Search

Objectives: There is growing evidence of intergroup hostility between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals, a process of polarization that threatens to derail population health efforts. This study explores the moral underpinnings of intergroup antipathy between vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Design: A cross‐sectional design was employed to investigate the associations between the view of vaccination as a social contract or individual choice, perceived vulnerability to disease, perceptions of outgroup morality, feelings of warmth, and experiences of schadenfreude. Methods: Data were extracted from an online, quantitative survey of 233 vaccinated and 237 unvaccinated participants collected between June and July 2022. Results: Results revealed that vaccinated people had stronger negative attitudes towards unvaccinated people than vice versa. In line with hypotheses, the extent to which vaccinated people saw vaccination as a social contract was significantly associated with perceiving unvaccinated people as immoral. For unvaccinated people, seeing vaccination as an individual choice (the opposite of a social contract) was significantly associated with perceiving vaccinated people as immoral. Among both groups, viewing the other as immoral was associated with feeling significantly less warmth towards the opposing vaccination group, and more schadenfreude in the face of an outgroup member's suffering. Participants' perceived vulnerability to disease played a relatively small role in explaining polarization between vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Conclusions: This research builds on previous studies by identifying moral mechanisms associated with intergroup antipathy in the vaccine debate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this research, we empirically examine the structural and macroeconomic determinants of unemployment rates in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, distinguished by age and gender. We examine several hypotheses regarding the influence of long-run economic growth, labour market flexibility, and the social contract on unemployment rates. Using panel data for the period 2000–2020 and country and time fixed effects estimation methodology, empirical evidence shows that long-run growth reduces unemployment rates regardless of age and gender (except for female youth unemployment rate). Wage flexibility reduces most unemployment rates. Urbanization reduces total and male unemployment rates, while population density reduces total and female unemployment rates. In contrast to these determinants, linking pay to productivity, increases female, total youth, and male youth unemployment rates. Openness ratio increases total, total youth, male and male youth unemployment rates but not female and female youth unemployment rates. The paper has important policy implications for reducing unemployment rates in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public K-12 education in the United States struggles with competing narratives regarding its function and role. The neoliberal push to quantify education has led to increased legislation relating to state testing as well as public debate about teachers’ roles and responsibilities. A case study of teachers who were teaching in Oklahoma at the time of the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout offers insight into how teachers negotiate these competing narratives. Many teachers considered teaching to be a “calling,” which aligns with social contract theory where individuals will yield personal interests for the common good. Teachers viewed their occupation as time-intensive and described themselves using the competing narratives caregiver and expert. Teachers described their social contract in ways that align with the ideas of caveat emptor or bait and switch. The 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout occurred because the social contract was broken, and teachers began advocating for themselves. A new communication theory I call the coercion of social responsibility (CoerSR) explains how internalized social contracts acted to constrain teachers’ actions. The ways in which teachers countered CoerSR are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the years after 1905, catastrophic war, widespread political and social unrest, and rising demands from across all segments of the empire's population forced the Russian imperial state to develop a rudimentary social contract with military personnel and implement a series of reforms to prevent the reoccurrence of military disaster and mass social unrest. These reforms entitled disabled veterans to some forms of state support that were denied to their civilian counterparts, including assistance finding work, pensions, and free prosthetic devices. These entitlements were part of a broader shift away from paternalistic approaches to social welfare provision toward the early germinations of a gendered and selective welfare state. Disability support was dependent on proximity to the military, which cemented the idea that civic inclusion—and by extension, Russian manhood—was something achieved only through military service. This article examines interactions between veterans with disabilities and representatives of the Russian imperial state to explore shifting conceptions of masculinity and the development of new political subjectivities in the aftermath of war. The Russian imperial military can be regarded as a test site within which masculine identities were negotiated and reconfigured amid the social, economic, and political transformations of the late imperial period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst the challenges brought about by the Arab Spring have been severe to many Middle Eastern and North African countries, the political stability of Morocco has offered a sharp contrast in the eyes of academics. Prompting one to ask what has caused such an exception? In examining the historical development of Morocco after its independence, we find that the answer to this question lies in the regime's ability in providing different social groups with economic and political deliverables through the use of social contracts, thus maintaining the country's stability. This article argues that it was this proficient management of social contracts that allowed Morocco to strive, as opposed to the tumultuous fate of its neighbours. Despite several social protests, the regime was able to successfully maintain the validity of its social contract through timely political and economic adjustments. The structure and effectiveness of such social contracts are intrinsically tied to Morocco's historical factors and power structure. Alongside with the successful management of its social contracts, the regime also, fairly proficiently, utilized patriotism, political manipulation and military control. The result being a relative stable society during the transitional periods in its social contracts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal 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.)

There is growing recognition of the challenges faced by internally displaced people as well as the potential for subnational actors to contribute to durable solutions. Despite this, we know little about local government responses, both in theory and practice. This paper draws on governance theories, practitioner experience and secondary literature to analyse the governance context, processes and interactions that shape the experience of internal displacement in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2022. It argues that nascent relationships built between internally displaced people and local governments in eastern Ukraine reveal the possibility of bottom-up state-led responses. The paper intervenes in debates around rebuilding a "social contract" as a mechanism for resolving displacement, demonstrating why attention must be paid to how this occurs at local levels in places of refuge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beccaria's penal philosophy hinges on the doctrinal paradigm of liberty through law. Inconceivable in the absence of laws and unattainable in the presence of arbitrary powers, liberty is profiled as the legal situation of the person who may act, within the sphere of what is not forbidden and not bound, without suffering illicit interference from private individuals or organs of the state. Thus, the form of law becomes an essential matter in the construction of the political space suitable for free living. In the analysis proposed in this article, the notion of "political liberty"–which Beccaria takes from Montesquieu–is declined in relation to the legal order, criminal law and the social contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our generation lives in an age of polycrisis. Polycrisis is a phenomenon where various single crises interact in ways that lead to an overall negative impact that is more significant than the sum of each issue. The age of polycrisis poses a considerable threat to humanity. Since the age of polycrisis results from human actions, humans are responsible for addressing it. As such, an ultimate roadmap and in-depth sustainability transformations are needed across all sectors. This raises a quest for a unified social contract that can engage everybody to promote the well-being of people and the planet locally, regionally, and globally. Our paper explores a holistic picture of a social transformation process to address the challenges of the age of polycrisis. We put together a new social contract, different actors (civic society, private sector, public sector, decision-makers), and specific focus areas of actors to implement the goals of Agenda 2030. Each societal sector has a unique role to play in this transformation. The private sector can drive innovation and investment, the public sector can provide governance and regulation, civic society can advocate for change and hold other sectors accountable, and decision-makers can provide leadership and coordination. A new social contract called "Society's Commitment to Sustainable Development" can foster societal transformation towards sustainability with the involvement of these different societal sectors. The widespread commitment of public and private sectors as well as civil society can be an effective driver when implementing Agenda 2030 goals to build a more sustainable future. We, the current generation, have power to make a difference regarding international collaboration, national decision-making, industries, households -- even down to the choices we make in our everyday lives. The future is shaped by the decisions we make today.. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article is a review of the film "You Hurt My Feelings" from a psychoanalytic perspective. It explores the difference between caring and over-protecting and how these dynamics are reflected in the film's portrayal of a family. The review discusses themes of containment, truth, vulnerability, and the conflict between desires to trust and accept imperfections. It also examines the concept of "little white lies" and how we relate to flawed loved ones. The article draws parallels between the film and the therapeutic process, discussing the challenges of interpretation and determining when to confront patients. It emphasizes the importance of creating a supportive and balanced container in relationships. [Extracted from the article]

This article examines the concept of national sovereignty – the right of a nation to self-determination and autonomy. Drawing on the theories of popular sovereignty and social contract, the authors trace how the idea emerged that nations united by identity could claim legitimate political authority over themselves. A key milestone was the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, which codified the territorial sovereignty of nation-states. The authors analyse how eighteenth- and nineteenth-century nationalism transformed national sovereignty into a powerful force fuelling revolutions and movements against foreign domination. It explores how national sovereignty was exercised through the historical examples of France, Germany and the formation of a sovereign Kazakhstan after the collapse of the Soviet Union. While national sovereignty is based on self-determination, its exercise has led to both the assertion of independence and ethnic conflict and confrontation over national identity. The article concludes with an assessment of how theories of national sovereignty continue to emphasize autonomy and self-governance, but must be balanced with contemporary international norms and a system of global interdependence. National sovereignty remains one of the basic tenets underlying the nation-state system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Synergy (1841-7191) is the property of Editura ASE 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 the first part of the study, it was conceptualized the freedom of will, with reference to several doctrinal definitions regarding contractual freedom, but which are all located in the essence of the same coordinates. The legal will included in the concept of contract compliance with public order and good morals is not autonomous in relation to the law, which draws its limits, so that the obligational relations of the parties concerning the realization of their concordant interests are included in the requirement of an order and a balance at social level. The binding force of the contract, as the law of the parties, is transposed by its irrevocability towards the parties, as well as towards the judge, even if indirectly, in the interpretive process of the clauses of the contract, he can proceed to reorganize the contract. The freedom of the parties in establishing the content of the contract finds its limit in their bond of solidarity, in the freely expressed will, put into discussion in the process of interpreting the contract and of clarifying its binding force in relation to the internal will, as a dimension of the legal will. The free manifestation of the will is placed in association with the principle of relativity of the effects of the contract, the scope of operation of which is restricted to the contracting parties. The broader approach to the freedom of will cannot be conceived outside of social determinism, identified by the legal order, the national and community public order and the good morals. The provisions of the Civil Code are added to the legal provisions incorporated in the public order and to those of direction that tend to conduct and channel the contract, both being constituted into an economic policy instrument. The economic order of protection as a limitation of contractual freedom tends to defend the economically weaker contracting party and to restore the contractual balance (prevailing in the scope of consumer law). As a side of public order, the study analyzes the freedom of will in relation to the role of the contract, of the private norms, which include in their content the obligational and real relations, generated, modified and transferred thereby. The binding character of the contract is analyzed in the extended dimension, that which exceeds the scope of the contractual obligational nature. The private norm originating from the procedure specific to the legal act has a binding character, just like the objective norm, even if it is superseded by it. Conceived to address only the parties to the legal act, the private norm can be qualified as absolute by its bindingness, corresponding to the principle pacta sunt servanda, and relative in its specific obligativity towards third parties, in the form of opposability. Having its origin in the will guided by the interests of the parties, the private norm is legally validated by the legal order. The private norm that harmonizes individual interests with the legal order imposes its effectiveness through its binding and enforceable character towards those who generated it. The opposability of the private norm to third parties is justified by its assimilation to the objective legal order. The legal effects, recognized by the private norm in full accordance with the objective norm, confers legitimacy to the private interest expressed by the private norm without causing erga omnes effects. The norm of relativity of the contract effects and the principle of opposability make the distinction between the binding force of the legal act and its recognition as a social reality. At the end of the study it was analyzed the method of achieving the freedom of will in the contract with elements of extraneity, materialised in the method of identification and operation of the law chosen by the parties, lex voluntatis, as well as the conditions and limits of operation of this freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taxation and representation are famously linked in the coercive co-authored project of political governance described through the social contract metaphor. Globalisation transforms this canonical account of the state. Many people can relocate and operate beyond state borders, consuming goods and services publicly offered by other jurisdictions. Expanding people's opportunities to satisfy their preferences and pursue their goals supports their liberty. Yet, it also limits the ability of states to collect taxes so as to provide necessary public goods and secure justice, jeopardising the bond between taxation and equal membership in a political community. The challenge for taxation under globalisation is to revitalise the very basis of the social contract. Ideally, the new social contract should support the states' just institutions and the collective self-determination of their members without rolling back the opportunities people have acquired through globalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Reset is a concept proposed by the World Economic Forum to rebuild the global economy sustainably following the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasising stakeholder capitalism, greener practices, and more equitable social contracts. However, most of the literature focuses on the role of business and government actors in the Great Reset. At the same time, research that considers the role of higher education institutions (HEIs) is lacking. However, HEIs have the significant capacity to support various aspects of the Great Reset. In this work, we examine different mechanisms by which HEIs could bring change, such as fostering the growth of workforce skills, promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, participating in community development and others. A survey on a sample of university professors, postdoctoral researchers, and research assistants has been conducted with the goal of evaluating the degree to which HEIs have played a role in influencing economic recovery after COVID-19, leveraging the industry 4.0, enhancing regional development, revitalising global cooperation, formulating sustainable business models, restoring environmental well-being, and restructuring social contracts, skills, and employment opportunities. A two-step cluster analysis has been conducted, indicating that HEIs played different roles in the Great Reset process, being the Leaders, Followers and Laggers. We found a significant difference between the various groups of respondents according to their scientific field, position, and region regarding the perception of the role played by their HEIs in influencing economic recovery after COVID-19. The position of the respondents contributed to their perception of the role that their HEIs participated in the process of the Great Reset, with the assistant professors perceiving the most often that their HEIs are Leaders. Additionally, the scientific field and region of the HEI also impacted their role in the Great Reset, with the HEIs from technology and countries outside of Europe being the Leaders most often. On the other hand, Followers and Laggers were equally from social sciences and other fields and European countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pay‐for‐success contracts are social and financial innovations in social policy and capital markets, respectively. This paper argues that they exhibit option‐like payoffs and implements standard option‐pricing arguments in assessing the value of investing in pay‐for‐success contracts. Sensitivities vis‐à‐vis contract specifications are reflected in the valuation formula and help reach investment and social policy decisions. These sensitivities are demonstrated via a numerical application that uses parameters drawn from the Massachusetts Juvenile Justice Pay for Success Initiative, the largest pay‐for‐success initiative in the United States at the time of its launch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability of teams to self-organize and engage in spontaneous collaboration is crucial to 21st-century organizations. The large extent of nonroutine activities in such organizations hampers the effectiveness of traditional management instruments, such as monitoring effort and performance levels and exercising fiat—resulting in increasingly important self-organized collaboration. To explain how such collaboration is possible, we suggest a refinement of the psychological assumptions underpinning influential theories of the firm—specifically, concerning how people reason. We juxtapose "Nash reasoning" (the mode of reasoning underpinning organizational economic theories of the firm) with "virtual bargaining" (a more collaborative mode of reasoning drawing on recent research in cognitive science). Virtual bargaining enables individuals to establish, maintain, and abide by tacit "social contracts" of their team and organization—the (often-tacit) norms, rules, roles, and responsibilities governing how employees should behave (irrespective of their personal objectives). Thus, virtual bargaining helps individuals mitigate challenges of team production, such as shirking and hold-up, in a self-organizing and self-enforcing way. We analyze the conditions under which virtual bargaining leads individuals to coordinate on enhanced effort levels in organizationally relevant settings. We outline avenues for empirically testing virtual bargaining in organizations and discuss conceptual implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines priority groups of the population (socially vulnerable, women entrepreneurs, young and social entrepreneurs) engaged in entrepreneurial activities, including through the conclusion of a social contract, as a factor of the sustainability of regional economies. The article is aimed at analysing the regional structure of these population groups and their support in individual subjects. The methodology of the study is based on the use of general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, comparison). The main results of the work have showed that supporting participation of the above-mentioned groups socially integrates them, stimulating economic growth, regional and national development. In addition, it increases the level of economic competitiveness, expands entrepreneurial opportunities, and creates a favourable climate for the successful functioning of market entities. The scope of application of the results obtained during the study is based on the possibility of using them while developing mechanisms for increasing the involvement of the considered priority population groups in order to achieve a given level of sustainability of regional economies, which also determines the prospects for further research on this problem. The dependence of the level of sustainable development of regional economies and their competitiveness on the level of involvement of these groups in entrepreneurship has been established.

This article examines the critique of social contract theory in Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan through the lens of Georges Bataille's notion of sacrifice. Bataille and Hobbes share several key motifs, including death, violence and sovereignty. However, they interpret these motifs in different ways. Hobbes rationalises these concepts by introducing the concept of the social contract, whereby individuals relinquish their freedom in exchange for security. For him, the state is a means of protecting people’s lives through rational submission to the social contract. In contrast, Bataille emphasises the role of the irrational and the sacred, viewing them as a means of liberation from the fear of death, the material world and domination. Sacrifice plays a pivotal role in Bataille's philosophy, serving as a conduit to the sacred and a unifying force within communities through shared experiences of loss and sacrifice. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that over time, the significance of sacrifice has increased in terms of utilitarian value, while its intrinsic value as an act of gratuitous giving for the sake of affirming the "fertility of life" has diminished. Hobbes's social contract can be presented in basic terms as the sacrifice of a good for the sake of exchanging it for another good. This is exemplified by the exchange of the right to liberty for protection from the sovereign. For both Hobbes and Bataille, the fear of death is the rationale behind the relinquishment of freedom and the introduction of prohibitions. But Bataille, unlike Hobbes, proposes to build society not on the fear of death, but on overcoming this fear and sovereign rejection - the rejection of both one's freedom and the transfer of it to someone else. Thus, reading Leviathan through Bataille's logic helps to debunk the image of the sovereign as a mortal god and omnipotent protector.

The Relevance. The initial manifestations of trust were recorded in the political philosophy of Ancient Greece and Ancient China, on the basis of which thinkers determined the interconnection and interdependence of relations between government and society. Further developing in line with political sociology, trust as the principle of “fides” (“faith”) from the Roman law was conceptualized by M. Weber as an “emotional product” of a social contract, violation of the terms of which does not carry sanctions, with the exception of the loss of business reputation. The category of trust was significantly enriched during the development of sociology of the 20th – early 21st centuries, and thanks to the works of P. Sztompka and F. Fukuyama, it gained understanding of the conditions for sustainable development of society in conditions of uncertainty, in which the individual proceeds from the “credit” of confidence in the respectable behavior of another and absolute confidence in one's own actions. In recent years, a “crisis of confidence” in science as a social institution in modern society has been recorded.The problem of the research is to identify the peculiarities of understanding the category of “trust” by the classics of sociological science and their applicability in modern science.The goal of the research is to study the relationship between the dynamics of trust in Sociology in the scientific community and in science as a social institution as a whole.The methodological basis of the reseearch is a systematic approach and general methods of scientific knowledge, such as analysis, synthesis, generalization.The Research results. The classics of sociological science have enriched the motivational, value and political meanings of the concept of «trust» in modern science.

Since most Latin American countries achieved their independence in the 19th century, they have encountered a double challenge: Internally, to consolidate strong states that provide security and a sense of identity to their citizens and, internationally, to insert themselves effectively into the political and economic system. Within this process, the economic models and adjustment plans established in the region since the end of World War II have had an impact on the middle class, either increasing or decreasing its size. This is how the possibility of entering the middle class – although segmented into traditional and new – continues to be an idealized scenario where citizens can achieve decent living standards and even access certain luxuries. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic increased the feeling of uncertainty and instability in the region, which resulted in negative macroeconomic indicators in terms of GDP or an increase in external debt. This situation had a substantial impact on the middle class, which was affected by the loss of jobs and income that would allow them to maintain or improve their living conditions. The possibilities of improving these conditions are aligned with the redirection of the social contract in force in the majority of Latin American societies, in which both communities and states must strive for agreements that reduce uncertainty and mutual distrust. This path opens the way to the application of actions that benefit not only the middle class but also the less favored classes.

The theoretical literature on the meaning of qualification standards depicts a variety of definitions. Some definitions describe properties of examinees, whilst others rely on cohort-level or system-level characteristics. Different definitions can be compatible or contradictory. In this study, stakeholders' views of the meaning of qualification standards in Scotland were collected, using focus groups (82 participants) and a questionnaire (918 participants). Almost 60% of questionnaire participants responded that standards tell us about performances on the assessment (criterion-referencing) and approximately 40% responded that they tell you about an underlying ability (construct-referencing). Few participants considered that maintaining statistical grade distributions every year were important. Discrepancies in views raise questions regarding how an examination board manages the political and technical process of maintaining public confidence in standards. Based upon this Scottish case, the authors argue that social settlements regarding qualification standards are a social contract, and a solely technocratic view of standards is conceptually inadequate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We argue that a deficient provision of public goods may influence citizen satisfaction with the status quo, thereby encouraging demands for institutional changes. We formalize and test this relationship using prior data related to the recent constitutional process carried out in Chile to replace its dictatorship‐era constitution. Individual‐level data from the Chile 2016/17 AmericasBarometer survey are used to estimate ordered and multinomial probit models to study the determinants of citizen preferences for constitutional change, distinguishing between amendment and replacement. The main findings reveal that preferences for reforming the Chilean constitution can be driven by greater discontent with public goods provision. These results remain robust when estimating pseudo‐panel models using cohort‐level data and examining coefficient stability. Moreover, higher levels of corruption are associated with a stronger demand for constitutional replacement, suggesting a potential rupture in the shared social contract due to poor governance and lower political equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author reflects on Michel Serres's unconventional approach to society, which diverges from traditional social sciences terminology and boundaries. Topics include Serres's critique of social contract theory, his concept of unbounded sociality, and his exploration of how global phenomena challenge traditional social frameworks.

Copyright of Amazonia Investiga is the property of PRIMMATE 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 Journal of Educational Studies (1673-1298) is the property of Journal of Educational Studies Editorial Office 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.)

Sustainability communications have become a key issue for organisations. While most studies have focused on sustainability reporting and green advertising, other communication tools such as sponsorship are under‐researched. The present study addresses this void by exploring the potential and identifying key characteristics and challenges of sustainable sponsorships, theoretically conceptualised as a social contract between sponsorship contractors and society. As such, it is the first to identify the potential and key characteristics of sponsorship for sustainability communications. The authors took an explorative, qualitative research approach, conducting 13 in‐depth interviews. The interviewees highlighted eight characteristics that determined sustainable sponsorships across all three sustainability dimensions. Sustainability was identified as a key driver in managing sponsorship effectively. In light of the study's findings, it is recommended that sponsors and sponsees should adapt their sponsorship management to incorporate sustainability. Measuring the outcome and success of sustainable sponsorships could be a subject for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the Loewe, et al. framework (2024) to the Egyptian case from 2011 to the present. It finds that this framework could be strengthened by further exploring the following drivers of change in social contracts:- balance of power within the state. In the Egyptian case, a longstanding informal contract between the Presidency and the military collapsed in 2011. The new contract between the Presidency and the military that emerged after 2013 altered the elite coalition that underlay the regime and led to change in the social contract;- structure of the labor market. The Sisi regime faced a labor market that was divided into core insiders, legacy insiders, and outsiders. It revised the social contract to direct substantial support to core insiders while reducing support to legacy insiders. Outsiders were left with even less state support.- new technologies of repression enabled the regime to monitor society more extensively, target repression more effectively, and shape the public sphere in a manner supportive of the new social contract;- international sponsors. The Gulf states and China provided financial and military assistance that buttressed the revised social contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the evolution of social dialogue institutions in Lebanon and Tunisia between 2010 and 2017. Both countries faced critical junctures, but their institutions pursued divergent courses. The national social dialogue institution was revamped in Tunisia to increase participation in policymaking, whereas it was reinstated in Lebanon without addressing its institutional flaws. By building on these developments, this paper makes two theoretical contributions. First, it argues that the nature of political interference in organized labour prior to the critical juncture influences its subsequent role. Labour neutralization in Lebanon was founded on sectarian politics that co-opted national leadership and bound rank-and-file to sectarian clientelism. Labour pacification in Tunisia harmed executives, whereas local unionists remained independent. After the critical juncture, Tunisian organized labour revitalized itself, aided by rank-and-file autonomy. It then made a strategic choice to reconsolidate the tripartite system with enhanced involvement of the traditional labour and capital organizations in policymaking. Lebanese organized labour was unchallenged by its rank-and-file. It maintained ties with political elites. Second, these paths illustrate the differences between social contracts. Participation in policy elaboration is among the deliverables exchanged between political elites and social actors in Tunisia but not in Lebanon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article asks to what extent national narratives drive changes in social contracts on both national and local level. Societal and especially state actors can use narratives to underline or omit specific rights and duties in social contracts, or to privilege particular contracting parties. In the Syrian case, repression and foreign intervention triggered changes in the national social contract, yet the exclusionary narrative functioned as a catalyst for these changes and entrenched them on both, the national and the city level. We show that housing, land and property (HLP) policies in (post-)war Damascus have an urban scope but a national impact. Not only wartime destruction but also post-war demolition have been particularly high in selected neighbourhoods and (re-)construction favoured upscale urban mega projects. This approach to urban planning reflects an exclusionary national narrative, which stigmatizes parts of the population as ‘terrorists’ and suspects them of stirring up public disorder. In consequence, these groups are marginalized or even ‘evicted’ from the social contract. For those Syrians still covered by the social contract, the narrative seeks to offer a justification for the large-scale exclusion of fellow citizens. Our analysis is based on an extensive review of literature from human geography, with a focus on the physical and social urban fabric, and political science, on intra-societal power relations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the interaction between Syrian refugees’ entrepreneurship and the social contract of Kurdistan Region of Iraq using qualitative method. The findings confirm that the low level of social contract’s recognition of refugee resources as property rights had a negative effect on their entrepreneurship activities. In contrast, the provisions provided by the government, as part of the social contract helped refugees utilize their resources, which played a positive role in motivating refugee entrepreneurship. Regarding the impact of refugee entrepreneurship on the social contract, there was no top-down change, even with indications of change agency. This can be explained by the low level of participation, in the social contract, and the weakness of entrepreneur associations. For bottom-up change, refugee entrepreneurs tended to challenge the exclusiveness and clientelism in the social contract by increasingly deviating from standard processes, which lead to some de facto change. This research enhances our insights of refugees’ entrepreneurship and integration in the context of the social contract and its change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social contracts have recently re-emerged as a field of research. They can stabilize the relationship between state and society by establishing some predictability about the mutual deliverables between actors - especially if they are flexible for modifications to take account of changes in the framework conditions, the positions and preferences of their parties, and prevailing norms, values and ideologies. The question is, thus, when, why and how social contracts change. We argue that they change more continuously in countries with institutionalized mechanisms of renegotiation, such as parliamentary debates, open public discourse and interest group lobbying. These are more often democratic countries even if changes in democratic countries can also happen suddenly and unexpectedly. Autocratic countries, though, tend to be more resistant to regular change because they lack the procedures and mechanisms. This includes most countries in the Middle East and North Africa. Here, significant changes usually only take place if something unforeseen happens, such as a price shock, a pandemic, an earthquake or an invasion by a foreign country. At these ‘critical junctures’, at least one key actor in a country – often but not always the government – must react. This actor can, but does not have to, change its previous course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) was an English philosopher. He is known as the father of modern political philosophy. His work Leviathan represents the first theory of the modern state and is the most complete expression of Hobbes's philosophy. Hobbes builds his theory on the state "not starting from a historical point of support, but from the superiority of logic and analysis" (Stumpf, 2020, p. 223). So, he tries to find the cause of the creation of the civil society and through this to arrive at the explanation of the cause of the creation of the state. In this context, Hobbes described the natural state as "the war of all against all", while he understood the social contract as an agreement, through which people avoided primitivism (the monetary state) and entered the civilized society. Based to the analysis of Hobbes's views, this publication aims to elaborate the concept and definition of the state of nature, the exit from the state of nature and the social contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social protection has gained global recognition for its role in addressing poverty, yet delivering social protection remains an intractable challenge for governments in the Global South. In this article, we assess the performance of government‐run social assistance in Zimbabwe. Our assessment begins in 2016 when the National Social Protection Policy Framework (NSPPF) was promulgated to maximize returns on social investments. Utilizing a systematic review approach, we collated literature published between 2016–2023. We find that despite adopting the NSPPF, social protection programming remains a challenge in Zimbabwe. We find that the disbursement of transfers to beneficiaries are delayed, benefits are misaligned with market forces due to inflation, most programmes are run without monitoring and evaluation structures, funding in the sector remains inadequate to reduce poverty and vulnerability, and no grievance and redress mechanisms exist. Our synthesis underscores the need for the refreshment of the social contract in Zimbabwe, a renewal of political will to finance social assistance programmes, engagement to transform policy into action, the expansion of the civic space to ensure citizens effectively participate in calling for social assistance, as well as concerted efforts towards harmonizing existing social assistance programmes. We highlight the need to embed social protection within a human rights‐based framework, and the need for robust monitoring frameworks along with predictable and dedicated financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper adopts a novel Social Reproduction feminist approach to re‐evaluate the Soviet experience of industrialization within the context of global research on primitive accumulation. I analyse the first Five‐Year Plan as a unique process of 'primitive Soviet accumulation,' focusing on the Zhenotdel collectivization campaign and the often‐overlooked role of Zhenotdel peasant women delegates [krestyanki delegatki]. The study explores their involvement in peasant women's revolts against collectivization, emphasizing the significance of these events for the Zhenotdel's emancipatory programme in the village. Considering class as a social relation to the conditions of life's reproduction, I demonstrate: (1) how primitive Soviet accumulation reshaped the gendered metabolic relationship between land and labour during the first Five‐Year Plan and (2) yet, the allocation of surplus into the expanded Soviet state apparatus laid the foundation for the distinctive Soviet mother–worker gender contract and social citizenship model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the late British Mandate period until 1967, a cohesive system of social and political arrangements took shape among the people of the Hebron district in the West Bank. This system, referred to here as the Hebronite alliance, was born of a continuous crisis and played a central role in cultivating harmony and co-liability among the people of the district and its expatriates. It promoted them as a collective and individuals and shaped the distinct pro-Hashemite character of the Hebron region. The strength of the alliance stemmed from the adoption of a unique social contract and a new regional 'Hebronite' identity that was a stable anchor for many Palestinians caught between the competing Palestinian, Jordanian, and pan-Arab national identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores the role of politicians in representative democracies and their impact on decision-making processes. It highlights the potential for bad apples, or unethical and incompetent politicians, to compromise the democratic process. The article suggests that conscientious politicians may need to compromise their moral convictions to resist bad apples and gain necessary support. It also discusses the benefits of public deliberation in empowering politicians to make informed compromises and resist the influence of bad apples. The article emphasizes the complexities and challenges of achieving political competence in representative democracies. [Extracted from the article]

Social atomism is a view that informs much contemporary social thinking. Drawing on arguments from Marxism and Buddhism, I will argue that it is false, and explore the consequences of this for a number of issues, notably those related to the ideology of capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption has become a pervasive and debilitating issue in modern Nigerian society, undermining economic development, eroding trust in institutions, and perpetuating social inequality. Despite numerous attempts to combat corruption, Nigeria continues to grapple with this seemingly intractable problem. This article seeks to offer a novel perspective on addressing corruption in Nigeria by engaging with the ethical philosophy of John Rawls. Through a conceptual, critical, and analytical examination of Rawls' principles of justice and the social contract, this study argues that a preventative approach to corruption, grounded in a moral and political alignment of human conduct, is essential for reversing the curse of corruption in Nigeria. By applying Rawls' prescriptions for an ideal society, including the importance of codes of ethics and the alignment of morality and politics, this article contends that Nigerians must fundamentally alter their behaviour and adhere to the principles of the social contract to govern human relations. This study contributes to the on-going discourse on corruption in Nigeria by providing a philosophical framework for understanding the problem and offering a pragmatic solution to this national disgrace. Ultimately, this article argues that a Rawlsian approach to corruption holds the key to unlocking sustainable development and a more just society in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tabayyun is the property of Arab Center for Research & Policy Studies 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.)

One of the most important principles in contractual matters, related to the effects produced towards the contracting parties, is that of its binding force, having its source in the will of the contracting parties, in their autonomy of will, sacralized by the power of law recognized to this will. In the introductory part of the study, it was brought into discussion whether the legal power of the binding force of the contract, enshrined in the current Civil Code, is still up-to-date compared to the realities of our days, when, under the influence of economic, social and globalist phenomena, we are witnessing a limitation of the freedom of will, to its censuring at legal level, to the possibility of the judge to adjust the contract, even beyond the will of the parties. As support for the argument, reference was made to the UNIDROIT principles, to the Principles of the European Contract Law, to the Reference Framework Project, to the Portuguese Civil Code and to that of Quebec, which enshrine the binding force of the contract, without confering it the power of law. The binding force of the contract subsists because the objective law, the legislation, recognizes and grants it, and the private norm, as the law of the parties, which details the binding nature of the contract, must be in accordance with the objective law, without being assimilated with the objective legislation. In outlining the principle of the binding force of the contract, we bent over and brought into discussion the distinction between the obligational nature and the binding nature of the contract, which operates regardless of the obligational or non-obligational content of the contract. The binding nature of the contract, its binding force, acts not only with regard to its content, as it is established by the express or implicit clauses, from its interpretation, from the implied clauses that are part of the contract [Article 1272 (2) of the Civil Code], but also regarding the extended and accepted clauses or the negotiated or common standard clauses, even if, in our opinion, the latter represent a way to supplement the contract. Contractual fidelity is analyzed in this study not only from the perspective of the debtor, bound by the fulfilment of the obligation assumed with the diligence of a good owner, but also from the perspective of the creditor, whose conduct must not make the execution of the contract more difficult. Cooperation seen as a means of achieving the common interest entails the creditor's duty to minimize the damage, in the case of the debtor's abdication from the binding force of the contract. In terms of the binding force of the contract, its modification and cessation are examined in relation to the principle of symmetry and asymmetry, the first having as its basis the agreement of the parties, and the second the contractual clause or the legal provision. In the operation of the mutual cessation of the contract, the study distinguishes between revocation and termination, and in terms of the extent of the effects, between future cessation and retroactivation of the cessation, when the nature of the services allows it. In the approach to unilateral denunciation, of contractual or legal origin with a mutual character, there were discussed the mitigated and derived aspects of the operation of denunciation, with regard to some contracts, the exercise of this potestative right in good faith and the protective features of contract retraction, in the matter of consumer protection. Likewise, the particularities of the forced cessation of the intuitu personae contracts, included among the cases of contract lapsing, were emphasized, and the legislative interventionism in the modification of the contract in various forms of manifestation was explained and justified by the social utilitarianism of contracts. The study emphasizes the restrictive character of the adaptation of the contract as a means of safeguarding it, associated with those effects that come out of the zone of reasonable risk, seriously affecting the contractual balance and calling into question the contractual justice. The adaptation of the contract goes beyond the framework of interpretation of the clauses, sometimes calling into question their modification, whenever it is imposed by the requirement to revive the ratio of proportionality, to ensure the utility and social security of the contract. The paper deals with the problem of adapting the contract in the spirit of the decisions of the Constitutional Court, which transpose the adaptive process of the contract, by identifying the balance point of the benefits, without reducing it to their value threshold and without ignoring the circumstances or the fluctuations that occurred after the conclusion of the contract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay is a commentary on Curren et al., 'Finding consensus on well-being in education'. It acknowledges a growing international consensus that presents educational systems need to change and argues the case for consensus on flourishing as the overall purpose of education can be strengthened by drawing on economists' work on well-being with respect to the inclusive wealth of nations. It emphasizes the need for tangible and measurable indicators that educators can use when implementing Curren et al.'s recommendations and outlines the International Science and Evidence based Education assessment's suggestion of a 'whole brain' approach to education for flourishing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Conceptual Framework that underpins this article is that of advocating for a "Developmental state" that has the capacity to deliver services at national level but also creating a platform for the private sector to make a meaningful investment through trade and investment The article moves from the premise that "Developmental state" should be one that is able to intervene in service delivery as well as to intervene in the running of the economy especially as it relates to the role of the private sector in driving national and international goals. It is the argument of these article that for a "Developmental state" to become functional its should be comprised of meritocratic bureaucracy that is able to make use of the interventionist power in the same way that the East Asian Countries has done. As such the article arises from the argument that although the ANC led government has declared South Africa a "Developmental state", such a state is still faced with numerous challenges that deter it to fulfill the requirements of a "Developmental state". The study focus will also look at the extent at which the South African state is moving towards becoming a fully-fledged "Developmental state" regardless of the challenges been experienced and encountered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ignorance, or the lack of knowledge, appears to be steadily spreading, despite the increasing availability of information. The notion of informed ignorance herein proposed to describe the widespread position of being exposed to an abundance of information yet lacking relevant knowledge, which is tied to the exponential growth in misinformation driven by technological developments and social media. Linked to many of societies' most looming catastrophes, from political polarization to the climate crisis, practices related to knowledge and information are deemed some of the most imminent and daunting modern threats, evidenced by the latest report of the World Economic Forum, which has named misinformation the most severe short-term global risk. This paper's epistemic perspective links the properties of today's information culture and the ways in which it interacts with individual capacities and limitations in current technological and socio-political contexts. Such a position is analyzed through the lens of epistemic principles as a contemporary epistemic phenotype that emerges from an environment of ill-adapted and excessive information inputs and leads to a distinctive type of social injustice that is primarily epistemic in nature. While equity and accessibility are widely discussed as important contributing factors to epistemic discrepancies, other overlooked but fundamental issues underlying epistemic injustices are considered, such as information manipulation, cognitive limitations, and epistemic degradation. To effectively face this elusive threat, we propose an inclusive viewpoint that harnesses knowledge from cognitive science, science and technology studies, and social epistemology to inform a unifying theory of its main impacts and driving forces. By adjusting a modern epistemic framework to the described phenomena, we intend to contextually outline its trajectory and possible means of containment based on a shared responsibility to maintain ethical epistemic standards. In a time of international unrest and mounting civil acts of violence, it is pertinent to emphasize the ethical principles of knowledge systems and authorities and suggest policy adaptations to maintain a social contract based on the shared values of truth and freedom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The health epidemic of 2020 set off a culture war and, like all national crises, revealed exactly who we Americans are. This essay examines Danielle Allen's Democracy in the Time of Coronavirus , a wise, humane, and indispensable guide for negotiating a health pandemic—if not this one, the inevitable next one. It reflects on her five-point guide to handling pandemics, comparing her ideals to the national experience. This essay places Allen's monograph in the context of the larger literature on the coronavirus in America. The essay traces how and why public health fell into the American culture wars, notes the brief glimmer of a genuine social welfare safety net that briefly emerged during the crisis, and summarizes the epidemic's dismal toll on American lives, suggesting why even much poorer nations did a better job of protecting their citizens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]