Search results

The article is devoted to the analysis of the concept of supreme power, which, according to the author, is undeservedly neglec ted by the modern Political Science. Despite the high importance of this concept, its definition is lacking in dictionaries, as well as most textbooks and reviews. Legal Science and State Studies have known this concept at least since the 16th century. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, due to the works of such scientists as Boris Chicherin, Alexander Alekseev, Nikolay Korkunov, Georg Jellinek, Lev Tikhomirov, Petr Kazansky the academic consensus was formed that supreme power can be defined as legally unlimited, complete and unconditional power in the state. At the beginning of the 21st century, the interest in this category has revived, which resulted, in particular, in the previous concepts becoming relevant again. After having critically analyzed the existing ideas of the Russian researchers on this topic, the author comes to the conclusion that elaboration of the relevant theory of the supreme power that lives up to the modern level of knowledge, requires interdisciplinary approach and combined effort from lawyers, political scientists, historians, and sociologists. Having convincingly demonstrated that today this task is still far from being complete, he focuses on a number of key problems for the development of such a theory and outlines possible directions for finding their solution. According to his conclusion, the category "supreme power" has a significant heuristic potential, and its "return" to political, as well as constitutional and legal, science would enrich their methodological tools. In particular, its application to the analysis of political systems makes it possible to discern behind the facade of the constitutional separation of powers not only who governs (i.e., exercises this or that authority granted by the constitution), but also who rules i.e., has the right to make final decisions on key issues of political life.

"Fully revised and updated, the fourth edition of Social Sciences: The Big Issues explores key debates about how we live our personal, domestic, and emotional lives at a time of enormous, previously-unimaginable change and disruption, including a pandemic that locked down households and economies. Since the third edition, everyone's life has changed. The pandemic - at least temporarily - stopped social life as we knew it and forced governments virtually to close down their economies. This is where this edition of The Big Issues starts. Staying at home posed a radical departure from routine life, but reactions to COVID-19 have exposed the endurance of particular social relations - especially inequalities - which characterize societies worldwide. A few of the new Big Issues covered in this edition include: Changing selves and personal lives in light of racism and sexual and identity politics in a pandemic; Changing patterns of consumption in relation to market production and what it means for climate change; Changing intersections of citizenship, migration, and globalization in the context of the virus crossing borders - and both the opportunities and sources of inequality involved; Changing ideas about power, politics and populism in the aftermath of Brexit Building on the strong foundation of this well-loved text, this fully revised fourth edition explores how big issues and social forces intersect to create both change and evidence of continuity, especially of social inequalities. It provides a clear, accessible introduction to the ideas and approaches of the social sciences across a range of disciplines, including sociology, psychology, and politics"--

One area of family law that has generated considerable public discourse but has received relatively little attention in the social science literature is the awarding of alimony. Because of the paucity of research in this area, we are left with little information about the impact of these support awards and payments on the emotional and economic dynamics between former spouses. In this article, we outline key issues associated with spousal support and call for research on the implications of this neglected aspect of domestic relations.

Power & Choice offers an in-depth look into the nuances of politics through the analysis of collective choices for a group or state through the use of power. Using extended case examples from around the world, Power & Choice provides undergraduate students with a clear and engaging introduction to political science and comparative politics.

From diaries and letters to surveys and interview transcripts, documents are a cornerstone of social science research. This book guides you through the documentary research process, from choosing the best research design, through data collection and analysis, to publishing and sharing research findings. Using extensive case studies and examples, it situates documentary research within a current context and empowers you to use this method to meet new challenges like digital research and big data head on. In a jargon-free style perfect for beginner researchers, this book helps you to: • Interrogate documentary material in meaningful ways • Choose the best research design for your project, from literature reviews to policy research • Understand a range of approaches, including quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods. Accessible, clear and focused, this book gives you the tools to conduct your own documentary research and celebrates the importance of documentary analysis across the social sciences.

Abstract Since the early work on defining and analyzing resilience in domains such as engineering, ecology and psychology, the concept has gained significant traction in many fields of research and practice. It has also become a very powerful justification for various policy goals in the water sector, evident in terms like flood resilience, river resilience, and water resilience. At the same time, a substantial body of literature has developed that questions the resilience concept's systems ontology, natural science roots and alleged conservatism, and criticizes resilience thinking for not addressing power issues. In this study, we review these critiques with the aim to develop a framework for power-sensitive resilience analysis. We build on the three faces of power to conceptualize the power to define resilience. We structure our discussion of the relevant literature into five questions that need to be reflected upon when applying the resilience concept to social?hydrological systems. These questions address: (a) resilience of what, (b) resilience at what scale, (c) resilience to what, (d) resilience for what purpose, and (e) resilience for whom; and the implications of the political choices involved in defining these parameters for resilience building or analysis. Explicitly considering these questions enables making political choices explicit in order to support negotiation or contestation on how resilience is defined and used. This article is categorized under: Human Water > Water Governance. Engineering Water > Planning Water. ; QC 20191001

Left-wing literary criticism of the 1930's offers insight into the present resistance to social theories of literature. During this period, Marxists were less concerned with inter- preting literature than with changing the world. Pure literary questions were chided in favor of politics & economics. The evangelical strain which ran through leftist periodicals, ie, The Liberator, the New Masses, & Partisan Review, saw the critic as a legislator. Literature was to serve a larger purpose: the Wc & the party. Eventually, the mounting demand for orthodoxy, coupled with the Spanish Civil War, the Moscow trials, & the Hitler-Stalin Pact, alienated many radical writers who either became anti-Stalinist leftists or severed ties with organizations completely. A new orthodoxy dominated literary theory for 3 decades after 1940. Critics, ie, Robert Penn Warren & T. S. Eliot, declared themselves opposed to the 'communists'; their criticism emphasized the aesthetic form, neglected history, & divorced literature from society. Social critics of this period came from the U's, were dependent upon these conservative institutions for livelihood, relied on academic audiences for influence, were expected to remain detached, & urged their readers to remain contemplative rather than active. The radical critics of the '30's had been journalists, writers, & editors dependent on the radical movement for their support. The new dogma of aesthetic autonomy became as problematic as the dogma of economic determinism. By rejecting a social perspective, the critic can only describe but not explain, & write chronicles but not history. L. Goldmann, before his death in 1970, set forth a theory of literature & a method of research. For him, literary work does not reside in details of character or style, but in the mental structures which bind it together. His research method begins with a chronological study of all works, examining the empirical facts, formulating an hypothesis about the ideological structure of the work, & modifying the hypothesis through the dialectical method. His theory helped contemporary radical critics to overcome the contradictions between the extreme materialism of radical critics & the extreme idealism of academic critics. A. Karmen.

Hierarchy is a form of organisation of complex systems that rely on or produce a strong differentiation in capacity (power and size) between the parts of the system. It is frequently observed within the natural living world as well as in social institutions. According to the authors, hierarchy results from random processes, follows an intentional design, or is the result of the organisation which ensures an optimal circulation of energy for information. This book reviews ancient and modern representations and explanations of hierarchies, and compares their relevance in a variety of fields, such as language, societies, cities, and living species. It throws light on concepts and models such as scaling laws, fractals and self-organisation that are fundamental in the dynamics and morphology of complex systems. At a time when networks are celebrated for their efficiency, flexibility and better social acceptance, much can be learned about the persistent universality and adaptability of hierarchies, and from the analogies and differences between biological and social organisation and processes. This book addresses a wide audience of biologists and social scientists, as well as managers and executives in a variety of institutions.