Suchergebnisse

Introduced by a few small religious liberal-arts colleges in the 1940s, the reformist movement toward studying peace has recently gained momentum in larger academic auditoriums. The author cites prominent academicians currently examining this trend and presents the case for accepting grass-roots social activism as a crucial link to the closed world of policy-making elites. He places faith in individual thinkers to provide new insights and practical theories of peace studies in both national and international domains.

This article compares reflections from four sources on the state of the American democracy in the international community (The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000, by Paul Kennedy; 1999:Victory Without War, by Richard Nixon; "Communism at Bay,"The Economist; Long Cycles in World Politics, by George Modelski) within the framework of the 1980s, which was portrayed by leaders as "an era of good feelings." Yet drastically different positions on American rise or decline are propounded by historians and officeholders, former presidents and scholars, journalists and aspiring candidates for political office. These four writings reveal the complexity of the analysis of the American decline. Yet, it is crucial for leaders to maintain public devotion to their nation, not through passion, but rather, in the words of Abraham Lincoln, through "the solid quarry of sober reason,". America's capacity to preserve a strong and healthy resilience, the author concludes, is the exceptional value it continues to offer the world.

This article deals with the introduction of strongly fundamental views into the theory and practice of politics. It also concerns the transformation of religion from a concern with religious faith to the creation of political religions. Thus forces have been at work in the past two decades seeking to make a religion of politics and transforming religion into a holy political crusade in the form of a particular version of partisan politics.

This article seeks to examine the relationship between the sacred and the secular in the United States historically and in the present. It probes what the founding fathers intended and how church-state relations have changed over time. The tendency of contemporary leaders to inject their religious views into public policy positions is analyzed in some detail, and perils of abridging the principles of church-state relations that are enshrined in the Constitution are reviewed. Also treated is the perception of leaders and opinion makers at home and abroad. An effort is made to draw on the thought of both classical and recent interpreters of the problem. The shifts in the positions of American leaders in response to the demands of partisan politics are noted.

The relationship between the sacred & the secular in the US is examined historically & in the present, including what the founding fathers intended & how church-state relations have changed over time. The tendency of contemporary leaders to inject their religious views into public policy positions is analyzed in some detail, & perils of abridging the principles of church-state relations that are enshrined in the Constitution are reviewed. Also considered are the perceptions of leaders & opinionmakers abroad. Shifts in positions of US leaders in response to the demands of partisan politics are noted. HA

Ancient traditions have stressed the intervention of the gods and contemporary moralists picture God as being on their side in international conflicts. Pharisaism, Manichaeism and the morality of progress are other distortions of political ethics. The first step in a more profound understanding of the ethical dimension of diplomacy is a clear-eyed view of the good and evil in human nature informed by philosophy and history. However, differences exist among political realists and international lawyers who have examined human nature in these terms. Some emphasize the relevance of ethics for international politics while others question it. Democratic foreign policy poses special problems for those who discuss international morality. Such issues are resolved at least partly within the tradition of practical morality which the article considers in conclusion.