science. - III. A research agenda. | (Abstract) The climate crisis is - as far as we can see in 2021 - the greatest challenge of the 21st century. The existence of global warming as a human-made problem and the abstract need of transiting away from fossil energy sources is largely accepted. The question, however, of how to best achieve this transition is a major bone of contention - internationally, within the European Union (EU), and in many EU Member States. However, the issue will only become more pressing and political struggle will only become more forceful as the negative impacts of climate change increasingly affect our lives and livelihoods. Until now, national legislatures and executives have failed to take measures anywhere close to what would be needed to reduce emissions sufficiently to mitigate the climate crisis. The consistent failure of "politics" in different contexts - international, European, and national, or even regional and local - has motivated a growing share of citizens and civil society actors to pursue what is necessary via counter-majoritarian instruments, most prominently through climate litigation. In this Insight, I analyse these growing counter-majoritarian pressures in the context of climate change. My primary focus lies with broader questions of separation of powers, the role of the judiciary in constitutional democracies, and how legally enforceable reduction standards could and should be determined.

Copyright of Revue Phronesis is the property of Phronesis-Editions-Formations 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.)

In this paper a baseline of contemporary access to justice research is established. The baseline clearly illustrates key features of the research field suggesting that while the field of research has become more multifaceted in the course of the last two or three decades, it is nevertheless very much dominated by law scholarship and structural analysis of legal service provision. Departing from this overview of access to justice research as of today, five calls for future research on access to justice explicated in the reviewed literature is presented and discussed. I argue that future research on access to justice should: 1) Reach a clearer understanding of the problem (of access to justice), 2) consider a multidisciplinary approach, 3) support and develop evidence-based policy by committing to empirical research, 4) study a wider variety of social realities and 5) look for quality. The reasonings of this paper are based on a scoping literature review. En este documento se establece una línea de base de la investigación contemporánea sobre el acceso a la justicia. La línea de base ilustra claramente las características clave del campo de investigación, sugiriendo que, aunque el campo de investigación se ha vuelto más polifacético en el curso de las últimas dos o tres décadas, sigue estando muy dominado por los estudios de derecho y el análisis estructural de la prestación de servicios jurídicos. Partiendo de esta visión general de la investigación sobre el acceso a la justicia en la actualidad, se presentan y discuten cinco peticiones de investigación futura sobre el acceso a la justicia explicadas en la literatura revisada. Sostengo que las futuras investigaciones sobre el acceso a la justicia deberían 1) alcanzar una comprensión más clara del problema (del acceso a la justicia), 2) considerar un enfoque multidisciplinar, 3) apoyar y desarrollar una política basada en pruebas comprometiéndose con la investigación empírica, 4) estudiar una mayor variedad de realidades sociales y 5) buscar la calidad. Los razonamientos de este documento se basan en una revisión bibliográfica de alcance. Available from: https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1352

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2020 5(1), 237-253 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. The paradox of the European rule of law. - II. The rule of law in the modern State and in the European legal order. - III. The genetic heritage of the rule of law in the European legal order. - IV. Technocratic legitimacy and the progressive construction of a living constitution. - V. Administrative law and constitutional law in the European legal order. - VI. Reconnecting citizens to the European institutions: the role of law in Europe. - VII. The rule of law in action from the administrative law standpoint. | (Abstract) This Article aims to outline three problematic aspects arising from the peculiar, composite nature of the European legal system considering its many asymmetries. The first element is of a cultural-historical nature, and the goal is to highlight that, in terms of scientific and methodological ascendancy, the European order came into being with a different genetic heritage from that of modern States. The second aspect concerns the relationship between economics and law and the growing process of "juridification" of economic rules. The aim is to show how this process may have altered the traditional concept of the rule of law as it has taken shape in democracies. The third part explores the idea that this may have affected the diversified and asymmetric development of administrative and constitutional law in the European legal order. It then looks at how this asymmetry may have contributed to the aforementioned disconnect between citizens and institutions. The Article concludes by arguing that the attempt to reconnect European citizens and Institutions needs to start from a non-infrastructural and non-instrumental concept of law and from a consistent balance in the relationship between administrative and constitutional law.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2020 5(1), 691-695 | European Forum Highlight of 10 April 2020 | (Abstract) National flags and celebrations of a fictional independence were on prominent display on the official "Brexit day" of 31 January 2020. The normative constitution of the European Union and the political project of European integration were rejected by the United Kingdom during its nationalist hour. But ninety seven years ago, Coudenhove-Kalergi's "Pan-Europe" project and book had excluded "Britain", because it "had grown out of Europe". The similarities between "then" and "now" are striking as nationalism collides with the philosophy and vision of democratic cosmopolitanism.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2016 1(1), 29-54 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. An historical legacy. - III. Lawmaking in the European Union: A delegated function? - III.1. Sub-delegation. - III.2. The tools of output legitimacy: "Better Regulation". - III.3. Expertise and output legitimacy. - III.4. Lawmaking by committee. - III.5. The Lisbon reforms. - IV. Pushing for democratic input. - IV.1 Lawmaking and representation. - IV.2. Transparency as a tin-opener. - IV.3. Citizen input and participation. - V. Towards legitimation? | (Abstract) This paper uses the concepts of output and input legitimacy to examine the formal lawmaking processes of the European Union. It argues that the traditional distinction between laws, which are legitimated through the democratic concept of representativeness, and subordinate legislation, which is normally justified in terms of output values of efficiency and effectiveness, need to be modified in the European Union. The paper argues that the need for democratic input values requires all formal lawmaking processes to make space for popular access to the policy- and rulemaking processes.

When the nation-state was the dominant political and economic entity, the university was an institution of culture, essential for forming the national identity. In this era of globalization, universities teach economic liberalism and serve the interests of supranational corporations with little regard for democratic principles. Academics must reaffirm critical thought and intellectual independence for democracy to thrive. (Author/TD)

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2018 3(3), 1378-1399 | Article | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. Revisiting the admissibility test. - II.1. Possibility of partial registration. - II.2. Possibility of influencing ongoing negotiations. - III. Managing expectations at the post-registration stage. - III.1. False expectations in case of partially inadmissible initiatives. - III.2. Difficulty of influencing ongoing procedures. - IV. Brexit-related initiatives as a case study. - IV.1. Towards a more flexible admissibility test. - IV.2. Shortcomings at the post-registration stage. - V. Conclusion. | (Abstract) In the era of Brexit negotiations, which will determine the future of citizens' rights in terms of the bilateral relations between the UK and the EU, EU citizens from different Member States have used the instrument of the European citizens' initiative in order to bring forward their claim for retaining the same rights also in the post-Brexit era. The present Article analyses the current legal framework for European citizens' initiatives against the benchmark of general principles of EU law, in particular the principles of good administration, legal certainty and legitimate expectations. On the basis of this analysis, the Brexit-related citizens' initiatives are used as a case study marking a change in the Commission's administrative practice, towards more openness and cooperative spirit in the phase of the admissibility check. However, this new approach bears the risk of creating false expectations to organisers and signatories as to the real prospect of an initiative. The Article concludes that, in order to enable the full potential of citizens' initiatives, the Commission should strengthen the cooperation mechanisms when registering initiatives in line with the principle of good administration.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2018 3(1), 121-125 | Overview | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. An Assembly fitted with the multifunctional nature of legislatures. - III. An insurance against free-riding. - IV. A fair share for the European Parliament. - V. The devil is in the details. - VI. Conclusions. | (Abstract) A new assembly proposed for the Eurozone can be qualified as realistic utopia. Indeed, the Overview supports the view that the draft Treaty on the Democratization of the Governance of the Euro area (T-Dem) offers a coherent proposal given past lessons from legislative and EU studies. This is particularly the case regarding: a) the multidimensional functions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Euro area proposed; b) the fact that this assembly would have important and open decisions to make; c) the provision of 80 percent of national Members of the Parliaments within it; d) the high level of detail regarding the membership of the assembly. Yet, the provisions of the treaty call for some changes or precisions regarding basic features of the parliamentary matrix, notably: pluralism, transparency and permanency.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2018 3(1), 83-91 | Overview | (Table of Contents) I. A crucial European debate. - II. The nature of the democratic problems of the European Union and the Eurozone. - III. Five limits of the proposed new Parliamentary Assembly. | (Abstract) The Overview aims to analyze merits and limits of the book Pour un traité de démocratisation de l'Europe (Seuil, Paris, 2017). In the first section, the author argues, in agreement with the theses presented in the first part of the book, that the facile formula of the "democratic deficit" is a misrepresentation of the real democratic problems of the EU institutional system. In the second part, the author takes issue with the proposal to establish a new parliamentary assembly for the Eurozone, composed of four fifth of national MPs delegated by national parliaments from the Eurozone and of one fifth of MEPs, formulated in a new "Draft treaty on the democratization of the governance of the Euro area" (T-Dem), and expounded in the second part of the book.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2018 3(1), 45-57 | Overview | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. An intergovernmental parliamentarisation of the Euro area. - III. A new economic Constitution. - IV. Two sets of practical issues. - V. Conclusion: dark matters and alternative paths. | (Abstract) The T-Dem is both important and welcome as it is more important than ever for scholars to engage with political debates, in a perspective that constructively puts forward both specific and ambitious reform proposals, designed to meet the acute challenges the EU is facing. We welcome that the four scholars take this seriously enough to propose an actual draft treaty. This gives some fresh air to the debate on the future of the EU and reminds us that treaties are not set in stone. The main thrust of the present commentary argues that the T-Dem goes far beyond its - admittedly central - proposal for the creation of an Assembly of the Euro area composed of national MPs. We argue that the T-Dem envisions a new parliamentary-intergovernmental political order, as well as a new economic constitution for the European Monetary Union composed of 19 of the 27 EU Member States. We try to assess the practical issues involved in the T-Dem especially in relation with the composition of the proposed new Assembly and the ratification process of the treaty. We try to anticipate the unintended but expected effects of the creation of a parliamentary assembly of the Euro area. We identify where the T-Dem could be further elaborated (the economic constitution dimension) and its main problem area (the relation between the new assembly and the European Parliament). Given the difficulties identified, we finally claim that the alternative consisting in empowering the European Parliament, is preferable.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2018 3(1), 19-31 | Overview | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. The diagnosis. - II.1. A sometimes contradictory diagnosis. - II.2. A partially convergent one. - II.2.1. The EMU as a "meta-policy". - II.2.2. The normative power of the market. - III. The solutions. - III.1. Relevant solutions. - III.2. Insufficient solutions. | (Abstract) T-Dem is not fully convincing, but it is a good start. Writing it has forced us to think in terms of the solution rather than in terms of the problem. But, in order to come up with the right answer, a good diagnosis needs to be made. In this Overview, I argue that the drafters of T-Dem have formulated an accurate diagnosis: economic governance is run by an opaque jumble of administrations, but fails to see that it is the result of the transformation of the Economic and Monetary Union into a meta-policy, reducing national political space for the benefit of transnational technocratic institutions. As this meta-policy is transnational by nature, a transnational assembly is a relevant solution. But the power vested in it are insufficient. Without any real political powers, the Parliamentary Assembly cannot reach the core of this meta-policy.

Copyright of Studia Universitatis Babes-Bolyai, Philologia is the property of Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania 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.)

Hungary’s democratic backsliding demonstrates that the Cold War era notion that more access to information will accelerate the spread of democracy is dying. For authoritarians, social media enabled disinformation is the weapon of choice because it challenges democratic institutional legitimacy. The popularity of the Sputnik V vaccine in Hungary indicates that, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Russian influence was growing in the EU’s backyard. By exploiting social, political, and economic inequalities in Hungary, Russia disinformation facilitated Victor Orban’s consolidation of power ahead of the April 2020 elections. Democracies should adopt a new paradigm of state power projection that views robust domestic institutions as the way to confront the issue of social media enabled disinformation. Democracy’s most effective weapon against disinformation is institutional legitimacy, socio-economic equality, and public participation in government.

In 1920 Thomas Seltzer published D.H. Lawrence’s Touch and Go and Douglas Goldring’s The Fight for Freedom as Plays for a People’s Theatre by Thomas Seltzer. The contemporary reviewer in Theatre Arts observed that “the phrase ‘people’s theatre’ challenges discussion—infinite and vague. Is it the theatre of an entire nation or a class—the ‘workers’? And who are the workers?” My paper will focus on these two plays, telling the story of how and why Lawrence became connected to Goldring and the People’s Theatre. The Prefaces to the two plays define two very different conceptions of a people’s theatre, and the two plays dramatize those conceptions – both with mixed success. The question of which of the two plays would be published first produced some of Lawrence’s finest invective.Douglas Goldring is basically unknown to Lawrence scholars apart from the role he played in getting Touch and Go published and failing to get it staged. My paper will include a brief biography of Goldring, who had a varied, fascinating career. He was a subeditor under Ford Madox Hueffer at the English Review and later published reminiscences of Ford and the English Review circle. He fought in World War I, but, after being invalided out of the army, he became a conscientious objector and – for a time – a radical socialist. He published five books of poetry, over a dozen novels, twenty-one travel books, and autobiographies in which Lawrence figures. He connected Lawrence with the American publisher Thomas Seltzer and the English literary agent Curtis Brown. In 1920 he published an essay about Lawrence in Reputations: Essays in Criticism. He helped Lawrence in his effort to get some of Maurice Magnus’s writings published. Fifteen letters from Lawrence to Goldring survive. The complex interaction between Lawrence and Goldring remains an intriguing episode in the history of Lawrence the mostly disappointed playwright.

This paper uses the philosophical methods employed by Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, and John Dewey to formulate pragmatism’s basic ideas about education. The ideas proposed by the pragmatists are also used to compare and define their relationship between each other in order to create a new philosophy (theory) of democratic education. Based on the assumptions of pragmatism to show democracy in education, the paper explains the application of pragmatism to educational reform in Vietnam today. For pragmatism is to be what unites education.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2016 1(3), 1033-1040 | Dialogue | (Table of Contents) I. Introduction. - II. A Missing Piece: Throughput Legitimacy. - III. Issues of Representation. | (Abstract) Carol Harlow provides us with a nuanced and sophisticated assessment of the development of the EU's formal lawmaking processes and their legitimacy implications. She places particular emphasis on the important notion of executive legislation. That naturally puts the focus on delegation and principal/agent theory, which is discussed in relation to the EU in general. With regard to legitimacy, Harlow discusses both the input and output dimensions. The article brings in some of the crises-driven changes or mutations that the EU is presently experiencing. In this contribution I focus on some of the core notions in the analytical framework that Harlow constructs, with particular emphasis on legitimacy, representation and democracy.

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2016 1(3), 783-790 | Overview | (Abstract) Since 2009, austerity and the pressure for decreasing public spending in Europe have strongly targeted welfare services such as transport, healthcare, social services, culture and education, etc. In order to understand the current situation of welfare services in Europe today, one must take a step back and look at the broader development what has been the role of the EU in the marketization of public services? And to what extent has contestation mattered in that regard? From an institutionalist point of view, the EU has exhibited a bias towards negative integration, that is policies relying on competition and marketization. This is explained by the building the Single Market through liberalization directives and the institutional strength of competition law. Yet, legal and institutional factors (including case law) do not have a deterministic, mechanic effect on policy making. One needs to look at the political battles surrounding welfare services, and especially mobilization of left wing political actors (including radical left or social democratic parties, trade unions, and associations from the global justice movement) against marketization policies. Main contentious episodes have included protest against the EU Services directive, the campaign calling for an EU Framework directive on welfare services, and the global mobilization against the General Agreement on Trade in Services. The study of politicization through coalition formation and discourse provides evidence that politicization could occasionally able to slow down or hamper marketization. Yet, the EU has consistently acted as a catalyser for the marketization of welfare and continues to do so. Today, in the aftermath of the Eurozone crisis, austerity and marketization are two sides of the same coin.

The aim of the paper is to research the way energy resources shaped Azerbaijan’s foreign policy and contributed to developing its strategic relations with western actors trying, at the same time, to bring arguments whether or not the democratic deficit in Azerbaijan is related to the”resource nationalism”. The author makes a retrospective analysis of the most important events that have influenced Azerbaijan’s foreign policy since the collapse of USSR. In this regard, it is assessed the impact of the “Contract of the Century” on the evolution of the country, forasmuch the signing of the document is considered the first strategic move made by Azerbaijan since 1991. Because Nagorno-Karabakh is a crucial priority for the country’s territorial integrity, it is examined the manner in which Azerbaijani authorities are trying to make use of the energy resources projects in order to speed up the settlement of the protracted conflict, but without success so far. Last but not least, are analysed the EU-Azerbaijan relations, both on the energy and political level, highlighting on the one hand, the reluctance of Azerbaijan towards the democratic reforms promoted within the Eastern Partnership, but on the other hand, the interest of Baku to negotiate the unwanted agreements with Brussels, counting on its advantage as a supplier of energy resources on the European market. Consequently, some key questions have emerged: Is the EU’s strategic objective to ensure its energy security more important than promoting and encouraging its partners to adopt the fundamental values of the EU? What impact may have the Strategic modernization partnership on the EU-Azerbaijan relations? Is European Union’s credibility in danger, by having so diverse approaches towards the Eastern Partnership countries?

Abstract Democracy, or what everyone is worth (Thuc. II 37, 1) The paper addresses two exegetical problems in a passage from the speech of Pericles (Thuc. II 37, 1). It is argued that the word μέρος probably means «rotation» rather than «class-affiliation», since in this way three successive phrases, instead of being tautological, form an elegant system of affirmations, each of which is precising the previous one. The words ἀξίωσις and ἀξίωμα are opposed as signifying the process of acknowledgment of ἀρετή and the result of it (be it gaining authority, recognition of merits, appointment to a post, or simply approval of a proposal in an assembly). If ἀξιώματος depends from κεκώλυται and not from ἀφανείᾳ, ἀφάνεια need not have the meaning «absence», which seems not characteristic of it.

The paper focuses on the lectures given by Piero Calamandrei in 1952 at the University of Mexico, which were collected in the famous volume Processo e democrazia published by Cedam in 1954. The volume, translated in China in 2005, has aroused lively interest among Chinese scholars. The Author expresses his appreciation for the scholarly tradition stemming from Calamandrei and, in particular, he emphasises the profile of judiciary’s autonomy and independence, which distinguishes liberal and democratic systems from authoritarian ones. Lastly, the Author dwells on the relationship between judges and lawyers, which should take place in a climate of active and mutual trust.

The paper analyses the genesis of social rights in the Italian legal system and examines the complex debate on the social question, which was animated by different awareness. The debate was inspired by Santi Romano’s crucial reflections in the early 1900s and continued throughout the century thanks to the contribution of important jurists, including Piero Calamandrei. The Florentine jurist is credited with having clearly outlined the different legal structure and political function of social rights compared to the traditional rights of freedom. A special attention is therefore paid to Calamandrei’s interventions during the Constituent Assembly debates, which resulted in the full recognition of social rights in the 1948 Republican Constitution.

The paper focuses on the emergence of the European Federalist Movement between the two World Wars up to the establishment of the Association of European Federalists in 1944. The Author pays particular attention to Piero Calamandrei’s significant contribution to European federalism. The Florentine jurist envisioned federalism as closely linked to regionalism and peace, in an international context marked by a world divided into two opposing blocs by the Cold War.

Copyright of Présence Francophone is the property of College of Holy Cross, Department of Modern Languages & Literatures 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.)

The purpose of this paper is to address authority in educational relations by focusing on the specific vulnerabilities to which one who successfully occupies the position of authority in the contemporary democratic context is exposed. The purpose, from a philosophical point of view, is articulated around a broad acceptation of the concept of benevolence and in permanent resonance with the dual challenge of individual autonomy and the autonomous functioning of collectives, which seems to be that of the society of individuals. It is a question of showing that to be able to sustainably show kindness towards the other in the occupation of a place of authority passes by a form of benevolence applied to oneself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the discussions that took place within the student movement during the transition to democracy in Uruguay regarding the "question of the university" and its future. As point of departure, it places the analysis on the perspectives expressed in one of the main student magazines of the period, in addition to testimonies from students, press material and a series of documents produced by different student fractions within the movement. The article focuses on framing techniques in dispute about alternative models for the University, the role of students in the transition to democracy and, more specifically, the tensions that arose between the possibility of either restring what was there before the coupe or renovating into the future. Transitional periods appear as particularly fertile ground for students to question university governance and to problematize the relationship between university and society. The paper shows the efficacy of using and evoking very general frames (such as autonomy and student participation in university governance), which suspended internal differences related to how to define those frames, their implications and how to put them in practice. Albeit efforts for imagining alternative models for the university existed, diagnostics and prognostics elements were predominant and, when prospective elements appeared, they were usually tied to the preauthorization past.

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role that the notion of political obligation has in the thought of the Italian philosopher of politics and law Alessandro Passerin d’Entrèves (1902 - 1985), especially in its relationship with the democratic regime and forms of resistance on the part of citizens. By analyzing the author’s main arguments in this regard, it seeks to demonstrate the flexibility of the author’s concept of State, and the importance of philosophy as a point of intersection between morality and law, constituting itself as an instrument of phenomenological approach to the forms of human association.

Copyright of Synergies Roumanie is the property of GERFLINT (Groupe d'Etudes et de Recherches pour le Francais Langue Internationale) 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.)

The paper deals with technocracy as one of the ways to organize the political life of society and variants of the state system. The paper analyzes the concept of technocracy and provides an overview of the main classical concepts of technocracy. It states that the concept of technocracy does not have an unambiguous definition, but has three basic features. Classical technocracy relies on the principle of exclusivity and the ideal of aristocratic rule laid down in Plato’s writings. The paper describes a new -deliberative model of technocracy, tailored on the principle of inclusiveness. Deliberative technocracy is a kind of technocracy by which political (and, in particular, state) decisions are taken based on expert opinion. Expert opinion is shaped following intellectual operations and is delineated in expert findings. Deliberative technocracy proclaims neither the power of abstract demos (mass men) nor the power of intellectual aristocracy. Deliberative technocracy brings a new force onto the political stage, otherwise referred to as experts. Thus, deliberative technocracy implies the majority rule, not the minority... but it is the rule of a qualified and competent majority.

Copyright of Natures Sciences Sociétés is the property of EDP Sciences 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.)

Copyright of Tocqueville Review -- La Revue Tocqueville is the property of University of Toronto Press 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.)

The paper discusses the phenomenon of Americanization of European universities in a historical perspective, referring to the critical comparison of higher education in Germany and the United States, conceived by Max Weber after the experience of his stay at American universities in 1904. In accordance with the subject and goal, the paper is divided into several thematic units that include the historical context of European university development, defining the research question, the historical and theoretical context (his trip to the International Congress of Arts and Sciences in St. Louis and defining two of Weber's key theoretical concepts (rationalization and bureaucratization) which are necessary for understanding his analysis of higher education), consideration of Weber's most important work on this topic (Wissenschaft als Beruf), and presentation of the conclusions of our analysis. The paper provides an overview of Weber's comparison of two university models: (a) the American model, which he sees as market-oriented, democratized and meritocratic, and (b) the German model, which he sees as critical, holistic and humanistic. Despite the prevailing opinion in modern Weberology that Weber was an apologist of the way in which American higher education works, in this paper we try to show that Weber in his deliberations offered a far more balanced view of the situation at universities in the two countries (United States and Germany), and that he managed to show different aspects, i.e. the advantages and disadvantages of these two, in many respects different, models of higher education and academic communities derived from them. Although the paper deals with a part of Max Weber's legacy and in that sense with a discussion that is part of the history of sociological ideas, the basic ideas that Weber argues in it have not lost their relevance in contemporary discussions on higher education reform in Europe.

In February 2017, a poem titled “Muddici” (‘Plaintiff’) by Hargeysa-based poet Weedhsame went viral on social media. The poem accused members of Somaliland’s government of corruption and quickly elicited a series of supporting and opposing responses. Together, these poems formed a debate “chain” (silsilad) that became known as Miimley (‘in ‘m’’). Beginning from the premise that forms of popular art both reflect and inform processes of sociopolitical change, this paper explores the poetic and political “future(s)” charted by the content and form of Miimley. Placing Miimley in the longue durée of Somali poetic debate , I specifically consider how the future is implicitly and explicitly evoked in the content of poets’ verse, and how the participatory dynamics of the unfolding of Miimley index and foment emergent forms of democratic engagement. I ultimately suggest that the futures invoked in Miimley balance respect for “tradition” – especially Islam and poetry – with a desire for more just and inclusive politics.

Starting from a discussion of the modalities commonly used in narrating and plotting the political changes arisen during the first half of the last decade in Cameroon, the paper explores two of tile most recurrent tendencies in the researches: on the one hand, the idea of the non-property of the cameroonian case in the light of an objectivistic definition of the notion of 'transition to democracy'; on the other the idea ora 'passive democratization', which make use, in a short-sighted way of the classical hypothesis of the critical threshold of governability. The paper by this comparative bias examines some of the problems on which the analysis of democratic processes ordinarily stumble, and signals along the discussion, the interesting character of an interpretation of the changes in terms of a causality of the probable, showing a closer attention to the importance of structural uncertainty in the conjunctures involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ebisu is the property of MAISON FRANCO-JAPONAISE, Bureau français 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.)

Since its latest enlargements, the European Union has constantly developed various actions and initiatives in order to secure its borders and consequently to be surrounded by countries with dynamic economies and secure and stable political situations. So far, the presence of the union in its Eastern neighbourhood did not have the expected outcome. Where has the European Neighbourhood Policy failed?How is the European Union perceived by its neighbours: social partner, protector, sponsor or regional hegemonic? Is the Eastern Partnership sufficient to revive the Eastern dimension of the ENP? This paper will focus on answering these questions by connecting the theoretical framework of the neighbourhood policy with the existing empirical evidence through an interdisciplinary approach.

Copyright of Tocqueville Review -- La Revue Tocqueville is the property of University of Toronto Press 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.)