Imaginary Turns in Critical Theory: Imagining Subjects in Tension

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine two turns towards the idea of the creative imagination in contemporary critical theory in the works of Axel Honneth and Cornelius Castoriadis. Honneth's work subsumes the idea of the creative imagination under the paradigm of mutual recognition. Castoriadis constructs the idea of the creative imagination from an ontological perspective. However, Castoriadis' idea of the primary autism of the creative imagination can be thrown into relief by Hegel's Jena Lectures. Hegel's and Castoriadis' work opens onto a subjectivity in tension, that is, a subjectivity that is forged out of a combination of subjective interiority, as well as the patterns of interaction that are multidimensional in their scope and create social spaces that force the subject beyond an initial closure.     

Urban Regeneration and Public Space: The Story of an Urban Park

This paper uses case-study material from a local urban park in Glasgow, Scotland, to reflect on some aspects of the wider politics of culture led urban regeneration in relation to community involvement and participation and its relationship with public space. Using case-study material from before, during and after the park's development, it highlights how the initial discursive and policy practices utilised by the city and the park's designer served to create an illusion of collaboration and inclusive public space and that the park's development in the long term was starkly revealed to be primarily focused on improving Glasgow's wider image and improving Glasgow's attractiveness to potential inward investors. It will be shown, then, that the inclusive language surrounding culture-led regeneration as regards this urban public space was obfuscatory and that the underlying social context and local public space needs were undermined by wider economic goals.     

Iraq: The New Criminal 'War' of the Transnational Elite

Abstract The aims of this paper are fourfold: first, to show that the present invasion and occupation of Iraq is in fact the culmination of a campaign that began with the 'war' in the Gulf in 1991 and continued with over a decade of constant bombardment and embargo, with the overall aim of establishing a client regime in Iraq as a means of achieving a number of important economic and geopolitical aims; second, to discuss the role of the UN in the New World Order and the change in this role between the 'Clinton doctrine' and the 'Bush' doctrine'; third, to discuss the criminal invasion itself and the dubious character of the 'victory' claimed by the transnational elite,1 all the members of which, directly or indirectly, took part in this campaign; fourth to examine the role of the Left in relation to the 'war'.Our armies do not come into your cities and lands as conquerors or enemies, but as liberators. (British) Proclamation of Baghdad, 19 March 1917 Our forces are friends and liberators of the Iraqi people, not your conquerors. Tony Blair's address on Towards Freedom TV, 10 April 2003     

新世纪政府管理改革的新课题

新世纪的到来给各国政府管理改革带来了新的课题。新世纪是信息通讯技术高度发达,公民参与政府管理及政策制定的机会和期望不断增强的朝代;新世纪将是政府机构改革和组织变革需要不断按照企业精神和再造模式广泛推进的时代;新世纪将是政府官员需要在思想观念和行为方式上革心洗面,脱胎换骨,从而要求行政教育培训目标和模式进行相庆变革的时代。这些新的课题正日益引起各国政府和专家学的关注和兴趣,如何积极主动地迎接新世纪     

The New Enclosures: London,New York City,Philadelphia, and the Transformation of Public Space

ABSTRACT

In recent years, social movements have taken to the streets to protest various forms of economic and racial injustice. However, these attempts to exploit the political opportunities public spaces afford have been compromised by the increasingly private nature of “public” spaces. What has changed is the rise of privately owned public spaces (POPS), areas that appear to be public, but in fact are owned by corporations that prohibit a range of activities, including political protest. This article argues such restrictions of public space are not limited to POPS. Rather, they are just one expression of a far more pervasive phenomenon, novel variations on centuries-old practices by which common or public land has been enclosed. I suggest that four forms of enclosure -for profit, of behavior, of community, and of the public realm- degrade the status of public institutions and insulate private interests from counter-mobilization by groups pursuing egalitarian ends.     

Viewpoint: New Ethics for Space Commerce

The space age is likely to be dominated by space commercial activities. As these activities develop, it is important to consider business values, commercial ethics, and trade discipline. The failure to do so could result in space commercial development on the basis of greed for profit and competitive advantage for advancement, as has taken place on Earth. To better prevent this possibility, this article proposes that there is the need to develop a “New Ethics for Space Commerce” based on high standards of business morality and commercial honesty, with moorings in conscious social responsibility and due regard to ecological sustainability.     

区域创新网络:区域协调发展的新途径

“促进区域协调发展”是“十一五”规划提出的重要任务之一,也是“创新发展模式”的题中应有之义。只有区域创新网络才能使“东部领飞、西部跟进、东北振兴、中部崛起”的四大方略既尊重和鼓励分别发展,又有综合协调机制,进而形成合理的区域发展新格局。     

Muslims in Space: Observing Religious Rites in a New Environment

The first men to fly into space precipitated comments about religion and God, but for most of the history of human spaceflight these comments related to Christianity. As International Space Station partners recruit spacefarers from Islamic countries, they face new religious challenges. Islam is distinct from other large monotheistic religions by virtue of the fact that Muslim worship practices require routine attention to Earth geography and astronomy. It is a vantage point that changes in low Earth orbit. Recent Muslim astronauts and cosmonauts have led the way in adapting religious practices to their position above the Earth.     

Gender, Policy, Politics, and Work: Feminist Comparative and Transnational Research

abstract This article reviews feminist comparative and transnational research on workplace policy, politics and the state. The first section examines a range of theoretical approaches to the topic. We then present a variety of methodologies for conducting comparative and transnational research on policy developments. Informed by a number of case studies included in the symposium, we explore the dynamics and determinants, both national and supranational, of policy formation and its impacts. Finally, we tease out the implicit and explicit notions of gender equity for future policy analysis.     

Space and Diplomacy: A New Tool for Leverage

This essay investigates how United States space systems can be used to directly achieve diplomatic objectives. While space systems are widely acknowledged as vital enablers of terrestrial-based forces, they are often overlooked as a critical component of national power capable of directly pursuing national objectives. The essay presents the Space-Diplomacy model that posits seven facets to the diplomatic power of space assets and shows when they can be effective over the spectrum of conflict: prestige, technology partnerships, access to space services, legal precedent, objective information, presence, and threat of punishment. Therefore, it is in the U.S. national interest to…use the nation's potential in space to support its domestic, economic, diplomatic and national security objectives. Report of the Space Commission During the three decades after World War II ended, on the average, U.S. armed forces were used as a political instrument once every other month. Barry M. Blechman and Stephen S. Kaplan     

Stephen Noakes,The Advocacy Trap: Transnational Activism and State Power in China

Journal of Chinese Political Science -     

A New US-Sino Space Relationship: Moving Toward Cooperation 1

Since the late 1990's the United States has maintained a strict policy of no cooperation with China on space activities. The reasons for that are several, including the desire to inhibit the development of dual-use technology considered potentially threatening to the United States and political reluctance to work with a communist country. Increasingly, however, it has become clear that policy is not constraining China from dual-use technology development and that the policy overall may be detrimental to U.S. security interests. Therefore a policy change, from a realistic consideration of circumstances, must be considered.     

(Re)Imagining Coexistence: Striving for Sustainable Return, Reintegration and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Prior to the 1992–1995 war in Bosnia and Herzegovina,Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats shared neighbourhoods and friendships.The war, through its objective and effect, divided these communitiesand groups. Postconflict, the physical return of displaced personsand refugees was, and remains, insufficient to renew coexistence.Moreover, the weak economy aggravates divisions, further impedingsustainable return and reconciliation. Recognising these difficulties,UNHCR launched ‘Imagine Coexistence,’ a series ofactivities designed to rebuild trust among ethnic groups inareas of return. Many of the activities involved an income-generatingcomponent. The article reviews this and other similar initiativesthat aim to promote livelihoods, community development, returnand coexistence concurrently. It finds that while such inventiveprojects receive limited attention and funding, they have achievedsuccesses in repairing social relationships, addressing povertyand strengthening communities in Bosnia. Consequently, theyshould be given greater prominence in Bosnia and more generallyin the design of transitional justice and peace building interventions.     

Voter Turnout in Norway: Time, Space, and Causality

This article focuses on diachronic and synchronic variation in Norwegian electoral turnout from 1945 to 1991. The model contains aggregate data divided into two-year intervals with regions as cross-sections. The impact of both socio-economic and political variables is tested. The two-dimensional view on turnout variation makes it possible to distinguish between short-term and long-term effects, as well as between national versus local factors. In contrast to related studies, this analysis actually tests for causality relationships between different political variables. The empirical results indicate that an increase in either national unemployment or regional income contributes to an increase in turnout rates. Electoral participation is also positively related to Labour support, industrial employment and strike activity.     

Tele-Reality: How Space Technology Transforms Human Perceptions of Space,Time, and Self

With the introduction and development of space techniques, three types of remote reality, or tele-reality, have emerged: (1) the Earth, its environments, and its inhabitants have been brought closer to each of us; (2) the planets in the solar system are now “at hand's reach”—a robotic hand, that is; and (3) deep space is brought to our screens in three dimensions. But remote reality raises questions: What connection does it make between the perceptible and the intelligible; and what confusion does it maintain between what is real and what appears on the screen? New practices are challenging the way we handle the relationship between seeing, knowledge, and power, and questioning our ethical values. It is time and essential that we redefine the conditions and boundaries of our “tele-techniques.”     

Imagining and practising citizenship in austere times: the work of Citizens Advice

This article explores the significance of citizenship for those working in Citizens Advice, a network of voluntary organisations in the UK that exists to provide peer-to-peer advice and support to those facing problems. Drawing on a recent research study, the article considers the ways in which the ‘citizen in citizens advice’ is imagined and translated into practice. Despite current political and policy moves to shrink citizenship (in terms of eligibility, access and substance), the ‘citizen in citizens advice’ is regularly thought about in expansive ways that draw on other imaginaries of citizenship. We suggest that these everyday discursive practices of citizenship are important both in analytic terms and in reinvigorating a political discussion otherwise focused upon restriction and exclusion.     

The politics of resonance: Transnational sustainability governance in Argentina

Why do private governance initiatives trigger greater participation in one country than another? This article examines the domestic dimension of transnational regulation through a case study of private sustainability governance in Argentina. Drawing from theories of contentious politics, the argument poses that the resonance of transnational private governance is shaped by the semantic compatibility of “incoming” sustainability programs against national political culture. Analyzing the limited participation of Argentine actors in contemporary sustainability initiatives, the article claims that the validity and relevance of sustainability programs is affected by three dimensions of national political culture accentuated over the last decade: a politicized model of state‐society relations, the low visibility of environmental matters, and a widespread anti‐corporate culture. By examining the ideational fundamentals of the “politics of resonance” in Argentina, the article makes a relevant and original contribution to transnational regulation literature, highlighting the need for theoretical accounts and empirical analyses that address domestic and cultural variables as fundamental pieces in transnational norm diffusion and effectiveness.