Suchergebnisse

Der Autor erörtert in seinem Diskussionsbeitrag aktuelle Fragen und Konflikte der gegenwärtigen Sozialpolitik. Da die finanziellen Grenzen des Sozialstaats immer sichtbarer werden, stellt sich vor allem die Frage nach seiner Legitimation und seiner Zukunftsfähigkeit. Zur Bewältigung der heutigen Probleme des Sozialstaats können bewährte Strategien und historisch überholte Idealtypen nicht mehr herangezogen werden, und die vom 'Normalarbeitsverhältnis' abweichenden Formen der Arbeit - wie Teilzeitarbeit, Scheinselbständigkeit oder ehrenamtliches Engagement der Bürger - gewinnen immer mehr an Bedeutung und gefährden die traditionellen Grundlagen und Instrumente der sozialen Sicherung. Auf der Metaebene sind neue Visionen und Leitbilder gefragt und für die Modellierung einer modernen Sozialpolitik sollten alternative Ansätze, z.B. aus der Implementationsforschung oder des politischen Tauschgeschäfts ('bargaining'), entwickelt werden. Die zukünftige Sozialpolitik sollte als Aufgabe für politische Kommunikation und Aushandlungsprozesse genutzt werden, in welcher neben einem Rückzug des Staates die Eigenverantwortung des Einzelnen stärker in den Mittelpunkt gerückt wird. (ICI)

Although they have been a central feature of the disciplinary history of International Relations, little attention has been paid to the historical and epistemological implications of designating certain sets of writers and their ideas as belonging to particular `traditions of thought'. In light of this, this article is concerned with the theoretical conceptualisation of the term `tradition', its historical connotations, and its specific application to the history of IR scholarship. Relying heavily on Michael Oakeshott's philosophy of history, it argues not only that traditions are inherently `invented' phenomena but that the purposes for which they are invented — that is, whether they are historical or practical in orientation — is central to the analysis of their contents. Having established a theoretical understanding of `tradition', the article discusses the works of John G. Gunnell and Brian C. Schmidt as providing a number of useful ways in which traditions, thus conceived, might be analysed before demonstrating how this might be done in IR scholarship using the works of Martin Wight and Hedley Bull as a pertinent example. In doing so, the article also seeks to make a more general claim about the need for greater historical awareness in contemporary IR scholarship.

Animal Traditions. Eytan Avital and Eva Jablonka. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 446 pp.

In recent years many people have suggested that rights come from traditions. More particularly, many people interested in American constitutional law have said that constitutional rights should be developed with close reference to American traditions. In this essay, I mean to challenge these claims. I argue that the enterprise of defining rights, including constitutional rights, should not be founded on an inquiry into tradition. Traditions should be assessed, not replicated. I also try to unpack some of the complexities in the idea that rights should be based on traditions.The topic is highly relevant to the debate over "communitarianism." Manycommunitarians appear to be traditionalists, at least implicitly; they are concerned to defend social practices against abstract, acontextual claims about what is to be done, or about "rights." It is important to ask why and when communitarians believethat a community's practices deserve insulation from rights–based claims. Often the best or most interesting answer has a Burkean dimension. It involves the extent to which a community—perhaps a local community resisting national efforts, perhaps a nation resisting international goals—owes its practices to long traditions that, precisely because of their longevity, might seem to make special sense. Ideas of this sort might be thought to have special strength when we think about rights in general or about constitutional rights in particular.

Pri ha-Pardes (Früchte des Obstgartens) ist eine Reihe der Vereinigung für Jüdische Studien e.V., welche in Verbindung mit dem Institut für Jüdische Studien der Universität Potsdam publiziert wird. Pri ha-Pardes möchte kleineren wissenschaftlichen Studien, Forschungen am Rande der großen Disziplinen und exzellenten Masterarbeiten eine Publikationsplattform bieten. Der Erstgeburtsstreit der Brüder Jakob und Esau wird seit jeher ethnologisch rezipiert und diente von frühester Zeit an, sowohl auf jüdischer als auch auf christlicher Seite, in vielfacher Auslegung als Grundlage religiöser und 'politischer' Identitätsbildung. Im Zuge dieser Deutung geriet jedoch die Frage in den Hintergrund, weshalb Gott ausgerechnet den 'Betrüger' Jakob zum dritten Stammvater Israels erwählt. Im vorliegenden vierten Band dieser Reihe stellt sich Daniel Vorpahl genau diesem Problem und klärt in einer ausführlichen exegetischen Untersuchung der biblischen Jakob-Esau-Erzählung Hintergründe, Verlauf und Bedeutung des Betrugsfalls sowie dessen Folgen. Anhand zentraler Bestandteile dieser Tradition, wie dem Motiv des Brüderstreits, der Begriffe Erstgeburtsrecht, Segen und Verheißung, wird darüber hinaus die Stellung der Jakob-Esau- Erzählung innerhalb der gesamten Vätergeschichte beleuchtet. Dabei werden nicht nur die begründeten Umstände Jakobs Erwählung erläutert, sondern vor allem auch die sozialethische Relevanz der Jakob-Esau-Tradition veranschaulicht.

Albert Wendt's career as a writer and academic is well documented. Less widely known are his contributions to cultural development through his service on advisory groups and boards for different institutions. To these roles he brought a strong intellect and influential voice as a cultural activist and administrator. In the early 1990s, Wendt was an adviser for two of New Zealand's leading cultural institutions. One of his key interventions was to critique the use of the terms "tradition" and "traditional" in the representation of Pacific arts and cultural practices. In this article, I reflect on Wendt's written and vocal protestations against the uncritical use of these terms by Pacific Islanders and others in cultural discourse in New Zealand. In particular, I analyze his influence on the curatorial representation of Pacific peoples at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa.

ABSTRACTThe voting of Jews in the 2012 US presidential election is discussed in this article within the context of a recent reexamination of historical data on Jewish voting. Two Election-Night polls of Jews and the largest scientific survey of Jews to date make this detailed exploration of Jewish voting possible. Voting differences among Jews are analyzed, especially among major denominational movements. The role of American policy on the Middle East merits specific attention, particularly given concern about the potential Iranian nuclear threat to Israel. Explanations of Jewish liberalness and Democratic identification are considered, with a special focus on the role of social identity. A reluctance of Jewish conservatives to identify as Republicans is discussed as well as how Jewish conservatives react to economic and social issues. The possibility of a party realignment of Jews along generational and denominational lines is considered, as well as the impact of the Republican alliance with Evangelical Christians and the Tea Party.