Quentin Skinner: From Historian of Ideas to Political Scientist

This article is an assessment of Quentin Skinner's contribution to the study of political change and to the contemporary debate in political philosophy. We argue that the significance of Skinner's work to a large extent has been neglected by political scientists, as they have tended to regard him solely as a historian of ideas rather than as a political scientist. However, Skinner's approach not only offers valuable methodological lessons but a historically grounded framework that accounts for the relationship between human agency and the structural language-context, that make actions meaningful. This allows for a conception of historical change that is neither narrowly structuralist nor exclusively focused on the individual agent. In his most recent historical works, Skinner has entered the main debate of contemporary political philosophy, i. e. the debate between liberals and communitarians. Here, his analysis of the classical republican tradition of political thought, attempts a revitalization of the debate beyond the stereotypes of liberalism and Aristotelianism. This work points towards the possibility of developing a radical reconception of modern liberal democracy.     

Private Sentiments in a Public Context: Aspects of Co-operative Housing in Oslo

The subject of the article is the Oslo model of co-operative housing. A cooperative model may be considered a predominantly 'public' solution, or given a more 'private' flavor, depending on the different forms given to the co-operative idea. This article considers the political consequences of alternative implementations. It presents a historical survey of the initial reactions of the tenant urban working class to the insecurities of the housing market, its inevitable clash with landlord interests, and the earlier varieties of radical and socialist responses to the housing misery. The search for a 'public' form of ownership leads to the gradual acceptance of the co-operative solution, and the rise of one co-operative organisation (OBOS) from a position of modesty to one of dominance. The administrative principles employed in the distribution of apartments lead to a number of unexpected consequences relating to the rights of the members and owners. While the OBOS administration is engaged in limiting the contagion of the 'free market', it is also concerned not to antagonize the opinions of the members. These conflicting interests lead to a number of administrative knots, particularly since new sentiments among both old and more recent members press towards a 'private' interpretation. The political parties react to these sentiments in the electorate in different ways, but with deep concern for the increasing interest in ownership.     

Perceived Quality of Life and Health Complaints in Children Exposed to Intimate Partner Violence

Children 9 to 13 years old exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) reported on their violence exposure, attachment to both parents, temperament (negative emotionality and emotion regulation), perceived quality of life, and health complaints. Half of the children perceived their quality of life as good and did not have recurrent health complaints. When controlling for socioeconomic status, health complaints were associated with higher IPV exposure and negative emotionality, whereas quality of life was associated with attachment security, higher capacity for emotion regulation, and lower negative emotionality. These results underscore the importance of increasing and supporting the capacity of children exposed to IPV to handle and express their emotions, as well as making school nurses and other primary care practitioners more attentive to IPV as a possible background factor in children’s health complaints.     

Peace-building Through Space-making: The Spatializing Effects of the African Union’s Peace and Security Policies

ABSTRACT

This article is discussing how the peace-building practices of the African Union have distinct ordering and space-making effects. Taking a socio-spatial perspective, it is argued that the peace and security projects through which the African Union, as a spatial entrepreneur, is addressing the scourge of ‘terrorism and violent extremism’ are geared towards (re-)establishing sovereignty that member states have lost in the past over their territories. While the African Union is favouring a spatial format that could be called ‘multiple networked regionalism’, the actual socio-spatial orders that are emerging around Africa’s transregional conflicts are far less clear cut.     

Knowledge production on conflict early warning at the African Union

ABSTRACT

How does the African Union (AU) generate knowledge about on-going violent conflict as well as post-conflict situations? This article offers an analysis of the multiple sites and sources in the construction of conflict-related knowledge. It also reflects on the various institutional ways this knowledge is filtered into the activities of a wide range of AU actors, starting with the AU Commission, the AU Commission Chairperson and the Peace and Security Council. Emphasis is on the development of the Continental Early Warning System and some of its limitations, the latter partly related to the specific organisational culture of the African Union.     

Municipal Amalgamations and the Democratic Functioning of Local Councils: The Case of The Danish 2007 Structural Reform

This article discusses the effects of the structural reform in Denmark in 2007 – where a large number of municipalities were amalgamated – on local councillors' influence on decisions taken in the local political realm. The analysis uses data from two large surveys, a pre-reform survey (2003) and a post-reform survey (2009). The analysis shows that the amalgamations have led to an increase in the perceived influence of leading councillors vis-à-vis other councillors and a decrease in the perceived influence of the council vis-à-vis its top administrative officers. Furthermore, it is found that there is an increase in the number of councillors who find that local political decisions are determined by laws and rules from central government, but at the same time it is shown that this increase cannot be ascribed to the amalgamations.