Interfaith dialogue in global perspective and the necessity of youth involvement

In today’s global landscape, the success of interfaith initiatives is ascertained when their intended aim is envisioned and clarified. This article claims that the truest aim of interfaith dialogue in global perspective is the mutual transformation of cultural and religious realities, maintaining that when this vision becomes the underpinning informing the context of dialogue then interfaith engagement is elevated to an authentic spiritual practice effective across religious borders, assuring its destination in the advancement of intercultural relations and culture in general. Today, interfaith dialogue ought to focus more on common responses to global issues rather than differences among traditions; unimpeded, it can then engage mutual transformation for the benefit of all, achieving also significant steps toward transforming stultifying paradigms of present interreligious discourse. Positive change forwarding harmonious coexistence is an ongoing process involving the work of many generations. Steadfast youth involvement in interfaith dialogue is deemed imperative for sustainable harmony and peace.     

Cosmopolitanism,Nationalism, and Sexual Politics in the European Periphery: a Multiscalar Analysis of Gay Prides in Thessaloniki,Greece

Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, has seen a sudden attempt to establish LGBT politics during the last 5 years, due to movement mobilization and favourable local and European opportunity structures. The article suggests a multiscalar analysis of Thessaloniki Prides, which takes into account politics articulated by a series of actors located in distinct scales. These actors include institutional and religious authorities, as well as the local LGBT movement. The analysis demonstrates that Thessaloniki Prides are shaped by conflicting discursive blocks articulated through the national, urban/local, and transnational scale. Prides, as the most visible outcome of the local LGBT movement, become a collective action, which is shaped and continuously challenged by its embeddedness in these scales. This analysis brings new insights into the geo-temporal politics of LGBT politics, reminding that European periphery’s sexual politics are located in a nexus of progressive cosmopolitanism and nationalist anti-modernity. In fact, the Thessaloniki case demonstrates that being part of the Western periphery places sexual politics between a globalist EU-ized discourse of modernity on the one hand and anti-secular views on heteronormative traditions on the other. Such a space is the setting where grassroots LGBTQ movements perform their politics.     

Constitutional Illegitimacy over Brexit

Members and supporters of the British government say that the only constitutionally legitimate course of action over Brexit after the referendum is to press ahead with withdrawal from the European Union, even if that would entail the complete severance of all ties (which we normally call ‘hard Brexit’). A more sophisticated view of the constitution, however, shows that these more or less populist arguments are false. As the Supreme Court confirmed in the recent Gina Miller judgment, the constitution did not change with the June referendum. Parliament is still supreme and determines both ordinary legislation and constitutional change. In fact, if one examines closely the claim that the referendum entails hard Brexit, it becomes obvious that this claim is false as well. The referendum opened the door for one among four different possibilities. Which Brexit option—if any—the United Kingdom should take is a matter for Parliament now to decide, following the normal processes of democratic deliberation and representation.     

The Idea of a European Constitution

Any abstract account of a field of law must make generalizationsthat are both faithful to the legal materials and appropriateto the subject matter's aims. The uniqueness and fluidity ofthe European Union's institutions makes such generalizationsvery difficult. A common theoretical approach to EU law (onethat is often relied upon by the Court of Justice, the Parliamentand the Commission) is to borrow directly from the theory ofdomestic constitutional law. The most recent manifestation ofthis tendency is the draft Treaty on the European Constitution,which includes many of the symbolic features of a domestic constitutionalorder. But the European Union is not a state and the constitutionalanalogy is in many ways problematic. In this article I defendthe view that a more complex theory is more appropriate to theunique combination of ordinary politics with diplomatic conferencesthat constitutes the European Union. The key to these institutionsis, in my view, a Kantian international ideal of liberal peace.The foundational constitutional principles of the EU, principlesthat both fit the current legal framework and offer its mostattractive interpretation, require the qualified autonomy ofmember states in a union of republics that create collectiveinstitutions for the purposes of liberal peace.     

Sudden Death After Myocardial Infarction in a High‐School Athlete

Abstract: This is an unusual case of ischemic heart disease occurring in a young female athlete, aged 14 years, in whom almost the entire posterior wall of the left ventricle was affected. The patient collapsed and died suddenly after a vigorous physical activity while resting at home. The ischemic lesion was apparently owing to right orifice stenosis in association with a small hypoplastic right coronary artery.     

Cosmopolitan Law

The European Union need not choose between the two options of a federalist constitution or a loose intergovernmental association of states. There is a third possibility. This is described by Kant as an order of perpetual peace, whereby states undertake to one another to be good republics, to join in a federation of peace, and to respect the rights of each other's citizens. For Kant this corresponds to a combination of principles of constitutional law, international law and, a new category, 'cosmopolitan law'. If we adopt Kant's concepts we can see, first, that the international law of human rights has become some kind of cosmopolitan law of the international community and that, second, parts of European Community law can also be seen as cosmopolitan law for its member states. The features of cosmopolitan law are that it does not follow a conventional theory of sources of law, it does not respect traditional state sovereignty and does not require a hierarchy of institutions for its interpretation and application.     

Exploring the Impact of Agricultural Price and Trade Policy Reform under Transition in Albania

Agricultural policy decision making in economies undergoing transition to market is in need of empirical tools for assessing the impact of alternative policy options. The econometric means available for such exercise, however, are limited for lack of data and structural breaks in economic behaviour. Synthetic, partial equilibrium, multi-market models offer a potential alternative. Such models have been used extensively, even in advanced economies, to offer valuable insights on the impact of alternative policy options. This paper shows the use of such a partial equilibrium, multi-market, synthetic-type model as a tool for agricultural policy analysis in a country in transition. The model is applied for Albania, a predominantly agricultural country that, after a period of centralism and autarky, aims to re-join the international economic system. The model, albeit its many limitations, offers some useful insights on the impact of alternative options available for agricultural price and trade policy.     

Law And Sovereignty

How is it possible that the idea of sovereignty still features in legal and political philosophy? Most contemporary political philosophers have little use for the idea of ‘unlimited’ or ‘absolute’ power, which is how sovereignty is normally defined. A closer look at sovereignty identifies two possible accounts: sovereignty as the fact of power or sovereignty as a title to govern. The first option, which was pursued by John Austin’s command theory of law, leads to an unfamiliar view of law and the state, which was justly criticised by H. L. A. Hart. The second option, leads to a paradox, because under this view sovereignty is both limited and unlimited. Hence, this argument shows that law and sovereignty are actually incompatible. Where there is law there is no sovereignty, and where there is sovereignty there is no law.