The rationalization of democracy: Liberal,elitist, and corporatist conceptions of democracy∗

Charles Murray, Losing Ground: American Social Policy, 1950–1980 (New York: Basic Books, 1984).

On Bureaucratic Discourse: A Radical Feminist Analysis of the Role of Public Administration in Late Capitalism

Jean Baudrillard, In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities . . . or the End of the Social and Other Essays, trans, by Paul Foss, Paul Patton and John Johnston (New York: Semiotext(e), 1983), 123 pp.

Jean Baudrillard, Simulations, trans. by Paul Foss, Paul Patton and Philip Beitchman (New York: Semiotext(e), 1983), 159 pp.

Omar Cabezas, Fire from the Mountain: The Making of a Sandinista, translated by Kathleen Weaver with a foreword by Carlos Fuentes and an afterword by Walter LaFeber (Crown Publishers, Inc.: New York, 1985), pp. 233.     

Ideas and Policy Change

Peter Hall's 1993 article came at the same time as a parallel body of literature was developing, some building explicitly, some only implicitly, on similar ideas. I review some literature on policy communities, ideas, and the nature of policy change before exploring the statistical distribution of budget changes at three levels of aggregation. The similarity of these results suggests that a single process may be at work rather than different processes for first‐, second‐, and third‐order change, as Hall's original formulation has it. As Hall suggests, these processes typically generate only marginal adjustments but occasionally create fundamental change. The degree of discredit to the status quo may be an important unexplored variable in explaining the ability of policy reformers to enact marginal, substantial, or fundamental policy changes. In sum, this article shows the similarities and mutual value of Hall's approach with others that would appear to be starkly contrasting.     

Celebrity Culture

Although the idea of a celebrity has been around for a long time, its mutation into an important cultural force is a relatively recent development. In recent decades the meaning of a celebrity has altered and is now often applied to those who are famous for being famous. The ascendancy of the celebrity has been fuelled by society’s uneasy relationship with the question of authority. Often celebrity provides an alternative source of validation. The tendency to outsource authority to the celebrity represents an attempt to bypass the problem of legitimacy by politicians and other figures.     

JUSTICE IN HELMAND – THE CHALLENGE OF LAW REFORM IN A SOCIETY AT WAR

The author describes the shortcomings of the justice system in Helmand province and the problems of running an effective Western-style system when civil authority is strongly contested. Traditional methods of dispute resolution are examined, together with the approach followed by the Taleban. His conclusion is pessimistic. A choice has to be made between accepting an effective traditional system and supporting a system familiar to the West which has little local traction.     

Modernität – zur Kritik eines Schlüsselbegriffs soziologischer Zeitdiagnose

The article discusses different research perspectives of the concept of modernity. Against the background of Max Weber’s diagnosis of the time, it analyzes the circular construction of this concept. Using discourse theory, the article traces the most important meanings of this concept as developed in the work of authors like Beck, Luhmann, Taylor, Habermas and Eisenstadt. Contrary to existing assumptions of a universal concept of modernity, the article argues for a sociological analysis of the concept of modernity in the line of post-colonial approache, which then can be used for a more adequate diagnosis of the time.