Suchergebnisse

Why some democratic revolutions succeed while others fail? The scholarly community has sought to address this issue from various perspectives, from rational choice approaches to collective action theories. Too little attention, however, has been paid to analyzing the role of the military. By discussing the different types of interactions played by the military in five cases of successful democratic revolutions—the 1910 Portuguese Republican Revolution, the 1958 Venezuelan Revolution, the 1960 April Revolution in South Korea, the 1989 Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia, and the 2000 Bulldozer Revolution in Yugoslavia—and three cases of failed revolutions, the 1905 bourgeois-liberal revolution in Russia, the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests in China, and the 2016 Turkey's coup attempt, this study finds out that the key factor in determining their outcome is the army's response and that the military backing is a necessary condition for a democratic revolution to succeed.

The term "dirty war" has been applied to various periods of political violence and armed conflict around the world: the dirty wars of Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s, the dirty war in Chechnya, and even the dirty war in Israel. Yet, given its broad spectrum of application, there is no established definition explaining what a dirty war is. These conflicts all titled "dirty wars" occur in different times, different locations, and for different reasons. Such ambiguous use of this term in such different environments is extremely confusing. This project set out to establish a working definition for the term, dirty war, by tracing the term through history. The Latin American dirty wars represent the first instances in which the term dirty war was widely used to describe the violence, but is not where the principles of a dirty war originated. Various historical progressions occurred in the decades before the 1970s to develop the techniques that would ultimately be transformed by military governments in Latin America into the first occurrences of dirty war. This project follows these ideas retroactively from Latin America to France, North Africa, Vietnam, and China. Dirty war is a technique used during an armed conflict by national militaries to achieve a political goal and is characterized by a major episode of violence known as politicide. The perpetrators of a dirty war create the illusion of war by manipulating the social perception of threat. Using this constructed social fear of violence, perpetrators of dirty war commit acts of violence they justify as necessary measures to prevent a greater violence. These actions create a submissive society allowing for the standing government to undo the political reforms carried out by its predecessors. The use of dirty war as a technique is justifiable motivation for foreign military intervention on the basis of humanitarian protection as defined by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty's report, The Responsibility to Protect. The Chilean case is considered to be the prototypical example of dirty war. This project uses the Chilean case to show how a dirty war presents itself with examples of the techniques mentioned above. After establishing this foundation, the project compares the Chilean and Argentine cases of dirty war. This comparison forces the working definition of dirty war to adopt a degree of flexibility to account for differences that can exist between events that are veritable dirty wars. While these differences do exist in the techniques applied during a dirty war, the most striking differences are found in how effectively the political goals of a dirty war are achieved. This is critical to understand because the social reconstruction element representative of a dirty war's political goals will determine how and why a society reconciles with the violence of a dirty war. This project applies the constructed conceptual framework to a more contemporary instance of "dirty war" in the Russian Republic of Chechnya to prove that the Chechen case is not a dirty war as defined by the Chilean and Argentine cases. The Chechen case is a civil war in terms of loss of life, destruction, and military mobilization. It is "dirty" because the armed conflict in Chechnya is clouded by unknown political motivations and goals, elements of genocide, and transnational terrorism. "Dirty war" here is used by journalists to draw attention to these issues and to persuade the Russian people to end the conflict.

The Rivers of Montenegro: Introductory Remarks -- The Hydrology and Hydrogeology of Montenegro -- The utilization of the hydropower potential of rivers in Montenegro -- Drainage basins of Montenegro under climate change -- The Change in the Water Chemistry of the Rivers of Montenegro over a 10-Year Period -- Impact of pollution on rivers in Montenegro – ecotoxicological perspective -- Microbiological Water Quality of Rivers in Montenegro -- The Biodiversity and Biogeographical Characteristics of the River Basins of Montenegro -- Vegetation in ravine habitats of Montenegro -- The Intermittent Rivers of South Montenegro: Ecology and Biomonitoring -- Application of Google Earth in mapping intermittent rivers of Montenegro -- Do Molluscs Assemblages Reflect River Typology: a case study of Montenegro -- The Rivers of Montenegro – from Conflicts to Science-based Management. .

"In Prisoners of Hope, prize-winning historian Randall B. Woods presents the first comprehensive history of the Great Society, exploring both the breathtaking possibilities of visionary politics, as well as its limits. During his first two years in office, Johnson passed a host of historic liberal legislation as part of his Great Society campaign, from the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act to the 1964 Food Stamp Act, Medicare, and Medicaid. But Johnson's ambitious vision for constructing a better, stronger America contained within it the seeds of the program's own destruction. A consummate legislator, Johnson controlled Congress like no president before or since. But as Woods shows, Johnson faced mounting resistance to his legislative initiatives after the 1966 midterm elections, and not always from the Southern whites who are typically thought to have been his opponents. As white opposition to his policies mounted, Johnson was forced to make a number of devastating concessions in order to secure the passage of further Great Society legislation. Even as Americans benefited from the Great Society, millions were left disappointed, from suburban whites to the new anti-war left to urban blacks. Their disillusionment would help give rise to powerful new factions in both the Democratic and Republican parties. The issues addressed by Lyndon Johnson and his cohort remain before the American people today, as we've witnessed in the fight for Obamacare, the racial unrest in St. Louis and Baltimore, and the bitter debate over immigration. As Prisoners of Hope tragically demonstrates, America is still fundamentally at war over the legacy of the Great Society"--

"This book investigates the labour history of a people who have not been involved in the twentieth-century labour movement in large numbers: North American Mennonites. It explores their historically-constructed attitudes toward organized labour and unions, which it attempts to understand on its own terms. Although Mennonites are typically associated with rural life, they in fact became very involved as workers in specific locations in both traditional Mennonite enclaves in Ohio, Indiana, Ontario, and Manitoba, and those to which they migrated in the twentieth century, such as British Columbia and California. Mennonites in these locales found employment both as field workers for large agri-business operations (for example, the orchards and packing plants of the San Joaquin Valley in California) and as factory hands in manufacturing firms (such as the automotive factories in southern Ontario). The late twentieth century experiences of North American Mennonites in these settings caused them to confront and reassess their attitudes toward unions. A study of these Mennonites--united by transnational ties of ethnic and religious identity yet shaped, at times, in distinct ways by their differing geographic locations, immigration histories and ethnic origins, denominational ties, and class positions--provides insights into how and why the majority of North American Mennonites have rejected labour unions in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The oral histories of the 113 Mennonites interviewed provide insight into why many working North Americans are not union supporters, and how people in general negotiate tensions between their commitments to faith and conscience and the demands of their employment. An important aim of the book is to bring labour historians and historians of religion into conversation."--

Singapore has one of the fastest economic development pace throughout South East Asia. Despite the fact that by land mass, it is not the biggest or the most fertile country. By demographic factor, it is not the most populated nor the most culturally diverse country. It also didn't have the natural resources that its neighboring countries boasted as their main commodity. Yet, Singapore is a country with one of the most efficient implementation of living space, land usage, and education programme in the world. Because of its greatness, Singapore can be put in the same class with the others developed countries in the world. This is despite all the handicap that this country has, through the thick and thin of its history. The author believes that these successes can be atributted mostly to the efficient leadership of Singapore as a nation state in the international system, and that these successes can be adapted throughout Asia, and the world as a whole. This essay was made exactly to achieve this successful impact on ASEAN's countries economics. In this writing, the author will examine what makes Singapore such a great economic titan, and how it can turn its unlikely position into a flourishing market economy and becoming a model for other developing countries to replicate, with institutional leadership. All of these, for the purpose of learning, and in the bid of rejuvenating economic vigor that most Asian countries and developing countries needed to keep up and even compete with more prominent countries in the international political system of the world.

In 2015, California entered a record breaking fourth year of drought. In April, responding to continuing drought emergency conditions, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order that directed the State Water Board to take a variety of actions to conserve water. The Executive Order was soon followed by an emergency regulation adopted by the State Water Board that required a 25 percent reduction in potable water use: the first mandatory statewide urban conservation requirement in U.S. history. Economic literature and practical evidence have demonstrated the effectiveness of tiered pricing in achieving water conservation. A ruling by a California Appellate court on the legality of tiered water rates in San Juan Capistrano showed that a California constitutional amendment, Proposition 218, posed potential barriers to a robust conservation-based, tiered pricing approach. Proposition 218, approved in 1996, limited the ability of local government agencies to raise rates without a direct nexus between the fees and the increased cost. Studies assessed the advantage of pricing approaches over non-pricing approaches to achieve conservation goals and identified potential strategies to set water rates consistent with Proposition 218 that helped achieve conservation targets. Strategies were developed based on a review of rate-setting best management practices and their efficacy in three Southern California water agencies. The strategies included setting rates based on the cost of different sources of supply, isolating various costs involved in water supply, incorporating conservation cost into rates, and including fixed cost as a higher percentage of the rate. Water supply scarcity continues to challenge California, but effective rate-setting approaches encourage conservation and comply with current legal requirements.

There is a battle in our country. One side's ammunition consists of words like elitist, immoral, and secular; the other's: simple-minded, extreme, and illogical. This battle forced Barack Obama's campaign to downplay his professorship at a prestigious law school. It drives conservative Christians away from public universities, pits academics against Evangelicals, and sets liberal college professors against Southern pastors. This Comment discusses the battle between the anti-intellectual religious right and the anti-evangelical academic left. While this Comment attempts to explain this dichotomy in some detail, it focuses on how the dichotomy affects the goals of the liberal left and impedes the progress of American society, and it argues that American universities perpetuate, rather than reduce, evangelical anti-intellectualism. Part II of this Comment discusses the history of anti-intellectualism and the factors that have led to the current state of anti-intellectualism among Evangelicals. Part III examines the significant role Evangelicals play in modern politics and the curtailing effects of anti-intellectualism on implementing the liberal agenda and on social progress generally. Part IV discusses liberal universities, liberal university faculty, and, by examining Association of Christian Schools International v. Stearns, how liberal political attitudes impede Evangelical access to universities, perpetuating anti-intellectualism. Part V examines the ineffectiveness of constitutional remedies to cure this impeded access to universities and urges a shift in the mindset of university faculty. Finally, Part VI concludes this Comment by arguing that evangelical anti-intellectualism can be curtailed by improving Evangelical access to American universities.

The following Venezuela Findings Report, authored by Dr. Harold Trinkunas, is the product of a working group held in Miami on June 5, 2009, which included 11 prominent academic and private sector experts in Venezuelan history, culture, geography, economics, politics, and military affairs. ; At first glance, it is difficult to see the strategic culture of Venezuela in action since it has not fought a war with a foreign adversary since its independence from Gran Colombia in 1830. However, by looking at a broad concept of strategic culture that includes non-military sources of national power, we can detect a pattern across time in Venezuela's engagement with the international system. The essential elements of Venezuela's traditional strategic culture are an inward focus on political stability and an outward focus on peace. The legacy for Venezuelans of the wars of independence from Spain in the early nineteenth century, in which their troops played a key role across northern South America, is a sense of nationalism, a desire for an autonomous role on the international stage, and a conviction that Venezuela can be a positive force for regional integration and freedom.1 Its role as a leading oil exporter contributes to a belief that Venezuela is a wealthy country that has the potential to accomplish great things. This sometimes produces an overestimation of its capabilities to accomplish change on the international stage. However, the legacy of political turmoil in the nineteenth century is a concern for both internal stability as well as the sense that the main threats to security are civil wars rather than external conflict.

Dolores Davey and Andrew Pithouse outline the findings from a longitudinal case study which ran from 2002 to 2006 and explored the educational achievement of all the young people looked after (in foster and residential care) in one local authority in South Wales. Among this group were 14 young people at a point one year before taking their Standard Attainment Tests (SATS), which are applied universally in UK schools. They were then followed up to the age at which they could complete any General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams. Hence, the young people's school history was tracked from the beginning of school Year 9 (sample age 13 years), at the end of which they took their SATS, through to the end of school Year 11 (sample age 15 years), at which point GCSEs are normally taken. This article focuses mainly on the outcome of the SATS and the looked after arrangements of the 14 young people in the year leading to these important tests. The authors' concluding comments refer briefly to their Year 11 outcomes in order to indicate continuities and changes in attainment.The SATs results are presented in a context of school attendance, the type and stability of care placements and education moves. Associations between schooling and separation are explored using an analysis of trajectories and outcomes that reveal how and why some young people clearly achieve while others do not. In doing so, the article seeks to add to studies and policy pronouncements in this field that too often represent looked after children by their collective statistical failure rather than by notable differences in educational outcomes and related circumstances.

El propósito de este escrito es debatir sobre la calidad de la función de los individuos en los procesos de cambio cultural y de desarrollo social. El punto de partida es una crítica al libre albedrío que la idea de agencia otorga al individuo en esos dos hechos latentes de la cultura y de la historia social. Si bien es frecuente que algunos afectos a esta perspectiva recurran a sentencias aisladas generadas en la teoría marxista para tratar de justificar sus elucubraciones, las apreciaciones esgrimidas aquí se guían por los principios generales del materialismo histórico, y se toma como referente empírico la información arqueológica relacionada con algunos hechos económicos, políticos e ideológicos acaecidos en épocas prehispánicas en el sur del Alto Magdalena. Palabras clave: individuo, agencia, ser social, cambio cultural, desarrollo social. ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to debate about the quality of the function of individuals in the process of cultural change and social development. The starting point is a critique on the free will given by the idea of agency to the individual in those two underlying facts of culture and social history. Since it is not uncommon for some supporters of this perspective to resort to out-of-context statements taken from the classic Marxist works, in order to justify their lucubrations, the opinions expressed in this article are therefore guided by the basic principles of historic materialism, and they allude to archaeological information related to economical, political and ideological facts, occurred during the prehispanic period in the Upper South Magdalena river, as empirical points of reference. Keywords: individual, agency, social being, cultural change, social development.

[ES] Recientemente, en los países del Cono Sur de América Latina que han atravesado experiencias de terrorismo de Estado, ha comenzado a desarrollarse la discusión en torno a las marcas territoriales y los espacios físicos que aluden a ese pasado. En este contexto comenzó a pensarse la ciudad como escenario de las acciones del terrorismo de Estado, con el objetivo de reconocer en ella las huellas de esa experiencia y partiendo de la base de que esos rastros pueden transformarse en «vehículos de memoria». En esta ponencia, centrada en la ciudad de Montevideo (Uruguay), se repasarán las iniciativas de memoria desplegadas por agentes estatales y colectivos sociales para representar ese pasado de represión y violencia política y se reflexionará acerca del rol del historiador en esta contienda. ; [EN] Recently, in those countries of Southern America which have suffered experiences of the State terrorism, the discussion has begun to be developed concerning the territorial marks and the physical spaces that allude to this past. About this context the city begun to be thought as stage of the actions of the State terrorism, with the target to recognize on it the traces of this experience and departing from the base of which these tracks can be understood as «vehículos de la memoria» (places to recall past history). In this paper, focused on the city of Montevideo (Uruguay), there will be revised the initiatives of memory carried by state agents and social groups to represent this past of repression and political violence; the role of the historian in this process will be evalued at the same time.

El propósito de este escrito es debatir sobre la calidad de la función de los individuos en los procesos de cambio cultural y de desarrollo social. El punto de partida es una crítica al libre albedrío que la idea de agencia otorga al individuo en esos dos hechos latentes de la cultura y de la historia social. Si bien es frecuente que algunos afectos a esta perspectiva recurran a sentencias aisladas generadas en la teoría marxista para tratar de justificar sus elucubraciones, las apreciaciones esgrimidas aquí se guían por los principios generales del materialismo histórico, y se toma como referente empírico la información arqueológica relacionada con algunos hechos económicos, políticos e ideológicos acaecidos en épocas prehispánicas en el sur del Alto Magdalena. Palabras clave: individuo, agencia, ser social, cambio cultural, desarrollo social. ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to debate about the quality of the function of individuals in the process of cultural change and social development. The starting point is a critique on the free will given by the idea of agency to the individual in those two underlying facts of culture and social history. Since it is not uncommon for some supporters of this perspective to resort to out-of-context statements taken from the classic Marxist works, in order to justify their lucubrations, the opinions expressed in this article are therefore guided by the basic principles of historic materialism, and they allude to archaeological information related to economical, political and ideological facts, occurred during the prehispanic period in the Upper South Magdalena river, as empirical points of reference. Keywords: individual, agency, social being, cultural change, social development.