The Perils of Public Intellectualism

Against the background of prophetic and rabbinic thought and action, where ideas of God and the good allowed morality and spirituality to inform one another, Goodman considers the role of public intellectuals today. He cites the expanding electronic media for lengthening the reach and broadening the franchise but narrowing the gaze and the audience of those intellectuals who seek a public role and warns against oversimplification, shrillness, and the hazards of the echo chamber, where pigeonholing and niche marketing shrink one’s audience to the already convinced.

Examining general strain: Using subjective and objective measures of academic strain to predict delinquency

General Strain Theory (GST) places importance on the experience of negative emotional states resulting from exposure to stressful and/or negative events. Subsequent research has suggested that identifying strain might be contingent upon the use of objective or subjective measures of strain, and that the types of delinquent outcomes assessed might mediate the significance of the findings. Using a sample of nontraditional high school students, this study examines whether objective or subjective measures of academic strain will explain involvement in both substance use (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs) or delinquent offending. We conclude with results and policy implications.     

Claiming rights in exile: women’s insurgent citizenship practices in the Thai-Myanmar borderlands

ABSTRACT

This paper examines insurgent citizenship practices employed by activists in the exiled Burmese women’s movement from the 1990s and onwards. Consisting of political exiles, refugees and ethnic insurgents, this movement has successfully used the transnational, transitory space of the borderlands to constitute its participants as political subjects with legitimate claims to rights, citizenship and leadership. Drawing on interviews, this analysis interrogates women’s activism through the lens of insurgent citizenship practices. Thus, how have Burmese women’s activists claimed rights and lived citizenship in exile? Three main strategies are examined: firstly, women activists have positioned themselves as political actors and authorities through involvement in governance and humanitarian aid delivery in refugee camps. Secondly, they have claimed rights and political subjectivity through engagement with international norms, networks and arenas. Thirdly, they have claimed citizenship and political influence in oppositional nation-making projects through engaging with and negotiating ethno-nationalist armed struggles. The analysis highlights the multifaceted nature of women’s insurgent citizenship practices, showing how they navigate multiple marginalized subject positions, direct their rights claims towards multiple governing authorities, and enact multiple political communities.     

Forging a Resilient Social Contract in South Africa: States and Societies Sustaining Peace in the Post-Apartheid Era

ABSTRACT

Since the advent of democracy in the 1990s, the South African political settlement has ushered into policy a progressive framework for the realization of socio-economic rights, enshrined by the Constitution. However, this political settlement has failed to translate into an economic and social settlement that results in just livelihood strategies and equitable service delivery that addresses historical grievances. Inadequate implementation of socio-economic policies designed to address injustice has contributed to weakening vertical cohesion between state and society. Analysing these two core conflict issues, access to service delivery and livelihood strategies, this article argues that the interaction of the political settlement and the ability of institutions to deliver effectively has negatively affected state-society relations and the legitimacy of the reconciliation agenda meant to support inter-group cohesion.     

Love,activism, and the possibility of radical social change in Mostar

ABSTRACT

This article reflects on the meanings and possibilities of social change in Mostar, a city more often associated with the seeming impossibility of eradicating ethno-national divisions and corruption that paralyses it. It focuses on the under-researched politics of grassroots activism by drawing on Hardt’s and Negri’s work on the political potential of ‘love’ to shape and propel radical politics. Overall, the article reveals the lack of a cohesive agenda of grassroots politics in Mostar, and asks whether love (that creates and sustains political movement) can educate, patiently, to the revolution.     

世贸组织上诉机构与欧洲法院司法能动之比较——为什么慎谈世贸组织“司法宪法化”

关于世界贸易组织以及欧洲联盟"宪政"的关注度日见高涨,其中,不乏将"司法造法"视为世贸组织制度"宪法化"引擎"的"司法宪法化"学说。但在政府间国际组织内谈论"宪政",不得不保持审慎的态度。比较世界贸易组织上诉机构澄清规则、填补规则、引入规则的司法能动,与欧洲法院的实践有本质的不同,其能动性的发挥有显著的特殊性,不得不区别对待、具体分析。     

梁启超自由主义的教育哲学

梁启超的教育哲学,是他的整个自由主义思想的组成部分,其基础是他一直倡导的学术自由思想。他明确地反对思想学术"定于一尊",反对学界"宗师一统",而主张"学界各派并立"。在谈到教育思想时,梁启超明确主张"精神教育者自由教育也",由此,他提出了"尽性主义"的命题,即认为应该把充分发挥自己的个性,作为教育的最重要目的;与此同时,他还要求每个受教育者,必须注意保护和培养自己的自由意志,最大限度地实现个人的价值;此外,梁启超还提出了"趣味主义"的教育思想,在他看来,真正的教育,应该是一种"趣味教育",他认为,成功的教育事业,全在唤起受教育者的趣味,培养人们对做学问的乐趣,这才是教育家最大的本事。梁启超的自由主义教育哲学,无论是"尽性主义",还是"趣味主义",都是对传统教育思想一种尖锐的挑战。     

Count us! Ethnic Activism in South-Eastern Estonia,and the Census of 2011

The ethnic activists of south Estonia (the Seto and Võro movements), challenging traditional concepts of the Estonian nation, tried to exploit the last national census (2011) for their cause, but were only partly successful because of opposition from decision-makers at Statistics Estonia, who have demonstrated a spontaneous conservatism in regard to questions of ethnicity and language. The government’s response to the initiatives of the ethnic activists was inconsistent, passive, and reactive. This matter has simply not been thought through at the state level.     

Kenya's political ‘transition’ through the eyes of its ‘foot soldiers’ for democracy and human rights (1997–2012)

This is a study of young human rights activists who provide a unique window on Kenya's recent and turbulent political history (1997–2012). The period includes the end of authoritarian rule and election of a ‘reform’ government in 2002 that expanded some human rights but abused others. Based on archival materials and periodic, multiple interviews by the author with key youth activists, the findings make three contributions to the study of human rights and democracy. First, it identifies the often overlooked role of secondary level activists in a human rights/democracy social movement, the so-called ‘foot soldiers’. Second, it explores the failure of Kenya to consolidate its democracy and quell police violence, including the assassination of two human rights investigators, an event which sent a chill through the activist community. Third, by tracing the trajectory of some ‘foot soldiers’ during this period, the study confirms a theory of a cycle of social movement activism but suggests modifications.     

学术期刊面临的现实问题

在知识经济时代,人文社科类学术期刊必须摒弃原有的办刊观念,自觉的走向市场,实现读者、编者、作者三者的统一,才能找准自己的位置和立足点。传统的办刊模式如今已演变成了一些人评定职称的工具,这种做法严重窒息了学术期刊的发展,我们必须面对这种现实。要使学术期刊适应21世纪社会政治经济的需要,首先要有一批适应知识经济时代需要的编辑;要敢于打破常规,实现内容和形式上的更新;要贴近读者、贴近生活。学术期刊还要有对社会热点问题的调控能力。